Hamlet Act II

So, this first scene of Act II kinda threw me for a loop. I was a bit confused why Polonius needed to spy on his son, especially after he had sent him to Paris just a bit ago. I thought it was a little funny the way he went about it- he made the messenger tell lies about his son to another person, and gauge their reaction to his lies to sense the real situation. This seems like a pretty round about way to me, and I was thinking "Isn't the person he talks to just going to go and say that to someone else?" But then Polonius tells the messenger, "Observe his inclination in yourself", so pretty much do some sleuthing but don't make assumptions based on it- make sure you catch him in the act!! Seems like Polonius has literally no trust in anyone around him, but I guess that's a topic for another day. So after Polonius sends the messenger on their way, Ophelia comes running in, all "affrighted" (2.1.72). She tells her dad about Hamlets strange actions, how he ran into her room lookin all disheveled and unkempt. I was confused hearing this from Ophelia- how does she really feel towards Hamlet??? Does she just want to keep telling her dad everything?? But also, what is Hamlet doing? We see him in Scene II start to act a little mad for show, so was this a little precursor to that, or is he really "Mad for thy love?" (2.1.81) (that seems a bit dramatic to me, but whatever). Ok so to recap: Hamlet is starting to go off the rails (or maybe not), and Polonius is spying on his son. 

Ok now Scene 2. This was a longggg one!! I was reading and it just kept going and going. Hamlet was a popular guy today, he had like 7 different people looking for him. Ok but for real- this scene starts with his uncle-dad and mother-aunt (these title made me laugh a little not going to lie) spying on him by summoning his old friends to get some info from Hamlet. It seems like the theme of this act is spying?? I say this because after Hamlet's friends leave, Polonius and Claudius make up a scheme to set up Ophelia and Hamlet on a little walk, and they'll follow behind them. So Hamlet figures out his friends intentions before they can get real info back to his parents (is that the correct title I have no idea). He even talks about how nothing makes him happy in life anymore, no women or men. He seems pretty depressed to me but that's besides the point. Ok I also liked how Hamlet was kind of making fun of Polonius in this scene??? He kept teasing him about how long his beard was and mocking as though he didn't know who Ophelia was. Maybe this means Hamlet is creating the image that he has truly gone off the rails. His school friends then tell him that the acting group is nearing, and then they arrive. He welcomes them to the city, and tells them of how he has fooled his uncle, mother, and Polonius of his madness. He then starts reciting a speech from a play, and urges one of the actors to continue it. Once done, he has Polonius escort them to rooms after saying the next night they will have a play, and he will insert his own speech into the play. 

After they leave Hamlet, he has come internal conflict. He admires the actors for their ability to express their stories and emotion, and curses himself for his lack of action. He calls out for revenge after curing Polonius, and devises (yet another!!) plan to spy upon Claudius and find the validity of the Ghost's assertions. 

How do you think his and Ophelia's relationship will develop after this? What do you think their walk will be like? How do you think Hamlets speech will go in the following night? How will he act, and what do you think he'll talk about? How do you think the acting troupe will play into the story in the long run?