Oh! Darling – Round 1

“Oh, darling! Please believe me! I’ll never do you no harm!” The first direct love song (where the singer is singing to the one they love), and it syncs up with Jack calling Wendy.
I’ve probably just been watching these in sync for too long to see it any other way, but the viciousness in McCartney’s performance here is so distinctive. It really does sound like he’s holding back a death threat. But there’s a parallel in innocent ol’ Ullman back there, pretending like he doesn’t want Jack to come to harm, and backward Jack staring out from inside a mouth, like a bird in-between crocodile teeth.

“Believe me when I tell you (first image), I’ll never do you no harm (second image)” – Danny’s about to get Tony’s vision about the bloodfall, which will lead to him passing out and banging his head on the floor, probably. Wendy’s getting the vision of the blowjob bear. I have a complicated theory that Wendy is here seeing the worst danger of her overmothering. She’s waging a conquest on her son, tampering with the boundaries of mother and child. Essentially, she’s coming face-to-face with what her mission statement as a mother ought to be: “I’ll never do you no (serious) harm”. Of course we all hurt each other from time to time, but Wendy was risking ushering Danny into a lifetime of wearing emotional masks, instead of just the quasi-mask of Tony, the result of Jack’s violence.

“Oh darling, if you leave me, I’ll never make it, alone/Believe me when I beg you, don’t ever leave me alone” – The first forward bloodfall, as it smashes against the sidewalls, happens along with this dreamy “aaaahhh” sound, made by the other Beatles. It’s a lovely sync-up.
Those of you familiar with my Pillars of Hercules theory will appreciate the subtext of the lyrics during Danny’s visions here. But probably also all the lyrics from this song.

“When you told me, you didn’t need me anymore!” – On “when” we get the first image. And on “told” we get the second, of the doctor scene cutting in. This is the lyric where McCartney’s performance turns up to 11, and he sounds like a raving axe-murderer. So I think it’s cool to have (“When you”) Jack first and then (“told me!”) Wendy show up.
Wendy looks particularly helpless while the calm, collect, educated female doctor inspects her son. Why is she holding herself? And why do her eyes flick at the tiger mask (seen over the doctor’s hunched back here) in this sequence? What thoughts are going through her head? Does she feel like she’s not needed? Like she’s being replaced by the doctor’s sophistication? Danny is a “doc”. Will he relate more to this woman than to his own mother? I say all this to really underscore that Jack isn’t the only one who is sorely tested by these events. And it’s actually a sign of Wendy’s incredible strength and instinct for being good that she doesn’t ultimately abuse her power.

“Well you know, I nearly falled down/and died/Oh darling” – On “darling” mirror Hallorann is seen suffering the axe blow, but all during the “falled down and died” part, Hallorann has falled down and died. There’s also the notion of Danny here recovering from a fall. Also, all three iterations of this song feature someone falling down. Here it’s Hallorann, in the second one it’s Jack falling out of his nightmare chair, and the third one ends a few seconds before Jack gets battered down the stairs, so, you know, it’s not perfect, but I’m counting it. In the first two, the “falled down” part actually plays while the character is falling down.
Also, Jack=Paul, so his assurances of doing no harm are just hilarious throughout, but especially in this moment.

“I’ll never make it alone” – Hallorann came alone, and he didn’t make it. Jack stalked after Danny alone, and didn’t make it. Danny always has Tony with him (we have to assume), and he makes it. Wendy makes it alone, in a way, but really, Hallorann saved her bacon.

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