Line #181 WMG/Blackadder


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	[[folder:First series]]
4
5	[[WMG: Prince Edmund unknowingly fathered a child after the events of the first episode]]
6
7	This is just a matter of numbers, and thinking about how Lord Edmund Blackadder's grandfather could have been born. If Blackadder II is set in the 1560s when Lord Blackadder is about thirty, and taking into account the apparent age of his uncle Lord Whiteadder, it seems apparent that his grandfather would probably have had to have been born in the 1480s.
8	* So, here's the theory: upon hearing the three witches (who've mistaken him for Henry Tudor) proclaim that he will one day be king, Prince Edmund rides away triumphantly and decides to celebrate ... by getting incredibly drunk and having sex with a woman -- probably a prostitute or a peasant (or even a peasant prostitute) -- and only identifies himself by his new ''nom de guerre'' "The Black Adder". Nine months later this woman gives birth to a boy, and she gives him the surname "Blackadder".
9	* Twelve or thirteen years later when the royal family is wiped out and Henry Tudor re-emerges to take the throne, she realises that her son is the bastard son of the late Prince Edmund -- perhaps she even meets the original Baldrick, who tells her about working for the Black Adder, and pieces it together from there. In order to hush this up, Henry VII gives the boy a lordship and has him raised at court, and thus he becomes the first Lord Blackadder. He ends up marrying and having several children (at least three sons -- Lord Edmund's father, Uncle Osric and Lord Whiteadder), and later grandchildren (including, of course, Lord Edmund).
10	* Alternatively, Henry VII made Edmund's illegtimate son a lord as a way of indirectly repaying Edmund for saving his life at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Granted, he did so unknowingly and for selfish reasons, but to Henry Tudor it might have seemed a step up from the rest of his family. This would also mean that Baldrick was right and Henry would reward them, albeit not in a way they would live to see -- he's allowing the Black Adder name to live on while wiping everything else of Richard IV's reign from the records.
11
12	[[WMG: King Richard suspects, but cannot prove, that Edmund is the result of the Queen's infidelity.]]
13
14	Hence why he treats him so badly.
15
16	[[WMG: King Richard IV conquered Scotland, or at least was accepted by the Scots as their overlord.]]
17
18	Hence why one of his sons is the Duke of Edinburgh, and why Lord [=McAngus=] is one of his loyal followers. Such a warlike leader could well have conquered the Lowlands and the Central Belt at the very least, and then accepted the King of Scotland's fealty before going on a Crusade -- with [=McAngus=] being one of many Scots to serve under him, as such a warlike people would gladly put aside their ancestral dislike of the English in order to fight for a leader like Richard. After the Crusade, the Scots would help him in his involvement in European power politics, as his international treachery (getting his own men to dress up as enemy soldiers in order to attack his allies, etc) would provide them with more opportunities for blood, pillage and rumpy-pumpy.
19	* After Henry Tudor assumed the throne following the poisoning of the entire House of York, he had enough problems establishing his rule over England and so relinquished his predecessor's Scottish conquests before airbrushing said predecessor from the history books. For their part, the next generation of Scots were only too happy to forget about the time they were ruled by the English.
20
21	[[WMG: As Duke of York, Richard IV had initially relinquished his claim to the throne.]]
22
23	This is to address the oddity of Richard III having the throne despite one of his older brother's sons still being alive. Richard had relinquished it at first so he could go off fighting in wars whenever he liked. He only took the claim back when it was clear Richard III would not have heirs, allowing Richard III to finish his reign before asserting his rights as the rightful heir. (Precedent: Queen Anne allowed her brother in law William III of William and Mary fame to finish his reign before claiming the throne, despite him being further down the line and Mary the one who rightfully inherited the throne, meaning the throne should have gone to Anne when Mary died, William be damned.)
24	* Alternately, Edward V died young and without issue. Richard Duke of York was indeed crowned Richard III, but was so young that he required a regent, his uncle Richard of Gloucester. As time passed and Richard Duke of York showed more interest in warfare than statecraft, Richard of Gloucester acquired more power, and eventually people just started regarding him as the true Richard III, including himself and the rightful king, Richard Duke of York. He only started ruling when Richard III died. And because everyone forgot that the Duke of York had been crowned already, he was technically crowned twice.
25	* Come to think of it, Richard IV's own heir Henry was the one who crowned him, and it's entirely likely he grew up believing Richard III was the rightful King.
26	* Wow, this got complicated. No wonder Henry Tudor retconned it.
27
28	[[WMG: Lord Chiswick ("FRESH HORSES!!") is actually Prince Edward, Richard IV's brother.]]
29
30	This is an old fan theory. Edward is only seen briefly in one scene as a child, and is otherwise never mentioned again. Chiswick is a title, not his actual name. Chiswick has shaggy hair and beard, as Richard does. Chiswick is also often seen with Richard, and seems very loyal to him.
31	* Chiswick could be an illegitimate son of Edward IV, and therefore Richard IV's half-brother who has no claim to the throne due to his bastardy, and is thus loyal to the King.
32
33	[[WMG: Baldrick and Percy were trying to murder Prince Edmund.]]
34
35	Why did they lay on an extra seventh goblet in "The Black Seal"? They couldn't have known that Edmund was a captive of the Black Seal.
36
37	[[WMG: After being tortured, Edmund was relieved of all pain and healed by his mother's witchcraft.]]
38
39	But he died anyway from the poison -- and as she'd already been poisoned by that point, she couldn't save him.
40
41	[[WMG: The Witches Three cursed Edmund's line]]
42	They were not pleased with his rudeness towards them, and placed a spell on him so that foulness would follow him and his heirs for as long as his line persisted.
43
44	This is why every Blackadder has a Baldrick.
45
46	[[WMG: [=McAngus=] was told by the King to claim Edmund's lands.]]
47	Seeing as Edmund is the unfavorite Richard IV wanted to weaken his position in court even more while also rewarding one of his most loyal followers. Note how Dougal at first just asked for Selkirk and Roxburgh and only claimed Peebles when Blackadder mentioned that was all he would have left.
48
49	[[WMG:The Witchsmeller Pursuivant is a witch]]
50	Note that King Richard's illness, thought to be a result of witchcraft, stops after the Witchsmeller is burnt. Not to mention his rather demonic appearance the first time we see him, and the fact that the end credits refer to him as being the second-witchiest character in the episode.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Second series]]
54
55	[[WMG: Nursie views Elizabeth like a daughter.]]
56
57	The way she interacts with her-telling child stories like fond old memories, giving her cutie terms of estrangements, not to mention Nursie knew Elizabeth from babyhood and watched her grow up, taking care of her as a nurse, I'm not quite sure if Elizabeth also viewed Nursie as a mom. But I do think she in the very least keeps her close to her heart-she sits next to her, never threatened to execute her(despite Elizabeth not even viewing execution as being a bad thing) and she was furious when she thought Blackadder killed her and wanted to execute him, mind you like I said Elizabeth views executions as a fun thing-most of the time it's a "I want to execute you~" or in the very least a minor thing, but this time she was honest to God mad.
58	** Given that Elizabeth's real mother was beheaded and that she then had a succession of four stepmothers, it's probably not surprising that she came to see her childhood nurse as a mother figure and wanted her alive more than anyone else.
59	** In real life Elizabeth was very close to her governess Kat Ashley, was distressed when Ashley was imprisoned, and absolutely devastated when Ashley died. Make of that what you will.
60
61	[[WMG: Queen Elizabeth had at least two illegitimate children with Lord Edmund]]
62
63	This explains why the Blackadder line continues after Edmund dies unmarried- he's already fathered a child, and presumably sent him away to be raised by other people. We know he had to have been Blackadder III's ancestor since Ebenezer Blackadder saw them both as his ancestor.
64
65	The other child (possibly female) eventually led to Lady Elizabeth in Blackadder Back and Forth, who fits the crown perfectly. Elizabeth kept both children secret to preserve her supposed virginity. Queenie certainly doesn't seem the type to care about (or even remember) her offspring...
66
67	[[WMG: The closing theme songs are Lord Blackadder's own thoughts about the events.]]
68
69	And yes, this is obvious, but not officially confirmed yet that I know of. Considering how frequently the songs mock him, that makes it all rather sad.
70
71	[[WMG: Percy's lineage ended with him.]]
72
73	He actually did discover how to turn one element into another. Unfortunately, that "green" was [[GreenRocks radioactive]] and it sterilized him.
74
75	[[WMG: Simon Partridge is Ludwig]]
76
77	They are played by the same actor. Ludwig may have been in England as he was making plans for "Chains", and had integrated himself into court.
78
79	[[WMG:The stinger in the last episode of ''Blackadder II'', "Chains", is not real]]
80
81	But, instead, is all a DyingDream of Prince Ludwig's after Edmund impales him with a dagger. It's basically his life long wish fulfillment. Not only does he accomplish his goal of murdering the Queen and those closest to her in the court, but he has also created one of his best, and favorite, disguises.
82	* Man, I hope so.
83	** I always stop watching when the credits roll, as it is just so needlessly depressing. And not much of a joke.
84
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Third series]]
88
89	[[WMG: The episodes are aired out of order; "Ink and Incapability" is the real finale.]]
90
91	As everyone knows, Blackadder's timeline/continuity leaves a lot to be desired. So there's no reason why they can't air the episodes out of order. In the beginning of "Ink and Incapability" (the second episode of the third series), George has just woken up from a nightmare involving being mistreated and then shot dead (implying that "Duel and Duality" was AllJustADream). At the end of the episode, Blackadder's novel has been destroyed and he's still just a butler who looks incredibly depressed. This makes his descendants' non-noble social status both ''Blackadder's Christmas Carol'' and ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' more plausible.
92	* It is also of note that Pitt the Younger becomes Prime Minister in episode one and Pitt the Elder is alluded to as being the Prime Minister in a later episodes (he's referred to as an "old fart"), which is the wrong way round.
93
94	[[WMG:The Third Blackadder was especially cruel to Baldrick because he blamed the Baldricks for his family's fall from grace]]
95
96	At some point between the second and third series, the Blackadder dynasty lost its noble status and had to go to work as domestic servants, although Blackadder III is aware of his family's former status. This fall was due to a Baldrick agreeing to become Charles I's executioner and then persuading his Blackadder that there was money in it, so that the previously Royalist Blackadder performed the execution himself. Come the Restoration, the Blackadders were attainted as regicides. But for Baldrick's intervention, they would probably have been rewarded for their loyalty with promotion to a higher noble status.
97
98	[[WMG: Blackadder really IS the Scarlet Pimpernel]]
99
100	After all, only the REAL Scarlet Pimpernel would criticize himself so thoroughly to throw everyone off the trail! And, as he himself pointed out, it couldn't have been Topper and Smedley because they were both stupid enough to fall for the suicide pill trick.
101
102	[[WMG: The Duke of Wellington knew he was shooting the real Prince George]]
103
104	The Duke was suspicious from the off that "Prince George" (Blackadder) seemed to be a reasonable and intelligent man, while "Blackadder" (the real Prince George) was clearly an incompetent dolt, despite having heard that the opposite was true. However, since he lacked any real proof that anything was going on and the "Prince" actually made a good suggestion when he advised that Nelson attack at Trafalgar, he decided not to say anything. After the actual Prince blew the lid on the whole thing, however, the Duke realised just how disastrous it would be for such an idiotic fop to be Britain's future king, and that a man of Blackadder's intelligence and seeming bravery (fighting the duel on his master's behalf) would be a far more worthy monarch. He therefore took the opportunity to eliminate the actual Prince and set up Blackadder as the incumbent Prince Regent and the future King George IV.
105
106	[[WMG: After assuming George's identity, Blackadder ended up BecomingTheMask.]]
107
108	After assuming the role of the Prince Regent, Blackadder began to indulge in everything he couldn't get as a lowly butler -- fine wines, good food, opium, sexy girls, etc. Since he now had everything he wanted in his grasp, he became less and less inclined to use his cunning and wound up being the BrilliantButLazy AdiposeRex that history remembers "George IV" as.
109
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Fourth series]]
113
114	[[WMG: Captain Blackadder is secretly a badass.]]
115
116	His disobedience of orders is not cowardice but is part of a cunning plan. By not risking his life, Captain Blackadder was, in fact, looking out for the good of the company under his command. Edmund would have no second thoughts about doing his duty if it weren't for the fact that if he were killed George would be promoted to company commander and become '''Captain''' Colthurst St Barleigh who would likely lead the men to disaster. Alternatively, Darling would be transferred to the front as his replacement and Darling, also lacking in battlefield sense, would implement orders from HQ without questioning them. By staying alive by any means possible, Edmund is helping the men under his command to stay alive.
117
118	[[WMG: Captain Darling fought at the front line before the start of the series.]]
119
120	His facial twitch could be caused by a trauma caused earlier in the war. Being of the same rank as Blackadder, he could have commanded a company on the front line but something terrible happened (injured in an enemy attack, survived going over the top, etc) leaving him traumatised and getting transferred to being a [[PostInjuryDeskJob pencil-pusher for the General]]. Of course, this doesn't save him in the end though...
121	* Perhaps he once saved Melchett's life as Blackadder did for Haig. Of course, he's well aware that Melchett's insanity will probably get him killed sooner or later, hence his attempt to transfer to the Women's Auxiliary Balloon Corps.
122	* It does look like he's got a couple of medals. Unlike in the U.S. Military, medals and ribbons aren't handed out for every little thing, so that's pretty plausible.
123	** I'd second that. Darling has a Military Cross, which is awarded for acts of exemplary gallantry. That puts an interesting question mark on George's Military Cross and Croix de Guerre, but Darling being a former frontline commander makes sense to me.
124	** The medals don't prove anything. Staff officers would receive medals with more regularity than front line troops (I recommend reading ''Tommy'' by Richard Holmes as he covers this). George's MC was probably won fairly. Foreign medals were issued amongst the Entente forces on a quota basis and units were able to put forward troops without citation. That said, it's not inconceivable that Darling was a combatant at some point, although Tim [=McInnerny=] [[WordOfGod has stated]] that his twitch was caused by a life time of having the piss taken out of him because of his surname.
125
126	[[WMG: Building on that last one, Captain Blackadder and Captain Darling were once good friends]]
127
128	Prior to the outbreak of the war they both enjoyed cushy jobs as junior officers. However, war broke out and the two, quickly horrified by the needless slaughter they witnessed on the Western Front, found themselves being forced to compete for the "honour" of commanding a front-line infantry company. Both men quickly resorted to trying to ensure that the other one got the infantry assignment and became enemies as a result. Ultimately, Darling succeeded in leaving the front by become a staff officer, which is what made a jealous Blackadder (who ended up with the infantry assignment by default) come to ''really'' hate him. When Darling gets sent back to the front in the final episode, they (sort-of) reconcile in the face of their impending deaths.
129	* Darling is implied to have been a civilian before the war by stating that he'd like to go back to work for Pratt and Sons, whereas Blackadder is a career soldier who took part in colonial wars.
130	** On the other hand, Darling's medal ribbons include the Military Cross (see above) and the Queen's South Africa Medal, which suggests that he's a Boer War veteran who was at some point decorated for bravery. He could've left the Army at some point after the Boer War and become a reservist, and as such was recalled to the Army in 1914.
131
132	[[WMG: At some point before "Goodbyee", Private S. Baldrick had the chance to shoot a German messenger, but let him get away.]]
133	[[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler I think you know who he turned out to be...]]
134
135	[[WMG: General Melchett is part sheep]]
136	Now before you decide this is insane, remember that each of the characters is descended directly from previous incarnations. Lord Melchett in ''Blackadder II'' was a member of the clergy and presumably took vows of chastity. Also the only thing Melchett was ever sexually involved with was a sheep (although actually prince Ludwig in disguise). Presuming this was not a once-in-a-lifetime event, and he had had (or went on to have) sex with other sheep.
137	* Secondly General Melchett say's "Baaaah" quite often for no determinable reason.
138	* Elizabeth I really did not like Catholics (both in the series and in real life) so Melchett, as one of her most trusted advisers, must be a Protestant clergyman and so free to take a wife.
139	* But how does this account for the Roman General Melchett who also says "Baaaah" (or rather, [[CanisLatinicus "Baaaah-us"]])?
140
141	[[WMG:George used to attend the school in [[Series/DoctorWho Family of Blood]].]]
142
143	"War is coming. In foreign fields, war of the whole wide world, with all your boys falling down in the mud. Do you think they will thank the man who taught them it was glorious?"
144
145	[[WMG: Bob Parkhurst never actually got revealed publicly as a woman.]]
146
147	The only reason she appeared out of disguise in "Private Plane" was to shag Lord Flashheart, who's irresitable to all women. Even those who are pretending to be men.
148	* Flashheart, for his part, spoke of her as female before this because he'd seen through her PaperThinDisguise so thoroughly and immediately that he didn't realise it was there at all.
149	** The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps was founded in 1917. Possibly, in between "Major Star" and "Private Plane", Bob learned of the WAAC's formation, confessed her true sex to someone in authority and was quickly transferred to the WAAC, hence her wearing a female uniform and being spoken of as a woman on the latter episode.
150
151	[[WMG: Darling is descended from Percy and knows this.]]
152
153	He's making Lord Blackadder's descendant pay for every humiliation suffered by Lord Percy.
154
155	[[WMG: Everyone survived going over the top at the end.]]
156
157	The season end mentions that that episode is set in 1916, HOWEVER the Charlie Chaplin episode states at the end that the U.S. has just entered the war, an event that didn't happen until 1917 therefore the Charlie Chaplin episode happened after and they all survived going over the top.
158	* Same year does not equate to same month.
159	* Actually, the final episode of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' takes place in 1917. Darling specifically mentions the year when they think there's a ceasefire.
160	* "Everyone survived going over the top"? This could be the most unlikely theory on this wiki.
161	** They survived of course! Just as they went over the top, Baldrick shouts his cunning plan, which is actually a real doozy, very similar to the one they used to escape being burned at the stake in "Witchsmeller Pursuivant" back in the first series. The whole gang escapes, giving Melchett a bloody nose on their way out. Blackadder reasons that the war was pointless, and stupid, and has since been operating behind the wings to make sure world war 3 never occurs.
162	** Why would he let World War 2 happen?
163	*** I think you're right about one thing. It's damn near a law of comedy that states that Baldrick's plan would have actually worked in that instance.
164	** Here's one possible way they survived -- they stripped off their clothes and claimed to be escaped German prisoners. George, given his German uncle, speaks the language like a native, and looks perfectly like an incompetent aristocratic officer. Blackadder and Darling used ObfuscatingStupidity and passed off any problems they had with the language as shell shock, and the same was assumed of Baldrick. Once they were taken back to the German trenches, they took the Germans hostage and radioed back to the British.
165	** [[BigDamnHeroes They were rescued by]] [[ChekhovsArmy the Royal Women's Auxiliary Balloon Corps]].
166	* Well, everyone involved did go on to produce offspring in Blackadder Back and Forth (presumably legitimate, given they have the same last name) which suggests they may have survived. Maybe Darling did get to marry Doris after all...
167	* Perhaps a German machine gunner fired low and caught them in the legs. Thus, they were invalidated back to England, with the war ending before they could be sent back to their deaths.
168
169	[[WMG: Baldrick survived going over the top.]]
170
171	He had the bullet with his name on it, so all of the others missed.
172
173	[[WMG: The Blackadder line lives on through Captain Blackadder and Nurse Mary.]]
174
175	[[HospitalHottie Nurse Mary]] as a result of her torrid affair with Edmund, falls pregnant shortly after. Presumably, he and Darling do manage to save her from the firing squad, but she refuses to see him because of what he put her through and he respects her wishes and leaves her be, neither one of them realizing she is pregnant until well after his (probable) death. She later gives birth to a son and not wanting him to be raised with the stigma of being a bastard, pretends to have been (discreetly) married to Edmund and gives him the surname "Blackadder", who then goes on to keep the family line going throughout the centuries, which accounts for why there are Blackadders well into the future despite the events of ''Series/BlackadderGoesForth''.
176
177	[[/folder]]
178
179	[[folder:Relating to the Back & Forth special]]
180
181	[[WMG: The events of "Blackadder Back And Forth" did irreversible damage to the timeline of the Blackadder universe.]]
182
183	Mentions of chocolate in the late fifteenth century and a rollercoaster in the eighteenth are just the tip of the iceberg.
184
185	[[WMG: The first series is based on a TakeThat written by Creator/WilliamShakespeare after his encounter with the time-travelling Blackadder.]]
186
187	''The Black Adder'' was in fact a play he wrote with a view to discrediting the ancestors of Lord Blackadder, as revenge for Blackadder punching him in the face during ''Back and Forth'' (he assumed, as Elizabeth I did, that the time-travelling Lord Blackadder and the Elizabethan one -- the latter of whom doesn't seem to have liked Shakespeare's plays in any case -- were the same person). There's even a clue in the credits for the first series, which lists Shakespeare as having provided "additional dialogue"!
188
189	[[WMG: Blackadder went back to the 1490s and helped Prince Edmund overthrow the King and claim the throne.]]
190
191	And this is how he became King Edmund III at the end of Back and Forth.
192
193	[[WMG: Alternatively, he went back to the Elizabethan age and helped ''that'' Blackadder claim the throne.]]
194
195	Specifically, he went back to the time of "Chains", bumped off Prince Ludwig, and arranged for Elizabethan Edmund to marry Elizabeth I. They had a son, thus founding the Royal House of Blackadder, still reigning in 1999.
196	** Elizabeth I did hint at having a crush on Blackadder several times. If he was able to bring her more Polo mints (as supplied by his time-travelling descendant), she'd be all over him.
197
198	[[WMG: Blackadder's guests in "Back and Forth" used the time machine later that evening.]]
199
200	They could have travelled back in time and become what we know as their ancestors.
201
202	[[WMG: Blackadder's time travelling changed the ending of the third series.]]
203
204	Originally, Blackadder was killed in the duel and the Blackadder line continued through an illegitimate son, hence Captain Blackadder's reduced fortunes. The ending we saw was the revised timeline created by the ''Back and Forth'' Blackadder, who saw to it that his ancestor survived and became King, setting the scene for his own place on the throne. Edmund-pretending-to-be-the-prince eventually sent for said illegitimate son, not trusting anyone but a Blackadder as his heir and passing the boy off as his son from the rose bush. ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' still happened as we saw, but Captain Blackadder got more respect for being related to the Royal Family.
205
206	[[WMG: ''Blackadder: Back and Forth'' is a prequel to ''Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death.'']]
207
208	The Blackadder in ''Back and Forth'' had a son with Maid Marian. That son later used his father's time machine to go on adventures, during which he met a Time Lady. He married the Time Lady, and they had a son, who looked like a long-haired Blackadder when he grew up. This Blackadder ended up with his own TARDIS. On one of his adventures, he encountered Cybermen who had recently encountered the Eighth Doctor. The Cybermen altered this Blackadder's memories with an infostamp and made him believe that he was The Doctor, just like what happened to Jackson Lake in "The Next Doctor". When he looked in a mirror, he noticed how different he looked from the Eighth Doctor and concluded that he must have regenerated into his ninth incarnation. He met and fell in love with his companion Emma and encountered The Master, who had somehow gotten a new body since the 1996 ''Doctor Who'' TV movie. The Blackadder who believed that he was The Doctor ended up regenerating a few times until he became a woman. While he believed that this was his thirteenth incarnation (since he believed that he was The Doctor), it was actually his fifth incarnation. He went off with The Master but later discovered, possibly with the help of the real Doctor, that his memories had been altered. Blackadder regenerated into a man once again and returned to Emma to marry her, while The Master later went on to become Professor Yana after The Last Great Time War.
209
210	[[/folder]]
211
212	[[folder:Cross-series]]
213
214	[[WMG: Lord Flashheart is descended from Mad Gerald.]]
215
216	They are both played by Creator/RikMayall, after all. Most likely, after Philip of Burgundy was killed, a female relation took pity on poor Gerald (who'd only been locked up due to his being another of Philip's rivals) and nursed him back to health and a modicum of sanity ... and then married him in order to keep the family line going. The combination of Burgundy's swashbuckling nature and Gerald's looks and stamina (what else could you call the ability to cackle for months at a time?) gave rise to the Flashheart bloodline. Since Philip's family were nobility, the Flashhearts ended up with a peerage.
217
218	[[WMG: Mad Prince Ludwig is an ancestor of Prince George.]]
219
220	Historical fact: King George I and his descendants were German, of the House of Hanover, to be specific. Ludwig is implied to be German. It is possible that he or one of his descendants married into what would be known as the House of Hanover.
221	This is strengthened by Hugh Laurie playing both characters, and Blackadder has a precedent for Identical Grandson.
222	* George seems to have inherited a bit of Ludwig's indestructibility. [[spoiler: After all, he was seemingly fine after his gunshot wound, until he realized that a normal man [[NormallyIWouldBeDeadNow should be dead]] or at least bleeding out.]]
223	* And Lieutenant George has a German relative, Uncle Hermann!
224
225	[[WMG: Amy in "Amy and Amiability" and Nurse Mary in "General Hospital" are descended from Elizabeth I]]
226
227	History shows that the real Elizabeth I was a pretty tough cookie underneath the fluffy, girly exterior, and even when using this persona she displays a somewhat casual attitude towards violence. Amy and Mary have inherited these traits (the latter even refers to her "fluffy bunny act" which she puts on for the soldiers in her care). This would eventually lead to Lady Elizabeth of ''Back and Forth''.
228
229	[[WMG: Ebenezer Blackadder is Captain Blackadder's father.]]
230
231	''Blackadder's Christmas Carol'' must take place between 1840 and 1861, because Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are married. ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' ends in 1917, and cannot start any earlier than 1914. Captain Blackadder looks to be in his mid-thirties, meaning he was probably born in the 1880s. We know from the visions that Ebenezer will have descendants, and if he becomes a big meanie in the aftermath of being visited by the Spirit of Christmas, he will likely amass a fortune to make up for the one he loses out on when he insults Queen Victoria; as for having children, money is a great aphrodisiac so he'll eventually get married, and then have a son who is named after the family's Elizabethan and Regency ancestors. As for why Captain Edmund is more sympathetic than the others, it may be a side-effect of his old man not being used to being a meanie.
232
233	[[WMG: The Blackadder lineage is actually descended from the original Baldrick.]]
234
235	In "The Queen of Spain's Beard", it is established that Blackadder is a virgin, and the episode in which he dies follows not long after. However, Baldrick sleeps with the Spanish Infanta while pretending to be Blackadder. If she had a child as a result of this encounter, it would be presumed to be Edmund's. Also note that the later Blackadders display much of the cunning that was missing from the original, and found in the original Baldrick.
236	* He did have sex with an old hag sometime after "The Queen of Spain's Beard". That explains all the future Baldricks.
237	* I'm pretty sure that in the ending credits song of "Head" in Series 2, there was a line "His great grandfather was a king. Although for only thirty seconds."
238	* "The Queen of Spain's Beard" is set in 1492, Edmund dies in 1498 -- plenty of time to find a wench with whom to propagate (Rowan Atkinson's choice of words, in an interview promoting the second series in 1986).
239	** Building on that, bare in mind that Edmund gets married in The Queen of Spain's Beard. Princess Leia's 8 in this, which would make her 14 by the time Edmund dies. Unless she's a very late bloomer, that's old enough to have conceived a child, which wouldn't have been considered taboo in those days.
240	*** A legitimate child of Edmund would have been heir to the throne. The Tudors mercilessly killed all the remaining members of the immediate Yorkist royal family except Edward IV's daughters, who were neutralised by Henry VII marrying the eldest. Edmund's child would have to have been cunning enough to evade Henry VII's clutches.
241	*** Actually, Henry Tudor pretty much left all the girls alive, to use as marriageable pawns. Edmund & Leia could easily have had a girl or two, who would have survived Henry VII's murders. Then Fat Henry restored many family names, plus titles, and lands stolen by Henry the Usurper, so the Blackadder name could easily then have been one of them.
242
243	[[WMG: Alternatively, the original Blackadder's son was raised by Baldrick.]]
244
245	Essentially the same as the above theory, except that Blackadder did manage to father a child (presumably with the Spanish Infanta, given that the Blackadders remained part of the nobility until at least Blackadder II) and this child was just influenced and taught (possibly even raised) by the original Baldrick. This would also apparently have been to the detriment of his own children.
246
247	[[WMG: At some point between II and Goes Forth, the Percy, Melchett and Tudor lineages all intersected]]
248
249	Hence why Captain Darling looks like Percy but has a personality much closer to that of Lord Melchett, whereas General Melchett is implicitly Lord Melchett's IdenticalGrandson but resembles him little in personality, and has a few of Queenie's traits (mostly the madness and indifference to human life)
250
251	[[WMG: ''All'' the characters are interrelated.]]
252
253	As well as characters being descended from others played by the same person, they're interrelated. It does take place over a few hundred years (nearly a thousand if you include Blaccadicus and Baldricus in the Roman era). So character traits in different, non-equivalent characters are just recessive genes coming out - Prince Edmund takes after the Baldrick side of his family, and his Baldrick vice versa. Captain Darling is descended from Percy, but also has some Melchett ancestors making him naturally hostile to any Blackadders (He might also have some Blackadder in him, given he's the only other one with any brains or cunning). The real Prince Regent, and Lt. George in ''Goes Forth'', are descended from Prince Ludwig, but also distantly related to Lord Percy, which is why he's also not too bright and ends up attached to a Blackadder.
254
255	[[WMG: The Blackadders have some kind of genetic memory.]]
256
257	The first one was fairly dim and was taken advantage of by everybody as a result. The second learned from this, and is a lot cleverer and he is mean to Percy and Baldrick because both of their ancestors were a SpannerInTheWorks to his ancestor. Since the second one still failed, the third is much more ruthless and even evil. It's hard to explain what happened to create Ebenezer, since 3 seemingly won, but I'd assume that somehow 3 failed and the family stayed poor, but reached the middle class. Ebenezer was horrified by 3's behaviour, and so he tried to be really good instead, but it didn't work -- he was taken advantage of like 1, but when he turned evil, wasn't smart about it either. Thus, the fourth is more balanced, having the snarkiness and cleverness of 2 and 3, but isn't nearly as nasty as either of them. We don't know whether 4 survived UsefulNotes/WorldWarI or not, but the well-off and fairly likable time traveller Blackadder is likely his descendent, which shows some reward for 4's relative goodness.
258	** Great now someone hijack this theory and see how we can relate it to Franchise/AssassinsCreed
259	*** Well, try this then. Each series, we are watching the present day Edmund in the Animus. Any historical inaccuracies are either glitches in the Animus or the real histories rewritten by the Templars (in fact, the first series is stated to be a secret history, probably making Henry Tudor a Templar king). The black and white death sequence when he's poisoned at the end of ''The Black Adder'' and the slow motion going over the top at the end of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' are Edmund desynchronising. He's using the bleeding effect from the Animus to learn how to become the greatest DeadpanSnarker of them all.
260	** Ebenezer could theoretically be Blackadder III's bastard son, so maybe he was discouraged that after all his father' cunning plans and evilness, Prince George was still remembered as a fat useless git, so he decided to try a completely different route and tried to be good.
261	*** This does make a lot of sense: George IV had no legitimate children and was succeeded by his brother. This means that Blackadder III had no legitimate children to succeed him and William IV was the real Sailor Bill, George's brother. Blackadder's illegitimate son must have concluded that even usurping the throne by being evil had ultimately got the family nowhere, so maybe it was time to try a different approach.
262
263	[[/folder]]
264
265	[[folder:Crossovers]]
266
267	[[WMG: The Blackadders share a world with the operas of Creator/GilbertAndSullivan]]
268
269	[[WMG: The Baldricks hail from Nottingham.]]
270
271	Baldrick is descended from the [[Series/MaidMarianAndHerMerryMen Sheriff of Nottingham]]. This explains not only the family resemblance in both appearance and klutziness, but also the fact that modern-day Baldrick builds a time machine that is used to kill Robin Hood; of course, this cunning plan backfires and Maid Marian ends up as the Queen of England, but the fact that the plan backfires just makes it ''more'' plausible.
272
273	[[WMG: Blackadder is set in the past of ''Series/RedDwarf''.]]
274
275	The revolutionary general Edmund and Baldrick were captured by was a ancestor of Arnold Rimmer (they're both played by Chris Barrie) and the tales of him palling around with Napoleon contributed to both his hero worship of Napoleon and his feelings of inferiority. Also Lister is part of a branch of the Baldrick family that exhibits the general filthiness but initial intelligence of the clan.
276
277	[[WMG: Series/MrBean is a descendant of the Blackadders.]]
278
279	Despite lacking the intelligence of the other Blackadders, he still can be a very crafty individual. This is supported by the fact that in an episode of the animated series of ''Mr. Bean'', a portrait of Blackadder II hangs in Buckingham Palace.
280	* Heh, a friend of mine referred to Mr. Bean as "Blackadder's retarded cousin".
281	* I thought Mr. Bean was an alien/supernatural being?
282	** Probably because of his godlike entrance in the opening credits.
283	* Mr. Bean is indeed a member of the Blackadder lineage but the whole truth is a little more horrifying. He's the result of a Blackadder mating with a Baldrick. He retained the Blackadder looks and some of the cunning nature, but inherited the Baldrick intelligence (or lack thereof) -- hence his social awkwardness and penchant for somewhat complex yet poorly conceived cunning plans. This is why this version of Blackadder has no Baldrick; he is both. And Darling's descendant drives a blue three-wheeled car.
284
285	[[WMG: [[Series/TheThinBlueLine Inspector Fowler]] is a member of the Blackadder family]]
286
287	Okay, so he is wet, but he is also reasonably crafty at times and has the Blackadder wit. Inspector Grim is descended from the Darling line -- just see his attitude to his superiors.
288	* Likewise [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x2FQvZHrVs Brigadier Blaster-Sump]] (DAMN YOU!) descends from the Clan Melchett.
289
290	[[WMG: Another descendant of the Blackadder clan ended up running an art dealership]]
291
292	That would be Mr. Pinkworth, the mean boss in ''Film/BernardAndTheGenie''. He's only concerned with making ''a lot'' of money, and fires employees who suggest it should be given to those in need. And also fires those who think he was too hard on the people he just fired. Classic Blackadder behaviour.
293
294	[[WMG: The Blackadder and Flashheart lines eventually mixed]]
295
296	This has resulted in...
297	* [[Series/TheNewStatesman Alan B'Stard]]. He's inherited the looks from one side of the family, and the cunning ruthlessness from the other.
298	* Literature/CiaphasCain, a man with Captain Blackadder's views of war and Flashheart's flair for capturing the hearts of the soldiers.
299
300	[[WMG: [[Series/{{House}} Gregory House]] is a descendant of Prince George.]]
301
302	It's shown that Prince George can't keep it in his pants. Only a few bastards were acknowledged, but there could have easily some not-acknowledged bastards out there, and they or a descendant of theirs could have emigrated to America. Eventually, one of the persons born to that illegitimate line was Gregory House, who happens to [[IdenticalGrandson greatly resemble his ancestor, Prince George]]. The only reason no one picks up on this is because of Edmund taking George's place as Prince Regent.
303	* Either that, or he is descended from Lieutenant George's family. One of them moved to America some time after WWI and Gregory -- who works out that the man who was married to his mother wasn't his biological father -- somehow inherited ''all'' of the family's brain cells.
304
305	[[WMG: [[Manga/BlackButler The Phantomhive family]] is in some way related to the Blackadder clan.]]
306
307	His LethalChef is even named Baldroy; this can't be a coincidence. Both families are even in cahoots with royalty.
308
309	[[WMG: The descendants of Lord Flashheart and Baron Von Richthofen ended up being "friends"]]
310
311	The Baron's kids moved to London at some point, coincidentally the same part of town where the Flashhearts lived. [[Series/{{Bottom}} Hammersmith]], to be precise. One of Flashhearts somehow shagged a Baldrick, the result being the cowardly, stupid Richard Richard -- who lives with one Edward Elizabeth Hitler.
312	* Another two descendants of the Baron and Flashheart end up attending [[Series/TheYoungOnes Scumbag College]] together.
313	** With a descendant of Lord Smedley.
314
315	[[WMG: Most of the show's cast are actually [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed sages]]]]
316
317	Each of them has a gene that provides the appearance and memories of a different Isu. The various iterations of Blackadder are in fact unrelated, but instead are people who all happened to have a sage gene from the same Isu.
318
319	This actually explains a few things, like how people who were never shown to have kids are able to have "descendants" in later eras. Three of the four Blackadders died before having any confirmed children, and Queen Elizabeth I has a descendant in the 20th century and the distant future despite famously never producing an heir. The Prince Regent has a descendant in World War I despite being shot and apparently killed before he could have any children.
320
321	This is also why family names are so easily retained. For instance there is still a "Blackadder" in World War I, even though his Georgian ancestor took on the Prince Regent's name and presumably would have passed it on to any descendents.
322
323	It also explains why they all look and act very similar- it's a result of the genetic memories taking over their old identity. Plus instances of the same actor playing unrelated characters, such as Hugh Laurie being two different characters in ''Blackadder II'' and Stephen Fry appearing as the Duke of Wellington.
324
325	* Baldrick was a really incompetent and annoying Isu that Juno decided no one would miss, so she used him as a guinea pig to test her memory cloning efforts before trying them on Aita. Unfortunately the gene got out and mixed up with human DNA. Most who have this gene find themselves losing all common sense and rationality, but the medieval Baldrick managed to resist the change just enough to retain some intelligence. For an unknown reason, Blackadder and Baldrick's genes have a tendency to activate when they're in proximity to each other.
326	* Queenie was a spoiled rich kid who loved to flaunt her power and family connections. She misunderstood the process of making sages and thought it would be a way of staying immortal through the apocalypse. This is also why her sages show super entitled behaviour thinly veiled by a friendly face.
327	* Melchett was a stuffy military leader who tried to crush the human rebellions, but didn't really know what he was doing as he had never fought them before, similar to General Melchett. His Elizabethan sage managed to hold onto his old identity outside of the name. The stress of keeping his memories from being overriden alongside keeping the Queen's favour drove him to take out a lot of his frustration on Blackadder, hence their rivalry.
328	* Bob had to conceal her identity for some reason, she she disguised herself as the opposite gender to avoid being noticed. Her sages are prone to finding excuses to cross-dress.
329	[[/folder]]
330
331	[[folder:Miscellaneous]]
332
333	[[WMG: The Film/HarryPotter movies are the Blackadder alumni association]]
334
335	Just take a look at how many actors/actresses from Blackadder moved on to the Harry Potter movies. Professor Slughorn, Professor Sprout, and Hagrid, to name a few were all previously in Blackadder.
336
337	[[WMG: Most of the main characters are immortal.]]
338
339	Or at least extremely long-lived. Not only are Blackadder and Baldrick always present, but also George (and other Hugh Laurie characters), Percy/Darling, Melchett, Queen Elizabeth, and probably a couple others. They aren't [[IdenticalGrandson Identical Grandchildren]] but ''are'' the same people. They just can't remember more than a few decades at a time with perhaps more vague memories of the distant past so they think they are the same as the rest of us. So Blackadder's reference to his father in II is really referring either to himself just decades prior, or to his real father but not remembering that he really lived hundreds or thousands of years in the past.
340
341	[[WMG: Blackadder isn't a Jerkass at all.]]
342
343	Now I haven't actually seen the first series, but in the second and fourth, it's purely context that makes Blackadder act in the way he does -- starting with series 4, we see Blackadder in a trench during world war one -- this situation would put anyone in a bad mood, and if you're stuck with the jarringly optimistic George and the total moron Baldrick, as well as a military leader as poor as Melchett commanding you, this isn't exactly going to fill you with love and respect for your fellow man.
344	* In series 2, Blackadder lives in total fear of Melchett winning Queenie's favour permanently and getting him put to death; furthermore, he can't seem to shake off Percy. This means he acts horrible TO Melchett and Percy, but notice when he talks to other people -- for example, Mr and Mrs Ploppy in the jail. Despite their inherent disgustingness, he is perfectly polite to them, because they don't irritate him.
345	* Furthermore, he seems to actually have some faith and respect for Baldrick in series 2. At least twice he gets Baldrick to beat people up for money, showing he believes Baldrick can carry out a simple task. Despite the fact that he still does some douchey things to Baldrick, I think this is more releasing anger from other people onto him -- if you actually watch the series, you'll notice that he never actually DOES many bad things to Baldrick, other than insult his intelligence. He even tries to teach him maths in one episode, showing that he doesn't see him as a total lost cause. Compare this to the way the third and fourth Blackadders hit Baldrick on a regular basis for little or no reason -- we can clearly see that Blackadder, in series 2, actually considers Baldrick a friend.
346	* Conclusion: Blackadder (of series 2 and 4) is a perfectly nice guy who only appears to be a Jerkass from his unfavourable surroundings.
347
348	[[WMG: The Blackadder lineage is Scottish.]]
349
350	Consider that ''Blackadder: Back & Forth'' shows us a Blackadder as a Roman centurion stationed at Hadrian's Wall. Presumably he is not killed by the Scots attacking the wall, but is taken prisoner and enslaved, or he is transferred to one of the Roman forts in Selgovae or Novantae land and takes a Scottish wife. Centuries later his descendant the Duke of Argyll has an affair with the Queen of England, who ends up having Prince Edmund and introducing the line to England. Obviously part of the family (the [=MacAdders=]) stuck on in Scotland until at least the Regency...
351	* Not at all a wild guess; there's an actual [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Blackadder Clan Blackadder]] in Scotland, a lowland/border clan, who has not had a recognized chief in generations, but still.
352	* He is the Duke of ''Edinburgh'' after all.
353
354	[[WMG: The Blackadders after the original series are not descended from Prince Edmund but from his half brother.]]
355
356	See Blackadder=Scottish. Only, as has been pointed out, Edmund can't have had children. Plus, he is a total ninny. However the Scotsman who is his half brother seems pretty clued in. He might have another brother who assumes the Blackadder name as a political move. Thus the Duke of Argyle would look like Edmund (and the Scotsman we see takes after his mum.)
357	* The balladeer from the second series notes that Lord Blackadder's great-grandfather was a king for thirty seconds, which is about the amount of time he survives after the entire court is poisoned at the end of "The Black Seal."
358	** However, and while this is pure conjecture as my knowledge of English history is flimsy at best, wouldn't a child of that clan receive an education and position of believed to be a direct descendant of Blackadder I? While they probably didn't give a toss about any illegitimate Scots, the Tudor house was a union of the Yorks and Lancashires, after all. They had to care about a descendant of one of those houses. So, in order to give him a better life, and possibly get rid of this wastrel, his clan passed him of as the legitimate heir, etc. etc.. Genealogy at the time was open to suggestion, and the balladeer was probably working from informed knowledge, which would also perhaps explain the many, many anachronisms and historical inaccuracies: the balladeer is at a Ren Faire and making it all up as he goes along. III and IV are, possibly, the result of Wangst after he was booed off stage.
359
360	[[WMG: Edmund and Baldrick are constantly being reincarnated.]]
361
362	Each season tells key incidents in each of their lives, as if told from a past life regression. Thus we see their souls continue their development from season to season, with Baldick becoming progressively dumber and Blackadder becoming progressively more cynical after each misfortune which befalls him.
363
364	[[WMG: Cardinal Wolsey and UsefulNotes/HenryVIII were a Blackadder and a George.]]
365
366	Wolsey is the Blackadder preventing Henry (George) from causing mayhem, causing the country to go bankrupt, or getting them killed (for example Henry's constant want to invade France, and the few times he actually DID invade France).
367	* Very nearly canon actually. According to ''[[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackadder-Whole-Dynasty-John-Lloyd/dp/0140280359 Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty]]'' Lord Blackadder's father actually ''was'' a Wolsey-like Cardinal Blackadder who among other things persuaded the increasingly senile and short sighted Henry VIII to marry Baldrick in a skirt (or 'Catherine Parr' as history ended up calling 'her').
368
369	[[WMG: The Baldrick family is all inbred.]]
370
371	As no one else would want to breed with such a disgusting family, it would explain why their intelligence has decreased so spectacularly over the generations.
372	* [[AllThereInTheManual More or less confirmed]] by ''Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty'' which, as well as the scripts of the four series, has "Baldrick's Family Tree" in which everyone is called Baldrick, and they appear to have reproduced asexually at several points.
373
374	[[WMG:Blackadder is an evil mirror of [[Series/DoctorWho The Doctor]]]]
375
376	Consider...
377	* He looks and acts exactly the same but is a different person each time (the opposite of regeneration).
378	* He's always cruel and cowardly.
379	* He changes history more than once.
380	* He's abusive towards his companion, Baldrick.
381
382	[[WMG: The real moral of Blackadder's Christmas Carol...]]
383
384	...Was neither "spiritual rewards are the best" nor "bad guys have all the fun". The moral was in fact one of being sensible- don't let people walk all over you, but also don't act rude to everyone for no reason. This would have produced the best reward at the end, though both Blackadder and the Spirit missed it.
385	* The funny thing is that Ebenezer Blackadder is convinced to do a FaceHeelTurn due to seeing selective scenes of his ancestors very much out of context. He never learned what gruesome ends they endured. In all likelihood his descendant ''will'' take over the universe ([[MemeticMutation of COURSE!]]) but not too long after end up losing it all and dying horribly like all those before him. If only the Spirit had been less naive about what he showed the man and how he was obviously responding to it, another tragedy (or maybe a line of them!) could have been averted.
386
387	[[WMG: The real reason why the Blackadders drop in social status in each generation is because the title keeps falling to bastard or collateral lines]]
388
389	At the time of Prince Edmund's death, his wife would only just be biologically capable of producing an heir, with no word that she had or was in the process of actually producing said heir (especially since he spent a year before his death in prison, making the window of time in which fathering a child on Leia was even possible much smaller). Lord Blackadder died a bachelor, as his bride ran off with the best man at the wedding. Blackadder III died living another man's life, in which he had one legitimate child, who he outlived. That's three featured Blackadders in a row in which the opportunity to produce a legitimate heir to the name was narrow to nonexistent. Which means that the Blackadder title would have to pass to illegitimate heirs or cousins. The new head of the family would then be someone unprepared for it, causing the line to further decline.
390
391	[[WMG: Miranda Richardson's characters, except for Queen Elizabeth, are descended from Mary Boleyn.]]
392	Since it's rather implausible that Queen Elizabeth, known as the Virgin Queen, secretly did have children, the most likely explanation is that Queen Elizabeth, Amy, Nurse Mary, and Lady Elizabeth all have a common ancestor...and OccamsRazor would point to that common ancestor being Elizabeth Boleyn, mother of Anne and Mary Boleyn. Queen Elizabeth is the daughter of Anne, while Mary would have two children, and it's from them that Amy, Mary, and Lady Elizabeth can trace their ancestry.

Context WMG / Blackadder