And just this morning, I wrote something comparable on a friend's FB page:
"As a four-decade rabid fan of the score - I'd argue that the second act is unfixable, if the song stack is rigidly preserved. The only genuinely post-millennial correction to the character of Florence would be to give her comparable agency in the chess world, let her finally achieve on her own, not in the shadow of either of these two self-absorbed men. Were she to ascend, compete, and gain stature (see Queen's Gambit), she'd shake off the repetitive codependency in her song lyrics (all of which are about relationships, never personal ambition). I was accused of being "too woke" for imposing this, but believe it would solve a major problem. Moving "Someone Else's Story" to the end for a final rumination leaves her where she began. Let her sit down to a gaming table, pick up a chess piece, and sing defiantly about being on "Her" side. After all, we know what happens between Russia and the US; we don't know what happens to this co-protagonist we've spent 2.5 hours with.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling