Written by Caballero Oscuro

It turns out your high school teacher was right: history can be fun! Showtime’s take on The Tudors ratchets up the sex and violence of jolly old England and features a preening pretty boy king seemingly more at home on the catwalk than the throne. As played by Jonathan Rhys Mayers, young King Henry VIII pouts and sashays his way through his duties, determined to build a glorious legacy for his kingdom rather than resting on the laurels of his forebears. He’d much rather fight than negotiate, even when it risks the possibility of sending his country into war. He’d also much rather have his pick of subjects for his bed, in spite of his existing marriage to his queen. He’s an intriguing character and surprisingly athletic for a royal, albeit somewhat one-dimensional in early stages.

As his foils, the young king initially tees off against the Duke of Buckingham before eventually discovering his greatest Season 1 nemesis, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (Sam Neill). The Cardinal is his closest adviser, but is also a sneaky, conniving bastard perfectly content to undermine Henry’s power at the same time he’s trying to become the next Pope. Neill’s delicious performance gives Rhys Mayers his only real acting competition in early stages of the season, creating a powerful love-hate relationship that forms much of the show’s intrigue.

Henry has some domestic strife with his wife as well, but he’s mostly an international playboy in love with finding his next romantic conquest. He’s shown happily jumping from bed to bed until he falls under the spell of Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer), a winsome lass put in his path for the express purpose of seducing him to curry favor for her father. Their relationship sets off monumental changes for the country’s religion, as the Roman Catholic Church’s refusal to allow divorce leads Henry to establish the Church of England. This also leads him to eventually marry a total of six times, but those are stories for future seasons.