Sunday, July 20, 2008

The Tudors season 2

Season 2 starts when King Henry VIII appoints himself as the Supreme Head of the Church of England and ends with the execution of Anne Boleyn. It seems that there is no treason in this period, and the king's mind is preoccupied in how to get a male heir. Perhaps it is true that he is bewitched by Anne Boleyn, for he sacrifices so much in order to please her, including ordering the beheading of Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More, and suffering the excommunication from the Pope - and in the end all she can give him is only another daughter.

Queen Anne here is quite an ambitious woman and often meddles with politics, even makes enemies with the king's oldest friend, Charles Brandon, and Thomas Cromwell. Here Cromwell's part is not as big as in other movies I've seen, and he is not so evil - or it's because of James Frain's interpretation. The king later meets and falls in love with Jane Seymour, and as if to smooth the way, Anne losses her unborn baby boy; makes the king dislikes her even more and he uses every possible way to get rid of her. 'The child is deformed, it cannot be mine,' says he and asks Cromwell to confirm the rumour from Brandon that the queen has many lovers. Cromwell uses one of lady-in-waitings's story and arrests every male that ever enters the queen's chambers, including her own brother. Only Thomas Wyatt is released, and he is the only one who is really guilty. But that is politics. A daughter can be a legitimate heir and next time a bastard, and then back to be an heir again. Having watched The Other Boleyn Girl, it seems ridiculous that Mary Boleyn can marry without his father and sister's knowledge. At the execution of Anne, it looks that the people love her, which is very opposite to her coronation day.

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