The most interesting thing out of Henry’s court this past week came to my attention in a short paragraph in the Art’s section of The New York Times: The Tudors will end its run after next season. I was a bit surprised by the news. First of all, Showtime just announced their rejection of all four of their pilots in development. In addition, I was enjoying the idea that The Tudors was designed to be dynastic, to carry the series through the end of Elizabeth I’s reign. Instead, we’ll get the truncated story of Henry VIII, his final two marriages crushed into next season’s ten episodes. What about numbers four through six? We’ll see some of them, but not to the same extent that we’ve gotten to know Henry’s first and last wives.
So be it. Last night’s episode certainly did not make the argument to prolong the series’ life. Too much time was spent on the aftermath of the Pilgrimage of Grace, and not enough on the drama that was King Henry. With less than twenty episodes left, I hope they ramp it up soon.
Henry continues to feed his sexual appetite. Check. He reassures the rebels with one hand while forcing them to bend to his will or die with the other. Check. Even Robert Aske (Gerard McSorley) falls for the jackal’s smile, coming to London for a peaceful meeting, only to find himself locked in the Tower of London. Henry may relate to Aske, but treason is treason. What century do these people think they live in?
I’ve wondered before why Jane Seymour (Annabelle Wallis) chose to push for Henry’s acceptance of his daughter Mary and not Elizabeth; here we see Elizabeth being brought into the fold as well, at least temporarily. I’m not sure how historically accurate that is, but I appreciated the sentiment.
This episode ends with a lot of dead rebels, and a pregnant Queen. Will Henry finally get the male heir he has so longed for? History’s already answered that question for us, but like I’ve said before, Rhys Meyers makes it new, and you can feel his hopes and dreams seeping out of him as if you were standing there in the dark with him.
I’m a bit disappointed, not in the show but in the point in history that they’ve chosen to delve into. There’s a lot going on, to be sure, but not from a dramatic standpoint. Henry was detached from the rebellion, so the incident even lacks any of the political intrigue that we’ve come to expect from the king’s international dealings. The Pilgrimage of Grace is a fascinating piece of English history, that simply does not make for good TV. Thankfully the birth of the new baby will bring with it a lot of interesting material.
I enjoy The Tudors, but I’m not sure that I can bring anything to the discussion that you can’t already get from any number of historical sources. Is there interest out there for me to continue writing about the show? Do you have anything that you’d love to discuss about Henry and/or his wives in general? Let me know … Unfortunately, the clock has already started to tick on this one.
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Apr 20, 2009 @ 13:30 EST5EDT
Something fishy is going on because it was publicly stated by a writer or creator of the show that they planned on having 5 seasons with 2 wives a season.
*POST AUTHOR*
I thought I had heard that somewhere, too.
The Hollywood Reporter says something rather convoluted:
“The new episodes will continue the show’s current quickened matrimonial pace of going through two wives per season, a narrative strategy that was planned from the show’s outset given that Henry’s first two wives (Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn) were the best known and most influential.”
That would suggest a fifth season, too. I don’t know.