The biggest clue M. L. Rio gives us to what actually happened at the end of 'If We Were Villains' isn't Pericles, allow me to elaborate:
Spoilers for 'If We Were Villains' by M.L. Rio below, obviously.
So, everyone talks about the Pericles symbolism and that being proof that James is alive, but I think there's stronger proof elsewhere. In the epilogue, when Oliver is told that James is dead, Filippa is said to have "a copy of Winter’s Tale open in her lap" (351).
If you haven't read The Winter's Tale, that's okay, it is a strange play. (Despite it being, in my opinion, Shakespeare's most explicitly sapphic play!!). But anyway, a key aspect of the plot is that a character everyone thinks is dead comes back to life at the end. I'll explain further:
So, in act three, scene two, a character named Hermione is said to have died after being accused of a crime she didn't commit. The audience sees her pass out, and she's carried offstage where it is said she died.
Hermione was accused of adultery and treason, and the person she was accused of cheating with, Polixenes, escapes before he can be killed for this crime with an advisor named CAMILLO — aka the same name as the gang's fight coordinator who knew James well / became Fillippa's fiancé.
Now, in the very last scene of the play, all the remaining characters gather back together including Camillo, as well as Leontes, the man who caused Hermione to "die," and who was consumed by grief and regret for the actions he took that lead to her death. Miraculously, during this scene, a friend of Hermione's named Paulina, reveals that through Leontes's remorse and the resolution of this whole plot, Hermione is miraculously able to come back to life. It's unclear if this is through magic or if Hermione was just hiding out with Paulina all this time and now is able to return to her husband (booooo). She falls into Leontes's arms and everyone is happy again. This is a super weird plot point and doesn't make a lot of sense, but it does speak to the possibility of James being alive!
Interestingly, from that scene, there's also this line: "Bequeath to death your numbness, for from him / Dear life redeems you." - Winter's Tale, V.iii.1280129. To me, this line can easily be applied to James's guilt and reason for theoretically committing suicide. Is James able to find redemption through dying and then coming back to life?
I think the name Camillo is the strongest connection here - there's no way it's accidental. Additionally, this might be a reach, but Winter's Tale is only mentioned one other time in the book, on page 94 when present day-Fillipa mentions, "Frederick wants to branch out and try Winter’s Tale, but Gwendolyn’s insisting on Othello.” The comparison of these two plays seems deliberate - they aren't in the same genre, so they're an odd two plays to be choosing between for the fourth years. However, there is a KEY comparison between the two: they both involve husbands becoming convinced that their wives are being unfaithful, and they both involve said husbands killing their wives—the only difference is that in The Winter's Tale, Hermione comes back to life. Desdemona doesn't. Is M. L. Rio making a sneaky reference to the two possible interpretations of her ending here? Sort of presenting the reader with a choice of what interpretation they chose to believe?
I think it's so cool!!!
