As we begin Scene 2, Edricus is all by his lonesome on stage, soliloquizing. He ponders his . . . um . . . less than high-on-the-hog birth, and now he’s boss man of the whole place – lead advisor, sort of Chief of Staff to Cnut – where a bunch of people with way better resumes aren’t in a comparable position because they weren’t big ol’ liars like Eddie is. ‘Cos people who promise everything, deliver nothing and spread rumors, yeah, everybody’s all over them as members of the team. But fear not, Eddie is working on many deep plots to betray anybody and everybody. (Line from The Greatest Movie Ever Written, Lion in Winter – “Have you found some way of selling everyone to everybody?”)
Eddie says Ironside . . . no, not that one, the other one . . . is beating up everyone in sight, and Cnut is sitting on his butt . . . so it’s important for Eddie to stay on Ironside’s good side, Just in Case. But if Cnut winds up winning, he wants to make sure he’s in position to cozy up to him too. Now, how he’s gonna pull that off? Well, never mind that . . . But as the scene ends, Eddie confesses that he’s really carrying a torch for See-Nut, because Ironside knows Eddie is a low-life, and See-Nut doesn’t, so he hopes See-Nut wins, but above all else, Eddie will Keep His Options Open.
If you’re thinkin’ the opening soliloquy from Richard 3, well, yeah, little bit . . .
Image courtesy of Pixabay by Julius_Silver (no changes).