Born to be King
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| Blackadder Episode | |
| Born to be King | |
 Dougal MacAngus |
|
|---|---|
| Air date | 22/6/1983 |
| Writer(s) | Rowan Atkinson Richard Curtis |
| Director | |
| ← Prev The Foretelling |
Next → The Archbishop |
Born to be King is the second episode of the first season of the BBC sitcom Blackadder (The Black Adder).
Contents |
[edit] Plot
[edit] Service under a regent
In 1486, the second year of his reign and reportedly "the year in which the egg replaced the worm as the lowest form of currency", King Richard IV departed his Kingdom to join a new Crusade against the Ottoman Empire. Prince Harry was appointed Regent for the duration of his absence. Edmund saw the event as his "chance for some real power".
However the winter of 1486/1487 found Edmund flocking sheep. Harry at least bothered to personally inform him that their father would return by St. Leonard's Day and that there would be a common celebration for both events. Harry would handle the visiting Royals, the guards of honour and the Papal legate of Pope Innocent VIII while Edmund was responsible for organising the festivities and attending to the storm drains. Harry was already looking forward to being entertained by Morris dancers, eunuchs and bearded women. Edmund pretended to be honoured by his appointment, but actually felt humiliated and enraged.
Edmund soon found difficulties with his new duties. The only available bearded woman had recently shaved her beard. He was also not particularly impressed when Lord Percy suggested hiring "The Jumping Jews of Jerusalem" whose sole entertainment value was that they jumped, "a lot." He was though somewhat intrigued to learn of the play The Death of the Pharaoh by Sir Dominick Prique and his thespianic troupe. Baldrick suggested the hiring of Jerry Meriwether and His Four Chickens. Their stated entertainment value was that they could lay eggs. Edmund was not impressed but agreed in order to avoid arguing with his advisor.
He was then enraged to find the eunuchs had turned down his offer. He reacted by sending an order for their execution to the Lord Chancellor. (The historical Lord Chancellor of the time was John Alcock). Harry was displeased to learn that there would be no eunuchs in a feast honouring a eunuch Saint. He also informed his brother that the expected Dougal McAngus, Marquess of Kintyre and Lorne, Supreme Commander of the King's Army, had a preference for eunuchs. Harry believed this to be due to the great warrior being Scottish.
Edmund soon commented to Lord Percy and Baldrick of his distaste for this Scottish orangutan. He proceeded to state that the Scots were just barbarians since half of them couldn't speak the English language. (This was correct, as in the 15th century, while most lowland Scots spoke the dialect of Middle English that was evolving into Scots, the Highlands were almost entirely Gaelic-speaking.) Nevertheless, Edmund stated he would find suitable entertainers. He instructed Baldrick to get a nice dress and perform as a bearded lady. He was not surprised to find Baldrick excited over the idea. He also sent Lord Percy to hire Bernard the Bear Baiter and to make sure that this year he would actually come with a bear. (In the event, though, Bernard brought a rabbit.)
[edit] First encounter with Dougal McAngus
Dougal McAngus soon arrived with recently won Turkish treasures and news from the crusaders. He also transported the regards of his father to the Queen consort. (McAngus was unaware that during his journey to England his father had died and that he was now Fourth Duke of Argyll.) Harry then attempted to introduce Dougal to Edmund. With Dougal mistaking the younger Prince for a eunuch, the two got off to a bad start. When Edmund introduced himself as the Duke of Edinburgh, McAngus complained about the Duke being as Scottish as "as the Queen of England 's tits ".
Harry attempted to defuse the situation by informing McAngus that his heroic efforts in battle had won the favour of the King. His latest correspondence instructed Harry to offer McAngus whatever he desired. Edmund was not pleased that Dougal asked for "fair Selkirk, and the noble shire of Roxburgh". Though commenting that those lands in fact belong to him, Edmund failed to make an impression on either Harry or Dougal. Complaining that these would only leave him with Peebles, only reminded McAngus to ask for Peebles too. At first commenting that: "Well! What an absurd idea, giving away half of Scotland to a kilted maniac for slaughtering a couple of syphilitic Turks!". However a little persuasion at swordpoint by McAngus was enough for Edmund to apparently change his mind.
Soon however, Edmund started scheming to attack McAngus "in the Great Hall, and in the bladder". Percy expressed his concern that doing the deed "in front of everyone" would possibly cause them to... "suspect something". Baldrick suggested a "cunning plan" to get McAngus to stick his own head down a cannon and then blow it off. Edmund's gaze was caught by the poster advertising the above Egyptian play, and he developed a more "subtle" plan. He then, however, caught sight of McAngus going out on a hunting trip, and instead chose to follow the Scotsman hoping for an opportunity to expeditiously finish him off. Soon enough Edmund was literally caught in the snare of his rival.
Quick at improvising, Edmund offered McAngus the protagonist role in the performance of the Mystery play The Death of the Scotsman (the above mentioned The Death of the Pharaoh with a telling change of title). He would only need to learn "acting dead". Dougal accepted and naturally Edmund arranged for a stage death for him.
On the night of the fateful performance however, Dougal approached Edmund to discuss with him. He revealed that the Third Duke of Argyll and the Queen were former lovers. He also claimed to have letters proving the affair and disputing the parentage of Harry. Seeing a chance of removing Harry from the line of succession, Edmund prevented the assassination
[edit] Claiming the throne
Later, Edmund had the chance to examine the letters himself. They were dated 1460, year of birth for his brother. McAngus even suggested to Edmund that: "If you played your cards right, you could become King ", and sooner than he thought. He claimed Richard IV was last seen entering Constantinople alone, armed with a fruit knife and facing 10,000 Turks armed with scimitars.
Soon enough, an excited Edmund revealed the letters and their contents to the members of the Royal court, claiming Harry to be illegitimate and the King deceased. Lord Percy was the first to shout "The King is dead! Long live the King! ". Edmund was living his greatest triumph. But at that moment Richard IV chose to return, claiming to have made it "thanks to my trusty fruit knife!".
Edmund was surprised but did try to point the letters to his father. The letters however dated from November-December, 1460, when Harry was already born. A smiling McAngus then pointed that this came about nine months before the birth of Edmund. Edmund was quick to claim the letters to be forgeries and threw them to the fireplace. On the heat of the moment, Edmund also challenged McAngus (his possible half-brother) to a duel. Dougal was quick to accept and Richard was looking forward to the entertainment.
The duel was a short-lived one. McAngus managed to disarm Edmund with a single blow of the sword. The scene is possibly a spoof of one of the duel scenes in Rob Roy, in which the somewhat effeminate finesse of a supposedly English fighting style is contrasted with the brute strength of the Scots. In that duel, the English style won over. Here, however, Edmund's posturing simply reveals a ridiculous lack of prowess.
With a sword to his neck, Edmund begged for his life and offered everything he had to Dougal. "I'm, I'm hardly a rich man. But, but my horse must be worth a thousand ducats. I can sell my wardrobe - the pride of my life - my swords, my curtains, my socks, and my fighting cocks. My servants I can live without, except perhaps he who oils my rack. And then my most intimate treasures: my collection of antique codpieces, my wigs for state occasions, my wigs for private occasions, and my wigs - heh - for humorous occasions; my collection of pokers, ...my autographed miniature of Judas Iscariot ".
McAngus at first pretended to be about to strike but then revealed his interest in the wigs. He did comment, though, "I hope life doesn't become too dull now that you won't be able to pass laws over Scotland." Edmund's reply, inder his breath, was "I wouldn't pass water over Scotland." A while later Edmund and Dougal were seen keeping company with Harry, believing them to have become firm friends. This was not so, however. Edmund went through with Baldrick's plan and McAngus died in an "accident" involving a cannon. Edmund had disposed of a possible half-brother and a dangerous rival. (The episode was the only one to refer to Richard IV of England as also being "Richard XII of Scotland".
There was historically no King of Scotland named Richard. Scotland was at the time under James III of Scotland. The union between the thrones of England and Scotland would not occur until March 24, 1603, when James VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth I of England). Actual political union would not take place for yet another century, in 1707.
[edit] Significance
The plot from Born to be King was originally used for the unaired pilot episode.
[edit] Trivia
- The Second Episode, "Born to be King" is a remake of the original unaired pilot: with the following differences: The King is not at the crusades, but at home. Edmond's plot to kill McAngus involves a hanging with a fake rope, not a staged stabbing with a real dagger. the plan backfires in much the same way. The King, Prince Henry and Baldrick are played by different actors, respectively John Savident, Robert Bathurst and Philip Fox. Edmund's personality is much more like his descendants in the other series, much more sarcastic and intelligent. Various details are changed, of course, as well.
- This episode marks the first time that Baldrick says "I have a cunning plan."
- The "play within a play" may be a tribute to Hamlet.
