Will Review: The Two Gentlemen (Season 1 Episode 3)

Will Season 1 Episode 3, “The Two Gentlemen,” is heavy-handed with the melodrama.

As Kemp says, “Where’s the comedy?” Shakespeare’s masterpieces were always a great mix of comedy and drama, and in this regard, “The Two Gentlemen” is really imbalanced.

One of the (many) plots is Will trying to figure out a pattern in the great plays. He finds it:

Will: A hero with a quest or a dream, and then an obstruction which the hero must remove to achieve his goal.

Will Season 1 Episode 3 follows this pattern like almost all stories in film, books, and on TV, but misses the Shakespearean poetry. Or it’s there, but laid on so thick as to become cheesy.

Marlowe’s tantrum whilst suffering from writer’s block is humorous if it’s satirical, but I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to be in jest. Will’s stubborn cockiness is tiresome already. He’s just starting out and he already thinks he is Shakespeare.

Not yet, pal.

Southwell’s religious ramblings are pious and preachy. Even faithful Catholic Will is making up excuses to miss mass and join in his holy revolution. Topcliffe’s rabid pursuit of Southwell brings us more torture scenes which are not getting any easier to watch.

All of this is so angsty, to the point of being exhausting.

It is lightened somewhat by the scenes with Will and Alice. What begins as a slow burn that could’ve deliciously played out through the season ends the episode with a love scene.

The first three episodes have been cluttered and rushed with some exception for Will Season 1 Episode 1, where those aspects were few and inconspicuous.

The cluttering is mostly due to Richard. I like this actor and his portrayal, but his storyline doesn’t really fit in with the convoluted political arc or the origin story of the world’s most famous playwright. It might have been a nice addition later on in the season when the audience isn’t trying to get a handle on the main plot.

In my opinion, the main plot should be the rise of William Shakespeare, but it is battling for position with the religion plotline, and with numerous subplots.

One facet that is fascinating is how aware the female characters are of the rampant sexism and misogyny around them. Both Alice and Moll react to it with irritated sarcasm. They know it is the status quo, and their lot in life, and all that, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be happy about it or let some of the men in their lives get away with bad behavior.

Moll schools Richard on his insulting choice of words.

Moll: How does it feel to be spoken down to, to be consigned to the shadows?

Alice makes Will very aware that she is not a “toy” sent from God to test him. Both Richard and Will end up apologizing to the ladies. These moments, and the scenes where Alice helps Will write a better play are the most enjoyable. All the other stuff weighs it down, though.

Upon his rejection, Will is told, “Bad luck is like the plague: contagious.” Let’s hope this cumbersome episode isn’t like that bad luck.

Stray Observations:

• “Must go wrestle with that bitch, the muse.” The tantrum that follows is laughable.
• “Your frailty is safe with me.” Moll with a zinger.
• Alice and Will work on “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” which is considered to be Shakespeare’s first play. It is a comedy about friendship and love.
• “Come on boys, inspire me!” This is so cringe-worthy. And I like Marlowe a lot, but he is too overblown in this episode.

What did you think of this episode of Will? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Will airs Mondays at 9/8c on TNT.

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