More troubled and troubling than King Henry IV Part 1, the play continues the story of King Henrys decline and Hals reform. Though Part 2 echoes the structure of the earlier play, it is a darker and more unsettling world, in which even Falstaffs revelry is more tired and cynical, and the once-merry Hal sloughs off his tavern companions to become King Henry V. James C. Bulmans authoritative edition provides a wealth of incisive commentary on this complex history play.