History has been written. Queen Jane has given birth to the King’s son, Edward. It is as they say - “third time’s the charm.” Alas, all is not well in merry old England. In giving birth to the first male heir of Henry VIII, Jane has passed away.
It was a difficult decision for Henry, choosing between the life of his unborn son and his wife.
“Please don’t go. Just because you have done everything that you have promised please don’t leave me. You are the milk of human kindness. The light in my dark dark world.”
Talk about romantic. I guess if it was a daughter and the Queen died, he would have said, “Please go. Just because you have NOT done everything that you have promised please leave me.” So much pressure on a woman, it’s no wonder Jane didn’t have the will to survive.
Now that there is a male heir, Elizabeth wonders about her father’s love for his daughters. Mary reassures her that King Henry still loves them, although they will now take a backseat to the newborn prince. Knowing that Mary will eventually seek Elizabeth’s death, it was funny to see Elizabeth and Mary sleeping in bed together. Was she plotting to slit her little sister’s throat from such a young age?
Lord Darcy, one of the heads of the rebellion, is beheaded – no pun intended. A different fate was presented to Robert Aske. Instead of your cliché beheading, Cromwell decided to try his hand at invention. Aske is taken to the highest scaffold seen to date on the Tudors to take the first bungee cord out for a test run. Unfortunately, somebody should have told Cromwell that the neck is not the best place to wrap a bungee cord around. Oh well – back to the drawing board.
The Duke of Suffolk has traveled north to lay waste to the remaining rebels and their children. He turns to prayer as he orders his troops to slaughter all of the pilgrims under the orders of the King. I realize now that England is responsible for all of our Green woes. All those trees wasted for makeshift hangings. What ever happened to “off with their heads?” I guess no one read “Alice in Wonderland.”
Sir Francis Bryan is back to his old tactless hijinks. He takes Edward’s wife behind a curtain and proceeds to have sex with her for all to see –given the right angle. I’m sure Edward will have his day now that his sister has sacrificed her life to give the King his male heir. And, you know what that means. The end of Cromwell’s evil reign is only an axe cut away.
As for the king, get ready to see him wallow in sorrow as he reflects on his life and the loss of his true love. He will see the foolishness of his ways through the eyes of a fool.
JRM was fantastic! It was so great seeing the range of emotions he went through in that episode.
I believe officially, Lady Jane had a Caesarean section - however rudimentary that it was in that era. It’s probably one of those small details that was left on the editing room floor.
Good review,! but actually Mary never directly wanted Elizabeth´s death. She was very sick with Cancer of the Uterus in her last years and
half out of her mind with the pain. There were other forces who wanted Elizabeth removed. Mary, on her deathbed, named Elizabeth officially as Heir to the Throne.
Oh, and Beth Frank was right. Poor Jane did actually die of Childbed Fever, unfortunately a normal occurence in those days. The midwives used to grease their hands with rancid butter !!!! no wonder the infections were indescribable.
As for Henry. He is showing all the signs of Diabetes. The wound on his leg which wont heal will eventually drive him mad. Toxins entering the brain. Too much power even for a normal man, but as the King, its a dangerous thing indeed.
As a followup, I don’t think he had to choose. She ended up giving birth naturally. But wasn’t JRM fantastic in that episode?
Good review. I enjoyed it. The ep. was unbelievable.