The Tudors Season 2 (2008)

“Obsession can change the world.”

The Tudors Season 2

Season 2 of The Tudors continues Henry’s (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) determination to break away from the Catholic Church in his quest to divorce his current wife, Katherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle Kennedy), for Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer), his lover. He succeeds in this endeavor and secretly marries Anne, who soon becomes pregnant with their child. Henry is expecting Anne to give him the male heir he so longs for, so he is incredibly disappointed that the child she gives birth to is a girl, Elizabeth. Despite Anne’s attempts to maintain the king’s favor, the king’s eye begins to wander again and she is left fighting for everything she fought for, with her death at stake. Meanwhile, there is considerable religious upheaval in England after the breakaway from the Catholic Church, and Henry is forced to sever old religious ties and alliances at alarmingly high costs and maintain religious order in the kingdom. As Anne’s fight for her position at court and her life and Henry’s religious troubles escalate, Jane Seymour (Anita Briem) is welcomed at court, and her arrival could mark the change of everything that Henry and Anne ever believed in, with irreversible consequences.

While I am a huge fan of The Tudors Season 1, it is season 2 that captured my heart and ran away with it. Season 2 is superior to season 1 in the respect that they continue to develop and strengthen relationships and characters introduced in season 1, while simultaneously adding new characters and continuing the major plot elements that were hinted at in the season 1 finale. I loved all of the scenes at court, as well as the various scenes that involved music and dancing as they were so wonderfully done!

Henry’s ruthlessness towards previous allies demonstrate the fickle bonds between a king and his servant, and none of the decisions Henry makes about matters of the state are easy, nor are they without consequence. Jonathan Rhys Meyers does a fantastic job at portraying the many dimensions of the king, with his bouts of laughter and anger regarding the same issues, and his unpredictable mood swings. Anne’s rise and fall as the Queen of England is also brilliantly depicted. Natalie Dormer is ambitious, haughty, reckless, and ultimately graceful as Anne’s star gradually dims at court throughout the season, and I do not think anyone could have done a better job than she did portraying the imminent doom of the fallen queen.

My huge love for season 2 has made me a little wary of how good season 3 can be, since I am very skeptical season 3 can top what season 2 did. While I realize that some of this is my bias for Anne Boleyn speaking, it is not just my love for Anne Boleyn that makes me wary, but the fact that Natalie Dormer is a magnificent actress and without her on screen, the show will definitely be lacking something. I hope the actresses that were cast for Henry’s next three wives can manage to be half as captivating as Natalie!

Overall Rating: 10/10

Tags: tv