TVSquad

(S02E03) And to the right, my dear readers, is the main reason I watch The Tudors. Let's face it, if they hired an actor who actually resembled King Henry VIII, I don't think this show would be quite as popular. But shameless appreciation of Jonathon Rhys Meyer's hotness aside, I kind of like the show too. *wink*

Tonight's episode had some big plot progressions but in between was a lot of the same old stuff they've been using since the very beginning of the series. There was more Team Katharine (led by the Duke of Suffolk and loyal Catholic Thomas More) versus Team Anne (led by her family...oh, and the king). For a discussion of what happened tonight, read on after the jump.

Two big things happened tonight as we spanned about nine months of history in one hour: Anne was crowned Queen of England and Anne had a baby... a baby girl. Let's start with the coronation. I won't even go into the marriage because that was rather anti-climatic and it was a secret. I'd rather talk about the very public replacing of Queen Katharine with Queen Anne.

I loved how there were no cheering crowds to celebrate Anne's ascendance. I think that's very telling, especially for Henry. While he's fickle and bordering on tyrannical now, he still wants his people to love him and love his queen. The rather empty streets and the assassination attempt has to stick with Henry.

"It was more like a funeral than a parade," a concerned Anne said of her procession to the coronation. I'm beginning to feel a little sympathetic towards Anne. I used to find her and her overly ambitious father annoying but now I think I kind of like her. It was clear from this episode that she already fears what she's gotten herself into. If Henry can cast aside one wife, what's to say he can't just cast aside Anne? And it's Anne who put those thoughts in his head. I know it's cliche but she's made her bed and now she has to sleep in it.

Anne was even more worried after the birth of her daughter. Henry was looking for a son for obvious reasons: he's need an heir. But, I believe that from what we've seen of Henry's characterization, a son from Anne would have meant that the universe somehow agreed with his decision to divorce Katharine. It would mean that God smiled on his marriage to Anne.

And Peter O'Toole was back. That's never a bad thing. (Just as an aside, O'Toole delivers the best use of the royal "we," even better than Rhys Meyers.) While he made the grave mistake of giving his approval for Thomas Cranmer to be made the Archbishop of Canterbury, the pope regrouped nicely after Henry and Anne's secret marriage. "I will give the king until September to take back his former wife on pain of excommunication," he announced to kneeling diplomats and ambassadors, William Brereton among them. And now we know who Anne's assassin is. This "soldier of Christ" even tried to shoot Anne on her way to her coronation at the insisting of the pope.

Other Stuff / Historical Tidbits:

• Well, at least the virgin who dropped her panties for a poem didn't just disappear. I liked the scene with Elizabeth and Sir Thomas Wyatt. I think it's pretty clear that he was using Elizabeth to get over Anne. And it's pretty clear that Wyatt is not going away. I like Wyatt too. He truly loves Anne. His pure feelings are a nice contrast to the chess game that Anne has played with Henry.
• So, the Duke of Suffolk is back in good graces now? I liked how he put Lady Elinor in the king's way and offered to "make arrangements" for Henry. But he's not completely favored by the king either. Henry looked annoyed when Charles was late to the secret marriage.
  
• Speaking of Henry's need for mistresses: Anne was not allowed to have sex with him until forty days after childbirth when she was "churched," a ritual that blessed new mothers and gave thanksgiving for the woman's safety and recovery from childbirth. Anne would have had to stay confined for those forty days after Elizabeth's birth. Also, I believe it was considered harmful to the baby if a couple engaged in intercourse while the mother was still pregnant.
  
• Anne's baby girl went on to be the greatest queen of England. Queen Elizabeth I reigned during England's Golden Age, an age which saw the defeat of the Spanish Armanda and the rise of great writers like William Shakespeare. Of course her reign was not without fault, but that little baby you saw at the very end of tonight's episode is certainly not just another insignificant little girl.
• Sir Thomas Cranmer was the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury. He put the English bible in the country's parishes.
• What did you think of Anne's speech to her new servants and ladies in waiting? Interesting foreshadowing or just fluff?
  
• I guess George Boleyn is gay? Or at least bi-curious?