Tuesday, March 08, 2011
The Tudors--Final Season
If you’ve seen a copy of the Magna Carta you will know that King John was illiterate. Henry the Eighth on the other hand was well read, the rumoured composer of many anonymous works, and more knowledgeable of medicine than most of his doctors. He was also quite athletic and an excellent soldier. Whether it is healthy for any man that his very word be absolute law is debatable.
Long since it has been obvious the producers were more interested in the acting abilities of the man who would play their autocrat than his physical resemblance to the historical descriptions. Ireland stands in for England in the exterior shots. As a historical costume drama the rich clothing, tapestries, music and architecture all seem authentic. One could debate whether the torture scenes and executions needed to be quite so graphic.
Henry is glib in describing his fellow leader’s medical issues as venereal disease. Given his roistering youth it would be remarkable if he also did not suffer such maladies. Whether this had any bearing on his inability to father sons in his many wives.... His obsession with seeding his line and assuring his male succession led him to his infamous string of partners and his break with the church of Rome.
It is interesting to see how the one son Edward was raised in seclusion and to meet the future Bloody Mary and her sister Elizabeth who became the ‘Virgin Queen’ responsible for England’s ‘Golden Age’. If nothing else, this series is an education in how an absolute monarch is managed by those subservient to him. The means his last wife, Katherine Parr uses in the final chapters to manipulate her husband, deceive him, and ensure her own protection and that of her maids is a revelation. But then this was a much more mature and savvy woman than the first five bobbleheads who were chosen as ‘brood mares’ and not for their intelligence.
Long since it has been obvious the producers were more interested in the acting abilities of the man who would play their autocrat than his physical resemblance to the historical descriptions. Ireland stands in for England in the exterior shots. As a historical costume drama the rich clothing, tapestries, music and architecture all seem authentic. One could debate whether the torture scenes and executions needed to be quite so graphic.
Henry is glib in describing his fellow leader’s medical issues as venereal disease. Given his roistering youth it would be remarkable if he also did not suffer such maladies. Whether this had any bearing on his inability to father sons in his many wives.... His obsession with seeding his line and assuring his male succession led him to his infamous string of partners and his break with the church of Rome.
It is interesting to see how the one son Edward was raised in seclusion and to meet the future Bloody Mary and her sister Elizabeth who became the ‘Virgin Queen’ responsible for England’s ‘Golden Age’. If nothing else, this series is an education in how an absolute monarch is managed by those subservient to him. The means his last wife, Katherine Parr uses in the final chapters to manipulate her husband, deceive him, and ensure her own protection and that of her maids is a revelation. But then this was a much more mature and savvy woman than the first five bobbleheads who were chosen as ‘brood mares’ and not for their intelligence.
