On Oct. 14, Hulu’s fresh and funny twist on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet titled Rosaline hit laptop screens nationwide. The new movie follows Romeo’s (Kyle Allen) star-crossed ex, Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever) — the woman he’s basically head over heels for until he meets Juliet (Isabela Merced), Rosaline’s younger cousin. And I know what you’re thinking — hasn’t Romeo and Juliet been done hundreds of thousands of times before? But what this half-modernized version gets right is that it pokes fun at itself (even being a bit camp at times) and focuses on a character that hasn’t gotten much screen time in the past: Rosaline. Warning: Spoilers for Rosaline ahead.
Unlike other tellings of the classic play where Rosaline (who actually goes by Rosalina in the 1996 Leonardo DiCaprio rendition) doesn’t have a speaking role and isn’t even seen by the audience, Rosaline is all about Rosaline’s side of the story. Here’s the difference between what happens to Rosaline in the OG play versus Rosaline.
What happens to Rosaline in the OG version of Romeo and Juliet?
If you’re like me, you probably had to read Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in your high school English class. And also like me, you were probably like, “Wait… Rosaline was in the OG Romeo and Juliet?” While Rosaline is mentioned through Romeo in the play, she actually never appears onstage (except for Franco Zefirelli’s 1968 adaptation) or has any speaking roles in the script.
In the play, Romeo mentions Rosaline a few times, but she isn’t a focal point in the story. The main consensus about Rosaline is that she’s drop-dead gorgeous (“The all-seeing sun / ne’er saw her match since first the world begun”) but unattainable. Romeo also complains about Rosaline’s vow of celibacy (classy, I know), saying in the play, “O, she is rich in beauty, only poor / Tha, when she dies, with beauty dies her store.” In that way and others, Juliet is the complete opposite of Rosaline and makes no apologies for her sexual desires.
But Rosaline isn’t the first time that viewers get a glimpse of Rosaline. In Zefirelli’s 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, we actually do see Rosaline — but she’s a lot older than Romeo and, once again, is not as desirable to him, whereas Juliet is younger, conventionally prettier, and more sensual. Rosaline is also in the 2013 adaptation of the play starring Hailee Steinfeld, but plays a very minor role. In other words, it’s never truly clear what happens to Rosaline — all we really ever know is that she’s Romeo’s ex.
What happens to Rosaline in Rosaline?
Unlike other retellings of Romeo and Juliet, Rosaline is all about Rosaline, and we actually get to see her have a happily ever after. After Romeo ghosts Rosaline and ends up with Juliet (obvi), Rosaline ends up getting her own love interest, Dario (Sean Teale). While Rosaline and Dario originally don’t get along in the slightest — as Rosaline is still trying to get Romeo to take her back instead of Juliet — the two end up falling for each other.
At the end of the movie, Rosaline even pokes fun at the fact that her character is usually hidden behind the curtain in other tellings, asking Dario as they walk hand-in-hand, “You know, centuries from now, when everyone’s telling this story, do you think you and I will even be mentioned?” Dario then says, “Honestly? I couldn’t care less,” and Rosaline says, “Me neither.” Aww. Take that, Shakespeare!