Season 2, Episode 7
"If you could read Greek, Master Smeaton, you'd know that even the gods had problems with their wives." - George Boleyn
If that quotation doesn't just about sum up all that is
The Tudors, I don't know what does. Had I started watching this show without knowing anything about the history of England, I'd probably be under the impression that all of Europe's problems in the 16th century were due exclusively to Henry VIII's bats*** exes. Luckily, we all know it's slightly more complicated than that, but just to balance things out, I say we give some credit to Thomas Boleyn et al, for using his daughter as a rung in his climb up the social ladder. Anne might want to claim, as she did in that final scene, that she did most of it herself, but her father and brother were just as culpable in bringing about Henry's (and England's) woes.
Like last week, this episode was all about transition. Because, I suppose, we can't see more than two of Henry's wives at the same time (would that be the Law of Conservation of Wives?), we watched Katherine be replaced with Lady Jane Seymour, daughter of Sir John, apparently an old family friend. What a horrible way for Katherine to go, though. She'd been sick for so long, as Anne pointed out, that her death seemed like a relief even to her. However, she was still denied access to her daughter, except in pain-induced hallucinations, and her estate was nearly in poverty, leaving her almost none of the comforts she'd been accustomed to. With the way things are going for the Church in England, I'm almost surprised she was allowed to have a priest present to give her the Last Rites. I only wish I knew what Henry thought, as he read what she'd left for him (her love, her wish that he'd return to God). Was he comparing her to Anne? Was he full of regret? So much on this show is usually so overtly (sometimes obnoxiously) expository, but not Henry's reaction to this.
On the other hand, this week Anne was all about exposition. Crazy exposition. Unfortunately for her and her entire family, she's starting to chafe at the confines of her role as wife and Queen - positions without the influence she had when she was only the mistress. She quarreled with Cromwell about where the confiscated Church money should go (he says to the King, she says to charity), with her family about her actions, and with Henry about their daughter's future. On the upside, she conceived again after some angry sex with Henry (at least I assume she isn't actively having an affair with Smeaton), but something tells me her prediction of being, "on the edge of a golden world," is a bit premature, and perhaps just a symptom of her anxiety.
Some superfluous (in the flow of the episode, but not in the greater history of things) scenes this week: the Huguenots ransacking a monastery, the Pope talking about how Henry must face the consequences of his actions, and the shoehorned in scenes with Wyatt and the now-deceased Elizabeth. These scenes were worthy of mention because they'll probably come in to play in later episodes, but they didn't really belong in this one.
A note: Next week's write-up will either go up a few days early or a few days late, as I'll be on vacation next Sunday. Nevertheless, a recap will go up at some point before the next episode airs. Happy scheming!
