Mariam-Henry IV Part I-⭐⭐⭐

This story is the sequel to Richard II. Remember, Henry Bolingbroke the cousin of King Richard who accidentally started a rebellion and became king?

Well he's old now and known as Henry IV. 

He has an adult son named Henry, who we call Hal because that's way different than Henry, and who is squandering his uneasily acquired prince-hood away in lower class bars and inns. Sometimes for fun, he robs his friends in the middle of the night.  

Henry Percy, is the Earl of Northumberland. He's this guy from Richard II, who was a friend of Henry IV, and helped get rid of Richard II:

Henry Percy has an adult son named Harry Percy, who Shakespeare nicknamed Hotstuff, I mean Hotspur, because Henry Percy and Harry Percy would be SO confusing. All the dads have eyes on Hotspur. Henry IV is worried Hotspur is a better potential monarch than his own son Hal and Henry Percy is hopeful that his son could be a potential next monarch. 

Meanwhile Hotspur:

He's rolling around in the rushes with his wife. But this is WAY better than Hal who is rolling around with...not his wife. 

I'm convinced. Make Hotspur king.

Anyway, Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland USED to be friends with Henry IV and helped him become king but Henry IV is apparently not grateful enough. Among many things, Henry IV didn't ransom a kidnapped Edmund Mortimer, brother-in-law of Hotspur, from the Welsh so the Welsh forced him to marry the daughter of the rebel leader. 

The daughter of the rebel leader speaks only Welsh and Mortimer only English. They were forced to marry but instantly found true love. Love needs no language. 

So like, Edmund seems really happy to have been kidnapped and forced into wedlock:

but Hotspur and dad are outraged. Down with the king. 

Hal meanwhile is at the pub.

I'm not entirely certain what happens, but Hal has a wake up call and suddenly realizes Hotspur is going take the crown and he arms up, also arms up his old friend Falstaff and leads the army out to put down the new rebellion. 

Hotspur realizes he actually just wants to go home and asks his uncle to negotiate. Uncle knows he at the very least would be executed if they try to negotiate out of this. Hotspur asks bravely, "Have you considered begging?" Hehehehe

Hal kills Hotspur and long live the king. 

At the end Henry IV exclaims, "Thus ever did rebellion find rebuke" which made me laugh. A little rich of him, no? But also he's gotten old trying to cement the legitimacy of his crown so I guess he couldn't resist. Then he offs the heads of all of his old friends.

And so continues the saga of the War of the Roses. Shakespeare wrote at least 7 more plays about this 100 year long war so stay tuned.

Oh yeah, note about Falstaff. He was old and lost and the butt of a prince's pranks. He should have been funny and outrageous, enjoying life. He was a fan favorite in Shakespeare's time but I think Hollow Crown missed the mark on this one. One joke of his did land: "Do thou amend thy face, and I'll amend my life." I cackled. 

We're going chronologically straight into Henry IV Part II next.