TV Review: The Tudors - The Story Thus Far

With its third episode, The Tudors completes its introductory arc, setting the stage for a launch into the darker intrigues and alliances that marked Henry VIII's monarchy. What we've seen thus far has been an evolution of sorts. In the premiere, Henry came across more as a spoiled playboy, with affairs of state more an annoyance keeping him away from his more serious affairs, such as tennis, jousting, and bedding ladies in waiting. By the second episode, he was settling more into the political weight his throne afforded him. In the latest installment, Henry's grown comfortable in his skin, and has learned to reconcile the playful passions of youth with the more deliberate maneuverings of diplomacy and power.

It's not as though Henry had an epiphany — from the beginning, he's used boyish charm to mask his calculating shrewdness. He was more reckless then, hastily declaring war on France almost as an afterthought, only to be dissuaded by the pro-French Cardinal Wolsey from acting too hastily. Wolsey has his own Papal ambitions, of course, and needs the support of the French to fulfill them. And on Henry's other shoulder is his humanist conscience, in the form of Thomas More. For a while, it appeared Henry was easily swayed by either of them.

Throughout most of the second episode, Henry seemed more a pawn than a ruler. The real battle for dominance seemed to be between Wolsey's quest to be Pope and More's humanist ideals. Even the Duke of Buckingham's execution for treason seemed vaguely orchestrated by Wolsey, more than by order of Henry. Henry, however, is entranced with the writings of Machiavelli, and wonders aloud if it's better for a king to be loved or feared. But once Elizabeth Blount bears Henry's illegitimate son, whom the king names Henry Fitzroy, his entire demeanor changes. We suddenly see Henry in a new light, and find that he's no longer a king to be taken lightly. By the episode's end, he's even "persuaded" Wolsey to happily turn over his palace to him.

Article Author: Ray Ellis

Ray Ellis is a freelance writer who has been dissecting pop culture and its effect on how we view ourselves for over twenty years, ruffling feathers and dragging unsuspecting pedestrians along for the ride whenever possible.

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