The Tudors - Television Season 2 Review
After the abrupt ending of season one, I rolled into this second season without even realizing it. From what I recall of my initial viewing of this series, this season was the best, although I have no memory of what happens in seasons three or four. If you haven't read it yet, you can find my review for the first season here.
*
General Information
The second season of Tudors hit Showtime 30 March 2008 with the third season getting green-lit for production by June of the same year. The second season saw a slight bump in viewership as well as a couple of new additions to the main cast with Peter O'Toole being the most renowned. Overall, although I may like season two the most, I'd argue that it's more of a "season 1.5" than full-fledged second season. The cast from season one barely expanded and the overall story themes remained focused on what was in season one. I totally get why Showtime couldn't simply combine the two seasons, but that doesn't stop me from thinking this season is merely a continuation of the first. After watching the first episode of season three, I can already see that the show makes a much cleaner break between the middle seasons.
The Story
Season two picks up almost exactly where season one left off except Henry (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is now rocking a goatee. With Cardinal Wolsey dead, Henry's patience with the Catholic Church has neared its end as he vows to marry Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer) whether the new pope accepts that or not. Pope Paul III (Peter O'Toole) plans to reign the wayward king in, but that's easier said than done. Meanwhile, in court, the Boleyn faction has solidified its power-base and the knives are starting to come out. Cromwell (James Frain), Charles Brandon (Henry Cavill), and the Boleyn family may have all united behind bringing down Wolsey however it becomes abundantly clear that they don't necessarily agree on everything.
In comparison to season one, season two essentially makes use of all the characters and story-lines that season one established. A lot of characters bite the dust in this season and the stakes are far bigger. Overall, most of it works, as there are some incredibly emotional scenes (episode 5 had me tearing up). The show-runners did a magnificent job of mixing quality acting with appropriately themed music and cinematography. Also, like season one, most of the characters can be sympathized with by the audience (with the exception of Thomas Boleyn, who is absurdly diabolical).
There were a couple of slumps in the season (episode 6 is probably the worst), however the momentum is relatively steady through and through. My biggest issue was the unnecessary drama inserted into the story by the Catholic Church angle of the plot. I liked that the Pope was included in this season's story, however there is ridiculous assassination plot tied to the Catholic Church that had me shaking my head. The assassin character reminded of me when I play games like Assassin's Creed where he couldn't do anything right and constantly came off as weird instead of menacing. I half-expected to see him scaling a random wall in the background as he contributed nothing to the story.
**
Special Effects/Atmosphere
Thankfully, the green screen was not as bad as last season. Season two opens up with a fairly decent street brawl that turns into a violent sword fight. Beyond that, we see more locations of Henry's world with the infamous Tower of London becoming a major point of interest in this season. The costumes and highly choreographed segments are quite nice to behold as well. I was especially impressed with a dance number that involved a masked Anne Boleyn (she seems to be a fan of that).
Although I dig the costumes in this show, there are times that I think they go a bit too far. The first time we're introduced to Lady Jane Seymour, she's dressed so elegantly that it was a bit absurd when looked at realistically. I guess her normal day-clothes are wedding dresses (minus the veil)? All joking aside, my only gripe with this season's camera-work was the execution of a specific character. The scene was going perfectly and then the camera decided to zoom in on their head and shift as the character's head presumably fell to the ground. It just wasn't done well and ended up deflating much of the quality of the shot, which sucks as it was a pretty important scene for the season.
The Acting
There may be no Sam Neil in this season, but Natalie Dormer enthusiastically chews the scenery with every frame she's in. She can go from crazy and cackling to sultry and murderous. Anne Boleyn had a lot more depth in this season and it was something I really appreciated as Dormer conveyed that quite well.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers continues to do a great job of playing King Henry VIII. He consistently commands the viewer's attention when he's on the screen and I really like his ability to quickly shift from one attitude to the next. I'll admit that there are some times Rhys Meyers goes a bit too far in his acting, as the scene of him shouting at the sky was a tad too hammy in my opinion.
***
The last person I want to mention is a pretty obscure character actor, but I think they deserve the commendation. Bosco Hogan continues his role as Bishop Fisher in this season and he really nails it. It's pretty rare for a show to get an emotional response out of me, but of all people he did it with some pretty incredible range.
The Best of the Best: Episode 5 is incredible with episode 10 being a good secondary choice.
The Worst of the Worst: The assassin character somehow consistently failing to kill his target despite being around them constantly on a daily basis.
Would I Recommend?
****
If you made it through season one and found it enjoyable, then I think this deserves a watch as it essentially completes the story arc that the first season set up. I argue that this season is superior to the first too, so I highly recommend it.
-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Comments-----------------------------------------------------
*Amazon. (n.d.). The Tudors season two cover image. Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/Tudors-Season-Jonathan-Rhys-Meyers/dp/B001EO748M.
**MsSquirrly. (2011, February 13). William Brereton image. The Tudors Wiki. Retrieved from: http://www.thetudorswiki.com/page/William+Brereton.
*Where You Can Find It: Like the last season, I saw this one on Netflix as well.
General Information
The second season of Tudors hit Showtime 30 March 2008 with the third season getting green-lit for production by June of the same year. The second season saw a slight bump in viewership as well as a couple of new additions to the main cast with Peter O'Toole being the most renowned. Overall, although I may like season two the most, I'd argue that it's more of a "season 1.5" than full-fledged second season. The cast from season one barely expanded and the overall story themes remained focused on what was in season one. I totally get why Showtime couldn't simply combine the two seasons, but that doesn't stop me from thinking this season is merely a continuation of the first. After watching the first episode of season three, I can already see that the show makes a much cleaner break between the middle seasons.
The Story
Season two picks up almost exactly where season one left off except Henry (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is now rocking a goatee. With Cardinal Wolsey dead, Henry's patience with the Catholic Church has neared its end as he vows to marry Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer) whether the new pope accepts that or not. Pope Paul III (Peter O'Toole) plans to reign the wayward king in, but that's easier said than done. Meanwhile, in court, the Boleyn faction has solidified its power-base and the knives are starting to come out. Cromwell (James Frain), Charles Brandon (Henry Cavill), and the Boleyn family may have all united behind bringing down Wolsey however it becomes abundantly clear that they don't necessarily agree on everything.
In comparison to season one, season two essentially makes use of all the characters and story-lines that season one established. A lot of characters bite the dust in this season and the stakes are far bigger. Overall, most of it works, as there are some incredibly emotional scenes (episode 5 had me tearing up). The show-runners did a magnificent job of mixing quality acting with appropriately themed music and cinematography. Also, like season one, most of the characters can be sympathized with by the audience (with the exception of Thomas Boleyn, who is absurdly diabolical).
There were a couple of slumps in the season (episode 6 is probably the worst), however the momentum is relatively steady through and through. My biggest issue was the unnecessary drama inserted into the story by the Catholic Church angle of the plot. I liked that the Pope was included in this season's story, however there is ridiculous assassination plot tied to the Catholic Church that had me shaking my head. The assassin character reminded of me when I play games like Assassin's Creed where he couldn't do anything right and constantly came off as weird instead of menacing. I half-expected to see him scaling a random wall in the background as he contributed nothing to the story.
**Worst.assassin.ever...
Special Effects/Atmosphere
Thankfully, the green screen was not as bad as last season. Season two opens up with a fairly decent street brawl that turns into a violent sword fight. Beyond that, we see more locations of Henry's world with the infamous Tower of London becoming a major point of interest in this season. The costumes and highly choreographed segments are quite nice to behold as well. I was especially impressed with a dance number that involved a masked Anne Boleyn (she seems to be a fan of that).
Although I dig the costumes in this show, there are times that I think they go a bit too far. The first time we're introduced to Lady Jane Seymour, she's dressed so elegantly that it was a bit absurd when looked at realistically. I guess her normal day-clothes are wedding dresses (minus the veil)? All joking aside, my only gripe with this season's camera-work was the execution of a specific character. The scene was going perfectly and then the camera decided to zoom in on their head and shift as the character's head presumably fell to the ground. It just wasn't done well and ended up deflating much of the quality of the shot, which sucks as it was a pretty important scene for the season.
The Acting
There may be no Sam Neil in this season, but Natalie Dormer enthusiastically chews the scenery with every frame she's in. She can go from crazy and cackling to sultry and murderous. Anne Boleyn had a lot more depth in this season and it was something I really appreciated as Dormer conveyed that quite well.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers continues to do a great job of playing King Henry VIII. He consistently commands the viewer's attention when he's on the screen and I really like his ability to quickly shift from one attitude to the next. I'll admit that there are some times Rhys Meyers goes a bit too far in his acting, as the scene of him shouting at the sky was a tad too hammy in my opinion.
***How I reacted to learning that there was no Sam Neil ghost in this season
The last person I want to mention is a pretty obscure character actor, but I think they deserve the commendation. Bosco Hogan continues his role as Bishop Fisher in this season and he really nails it. It's pretty rare for a show to get an emotional response out of me, but of all people he did it with some pretty incredible range.
The Best of the Best: Episode 5 is incredible with episode 10 being a good secondary choice.
The Worst of the Worst: The assassin character somehow consistently failing to kill his target despite being around them constantly on a daily basis.
Calhooey Score: 8/10 - Great
Would I Recommend?
****Long live the Queen?
-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Comments-----------------------------------------------------
- There are two saints in this season: Cardinal Fisher and Sir Thomas More were both canonized as saints for their martyrdom at the hands of King Henry VIII.
- Interestingly enough, records show that Thomas More really did make his quip about not necessarily needing help coming down from the scaffold.
- Based off my research, it appears that the sworn testimony that eventually led to Thomas More's conviction was questionable at best as More denied it ever happened. Unfortunately for him, two members of the Boleyn family were on the jury overseeing his case.
- I knew Anne's days were numbered as soon as Henry laid eyes on Lady Jane Seymour.
- I didn't mention him in the main review, but Mark Smeaton was a great character that I honestly felt really bad for in this season. He was a free-spirit that just happened to get sucked into the meat grinder that was Henry's court.
- I bet around ninety percent of Nick Dunning's (Thomas Boleyn) scenes involved him glaring at people. That was sort of his thing this season.
- Does anyone know what the symbolism was behind the ending of this season? The part where Henry eats a meat pie that was made from a swan? My thoughts on this was that it is a sign of things to come. There's an earlier scene where Henry tells Seymour that she is "...all that is innocent and pure" in his life. Like the swan, I think the scene alludes to the fact that Henry is a devourer of all that which is innocent and pure in his domain.
- Oh well, third wife's the charm surely.
*Amazon. (n.d.). The Tudors season two cover image. Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/Tudors-Season-Jonathan-Rhys-Meyers/dp/B001EO748M.
**MsSquirrly. (2011, February 13). William Brereton image. The Tudors Wiki. Retrieved from: http://www.thetudorswiki.com/page/William+Brereton.
***gfycat. (n.d.). Henry shouting gif. Retrieved from: https://gfycat.com/frigidbrokengalah-jonathan-rhys-meyers-perioddramaedit.
****Comprehensive Episode Guides. (2014, August 3). Anne Boleyn image. Retrieved from: http://episodeguides.blogspot.com/2014/08/episode-3-season-2-tudors-episode.html.
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