To close Blackadder II we needed a good one. Series one was an example of how a poor finale can almost get a show cancelled but this shows an example of how to effectively guarantee another series with a good ending.
The episode is full with funny moments from end-to-end with Edmund's explanation of how you have to be a total idiot to get kidnapped (which makes Percy - in his final appearance - panic) before he and Melchett get immediately kidnapped. The two go to a dungeon in Germany owned by the evil Prince Ludwig The Indestructible, played by Hugh Laurie. Edmund is locked up in a separate room inside a steel box and forced to communicate with a torturer who threatens to chop his nuts off for being head-over-heels in love with Satan and all his little wizards.
Ludwig (or Shorty Greasy Spot-Spot) claims to have been a waitress that Edmund 'Mr Floppy' Blackadder got off with (such a disappointment for a girl) and a sheep that did the same with Lord Melchett (Baaa! Series four Melchett will use this as a catchphrase). He speaks with an accent that sounds like one a young Hugh might have used at school to make classmates laugh - much to his teacher's frustration! This is a villain who is both a master of disguise and a criminally insane madman and Laurie clearly has a lot of fun with the character.
The best bit is also the painful to watch as the two kidnapped lords figure out how to get out of their prison by smacking their guards in their nether regions."Trust me to get the hard one!" remarks Edmund. Makes me both laugh and wince every time. Also funny is Queenie's party (Has anyone seen my udders?) and how the torturer's insult to Edmund is done through charades. Blackadder gets each word in slightly longer time than he needs to which allows the audience to get there first and makes it all the better for it. His response is to call his torturer a fornicating baboon. "You are a fornicating... Err... I can't really do it in this box..."
The episode only gets a nine out of ten because the final defeat of Ludwig The Cow is not done especially well and the post-credits comes across as a cop-out ending. These are only minor issues though and forgivable given how strong the rest of the episode is.
Also, it's SO SATISFYING to finally see Edmund catch the balladeer at the end and smash his head in the fountain with his own instrument. As my summary says: "Tremendous fun; Excellent conclusion!" and that's just about all there is to say of it.
The episode is full with funny moments from end-to-end with Edmund's explanation of how you have to be a total idiot to get kidnapped (which makes Percy - in his final appearance - panic) before he and Melchett get immediately kidnapped. The two go to a dungeon in Germany owned by the evil Prince Ludwig The Indestructible, played by Hugh Laurie. Edmund is locked up in a separate room inside a steel box and forced to communicate with a torturer who threatens to chop his nuts off for being head-over-heels in love with Satan and all his little wizards.
Ludwig (or Shorty Greasy Spot-Spot) claims to have been a waitress that Edmund 'Mr Floppy' Blackadder got off with (such a disappointment for a girl) and a sheep that did the same with Lord Melchett (Baaa! Series four Melchett will use this as a catchphrase). He speaks with an accent that sounds like one a young Hugh might have used at school to make classmates laugh - much to his teacher's frustration! This is a villain who is both a master of disguise and a criminally insane madman and Laurie clearly has a lot of fun with the character.
The best bit is also the painful to watch as the two kidnapped lords figure out how to get out of their prison by smacking their guards in their nether regions."Trust me to get the hard one!" remarks Edmund. Makes me both laugh and wince every time. Also funny is Queenie's party (Has anyone seen my udders?) and how the torturer's insult to Edmund is done through charades. Blackadder gets each word in slightly longer time than he needs to which allows the audience to get there first and makes it all the better for it. His response is to call his torturer a fornicating baboon. "You are a fornicating... Err... I can't really do it in this box..."
The episode only gets a nine out of ten because the final defeat of Ludwig The Cow is not done especially well and the post-credits comes across as a cop-out ending. These are only minor issues though and forgivable given how strong the rest of the episode is.
Also, it's SO SATISFYING to finally see Edmund catch the balladeer at the end and smash his head in the fountain with his own instrument. As my summary says: "Tremendous fun; Excellent conclusion!" and that's just about all there is to say of it.