My stepmom bought the second season of The Tudors last night! Finished watching it today. Hahaha.
Oh man, it was fantastic! Jonathan Rhys Meyers returns as King Henry VIII and more gorgeous and riveting as ever. I must say, his portrayal of King Henry is disarmingly powerful. His performances in both seasons has got to be his best performances yet. The story of his life is colourfully painted with much detail. Thumbs-up to the makers of the show, really. They did an awesome job with the cast, storyline, settings and everything else.
In comparison to a movie, The Tudors has more depth because it spans many episodes. Like in the movie, The Other Boleyn Girl, it lacks the depth and intricacy of the story of Anne Boleyn as shown in The Tudors.
The drama is immense; with a lot of politicking, double-crossing, lies, ill-rumour, greed, blind ambition, power struggles, and of course, lust. The second season wraps up Anne Boleyn's story (which began in the first) and therefore hints that the third season will be about King Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, whose family seems to be just as ambitious and social-climbing as the Boleyns.
The first season was mainly about King Henry's early days of his reign, when his counsel was still the corrupt Cardinal Wolsey and other self-preserving nobles such as the Duke of Norfolk and of course, the scheming Thomas Boleyn. Thomas Boleyn would urge his daughter Anne to seduce the King so that their family may benefit from the crumbling of the King's marriage to his current wife, Katherine of Aragon. Yet, being a mistress of a king will not suffice. So Anne, using her woman's virtue as her ace, demands the King to divorce Katherine so that she may become the new Queen of England. Yet, the papacy in Rome refuses to condone the annulment of the King's marriage. Hence, Anne, with encouragement from her father and Mr. Cromwell (a Lutheran) lays out a solution for the King; break ties with the Pope and assume complete supremacy over the kingdom in all matters spiritual and otherwise. In other words, the King can do whatever he wishes; absolute power. This apparently was an idea from the Protestant faith. This way, the King can divorce wives and remarry as many times as he chooses (King Henry VIII had six wives). The first season ended with the removal and eventual suicide of Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas More taking his place as Chancellor, Anne already brazenly assuming the Queen's place, and the steady falling of Catholicism in England.
Only in the second season does the supremacy of the King and the estrangement of his kingdom from Rome is finalised. All the while, Katherine loved the King despite everything he did but is shunted into obscurity and is separated from her daughter, Princess Mary until her death. Before the papacy could decide on annulling the King's first marriage, the King married Anne in secret (since they so staunchly believe that his first marriage had always been null and void). Later, she is crowned Queen. But her troubles is far from over. She gives birth to a daughter, not a son as promised, Elizabeth (who would become Queen Elizabeth I). The King's interest in her wanes as he begins to realise how much he had sacrificed for their marriage yet the only thing he wanted in return, a son, was not yet given. His sacrifices would include the death of another of his close friends and counsel, Thomas More, who was a devout Catholic and refused to acknowledge the King's supremacy. This season ended with the execution of Anne and four innocent men including her brother (she was charged with treason, that is, sleeping with other men) and the King preparing to betroth Jane Seymour the day after Anne's execution. The end also hints at a war between France and England coming in the next season. And just in, the third season will also debut his wife #4, Anna of Cleves played by Joss Stone.
These very brief synopsises are actually based on historical fact so you really have to watch the show to see how it all plays out. Like the voiceover at the beginning of the show says: "You think you know the story, but you only know how it ends. To get to the heart of the story, you must go back to the beginning." So, the interesting part of the show is not finding out how it ends, but how it came to such an end.
That, I believe, is why I like the show. The scandals, controversies and drama is really something worth watching. I also think that every character was acted out very well, especially Katherine of Aragon (you will really respect her), Thomas More and of course, Anne Boleyn.
Not forgetting my beloved Henry Cavill, or in the show, Charles Brandon, he was more mature in this season. He remarried (he rashly married the King's sister Margaret in the first season, who later died) and was no longer the womaniser he was (yay!). But he still was as hot as ever. Love him!
I cannot wait for the thrid season now. It looks really exciting! I don't actually know how long it will take for it to come to Malaysia but I hope it won't be too far behind the date it comes out officially, April 5th 2009. If all else fails, I'll make sure I find the pirated DVD. I'm sorry, but if it comes down to that, it means I'm just desperate.
Since I want you people to watch this show, here's the trailer for season two and the opening credits for season 1. Enjoy! (and please, please tell me you like it and you will watch it! Haha...)
Oh man, it was fantastic! Jonathan Rhys Meyers returns as King Henry VIII and more gorgeous and riveting as ever. I must say, his portrayal of King Henry is disarmingly powerful. His performances in both seasons has got to be his best performances yet. The story of his life is colourfully painted with much detail. Thumbs-up to the makers of the show, really. They did an awesome job with the cast, storyline, settings and everything else.
In comparison to a movie, The Tudors has more depth because it spans many episodes. Like in the movie, The Other Boleyn Girl, it lacks the depth and intricacy of the story of Anne Boleyn as shown in The Tudors.
The drama is immense; with a lot of politicking, double-crossing, lies, ill-rumour, greed, blind ambition, power struggles, and of course, lust. The second season wraps up Anne Boleyn's story (which began in the first) and therefore hints that the third season will be about King Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, whose family seems to be just as ambitious and social-climbing as the Boleyns.
The first season was mainly about King Henry's early days of his reign, when his counsel was still the corrupt Cardinal Wolsey and other self-preserving nobles such as the Duke of Norfolk and of course, the scheming Thomas Boleyn. Thomas Boleyn would urge his daughter Anne to seduce the King so that their family may benefit from the crumbling of the King's marriage to his current wife, Katherine of Aragon. Yet, being a mistress of a king will not suffice. So Anne, using her woman's virtue as her ace, demands the King to divorce Katherine so that she may become the new Queen of England. Yet, the papacy in Rome refuses to condone the annulment of the King's marriage. Hence, Anne, with encouragement from her father and Mr. Cromwell (a Lutheran) lays out a solution for the King; break ties with the Pope and assume complete supremacy over the kingdom in all matters spiritual and otherwise. In other words, the King can do whatever he wishes; absolute power. This apparently was an idea from the Protestant faith. This way, the King can divorce wives and remarry as many times as he chooses (King Henry VIII had six wives). The first season ended with the removal and eventual suicide of Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas More taking his place as Chancellor, Anne already brazenly assuming the Queen's place, and the steady falling of Catholicism in England.
Only in the second season does the supremacy of the King and the estrangement of his kingdom from Rome is finalised. All the while, Katherine loved the King despite everything he did but is shunted into obscurity and is separated from her daughter, Princess Mary until her death. Before the papacy could decide on annulling the King's first marriage, the King married Anne in secret (since they so staunchly believe that his first marriage had always been null and void). Later, she is crowned Queen. But her troubles is far from over. She gives birth to a daughter, not a son as promised, Elizabeth (who would become Queen Elizabeth I). The King's interest in her wanes as he begins to realise how much he had sacrificed for their marriage yet the only thing he wanted in return, a son, was not yet given. His sacrifices would include the death of another of his close friends and counsel, Thomas More, who was a devout Catholic and refused to acknowledge the King's supremacy. This season ended with the execution of Anne and four innocent men including her brother (she was charged with treason, that is, sleeping with other men) and the King preparing to betroth Jane Seymour the day after Anne's execution. The end also hints at a war between France and England coming in the next season. And just in, the third season will also debut his wife #4, Anna of Cleves played by Joss Stone.
These very brief synopsises are actually based on historical fact so you really have to watch the show to see how it all plays out. Like the voiceover at the beginning of the show says: "You think you know the story, but you only know how it ends. To get to the heart of the story, you must go back to the beginning." So, the interesting part of the show is not finding out how it ends, but how it came to such an end.
That, I believe, is why I like the show. The scandals, controversies and drama is really something worth watching. I also think that every character was acted out very well, especially Katherine of Aragon (you will really respect her), Thomas More and of course, Anne Boleyn.
Not forgetting my beloved Henry Cavill, or in the show, Charles Brandon, he was more mature in this season. He remarried (he rashly married the King's sister Margaret in the first season, who later died) and was no longer the womaniser he was (yay!). But he still was as hot as ever. Love him!
I cannot wait for the thrid season now. It looks really exciting! I don't actually know how long it will take for it to come to Malaysia but I hope it won't be too far behind the date it comes out officially, April 5th 2009. If all else fails, I'll make sure I find the pirated DVD. I'm sorry, but if it comes down to that, it means I'm just desperate.
Since I want you people to watch this show, here's the trailer for season two and the opening credits for season 1. Enjoy! (and please, please tell me you like it and you will watch it! Haha...)
The Tudors Season 2 trailer
It seems that I cannot find a nice trailer for the first season but there are some music videos worth watching too. (I also think the music is nice...;) )
Hmm... looks interesting. I'll try and watch it. Can you babysit Nizzar while I watch? :-)