Some RENT questions...for the experts. — Page 4

I have a question , why is it that Anegl dies from AIDS and Mimi is on the verge of death , yet Collins and Roger dont even seem sick, besides that we see Roger needing to take the AZT, also isnt AZT very expensive if these people are so poor how are they able to afford the persciption for AZT ?

I can't really answer the second question -- I don't know enough about timing and availability of the drug. But as to the first question, I guess the explanation could be as simple as that they're all at different stages of their illness. Everyone progresses differently. Depends when they got it, what shape their body has been in, etc.

ETA -- Chloe, that could defnitely be. But if April got tested and found out SHE had it, wouldn't it be generally on course to assume (provided they'd had unprotected sex) that Roger would have it, too?

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Updated On: 12/1/05 at 06:35 PM

People also cope with the virus differently and at different time frames.

The AZT $$$ thing has certainly been debated but perhaps there is an explanation for how they get it.

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In the SHOW Mark says he was dumped a month ago - he never says that in the film, so we don't know exactly how long Maureen and Joanne have been together.

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He could also mean "you" as in "you two" (hehe) and includes both Mark and Roger, since both are on the phone with him.

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I always assumed from the OCR that Benny is saying that he, Collins, Mark, and Maureen lived there before, not including Roger, which would explain why Roger doesn't know who Mimi is before Light My Candle, but that Mark recognizes her.

Isn't that what's implied? I suppose he could've just quit using on his own, but that's a hell of a lot to go through.

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I liked not knowing much about April..the how and why she got AIDS. Personally, the new "April flashback" made me feel less sympathetic for Roger losing Mimi. After all, he's been through the whole junkie with AIDS thing with April, and cleaned up his act, why would he want to go through all that again with Mimi?

Yeah...but he DOES decide to to spend time with her.....even after he catches her doing drugs after she's supposedly given them up. I don't know...to me it just made Roger a bit of a schmuck. Of course, maybe it's just because I find the character of Mimi so unlikable to begin with. I'm still trying to figure out how the "seamstress" from La Boehme became a stripper...LOL!

You don't like Mimi? She;s always been my favorite character =)

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I know this. This week, I have become almost an expert on AIDS. When you get HIV, the virus incubates with almost no symptoms at all, just quietly, slowly eating away at your T-cells (your immune system). This occurs for about ten years, although it's different for everyone. When your T-cell count drops below 200, that's when the virus has technically become AIDS. Drugs like AZT only delay this moment. Once you have full-blown AIDS, it can take a year and a half for your body and mind to completely waste away. People get really sick really quickly.

Presumably, Roger contracted the virus relatively recently, since he found out he had it from April less than a year ago. He almost certainly hasn't had it long enough for him to be physically ill. We don't know about anyone else, but that explains him.

Another explanation is that HIV weakens your immune system. So it's very easy to get sick. People can die from pneumonia when they have AIDS. I'm guessing Mimi caught something or other while she was living in the park and her body wasn't able to fight it.

Just a theory.

Also, when Benny says, "You, me, Collins, and Maureen," he's responding to Roger saying, "Remember? You lived here." So I always assumed he was using the plural "you" and referring to both Mark and Roger.

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ever heard of a little something called a condom?