Slings & Arrows 3.5: All Blessed Secrets
The fifth episode of Season Three of Slings & Arrows airs on Sundance tonight at 8pm. It will also be repeated throughout the week.
Use the comments section of this post to discuss the episode. Any comments I may have will be posted in the comments section as well.
You can view the archives to discuss past episodes and seasons. A discussion thread for the final episode of Season 3 will be posted next week, when it airs on Sundance.
WARNING: Comments may contain further discussion of the show, including potential spoilers. Click through only after viewing the episode. Commenters may discuss this episode as freely as they like, though Canadian readers are asked not to post spoilers for any later episodes.
By the way, did you know that I just saw Geraint Wyn Davies (Henry Breedlove from Season Two) play Richard III this past Thursday? That’s hot.
March 20th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
How tragic was S&A? I hope it doesn’t just end the whole series like that on next week’s last show. I get the tie-in with Lear being tragic and all that, but jeez – that was just – hopeless…
And how was Wynt-Davies in R III?
March 21st, 2007 at 6:30 pm
So the next time I want to threaten someone in a bar, I think I’ll pick up a beer bottle and yell “I wrote a hit musical!”
Fantastic episode. I could go on and on, but the one scene that really stood out was the one where Charles attacked Ellen while playing King Lear. It reminded me of that M.C. Escher drawing where the two hands are drawing each other and you kind of forget that you’re still looking at a two-dimensional image. When Charles broke out of his role as Lear, it seemed very real, and I forgot I was watching a television show. The directing of the scene, reactions from other actors, and of course Hutt’s performance made this the standout moment of the episode, and perhaps the series as well.
Charles descending into madness as he spouts lines from King Lear throughout the episode is a testament to the power that these 400 year old words still have to inspire and awe.
And as tragic as all of that was, that’s how funny Jerry was coming in at the end to announce his wife just had a son. It reminded me of “I can walk” at the end of Dr. Strangelove, and I don’t know why.
So now that Lear has been cancelled, where can the show go from here? Only one episode left, but what’s left to care about? Sophie and Paul? Not really. Ellen and Geoffrey? Honestly, no. Richard and Sharon and Nigel? Please. Charles? Whatever. Anna and the Bolivians? Sorry, no. Jerry? I’m sure he’s fine. Oliver? Now, there’s a thought. If the series arc is to reach a conclusion, Oliver must find a way to move on. That’s the only way any of this will make sense.
And R3 was terrific. I should really give it its own post.