David is directing a School Play of The Tempest by William Shakespeare, but Amanda is dissatisfied with her part as Ariel. However, Wishbone would love to play Ariel and imagines himself doing so.
This is the second of three episodes that adapt a Shakespeare play. It's preceded by "Rosie, Oh, Rosie, Oh!", which adapted Romeo and Juliet, and it's followed by "The Prince of Wags", which adapted Henry IV, Part 1.
Tropes
- Adapted Out: Gonzalo, Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo are all left out of this adaptation. Incidentally, these characters seem to have been excluded from both the kids' production and the version in Wishbone's imagination.
- The Artifact: Miranda's line, "If by your art, my dearest father, you have put the wild waters in this roar, allay them." This is her begging for her father to end the storm, which they are meant to be watching in this scene. However, the Wishbone version has this scene taking place after the storm has already ended, and yet, Miranda is still speaking as though the storm is currently happening.
- Cast the Runner-Up: Implied to have happened in-universe. Clearly, Amanda wanted to play Miranda, and evidently, Sam's casting in that role resulted in Amanda getting Ariel instead. Given that previous episodes have established that Sam and Amanda are rivals, this scenario was hardly a recipe for harmony.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: Instead of having a modern story that parallels the plot of The Tempest, this episode's modern story is about the kids putting on a play of The Tempest. The modern-day scenes mostly focus on backstage drama, but occasionally, Tempest plot points are covered by the kids' version rather than Wishbone's version.
- Gender Flip: So, why is Ariel played by Amanda (female) in the kids' production while at the same time being played by Wishbone (male) in the fantasy segments? Well, Ariel's gender is a whole thing. To make a long story short, Ariel is officially male but by stage tradition is usually played by a woman.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Amanda angrily quits the play because she's jealous of Sam for getting the part of Miranda.
- School Play: The contemporary story is about David directing a school production of The Tempest, with most of the episode taking place during a contentious dress rehearsal. Most of the trouble is caused by Amanda's refusal to play Ariel.
- Visible Invisibility: Wishbone as Ariel briefly breaks the fourth wall to note this trope is in effect: "He can't see me, you know. I'm invisible. It's an old spritely trick."
