Coriolanus enjoyed an early lead, but ultimately lost 25-20 to Titus Andronicus; these Roman heavyweights pitched a violent and well-matched battle, to be sure, but the man who sacrificed a few dozen sons advances. Antony takes a handy victory over Jack Cade, 27-9; Cade might have gotten a few licks in, but Antony knows nothing better than how to handle an unruly mob of peasants. Prospero's magic gives him the edge over the Duke of York in a 21-15 victory; the Duke put up a good fight -- maybe it will be down to his son to avenge his honor? In Round 1.2's closest battle, Lady Macbeth just barely ekes it out over Aaron the Moor, 19-18. The fiendish queen uses ruthless wiles to put down the unapologetic evildoer and advances to the Round of 16.
Here's the bracket as it stands after the first 8 matches (click to expand):
Who else will advance to the Round of 16? Time to decide: Entering the ring today, we have: a true battle of ferocious wits, Shylock vs. Beatrice; the prowess of the Moor of Venice against the agile mind and fearless arm of a Plantagenet, Othello vs. Philip the Bastard; self-sacrificing faith against self-preserving cowardice, Cordelia vs. Jack Falstaff; and a courtier's well-trained rapier against a mountain man's brute strength and natural skill, Tybalt vs. Guiderius. Need a refresher on who any of these characters are or what they might bring to a battle? Revisit their bios.
Match 13: Shylock vs Beatrice
Match 14: Othello vs Philip the Bastard
Match 15: Cordelia vs Jack Falstaff
Match 16: Tybalt vs Guiderius
These polls will be open until early next week; don't forget to vote on Round 1.3, also still open.
My picks:
ReplyDeleteThere are some tough calls today -- a lot of opposing strengths to decide between.
Shylock and Beatrice are both clever and both motivated by vengeance. I probably ought to give this one to Shylock, who I think is fueled by more genuine malice against his opponents, but I'm going to engage in some blatant favoritism and vote for my girl Beatrice.
Othello and Philip are both notable combatants, each with victories under his belt, each a capable leader. I think I'm going to go with the underdog again, for no real reason but that I *like* Philip better. He cracks jokes while fighting, doesn't take nonsense from anyone, and sasses whoever he feels like sassing, up to and including dukes and kings, neverminding his illegitimate status. I'd like to champion his particular blend of warrior wit.
I'm going with the improbable Jack over Cordelia, simply because I think he'd pull some deceptive ruse that she, being so good-hearted, would never expect. Cordelia strikes me as the type to expect honorable combat -- and that's one thing we know Jack will do anything to undermine.
Finally, I pick Guiderius over Tybalt. This is a tough one, because Tybalt certainly has a lot of skill -- but Guiderius, as 'Cymbeline' proves, can take someone out *and behead him* with his raw mountain-man power. Tybalt's feints and flourishes aren't going to lodge in the bosom of this opponent.
So. The theme of my picks today really does seem to be "Cass likes underdogs". What do you think? Let me know here or on Twitter!