Much Ado About Nothing (theater)/YMMV


 * Designated Villain: Don John again. He's a villain because...there needs to be a villain.
 * Well, did try to overthrow his brother and wanted revenge on Claudio for his role in Don John's defeat...
 * Discontinuity: It's mentioned in Act I that Antonio has a son, yet in 5.1, Leonato speaks of Antonio's daughter as the latter's only child and heir in a crucial plot point. It's debated whether it's a legit mistake by Shakespeare or an intended mistake for Leonato.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: Beatrice and Benedick tend to steal the show, despite being the Beta Couple.
 * Moral Event Horizon: Arguably, the way Claudio chooses to call out Hero for her "infidelity." He did so loudly, in no uncertain terms, and in a public place. By the standards of the day, Hero's reputation would have been ruined forever, as would be her family's, and a pall of doubt would have been cast over anyone connected to her. Her virtue impugned, she never would have been able to marry; Hero likely would have been forced into a nunnery by her family. No matter how naive he might seem, there's no way Claudio didn't know this when he called her out.
 * Values Dissonance: Hero is delighted to eventually get married to the Jerkass who accused her of being a whore on her wedding day. While she was at the altar. In fact, in the BBC's recent Setting Update of the play in Shakespeare Retold (starring Billie Piper as Hero), she actually doesn't take him back.
 * Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?: Huh, Hero?
 * Or, you might say, What the Hell, Hero??
 * This one really depends on the way the role of Claudio is performed- in the vanilla script he seems to be more mistaken than malicious.
 * Sure, if WAITING to slut-shame her in front of a fucking CONGREGATION on her WEDDING DAY simply counts as mistaken...
 * The Woobie: Hero.

Tropes from the 1993 Adaptation:

 * Narm. The wedding scene could be the page image. Also, Kenneth Branagh, when he's not making the audience and Beatrice Squee with his declarations of love.
 * Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?: Branagh did a good deal to avert this by trimming out most of Claudio's more unsavoury lines, giving him a clear view of "Hero" and Borachio, showing his genuine remorse and subsequent atonement, and casting him as a baby-faced Robert Sean Leonard. It half-worked.
 * WTH Casting Agency: Exactly why did Keanu Reaves and Denzel Washington play Don John and Don Pedro, who are, in fact, brothers? (Well, half-brothers...)
 * (I'm not sure if this is completely right, since it's what I remember from something my teacher said.) Long ago, when someone wanted to indicate in theatre that a character was a bastard, they did so by casting actors with different skin colours as siblings. I guess it's a nod to the way it used to be played.
 * Ear Worm: "Hey Nonny Nonny" is good for this.