The Duke of Albany
The Duke of Albany does some strange things. If "King Lear" was a threeday, I hope I would have played him better than he is written:
However, when Lear, Cordelia, Edgar, Gloucester, Kent and the Fool are down and out (whether captured, in disguise, or being hunted), Albany is for an act or two the only major good guy who can show his face in public, and their ace in the hole. And it is sort of awesome that he prepared to kill Goneril in IV-2 and Edmund in V-3. Despite my objection to his sometimes-blatant use as a plot device (he spends all of V-3 just off center stage serving as an exposition extractor), I think I like him. The real epic work is done by Edgar, Kent and Gloucester, and Albany is good enough to save the kingdom in the end. The chain is as strong as its weakest link, but it's a link that holds.
And I agree with firstfrost on the silliness of Edmund's gender change.
Kudos goes to Gloucester for giving up his eyes to buy the King time, Edgar for being the standard good guy, the Fool for this exchange:
Kent: But who is with him? [The lonely King in the wild storm]
Knight: None but the Fool, who labors to outjest his heartstruck injury.
, to the First Servant (in the blinding scene) for reminding me or Mr. Orange in Reservoir Dogs, and Cordelia for doing the only thing she could have - invading.
Anti-Kudos goes to the King of France for doing the completely excellent and honorable thing by marrying Cordelia, and then being unable to win a military victory in V-II and Fucking Everything Up. Oh, well. Can't trust the damn French.
- he announces his allegiance to the King openly in front of Goneril, giving her time to go to her boyfriend and ask him to kill Albany.
- he completely drops the ball and forgets about the captured Lear and Cordelia.
- he tries to pass rulership of the kingdom off to Kent and Edgar
- he takes three acts to discover that he has a spine (not to mention a personality)
However, when Lear, Cordelia, Edgar, Gloucester, Kent and the Fool are down and out (whether captured, in disguise, or being hunted), Albany is for an act or two the only major good guy who can show his face in public, and their ace in the hole. And it is sort of awesome that he prepared to kill Goneril in IV-2 and Edmund in V-3. Despite my objection to his sometimes-blatant use as a plot device (he spends all of V-3 just off center stage serving as an exposition extractor), I think I like him. The real epic work is done by Edgar, Kent and Gloucester, and Albany is good enough to save the kingdom in the end. The chain is as strong as its weakest link, but it's a link that holds.
And I agree with firstfrost on the silliness of Edmund's gender change.
Kudos goes to Gloucester for giving up his eyes to buy the King time, Edgar for being the standard good guy, the Fool for this exchange:
Kent: But who is with him? [The lonely King in the wild storm]
Knight: None but the Fool, who labors to outjest his heartstruck injury.
, to the First Servant (in the blinding scene) for reminding me or Mr. Orange in Reservoir Dogs, and Cordelia for doing the only thing she could have - invading.
Anti-Kudos goes to the King of France for doing the completely excellent and honorable thing by marrying Cordelia, and then being unable to win a military victory in V-II and Fucking Everything Up. Oh, well. Can't trust the damn French.