The Tudors returns for its fourth and final season on April 11. I’ve watched the first five of the season’s ten episodes and want to share some of what I like and dislike about this new chapter in the story of Henry VIII. Of course, this post contains SPOILERS, so consider yourself warned (although if you’ve studied English history, you already know what’s going to happen).
3 Things to Look Forward To
1) This season, we’ll see a lot more of Henry’s three children. Little Prince Edward is absolutely adorable, and there are sweet scenes between him and his sister Elizabeth. The young Elizabeth is a precocious girl, and when Henry introduces her to his newest wife, Catherine Howard, there’s an interesting moment when he stares at Elizabeth as if he senses that she has a great destiny.
Mary, one of my favorite characters, continues to grow in confidence and popularity, even as she clashes with her teenaged stepmother. After all the misfortune that Mary endured — and knowing she will be vilified by history — I like seeing her at a good place in her life, enjoying the King’s and the people’s affection. Henry goes on a progress (a tour of the country), visiting his subjects to extend forgiveness to the people who had rebelled against him, and he takes Mary along because she is so popular. Although Sarah Bolger’s stiff delivery still bothers me, I appreciate the dignity and passion she brings to Lady Mary.
2) The queens, of course, are at the heart of Henry’s story. The first five episodes tell Catherine Howard’s story, while Catherine Parr’s is reserved for the season’s second half. Catherine Howard (played by Tamzin Merchant) renews Henry’s passion, for a time, with her youthful vivacity. Although she doesn’t measure up to Anne Boleyn when it comes to sparks and drama, she certainly brings back the sexy. In fact, pretty much all she does is prance around naked, giggle, and make love. I don’t count her giggling as something to look forward to — in fact, it can be quite annoying — but her extreme youth and ignorance, contrasted with her long sexual history, is what makes her interesting.
I haven’t seen Catherine Parr (Joely Richardson) yet, but I’m already intrigued by her because she does not want to marry Henry, is in love with Thomas Seymour, and is a heretic, yet somehow earns Henry’s respect. She even acts as regent for him while he is off fighting his midlife-crisis war.
I’ve saved my favorite for last. I am, of course, referring to Anne of Cleves (singer Joss Stone), who was so cruelly dismissed by the King last season. I was so delighted that Anne was not ignored this season; indeed, once Henry gets over the lust for his young Queen Catherine, he goes back to Anne (who is good friends with his children) and realizes that he likes her after all. Likes her enough to ask if he can come to her bed. Imagine if Henry had never divorced Anne … he might have actually had a happy marriage with her. Anyways, I love Joss Stone’s portrayal of Anne. She brings a glowing innocence to the character that reminds me of a young Claire Danes.
All of the queens will make an appearance near the end of the season. That should be great.
3) Of the new characters this season, two have fascinated me so far. The first is Thomas Culpepper (Torrance Coombs), the King’s personal groomsman who becomes Catherine Howard’s lover. Why is Culpepper intriguing? It’s mostly his face. He has the face of an angel — an innocent, boyish, blue-eyed face. And yet behind that face is the soul of a total bastard. I was shocked at the things he said and did while in the grip of unrequited lust, because he looked so innocent that I never expected him to be so despicable. Yes, Culpepper is something to look forward to.
The other fella to look out for is the Earl of Surrey (Queen Catherine’s cousin, although she calls him uncle), played with a gruff, slow Scottish accent by David O’Hara. Surrey is kind of a jerk and kind of awesome at the same time. He openly despises and mocks the Seymours and any other new nobility, doesn’t seem to care what anybody thinks, hangs in taverns, and writes poetry. Yes, he writes poetry because he’s that Earl of Surrey, the father of the English sonnet. At one point, the Duke of Suffolk (the King’s old buddy Charles Brandon) sits down and reads a poem that Surrey is translating from Latin. Surrey delivers this amazing speech about “the quiet mind” — it’s my favorite moment in the first half of the season. I could listen to David O’Hara’s voice all day.
There is certainly more that I enjoyed, but I’ll move on to …
3 Things I Didn’t Like
1) Charles Brandon (Henry Cavill), who used to be one of my favorite characters, is a mere shadow of himself in the first half of this season. I guess killing thousands of innocent people will do that to you. After Charles crushed the rebellion last season, he lost his self-respect and the love of his wife, and now he talks to ghosts and walks around with no spark of life. It’s depressing to see him like this.
2) I don’t buy Jonathan Rhys Meyers as “old” Henry. I know that at this point, the historical Henry was almost fifty years old, weighing 300 pounds and suffering from a stinking, oozing ulcer on his leg. While the show does a nice job of reminding us of the ulcer — there is one really nasty scene in which his doctors drain it! — the king still looks like a hot young stud (with a limp). Talking in a fake “gruff” voice doesn’t make you sound older, just silly. I suppose the transformation has to be subtle, a little padding here and there, but so far, it’s not that convincing. Perhaps it’s a good thing for the main character to be attractive, but for me, it tends to pull me out of the story. I keep thinking, “He’s trying so hard to act old.” You know what I’m talking about, right? It’s like Winona Ryder playing Spock’s mother (that’s the only example I can think of at the moment); a young person in makeup, trying to sound and act older, but failing. It’s distracting.
3) So far, there is no primary “bad guy,” like Thomas Cromwell — all of the characters are a little bit bad, but there is no strong, central figure to carry the villain’s banner. Seymour is the closest thing to a baddie, and he’s a wussy character who doesn’t even know that his baby isn’t his.
Honestly, I don’t have too many bad things to say about Season 4’s first five episodes. So far, it’s much more entertaining than Season 3, and if you stuck with The Tudors even after Anne Boleyn lost her head, you will definitely want to tune in on April 11.
Clacked by Ruby T.
on Apr 05, 2010 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
