S01.E05: Nature Hath Framed Strange Fellows in her Time

[Enero]

Quote

When Benvolio finds himself in serious trouble, he surprisingly turns to Rosaline for help. Meanwhile, Princess Isabella travels to Venice to try and make peace with the Doge, but quickly discovers he has other intentions.

 

[Enero]

Smart move by Isabella to put off the Doge in Venice, but she was more naive than I thought and was in way over her head in there. She was lucky to find an ally and work it to her advantage. Her response to the Lady in Waiting confirms IMO that she's into women. 

Really enjoyed the Benvolio/Rosalind scenes. They're relationship has begun to take the first steps towards a romance.  The refusing to leave each other, protecting each other, risking it all for each other and the trust and admitted friendship between them is setting up a great foundation for love. Also, Rosalind took a peek at naked Benvolio.  Loved it.  I would've done the same. ?? Their time on the run was too short. 

Paris looking for Benvolio for the Prince was a WTF moment. Why would the Prince hand such a task over to a Count who I believe is not even from Verona? This guy is not even apart of the Court. That seemed more like plot than a natural progression of the story. Also, the Prince is an ass. If he knew Rosalind at all he would know she would never lie about something like murder to save a Montague of all people. Yet he's ignoring her testimony, determined to make Benvolio pay for what I believe are personal reasons. What a horrible king. 

Only two more episodes left, and I fear this is going to end on an unsatisfactory note with everything in limbo. 

Edited July 16, 2017 by Enero

[Kuther2000]

7 hours ago, doram said:

Am I misremembering or was Paris related to Prince Escalus in the play?

Count Paris was a kinsman to the Prince.

[legaleagle53]

It also explains why Lady Capulet pushed so hard for Juliet to marry Count Paris and why she hates it that Juliet married Romeo instead.  She considers that the height of betrayal because it denied her the membership in the royal family and the access to their power that she covets.

[jhlipton]

Dun dun DUN!!!!!  Great ending.

Princess Isabella's story-line was a bit PLOT!!!! driven, but fun.  But will the world believe that she never surrendered if the Doge says she did?  A woman's "virtue" (virginity) was so easily spoiled, and would cause the ruination of any woman whose "virtue" was questioned.

[legaleagle53]

3 minutes ago, jhlipton said:

Dun dun DUN!!!!!  Great ending.

Princess Isabella's story-line was a bit PLOT!!!! driven, but fun.  But will the world believe that she never surrendered if the Doge says she did?  A woman's "virtue" (virginity) was so easily spoiled, and would cause the ruination of any woman whose "virtue" was questioned.

Why would the Doge do that when Isabella just cemented the political alliance between Venice and Verona and appeased his wrath over his brother's murder by making him think that Verona had actually done the Doge a favor by saving him the trouble of executing his brother for treason?  The Doge is a pig for sure, but he's not a stupid pig.

[jhlipton]

Good point -- thanks.

I wonder how many Ambassador's wives insist on accompanying their husbands to Verona?  LOL 

[wanderingstar]

Enjoyed Isabella in this one. She was clever in dodging the Doge. 

Escalus is pretty ineffectual. I'd much rather see Isabella on the throne of Verona.

Rosaline and Benvolio are such fun together. It makes me even more sad that we won't get to see their relationship develop.

[legaleagle53]

53 minutes ago, Gillian Rosh said:

Enjoyed Isabella in this one. She was clever in dodging the Doge. 

Escalus is pretty ineffectual. I'd much rather see Isabella on the throne of Verona.

Rosaline and Benvolio are such fun together. It makes me even more sad that we won't get to see their relationship develop.

I'd like for Isabella to meet up with Lady Montague and tell her how Lady Montague's brilliant advice on how to handle the Doge worked out. Remember, it was Lady Montague who told Isabella that she wouldn't have to submit to the Doge's advances if she didn't want to -- and Isabella came that close to getting raped because of it (and yes, I think the Doge would have raped her if things had gotten any more out of hand!).

Edited July 17, 2017 by legaleagle53

[jhlipton]

13 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

Escalus is pretty ineffectual. I'd much rather see Isabella on the throne of Verona.

Several countries and city-states had female rulers such as Isabella of Castile and Eleanor of Aquitaine, so there is some precedence.  Whether Verona would accept a female ruler is open to question.  Fun thought: Isabella becomes Queen of Verona, which exceeds Venice in might, and summons the Doge for "meeting"....

[Enero]

22 hours ago, doram said:

Thanks!
So that'll be a reason why Paris was left in charge by the Prince. 

Ok. This makes sense. But the show did a poor job of pointing this out. It's been many years since I read Romeo and Juliet, not a Shakespeare fan and especially not of the tale of R&J, but I digress. LOL. I'm very fuzzy on the details once the story starts to branch out to characters other than Romeo/Juliet, the Friar etc. 

The whole situation was just strange being as the last we saw Count Paris he was in the basement of house Capulet conspiring with Lady Capulet and the next thing we know he's well outside the wall of Verona with an army at his command hunting down Benvolio. Speaking of the hunt for Benvolio, I find it over the top and total plot that they would go through such trouble to find him. Yes it was awful that someone was killed, but would they really put that much manpower in finding the killer of a guy who was a distant Capulet? Furthermore, with Benovolio's money I'd think they'd believe he'd never be found once he made it out of Verona. With his money, he could go into hiding anywhere. 

Also, I'd think the Prince would need all the manpower he could muster in Verona to keep order in the streets. Unless Count Paris is using his own men to hunt down Benvolio, but that's still a bit of a stretch considering enough time had not passed for him to go home home or even sent a messenger then gather a posse for the hunt. 

[LydiaMoon1]

Yes, the Doge is a pig, but did enjoy that peek into life in Venice.  It was very interesting.  It seems the different city-states have very different personalities.  Verona is a powder keg, Venice is a whorehouse, Milan is a cheater, and, if Count Paris is any indication, Manchua is a treacherous schemer.  I get so much enjoyment from discovering the many layers present in this show.  It's a shame that ABC won't let me continue.

BV and Rosaline were lovely together. I enjoy them.

Isabella handled herself well in Venice.  She made a few missteps, but she managed to navigate her way through it (with the help of a friend).  Good job!

Oh Paris.  I'm not surprised, but that doesn't mean that I'm not disappointed in you.

Oh Friar.  You're a disappointment too.  Shame on you!

The old nurse's reactions were cracking me up.  She was having a rough day.

Lady Capulet needs a hobby other than trying to find someone to blame for Juliet's death.  I realize she has questions, but the first one she needs to ask is why she was clueless that Juliet was running around with Romeo in the first place.

Great episode.

Edited July 17, 2017 by LydiaMoon1

[Scarlett45]

Did they really air this episode at 1am on Sunday?!! That's when Tony directv said it was recorded....SMH they don't want it to do well. 

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Did they really air this episode at 1am on Sunday?!! That's when Tony directv said it was recorded....SMH they don't want it to do well. 

That might have been a local quirk.  It aired at 10 Eastern on Saturday. 

[legaleagle53]

12 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Several countries and city-states had female rulers such as Isabella of Castile and Eleanor of Aquitaine, so there is some precedence.  Whether Verona would accept a female ruler is open to question.  Fun thought: Isabella becomes Queen of Verona, which exceeds Venice in might, and summons the Doge for "meeting"....

To do what, exactly, deflower HIM?  First of all, that ship sailed long ago, and second, she can't stand the sight of the pig.

[legaleagle53]

6 hours ago, LydiaMoon1 said:

Lady Capulet needs a hobby other than trying to find someone to blame for Juliet's death.  I realize she has questions, but the first one she needs to ask is why she was clueless that Juliet was running around with Romeo in the first place.

She was clueless about that for the same reason everyone else was.  Only the friar, Juliet's nurse, Benvolio, and Rosaline knew that Romeo and Juliet were involved with each other and were actually married to each other at the time of their deaths -- and they had all been sworn to secrecy.

[jhlipton]

13 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

To do what, exactly, deflower HIM?  First of all, that ship sailed long ago, and second, she can't stand the sight of the pig.

There are other ways to sexually humiliate a man... If she wanted revenge, that is.  Just an odd thought I had; don't read too much into it.

[thuganomics85]

No surprise that the Doge truly was the lecherous dick that they hyped him up to be.  Glad Isabella was able to outmaneuver her way out of it without having to sleep with him, although she sure was lucky that the Lady in Waiting (Helena?) ended up being extremely loyal and helpful, because I doubt she would have been able to do it on her own.  Still, she shown enough smarts and maneuvering that I can buy her possibly growing up to become a good ruler, which is something I still can't say Escalus, who is impressing me less and less each episode.

Rosaline and Benvolio were fun and the actors continue to be great together.  Too bad it will likely never reach it's full potential, since this show is likely done for after two episodes.

With the exception of Friar Lawrence, Escalus and Paris showing up for about a scene each, everyone else pretty much got the night off!  It was pretty much all Rosaline, Benvolio, and Isabella, although that isn't a bad thing.

[Enero]

4 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

With the exception of Friar Lawrence, Escalus and Paris showing up for about a scene each, everyone else pretty much got the night off!  It was pretty much all Rosaline, Benvolio, and Isabella, although that isn't a bad thing.

Honestly I think this is one reason why the episode worked so well. In previous episodes, it sometimes felt like they were trying to explore too many stories at once which caused the episodes to come off a little disjointed. This episode was IMHO one of the best of the season because of its focus on just the two storylines. 

[jhlipton]

Something I just realized -- Lady Capulet (and/or Paris) payed someone to call LC's daughter a harlot.  LC is so far gone on keeping the feud alive that she would slander her own daughter!