| “ | Forgive me, Herr Blackadder. I have been neglecting my duties as a host. Please accept my apple-ogies. | „ |
| ~ Ludwig introducing himself to Blackadder. |
| “ | Will you have another piece of pie, my Lord? | „ |
| ~ Ludwig using his falsetto voice to show Blackadder he was the waitress, Big Sally. |
| “ | Now this is a disguise I'm really going to enjoy. If I can just get the voice right. | „ |
| ~ Ludwig disguised as the Queen of England or Queenie after killing the real Queenie as well as Blackadder, Baldrick, Melchett, Percy and Nursie. |
Prince Ludwig the Indestructible (or "Prince Ludwig the Indestwuctible") is the secondary antagonist in the 1986 comedy series Blackadder II, appearing in the Blackadder II series finale episode "Chains".
He was portrayed by Hugh Laurie, who also portrayed Dr. Gregory House in House, Jasper in 101 Dalmatians, David Nix in Tomorrowland, Newton in LittleBigPlanet 3, and Richard Roper in The Night Manager.
Biography[]
Prince Ludwig is a nefarious German prince who as a child wore shorts, Ludwig even having dirty hair and spots with his classmates giving him the uncreative yet appropriate nickname, "Shorty Greasy Spot Spot" which Ludwig grew to despise to such an extent that whenever it was mentioned to him, he would go into a fit of rage over it, Ludwig vowing to become King of England so that no-one would refer to him by his nickname ever again.
Ludwig is a master of disguise and claims to have previous encounters with the other characters. His plot was to take over England by overthrowing Queen Elizabeth I.
For the purposes of intelligence gathering, he impersonated chambermaid Big Sally, having sex with Lord Blackadder, Flossie the sheep, having sex with Lord Melchett, and a stable boy who held a horse that Queen Elizabeth had sex with.
To achieve this, Ludwig had his two guards infiltrate the palace and capture the Queen's courtiers Blackadder and Lord Melchett, knocking the two men unconscious, imprisoning the two men in a dungeon. When one of his men attempted to begin torturing Blackadder, Ludwig intervened and after talking to Blackadder and Melchett who was dragged into the room by Ludwig's two guards asked them to betray their Queen which they agreed to do.
A week after sending a random demand to Queenie, Ludwig received word that she had chosen to have a costume party over saving either Blackadder or Melchett which left him greatly disappointed. Blackadder and Melchett then chose to play along with Ludwig, knowingly betraying their Queen which was revealed to be part of a plan to save her while Ludwig changed their death sentences to life imprisonment instead. Arriving in the cell, Ludwig also reacted violently when Blackadder theorized he'd been bullied at school before Ludwig departed for the palace, Blackadder noting he'd struck a nerve with Ludwig.
Blackadder and Melchett, working together overpowered Ludwig's incompetent guards and then returned to the palace.
At the Queen's fancy dress party, Blackadder recognized a cow sitting beside Queenie and stabbed him it to everyone's shock with it being revealed that the cow was in fact Ludwig who then revealed that he'd met Queenie before.
His cover blown, Ludwig then fled, heading for the palace doors while swearing that he'd get revenge. He then attempted to escape while laughing manically but Blackadder threw a dagger at him, stating that Ludwig would die and be buried with the dagger apparently killing or injuring Ludwig off-screen as he was heard crying out in pain before the group all cheered at Blackadder's efforts, Blackadder even commenting Ludwig was a strange man.
Upon being asked how he knew the cow was Ludwig, Blackadder then revealed that Ludwig was a master of disguise and his costume was too good while Nursie was a sad, insane woman with an udder fixation which meant all he needed to do was kill the one who "looked" like a cow.
However, after the credits have aired, it was revealed however that Ludwig had in fact survived the attack and upon killing the real Queenie, assumed her identity before murdering Blackadder, Baldrick, Percy, Melchett and Nursie.
It's implied that Ludwig used a dagger to slit the throats of Queenie, Nursie, Baldrick and Percy while either breaking Blackadder's neck and then either strangled or suffocated Melchett.
As he stood over the corpses, Ludwig remarked that he'd enjoy this disguise if he could just get the voice right.
Physical Appearance[]
Ludwig is a man with short, slacked-back hair and blue eyes.
He has two scars on the right side of his face, one going through his eyebrow while the other is on his cheek with a silver earring in his left ear.
His uniform covers his entire body and also has numerous lines on it as well as a joint color scheme of red and yellow/gold.
Ludwig also carries a whip in his right hand.
Upon returning to the dungeon for the final time to talk to Blackadder and Melchett before departing for England, Ludwig is seen wearing a black hat with pink/red feathers on its side and in the centre of it as well as a long black cloak that covers his right arm, the cloak itself also in red and gold with a gold crest or symbol of some kind on the right side covering his right shoulder.
During his time at the party, Ludwig wore a cow costume and upon being exposed, abandoned his disguise, fleeing while still wearing the lower part of his outfit.
Personality[]
A deplorable individual, Ludwig was highly intelligent, manipulative, deceitful and incredibly cunning, able to deceive his victims through the disguises he wore, even possessing an ability to change his voice and gender, his skills capable of fooling Lord Melchett, Lord Blackadder and Queenie.
He showed great self-control and appeared to be emotionless at times but upon the mention of his childhood as well as his nickname which was "Shorty Greasy Spot-Spot", became enraged.
He took great pleasure in gloating to Blackadder and Melchett that their paths had crossed before, implying he had a sadistic nature.
Ludwig also possessed a strong will as he was miraculously able to survive apparently being killed by a dagger Blackadder had thrown at him earlier in the episode and then return sometime later, presumably killing Queenie first and stealing her identity before he murdered Blackadder, Baldrick, Percy, Melchett and Nursie.
Trivia[]
- This is the second and final role Hugh Laurie would play, having been a recurring guest star in Blackadder II. Laurie would eventually join Blackadder the Third, becoming a member of the main cast and appearing in the remaining shows in the series, being absent from The Cavalier Years. It is also the first villainous role in Blackadder that Laurie has played.
- Prior to appearing in "Chains" as Prince Ludwig, Laurie had appeared in the previous episode, "Beer" as Simon Partridge, a drunk. It is unknown if Simon Partridge is supposed to have been one of Ludwig's many identities or if it was a completely separate individual. Laurie is also the first actor in the Blackadder series to have played two different characters in the same show, "Blackadder II" followed by Rowan Atkinson who in Blackadder the Third played butler Edmund Blackadder and his Scottish cousin, MacAdder.
- Ludwig is considered to be the most serious villain in the Blackadder franchise. He's also presumably the only villain in the series who has not only succeeded in eliminating the entire main cast, making him the first and only villain to do so but also managed to escape either being killed off or brought to justice for his crimes.
- In the final scene of "Chains", Miranda Richardson who played the real Queenie is seen mouthing the words with Hugh Laurie's voice dubbed in as well.
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 Villains
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