Back in Stratford, Anne is unimpressed by Will’s "literary immortality" and sends a letter demanding he return home because the roof is leaking and the "great barn" has been infested by particularly literate owls.
Kate, ever the voice of reason and 21st-century logic trapped in the 17th century, suggests that Will simply take all the "boring, long bits" out of his existing plays and mash them together.
King James I has demanded a new play, but he has one specific, baffling requirement: it must be "shorter than a sneeze" because his royal gout makes sitting for long periods unbearable. Will is mid-existential crisis. He has written a sprawling epic about a Danish prince with "too many feelings," but the King wants a punchy comedy about a man who loses his hat in a gale. Upstart Crow - Season 4Eps1
Since a fourth season was never officially recommissioned by the BBC, here is an original story imagining how might have opened, following the events of the heartbreaking Series 3 finale and the plague-bound 2020 special. 🖋️ Title: "The King's New Cloak"
Robert Greene’s ghost (metaphorically) haunts Will as he discovers a pamphlet titled The Even More Upstart Crow , written by a young up-and-comer named "John Fletcher" who is shamelessly using Will’s own "puffling pants" jokes. Back in Stratford, Anne is unimpressed by Will’s
Will attempts to perform the "Hat Play" for the King. In a classic Upstart Crow blunder, Bottom accidentally wears the King’s actual ceremonial cloak as a costume, leading to a high-speed chase through the Globe Theatre that Will eventually rebrands as a "new dramatic device called 'Slap-stick.'"
The King is delighted—not by the play, but by the fact that it was so short he didn't even have time to finish his drumstick. Will earns a single gold coin and a stern warning never to mention "Denmark" again. Will is mid-existential crisis
Shakespeare’s London lodgings. It is 1605. Will is frantically scrubbing a stain off his ruff while Bottom attempts to "modernize" a quill by attaching a heavy lead weight to it.