IT’S THE MOMENT NONE OF YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR..
SMALL PREQUEL TO “KING LEAR BUT STAGED SO THAT EDMUND IS 100% MORE SYMPATHETIC AND GLOUCESTER’S 100% MORE OF A JERK”
So. Shakespeare’s great. The best thing about Shakespeare is the lack of stage directions. That way, you can portray the characters in whatever way you want.
Every interpretation of a character is equally canon, so long as you don’t change the script at all.
If you can change the way a whole character is portrayed just by using staging, then it’s not even a headcanon. Your interpretation is 100% canon.
So therefore, according to these rules, Edmund is, in fact, a sympathetic character.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
And Without Further Ado, KING LEAR BUT STAGED SO THAT EDMUND’S MORE SYMPATHETIC