The last of the ten episodes of "Will" is hardly a grand finale! The premise of this concluding program is so far-fetched that it nearly defies belief.
Will has written his culminating play to the Henry VI tetralogy, which is "Richard III." The program seeks to develop the thesis that the play is a satire on Richard Topcliffe, England's number two spymaster behind Sir Francis Walsingham. Through the parody of the evil king Richard III, Will and the Burbage theater company hope to topple Topcliffe. "Punish him with the play," says Alice, who has just been melodramatically rescued from the Topcliffe's prison by Will. The idea is to strip Topcliffe of his powers by publicly shaming him.
Unfortunately for the filmmakers, Shakespeare's "Richard III" is a history plan that demonizes a late medieval English king from the House of York. When was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, his adversary, Henry, Earl of Richmond, seized the crown to become the first Tudor King of England. In the dramatization of "Richard III" in this episode, Will plays the role of Henry, who subsequently becomes Henry VII.
As the text of Shakespeare's play has nothing to do with the religious inquisition run by Topcliffe, Will has to invite Topcliffe to attend the play, sit him on the stage, and point to him at those moments in the play when Richard is the most evil, in order for the audience to get the idea of the satire. The only redeeming moment for this blatantly dishonest representation of Elizabethan play production was when Topcliffe young daughter, Beth, asked her father during the play, "Papa, which one is you?"
As the backdrop for Will's motivation for writing "Richard III," the filmmakers weave in a ridiculous backstory related to Hamlet. The epigram for the episode was Hamlet's line, "How all occasions do inform against me and spur my dull revenge." At one paranormal moment of the episode, a man in armor (the Ghost from "Hamlet") is seen motivating Will to take his revenge on Topcliffe for the torturing of Alice Burbage.
SPOILER FOLLOWS: For her part, Alice is so taken with the message of Father Southwell that she now places greater importance in the spiritual life than the life in the theater. In one of the most dramatic moments of the episode, Will confesses to the theater group, "I'm a Catholic!" But as Alice is sailing away into the sunset with Southwell (to "free" Holland?), it is clear Will's "Bright Angel" is now a full-fledged devotee of the Church of Rome.
In perhaps the oddest moment of the entire series, Kit Marlowe approaches Will after the successful performance of "Richard III." Kit is still recovering the loss of the love his life, his "king," Barrett Emerson. When Kit asks Will about his next writing project, Will shrugs his shoulders, clueless as always for possible subjects for his plays.
Will has written his culminating play to the Henry VI tetralogy, which is "Richard III." The program seeks to develop the thesis that the play is a satire on Richard Topcliffe, England's number two spymaster behind Sir Francis Walsingham. Through the parody of the evil king Richard III, Will and the Burbage theater company hope to topple Topcliffe. "Punish him with the play," says Alice, who has just been melodramatically rescued from the Topcliffe's prison by Will. The idea is to strip Topcliffe of his powers by publicly shaming him.
Unfortunately for the filmmakers, Shakespeare's "Richard III" is a history plan that demonizes a late medieval English king from the House of York. When was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, his adversary, Henry, Earl of Richmond, seized the crown to become the first Tudor King of England. In the dramatization of "Richard III" in this episode, Will plays the role of Henry, who subsequently becomes Henry VII.
As the text of Shakespeare's play has nothing to do with the religious inquisition run by Topcliffe, Will has to invite Topcliffe to attend the play, sit him on the stage, and point to him at those moments in the play when Richard is the most evil, in order for the audience to get the idea of the satire. The only redeeming moment for this blatantly dishonest representation of Elizabethan play production was when Topcliffe young daughter, Beth, asked her father during the play, "Papa, which one is you?"
As the backdrop for Will's motivation for writing "Richard III," the filmmakers weave in a ridiculous backstory related to Hamlet. The epigram for the episode was Hamlet's line, "How all occasions do inform against me and spur my dull revenge." At one paranormal moment of the episode, a man in armor (the Ghost from "Hamlet") is seen motivating Will to take his revenge on Topcliffe for the torturing of Alice Burbage.
SPOILER FOLLOWS: For her part, Alice is so taken with the message of Father Southwell that she now places greater importance in the spiritual life than the life in the theater. In one of the most dramatic moments of the episode, Will confesses to the theater group, "I'm a Catholic!" But as Alice is sailing away into the sunset with Southwell (to "free" Holland?), it is clear Will's "Bright Angel" is now a full-fledged devotee of the Church of Rome.
In perhaps the oddest moment of the entire series, Kit Marlowe approaches Will after the successful performance of "Richard III." Kit is still recovering the loss of the love his life, his "king," Barrett Emerson. When Kit asks Will about his next writing project, Will shrugs his shoulders, clueless as always for possible subjects for his plays.