Stream on Amazon Prime - Episode 6
When Lear arrives at Gloucester’s, the political tensions that have been building towards upheaval breach the surface, while the impending storm looms inevitably closer. This scene is structured around a slow build towards a breaking point, yet at its heart is only deterioration. The stability of the kingdom, alliances, familial bonds, and Lear’s health and sanity all begin to fall apart.
The Fool, ever shrewd to the point of seeming prescience, warns Kent of what is about to happen. He is alarmed by the changes he sees in Lear and, knowing Goneril and Regan’s true nature anticipates that he is about to be pushed into further devolution. He urgently cautions Kent that Lear’s decline will be swift and brutal, that it has already begun, and that it will not end well for those who follow. This moment is particularly poignant, as the Fool speaks to Kent not as Caius, but as himself. In that sense, it echoes the moment of recognition during 1.4, but goes beyond that brief silent exchange. This is not a moment of commiseration; rather the Fool is compelled by his very nature to warn Kent of the danger of following a doomed man. Yet he also knows that neither Kent nor himself will head that warning. They are both steadfast in their devotion to Lear and, however foolishly, will remain at his side in spite of what is to come, and indeed because of it.
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