Sir John Oldcastle censorship). Oldcastle is a religious but not a political dissenter; his quarrel is with the Roman Catholic Church, and he remains loyal to the Crown and to Henry V personally (II,iii). The villain of the piece is the Bishop of Rochester, aided by his summoner Clun. The same cast of rebels and conspirators is active in this play (II,ii, III,ii, etc.) as in "Henry V," but Oldcastle keeps scrupulously separate from them. The play offers a comic character, Sir John of Wrotham, a pale imitation of Falstaff, who interacts with a disguised Henry V (III,iv) much as in Shakespeare's plays.
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