Hamilton's wife Eliza Hamilton then comes forward and takes the largest part of the song, revealing that she lived for another 50 years after her husband's death, and all the efforts she made to tell her husband's story, as well as the stories of his fellow American Revolutionary War veterans, and of George Washington when she raises funds for the Washington Monument.
Eliza suddenly notices the audience and lets out a tearful gasp, nearly hyperventilating, but finally sighs and smiles as the lights go dark.
[2] The Village Voice argues that this song's refrain "suggest[s] that we might look differently at the Founding Fathers and their ideas of freedom and equality, depending on who's depicting them".
[3] New York City Theatre wrote that "Eliza Hamilton sums up the story and leads the company to a moving finale, when the lights drop as the weight and vision of the American Dream continues its tug of war, between the immigrants who once founded this country and those looking to make her home".
It's a breathtaking and unexpected finale—the equivalent of ending Steve Jobs with a five-minute monologue from Kate Winslet's character, Joanna Hoffman, about her own achievements.
[11] CentreOnTheAisle said that "Act two, while engaging, doesn't reach the heights of its predecessor, until the show's plaintive 'Finale' in a hauntingly beautiful performance" by Eliza Hamilton.