The Tudors virgin diary – Where did the politicking go?

(Season 1, Episodes 6-10)

My title for this post may be a bit misleading. Through the last half of the first season of The Tudors there was definitely a good amount of politics, but it seemed like there wasn’t as much as in the first half. The focus seemed to shift to Henry’s relationship with Ann Boleyn. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I think I preferred the first half of the season.

This second half certainly had the only episode that I would consider to be a stinker: “Message to the Emperor.” This is the episode that featured an outbreak of “sweating sickness” in England. Both Anne and Wolsey came down with the disease, and Henry flew into a panic, including incredibly cheesy nightmare visions. Aside from the over-the-top panic from Henry, I also hated the fake peril for Anne and Wolsey. It drives me nuts when shows put characters in peril when the audience already knows their fate. A simple history lesson will tell you that neither Anne nor Wolsey died during an outbreak of “sweating sickness.” Lost pulled a similar stunt back in the day when Jack had to have his appendix taken out on the island. Meanwhile, the audience already knew that he was alive and well off the island thanks to the flashforwards. It just doesn’t work as an effective story telling device.

There’s a certain dichotomy in my mind in regards to the first season. At first, I thought the plot was moving ahead at a blistering pace. I guess I expected a little more Henry and Katherine before all of the Anne Boleyn drama began. At the same time, I was expecting a lot more to happen before the end of the first season. There are six queens to get through in only four short seasons. I was expecting Anne and Henry to be married before the season was out, but that was not to be.

There was certainly some good drama to end the season, however. Wolsey’s downfall and death was certainly a nice end to the arc of season one. I’m just glad that I don’t have to wait an entire off-season to jump into the next episode. I’m eager to continue with the relationship of Henry and Anne and watch it fall apart. I’m also curious to see what fate is in store for Katherine, who continues to rail against Henry’s desire for a divorce. Her speech and exit from the trial was a great moment, and I can’t imagine that it is going to bode well for her in the second season.

In any case, I am through the first season and looking forward to starting the second. I’m just glad that something is finally clicking for me this summer.

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Aug 04, 2010 @ 14:00 EST5EDT