Headscratchers / Much Ado About Nothing (1993)

• It's very obvious that, when Hero is accused of cheating on Claudio with somebody at her window, Margaret almost immediately figures out that the person the guys saw was her. (In the original play, the scene is presented much more innocently; in the film, they're clearly having sex.) But instead of speaking up for her mistress, either before or after the fact, she just gets upset and runs off, leaving Hero to take the fall for a situation about which she had absolutely no knowledge. Why was she so Easily Forgiven by the end of the movie for not even trying to help Hero?
  • At the time, any woman discovered to be having sex without being married to the man faced some severe punishments. Everything Hero faced at the implication - loss of reputation, ruining any chance of finding a husband if Borachio wouldn't marry her, disenfranchisement from her family, etc - Margaret would have faced too. Moreover, Margaret is clearly not from as noble a background as Hero and thus would have very little protection (pun not intended). And then there's the fact that she was basically used as a pawn to ruin her friend. From all appearances, she and Borachio did have a good relationship until that point; once she realised that she had been used in that way, the shock and horror and general mortification at the situation was probably overwhelming, and it's ultimately only Borachio stepping in and claiming she knew nothing of the scheme and that he basically took advantage of her that prevents her from being punished along with Borachio, Conrad and Don John.