Blackadder/Characters

The Black Adder
Prince Edmund "The Black Adder" Plantagenet, Duke Of Edinburgh (Rowan Atkinson)

""If we lose, I'll be chopped to pieces. My arms will end up at Essex, my torso in Norfolk, and my private parts stuck up a tree somewhere in Rutland.""

"Blackadder: As you can see, these letters are dated --
 * Anti-Hero: Type V
 * Anti-Villain: Sure, he's a slimy, contemptible, amoral schemer... but given that his father alternately despises him and forgets he exists, his peers treat him with pity at best and disgust at worst, and his only friends are sycophantic Yes Men... it's not hard to see why.
 * Butt Monkey
 * Cain: To Harry's Abel.
 * Cool Horse: "He rides a pitch-black steed..."
 * Deadpan Snarker: Occasionaly shows signs of this.
 * Dirty Coward
 * The Evil Prince: A pathetically spineless version.
 * Fail O'Suckyname: Before Baldrick suggested "the Black Adder", Edmund's first choice for his new sobriquet was "the Black... ."
 * Heroic Bastard /BastardBastard: Tried to uncover a love letter between the queen and McAngus written around Harry's birth to dethrone him. However, it turned out that the letter was written after Harry's birth.

Harry: Nine months after I was born!

McAngus: Or nine months before you were born, Edmund.

Blackadder: You... bastard!

Harry: No, I think you'll find that you're the bastard, Edmund."


 * I Am Not Shazam: Inverted. Other characters rarely call him "Blackadder".
 * Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: His father addresses him as Edwin, Edgar, Edward, Edith, Egbert, Osmond or Edna... at least, when he can be bothered to remember that Edmund exists.
 * And of course: "THE BLACK... DAGGER!"
 * Not-So-Harmless Villain: In The Black Seal he actualy comes close to gaining the throne... until, in a fit of cosmic irony.
 * Prince Charmless
 * Red Baron: At this stage, "The Black Adder" was a personal nickname, but his descendants adopted it as a surname.
 * Shout Out to Shakespeare: Possibly to another bastard called Edmund.
 * Sinister Minister: Briefly becomes Archbishop of Canterbury.
 * Smug Adder
 * The Starscream: A particularly incompetent example.
 * The Unfavorite
 * Villain Protagonist

Baldrick, Son Of Robin The Dung-Gatherer (Tony Robinson)



""I have a cunning plan that cannot fail...""


 * The Dragon: with percy
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick
 * Legacy of Service: His descendants end up serving the Blackadders.
 * Professional Butt-Kisser
 * Smarter Than You Look: His descendents are as dumb as they look, though.
 * Yes-Man
 * Zany Scheme Cunning Plan

Lord Percy Percy, Duke Of Northumberland (Tim McInnerny)

""But if you kill him in front of everybody, won't they suspect something?""


 * Upperclass Twit
 * The Renfield
 * Repetitive Name
 * Yes-Man

King Richard IV (Brian Blessed)



""As the Good Lord said, love thy neighbour as thyself! Unless he's Turkish, in which case, KILL THE BASTARD!!!""


 * Authority Equals Asskicking
 * Badass Beard
 * Bling of War: Usually seen wearing golden armour.
 * Blood Knight: SSSLLAAAAAAAYYY!!!!
 * Brian Blessed
 * Boisterous Bruiser
 * Gag Penis: Supposedly not very big, if the Queen is to be trusted.
 * Historical Domain Character: He's one of the "Princes in the Tower" grown up (in this imagining, not only is Richard III being evil a slander by Henry VII, but Henry also erased the existence of a dynasty). Part of the joke is the contrast between the sweet kid he used to be and how he is now.
 * Hot-Blooded
 * Implacable Man: Having the Plague simply sends him into a berserker rage, believing everyone to be Turks.
 * Large Ham: Brian Blessed AT HIS BOMBASTIC BEST!
 * Royals Who Actually Do Something: In his case, "something" tends to mean "slaughtering Turks".
 * With This Herring: He manages to defeat ten thousand Turks armed with only a small knife used for peeling fruit.

Harry, Prince Of Wales (Robert East)

""The verdict of this court is that the accused are found guilty of witchcraft. The maximum penalty that the law allows is that you be burned to death. However, in view of your previous good background, I am disposed to be lenient. Therefore, I sentence you to be burned alive.""


 * Abel: to Edmund's Cain.
 * Completely Missing the Point: Has a habit of doing this. The most notable being in The Witchsmeller Pursuivant when the Witchsmeller is burning alive, he doesn't even notice and makes comments about his cloak.
 * Horrible Judge of Character: At no point does he cotton on to Edmund's various throne-usurping schemes.
 * Warrior Prince: Seen riding into battle at Bosworth field.
 * The Wise Prince
 * Upperclass Twit: Smarter than Edmund, but that's no great feat.

Queen Gertrude of Flanders (Elspet Gray)

""Now, would I, Edmund... Do I tell people that your brother Harry is scared of spoons? Or that your father has very small private parts?""


 * Aren't You Going To Ravish Me: "In a moment...!"
 * Women Are Wiser: Compared to her husband at least.
 * Hot Witch
 * My Girl Is a Slut

Princess Leia of Hungary (Natasha King)

""Hello Edmund. You look funny.""


 * Fridge Horror: She probably died along with the rest of the court at the end.
 * On the other hand, the later Blackadders are supposed to be this one's descendents, so ... Come to think of it, I'm not sure that's any better.
 * In fairness, not only is it likely that at her age she wouldn't be drinking wine, the illegitimate sons of Princes and Kings tended to be made lords, hence his nearest descendant being a lord.
 * May-December Romance: Only about 11 when hastily married to Edmund.
 * Morality Pet: Edmund is noticably nicer towards her than he is towards anyone else.

The Black Seal

"Guy de Glastonbury: "Good evening... and surrender. Your money or your life. Damn!! I'm always doing this. Did I say "Your money or your life? Sorry, slip of the tongue, your money and your life. Sorry.""


 * Affably Evil: Guy de Glastonbury is perfectly polite and charming when holding up travellers for their money and their life.
 * Carnival of Killers
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Edmund has a hard enough time keeping them in check, but
 * Dragon-in-Chief: for Edmund
 * Five-Bad Band
 * Gargle Blaster / Made of Iron: Sean the Irish Bastard gets up after being poisoned, proclaiming the spiked wine to "have a bit of a sting" before drinking a second cup and dying.
 * Ironic Nickname: Edmund tries call Jack Large "Large Jack" (a sort of reverse Little John) but Jack doesn't get it.
 * Legion of Doom: The six most evil men in the land... and Edmund.
 * Mister Big: Jack Large.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Several of them, most notably Sir Wilfred Death.
 * Self-Made Orphan: Most of them murdered their own families, although the Friar killed Sean's ("Good on you, Father!")
 * Sinister Minister: Friar Bellows (but he has nothing on the Baby Eating Bishop Of Bath And Wells from II.)

Phillip "The Hawk" of Burgundy (Patrick Allen)

""I return at last after fifteen years. Waiting, plotting, nurturing my hatred and planning my revenge. Yes, fifteen years of living in France teaches a man to hate. Fifteen years of wearing perfume, fifteen years of eating frogs, fifteen years of saying 'Par-don' and all because of you.""


 * Big Bad
 * Cool and Unusual Punishment: Is very fond of dishing these out.
 * Embarrassing Nickname: "The Thrush".
 * Large Ham
 * Latex Perfection: He somehow disguises himself as a tiny old morris dancer, but when he removes his disguise Edmund still doesn't recognise him until...
 * Paper-Thin Disguise: ...he removes his fake bushy eyebrows.
 * Red Baron: "The Hawk" (and in his youth, "The Thrush").
 * Self-Made Orphan: Murdered his entire family

Blackadder II
Edmund Blackadder, The Lord Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson)

""Well, it is said, Percy, that civilised man seeks out good and intelligent company, so that through learned discourse he may rise above the savage and closer to God... Personally, however, I like to start the day with a total dickhead to remind me I'm best.""


 * Anti-Hero: Type V
 * Aristocrats Are Evil
 * Beard of Evil
 * Byronic Hero
 * Can't Hold His Liquor: A drop of the stuff and he's flat on his face singing about goblins.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Makes a full-time career out of this, unlike his predecessor.
 * Identical Grandson: Well, great-grandson.
 * Impoverished Patrician: A good example of this trope in its early stages - he still has a title and a place at court, but no actual money or estates. Seemingly his father blew the family fortune on "wine, women and amateur dramatics." Alhough he's still better off than his descendants in this respect.
 * Manipulative Bastard: Neither as smug as his ancestor nor as magnificent as his descendants, he falls nicely in the middle.
 * Mock Millionaire: While he is from a wealthy family, the family fortune was long since squandered by his father.
 * Though he does later manage to blackmail several thousand pounds out of the church.
 * Surrounded By Idiots
 * Only Sane Man
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky
 * Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist
 * Upper Class Wit
 * Would Hurt a Child

Bondsman Baldrick (Tony Robinson)



""Not to worry my lord, the arrow didn't in fact enter my body... But by a thousand to one chance my willy got in the way.''"

"''Baldrick: I've been in your service since I was two and a half, my lord.
 * Blunt Metaphors Trauma: "...You said 'get the door'."
 * Bumbling Sidekick: A well-loved example.
 * Genius Ditz: Considerably stupider than his great-grandfather, but retained some level of streetsmarts and cunning that his descendants never saw.
 * Gag Penis: Shaped like a turnip apparently.
 * Identical Grandson
 * Old Retainer :

Blackadder: Well, that must be why I'm so utterly sick of the sight of you.''"


 * Zany Scheme Cunning Plan

Lord Percy Percy (Tim McInnerny)

""Oh, Edmund, could it be true? That I hold here, in my mortal hand, a lump of purest green?"'"


 * Identical Grandson
 * Upperclass Twit
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Percy thinks that he and Edmund are best friends and would give his last coin to him, and refards Edmund's constant insults as nothing more than a sign of Edmund's "wit".

Queen Elizabeth "Queenie" I (Miranda Richardson)

"Sometimes I think about having you executed, just to see the expression on your face.""


 * Alternate History:
 * Ax Crazy: She loves to order people to be executed.
 * The Caligula
 * The Ditz
 * God Save Us From the Queen: Very fond of choppy-choppy.
 * Historical Domain Character
 * Historical Villain Upgrade: Taking all of Elizabeth's negative qualities and none of the positive ones.
 * Obfuscating Stupidity
 * Pimped-Out Dress
 * The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Never seen doing any actual governing. This may be for the best.
 * Psychopathic Womanchild: A naughty schoolgirl at heart... a naughy schoolgirl with the power of life and death over Britain.
 * Screw the Rules, I Make Them: "Who's queen?"
 * Upperclass Twit

Nursie/Bernard (Patsy Byrne)

""Out you popped, out of your Mummy's tummy and everybody shouting : "It's a boy, it's a boy!". And somebody said "But it hasn't got a winkle!". And then I said "A boy without a winkle? God be praised, it is a miracle. A boy without a winkle!" And then Sir Thomas More pointed out that a boy without a winkle is a girl. And everyone was really disappointed.""


 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Dirty Old Woman
 * Embarrassing First Name
 * Expy: Of the traditional portrayal of the Nurse from Romeo and Juliet.
 * Gender Blender Name: Bernard, yeah... also had three sisters called Donald Eric and Basil.
 * Everyone Calls Her Nursie: No wonder.
 * Old Retainer

Lord Melchett (Stephen Fry)

""As private parts to the gods are we! They play with us for their sport!""


 * But You Screw One Goat!: His "relationship" with Flossie the sheep...
 * The Good Chancellor: Often seen trying to keep the queen's more psychotic impulses in check.
 * Only Sane Man: At least, before the reveal...
 * The Rival: To Blackadder.
 * Stephen Fry

Lord Flashheart (Rik Mayall)

"I've got a plan! And it's as HOT as my PANTS!"



""Lord Flashheart, Lord Flashheart
 * The Ace: "The best sword... the best shot... the best sailor... and the best kisser in the kingdom."
 * Anything That Moves: He hits on Baldrick.
 * Badass
 * Badass Mustache
 * Blasphemous Boast: "Still worshipping God? Last I heard, He started worshipping me!"
 * Casanova
 * The Cast Showoff: Rick Mayall's recollection of the role was that he asked to get more laughs in the last 3 minutes than anyone got all episode.
 * Dynamic Entry: Swings down from the celing, smashes Percy through a door, and steals Blackadder's fiance, all in about five minutes.
 * Fake Ultimate Hero: Both incarnations of Flashheart are this. Brave and dashing, handsome, bold, admired by all, adored by the ladies, and laughed in the face of danger. Also an arrogant prat who boasted constantly, lied, sucked up to his superiors, patronised his admirers, and treated women as sex objects. And the only reason he always won was because he was an underhanded bastard who cheated and played dirty.
 * Gentleman Adventurer
 * Handsome Lech
 * Large Ham
 * Memetic Badass / Memetic Sex God: In universe example.
 * One-Scene Wonder: Despite the Fake Ultimate Hero entry above, the fandom loves him. So does the balladeer:

I wish you were the star

Lord Flashheart, Lord Flashheart,

You're sexier by far.""


 * Really Gets Around
 * Verbal Tic: WOOF!
 * Wholesome Crossdresser

Kate/Bob (Gabrielle Glaister)

""Father, I must speak. I can be silent no longer. All day long you muttered to yourself, gibber, dribble, moan and bat your head against the wall, yelling "I want to die". Now you may say I'm leaping to conclusions but you're not completely happy, are you?""


 * Paper-Thin Disguise: The only thing she did that even remotely resembles disguising as a man is calling herself "Bob". Still fooled Edmund though.
 * Shout-Out: To Shakespeare's frequent use of crossdressing women as well as is frequent use of Kate as a name for feisty young women.
 * Sweet Polly Oliver
 * Sweet On Polly Oliver

The Baby-Eating Bishop of Bath and Wells (Ronald Lacey)

""I will have my money or....YOUR BOTTOM WILL WISH IT HAD NEVER BEEN BORN!""

""You see, I am a colossal pervert. No form of sexual depravity is too low for me. Animal, vegetable or mineral, I'll do anything to anything.""
 * Anything That Moves

"Bishop: "You fiend! Never have I encountered such corrupt and foul-minded perversity! Have you ever considered a career in the Church?"
 * Arson, Murder, and Admiration

Edmund: "No, I could never get used to the underwear.""


 * Dirty Old Monk
 * Eats Babies: After drowning them during christenings.
 * Everyone Calls Him Bishop
 * Fat Bastard: But don't call him "Fatso" if you know what's good for you.
 * Loan Shark: Assistant manager of the Bank of the Black Monks of St. Herod ("Banking with a smile and a stab"). Their motto: "Repayment or revenge." He admits to Blackadder that he hates it when people pay up, as he rather enjoys what he gets to do to those who don't.
 * Sinister Minister
 * Villain With Good Publicity: In spite of the aforementioned baby-eating, he's apparently of good standing with the Queen and his parishioners. "As far as my flock is concerned, my one vice is a tipple before evensong." Blackadder gets the upper hand by endangering his reputation.

Prince Ludwig the Indestructible (Hugh Laurie)

""We have met many times, although you knew me by another name. Do you recall a mysterious black marketeer and smuggler called Otto with whom you used to dine and plot and play the biscuit game at the Old Pizzle in Dover? Yes! I was the waitress.""


 * The Bad Guy Wins
 * Berserk Button: Don't make fun of his complexion.
 * Disney Death: Seemingly killed by Blackadder, but obviously not successfully- there's a reason he's called the "Indestructible".
 * The Evil Prince
 * Fatherland: He's the stereotypical German megalomaniac.
 * Good Hair, Evil Hair: Spots a classic villain hairdo, slicked-back hair.
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has long diagonal scars all over his face.
 * Master of Disguise
 * Made of Iron: He's not called Prince Ludwig the Indestructible for nothing.
 * No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me: Parodied, since characters past "interactions" with him involved him disguised in a different gender and species
 * Smug Snake
 * Spotting the Thread: Blackadder recognizes him because his costume is too good.

Blackadder The Third
Mr. Edmund Blackadder, Esq. (Rowan Atkinson)

""A man may fight for many things: his country, his principles, his friends, the glistening tear on the cheek of a golden child. But personally, I'd mud-wrestle my own mother for a ton of cash, an amusing clock and a stack of French porn.""


 * Alternate History:
 * Beleaguered Assistant
 * Byronic Hero
 * Cloudcuckoolander's Minder
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick
 * Identical Grandson: We could've named it "The Blackadder".
 * Impoverished Patrician: All the Blackadder land, titles and money are gone by this point.
 * The Jeeves: Defied. While he's certainly much cleverer and more level-headed than his master, he only ever acts with his own interests in mind.
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Only Sane Man
 * Only Sane Employee
 * Servile Snarker
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky
 * The Snark Knight
 * Villain Protagonist: Arguably the most cold hearted member of the dynasty; he kills or has killed at least seven people in six episodes
 * Villain Protagonist: Arguably the most cold hearted member of the dynasty; he kills or has killed at least seven people in six episodes
 * Villain Protagonist: Arguably the most cold hearted member of the dynasty; he kills or has killed at least seven people in six episodes

Underscrogsman-Lord "Sod-off" Baldrick (Tony Robinson)

""I am as stupid as I look, sir, but if I can help, I will.""




 * Adult Child
 * Bumbling Sidekick: Natch.
 * Butt Monkey
 * Cunning Plan
 * The Ditz
 * Identical Grandson
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Turnips.

George Augustus Frederick, The Prince Regent (Hugh Laurie)



""Only the other day, Prime Minister Pitt called me an "idle scrounger," and it wasn't until ages later that I thought how clever it would've been to have said, "Oh, bugger off, you old fart!" I need to improve my mind, Blackadder. I want people to say, "That George, why, he's as clever as a stick in a bucket of pig swill."""


 * The Ditz: The guy is outsmarted by Baldrick and can barely make it through a day without Blackadder's help.
 * Informed Flaw: Much is made of his supposed fatness, and while the historical Prince George was indeed quite the pig, the same can't be said for Hugh Laurie.
 * Prince Charming / Prince Charmless: Debatable. While he is a crass, dense, loudmouthed buffoon with; "all the intellect of a jugged walrus and all the social graces of a potty", he has been known to seduce bombshells on occasion.
 * Royal Brat
 * Upperclass Twit: And has more than a few similarties to Bertie Wooster, (who was also played by Hugh Laurie).
 * The White Prince: Incapable of puting on his own trousers without Blackadder's help.

Mrs. Miggins (Helen Atkinson-Wood)

The Duke of Wellington (Stephen Fry)

Blackadder Goes Forth
Captain Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson)

""For us, the Great War is finito, a war which would be a damn sight simpler if we just stayed in England and shot fifty thousand of our men a week.""

"Blackadder:"
 * A Father to His Men: Well, A Cruel Abusive Stepfather To His Men maybe...
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV or V.
 * Byronic Hero
 * Cultured Warrior: His snarky remarks often border on poetic. His lines in the last episode in particular:


 * Deadpan Snarker
 * The Captain
 * Fake Ultimate Hero: To quote the man himself on his service in Africa (which made his reputation as a competent soldier), "[T]he prerequisite for any battle was that the enemy should under no circumstances carry guns". He became known as the 'Hero of Mboto Gorge' in 1892, where he had faced "ten thousand Watutsi warriors armed to the teeth with kiwi fruit and dry guava halves". Needless to say, none of this prepared him at all for fighting in the trenches.
 * Identical Grandson: Shouldn't even have to say it.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: To a very slight extent. He's still not remotely a nice person, but he can bring himself to feel sympathy for Darling and wish the others good luck in the final episode, and he does at one point compliment George's paintings. Also, despite being a soldier, he is the only Blackadder in the four seasons not to commit murder - unless you count Speckled Jim.
 * Lovable Coward: For a certain value of 'lovable'. If not for the entire backdrop, would probably be a Dirty Coward.
 * Though oddly he arguably isn't actually cowardly at all; he very definitely doesn't want to die but when unavoidably placed in genuinely very dangerous situations (crawling across a minefield, captured by Germans, facing a court martial, going over the top) he keeps his cool.
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * The Neidermeyer: A relatively mild example. He regards the men under his command as incompetent fools... which in his defense, they mostly are. They seem to admire him, however.
 * Only Sane Man
 * Pet the Dog: In the final episode
 * It is possible that Blackadder's main reason for hating Darling was that Darling had succeeded in what Blackadder had been trying to do for the entire war; get the hell out of the trenches. When it became clear that both he and Darling were not getting out of it, he didn't have any reason to hate Darling any more (although there's not much chance of Blackadder liking him any more because of it.
 * Reluctant Warrior: He does everything in his power to avoid going into battle. A closer look at the series shows that he rarely carries his sidearm unless he has to (such as when visiting HQ) and even then, doesn't appear to keep it loaded (we see him loading it before going over the top in the finale).
 * Shell-Shocked Veteran
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky
 * Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist

Private S. Baldrick (Tony Robinson)



""Why can't we just stop, sir? Why couldn't we just say "No more killing, let's all go 'ome?" Why would it be stupid just to pack it in, sir? Why?!""


 * Anti-Hero: Type I
 * Armor-Piercing Question: Despite his unprecedented idiocy, Baldrick also points out the utter insanity of World War One: at any point, the general soldiery on all sides could have simply banded together and refused to fight any more, and had shown such potential earlier in the war. He doesn't know why they don't do it, and nobody can tell him why, either.
 * Bumbling Sidekick: The stupidest and foulest Baldrick of all, which is no small feat.
 * Cunning Plan
 * Deadpan Snarker: Only when he's hungover.
 * The Ditz
 * Identical Grandson
 * Lethal Chef: "How did you manage to extract so much 'custard' from such a small cat?"
 * Man Child
 * Sole Survivor: All of the Turnip Street Workhouse Pals Batallion are dead, save for him.
 * Team Chef

Lieutenant George C. St Barleigh (Hugh Laurie)

""Permission for lip to wobble, sir?""


 * Actually Pretty Funny: Although Blackadder doesn't admit it aloud.
 * Hidden Depths: He's not as much of a Patriotic Fervor filled twit as he initially seems- he's a gifted artist and ultimately admits to fear of dying in battle.
 * Sole Survivor: In the last episode, he mentions that he joined the Army with along with his friends from Cambridge, the "Trinity Tiddlers", and by then, he's the only one left alive of the group.
 * Which was Truth in Television. The pals battalions were a real thing, and the Great War was the last time friends joining en masse was allowed, as it led to whole villages, towns and communities being decimated.
 * Upperclass Twit: Not as upper-class as the Prince, but has the personality down, pat.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Seems blissfully unaware of Captain Blackadder's contempt for him.
 * Wham! Line: In perhaps a first in television history, it actually occurs mid-line when George's bravado gives way to near panic. Any laughs from the audience for the remainder of the episode are nervous ones at best.
 * Wide Eyed Idealist

General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett (Stephen Fry)

""You know, over these last few years, I've come to think of you as a sort of son. Not a favourite son of course, Lord no, more a sort of illegitimate back-stair sort of sprog, y'know, the sort of spotty squid that nobody really likes.""


 * Bad Boss: When Darling said that he needed a convincing injury so that he could spy on a field hospital, Melchett shot his foot on spot. This is easily the least of his crimes.
 * Bait the Dog: As noted, he initially seems a lot more amusing and likable than he actually is.
 * Comedic Sociopathy: Melchett's played as though he's having the time of his life, and thinks everyone else is, too, with Darling and Blackadder as straight men to his antics.
 * General Failure: A parody of WW 1 Generals, meaning that his particular brand of strategic incompetence wasn't very removed from real life...
 * Hot-Blooded: A far cry from his soft-spoken ancestor.
 * Identical Grandson: Obviously of the Melchett of the second season, but also an Expy of the Duke of Wellington in the third season, who was also played by Stephen Fry. Wellington was likewise presented as a Hot-Blooded and crazy military man, but he was actually competent.
 * Jerkass: Melchett isn't just incompetent, he's totally insensitive to the well-being of others and might even be a sociopath.
 * Karma Houdini: Despite senselessly, obliviously ordering countless men to their deaths on the Western Front,
 * Large Ham: BAAAAAH!!
 * The Neidermeyer: He is distraught by the death of his pigeon "Speckled Jim", yet blissfully uncaring about the fifty thousand men a week dying in the trenches. His bizarre tactics that help expedite the latter include "doing precisely what we've done eighteen times before" and "climbing out of [the] trenches and walking very slowly towards the enemy". Sadly, both are to some extent Truth in Television.
 * Pet the Dog: His love for his pet pigeon. However, any sympathy he'd get for that is subverted by his callousness toward running over George's rabbit when George was a child, and of course his apathy toward his troops' lives.
 * Stupid Boss
 * Token Evil Teammate
 * Verbal Tic: His "baahing", often interpreted as a call-back to his ancestor's "affection for sheep", but according to Stephen Fry who played him, he had in mind that Melchett had hemorrhoids.

Captain Kevin Darling (Tim McInnerny)

""Just doing my job, Blackadder. Obeying orders...and, of course, having enormous *fun* into the bargain.""

""What is the matter with you today, Darling?!"
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV or V
 * Beleaguered Assistant
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick: Compared to Melchett
 * Jerkass
 * Jerkass Woobie: He'll never marry Doris...
 * The Rival: To Blackadder.
 * Sitcom Arch Nemesis: He and Blackadder have a lot in common, but they never miss an opportunity to insult each other and get each other killed.
 * Smug Snake
 * Twitchy Eye
 * Unfortunate Names: Word of God is that the character only began to take shape after they changed his surname from Cartwright.

"Darling you're hysterical.""

Squadron Commander the Lord Flashheart (Rik Mayall)

""Cancel the state funeral, tell the King to stop blubbing, Flash is NOT DEAD! I simply ran out of JUICE - and before all the girls start going "Oh, what's the point of living anymore?" I'm talkin' about PETROL! WOOF WOOF!""


 * The Ace
 * Ace Pilot: In this incarnation, he's a parody of that World War One trope.
 * Badass
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Badass Mustache
 * Casanova
 * Fake Ultimate Hero: Both incarnations of Flashheart are this. Brave and dashing, handsome, bold, admired by all, adored by the ladies, and laughed in the face of danger. Also an arrogant prat who boasted constantly, lied, sucked up to his superiors, patronised his admirers, and treated women as sex objects. And the only reason he always won was because he was an underhanded bastard who cheated and played dirty.
 * Although he does risk his life to save a man he doesn't like just for the hell of it, suggesting some of his reputation may be genuine.
 * Then again, he did only rescue him from a Cardboard Prison where even the high-ranked German officers can't remember simple things like closing the cell doors.
 * The Fighting Narcissist
 * Gag Penis
 * Gentleman Adventurer
 * Handsome Lech
 * Identical Grandson
 * Incoming Ham: "HEY GIRLS, LOOK AT MY MACHINERY!"
 * Large Ham
 * Memetic Badass / Memetic Sex God: In universe example.
 * Really Gets Around
 * Talk to The Fist: "Eat knuckle, Fritz!"
 * Verbal Tic: WOOF!

Kate, AKA Bob (Gabrielle Glaister)

""Permission to slip into something more uncomfortable, sir.""


 * Identical Grandson: Well, presumably...
 * Paper-Thin Disguise: It doesn't fool Blackadder this time around. When she actually dresses as a girl for a stage show, Melchett and Darling think it is a poor attempt at a drag act.
 * Sweet Polly Oliver

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (Adrian Edmonson)

""How lucky you English are to find the toilet so amusing. For us, it is a mundane and functional item. For you, the basis of an entire culture."


 * Ace Pilot
 * Casting Gag: He often worked with Rik Mayall, and generally was a tormentor to Mayall's characters. In this show, Mayall (playing Flasheart) kills him mid sentence and calls him a poof.
 * Cool and Unusual Punishment: His planned Fate Worse Than Death for Blackadder is to have him teaching at a German girl's school for the rest of his life, completely unaware that that would actually be paradise for Blackadder.
 * Dastardly Hun
 * Expy: He's obviously supposed to be the equivalent of Ludwig from the second season, but Identical Grandson isn't in play because Laurie is playing a different, also German descended role in this series.
 * Historical Domain Character
 * Historical Villain Upgrade: He's portrayed as a stupid Bond villain.
 * Red Baron: The Original
 * Smug Snake
 * Worthy Opponent: How he sees Lord Flasheart. Flash, alas, just sees a poof who needs shooting.