Bardolph (Shakespeare character) He is sentenced to punishment of death by hanging. In a focal point of "Henry V", King Henry, despite being friends with Bardolph in his youth, remorselessly agrees to his punishment and has him hanged. Bardolph appears in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" as one of Falstaff's associates along with Nym and Pistol again, though his role is minor. Abraham Slender accuses him and the others of getting him drunk and then robbing him after he passed out. They all deny it. Later, Bardolph is dismissed by Falstaff because of his inadequate thieving skills ("his filching was like an unskilful
The Shakespeare Code makes reference to the many debates about Shakespeare's sexuality. Shakespeare flirts with Martha multiple times during the episode, and ultimately composes Sonnet 18 for her, calling her his "Dark Lady". This is a reference to the enigmatic female character in Shakespeare's Sonnets, although Sonnet 18 is in fact one of those addressed to a male character, the Fair Youth. Shakespeare subsequently flirts with the Doctor as well, at which the Doctor observes, "Fifty-seven academics just punched the air," a reference to the debates on this subject. There is a running joke throughout the episode in which the Doctor creates an