On the whole, Series 2 was better than Series 1, and elevated Blackadder's status from slightly dull to a must-see. Thank God for Ben Elton is all we can say. Series 2 may have ended, but Blackadder is far from over. It has reached a peak, and will stay at that peak forever, and become one of Britain's best comedies, and a highlight of the 80s. Anyway, let's start the review of the episode.
Chains spends no time lingering on details - Blackadder is kidnapped about 3 minutes into it, with Melchett. Blackadder's true colours are revealed in this episode - he is nasty to everyone, even if he is stuck with them, and never loses his cool. Hugh Laurie is great as Prince Ludwig - from here onwards, he will appear in every Blackadder episode. The episode once again reaches hilarious heights - Melchett's shameful past is revealed too subtly, though. We once again switch between Blackadder's situation and Queenie's situations, but while Blackadder's scenes have brains, Queenie's situations aren't brilliantly written and should have been left out. The episode is clearly resolved in the end - as it is with all Blackadder episodes - but there is a surprise ending - do not press stop on the credits sequence.
On the whole, Chains is a very funny episode, and a worthy close to what has now become a great comedy. Spiffing close to a spiffing series, which is soon to become even greater. 9/10