Season 1 and our Hamlet finish strong with Episode 6! Ophelia (Kate) is able to pull her Hamlet (Jack) back off the ledge and return for the final performance. Meanwhile Geoffrey and Ellen have the heart to heart that’s been seven years in the making. Most importantly, the show, at last, goes on.

Where Art Thou Hamlet?

(You’ll never catch me making a “wherefore” as “where” joke, I’m sorry, I just can’t.) Rehearsal’s been canceled after Jack disappears, and for some reason known only to the producers of the show, they have no understudy. Everyone is willing to shrug this off and wait to see what happens at showtime. Everyone except for Kate, who begins a frantic search for Jack, looking for him everywhere. As well as Geoffrey and Ellen, who go on their own walkabout, recreating the night of their own fateful Hamlet performance and saying things to each other they should have said a long time ago.

But How Was The Hamlet?

Most of the show, of course, deals at last with the production we’ve been dying to see for the last five episodes. How was it?

Geoffrey explains to Jack that Hamlet is really just six soliloquies, and all the rest is “filler,” something to which both Keith and Duane take offense. But it serves as a narrative device, allowing us to speed through what is otherwise a three hour play. Spoiler alert, the kid’s good.

Know who else is good? Kate’s Ophelia. Of course she is, she’s Rachel McAdams for heaven’s sake. Ellen recognizes it, the audience recognizes it. Even Claire, our original Ophelia, is brought to tears. Whether they’re tears of sadness or anger, well, that’s for the viewer to decide. Sabrina Grdevich, who plays Claire, is a better actress than Claire.

Alas, Poor Yorick!

But what of Geoffrey’s promise to an old man? It’s been a desk ornament (full of dinner mints) for so long, and Geoffrey’s been so caught up in getting Jack through the play, that it takes Oliver himself to remind Geoffrey of something he’s forgotten. Geoffrey is sent racing back to his office to collect the gruesome prop and get it in place for its big debut.

The Rest is Silence

The end of the season means the wrapping up of some storylines, while leaving a few cliffhangers for the next one. Richard has his epiphany about the true meaning of Shakespeare, and we last see him locking Holly (the festival’s biggest sponsor!) out of his office and refusing to speak with her.

Geoffrey and Ellen meet at the river to scatter Oliver’s ashes, allowing his ghost to move on to the undiscovered country.

And that brings us to the end of Season 1 of Slings & Arrows! We hope you’ve enjoyed our rewatch and been watching (or rewatching) right along with us. How’d we do? As always, leave any comments and feedback below! What should we tackle next? We could move on to Season 2 but I’m not sure I’m allowed to say the name of the play they perform, hint hint…)

Listen Now

The Infinite Variety Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Music, and other major podcast directories.

Of course, you can listen right here, too, if you prefer!

Watch Slings & Arrows With Us!

Are you wondering where you can Slings & Arrows and follow along on our rewatch? You have a couple of options:

• All three seasons are available to stream on Acorn TV. (Some other services claim to offer the show as well, but when you click through, most of them refer you back to Acorn TV.)
• Slings & Arrows: The Complete Collection is available on DVD from Amazon.

How Are We Doing?

Both of us are quite new to this (podcasting, not Shakespeare!) and learning as we go. How are we doing? What can we do (or stop doing) to make your experience better? Are there any questions we can answer? Let us know in the comments!

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