Review of Episode Seven of Season Four of "The Tudors"

It was certainly an exciting and political night on Showtime's The Tudors, as Henry finally realizes his dream of war in France, although things do not go quite as well as he would have liked, with several of his soldiers stricken with the bloody flux (also known as dysentery.) Meanwhile, he has left control of England in the hands of his new wife Catherine Parr who, unbeknownst to him, has begun to show her true Protestant colors, something that Bishop Gardiner is not pleased with at all. All in all, it was definitely one of the most exciting nights this season has yet produced.

Of course, the star of this episode was the hugely talented Joely Richardson, portraying the loving and compassionate Catherine Parr. The series does an excellent job of portraying the way that Parr was very welcoming and affectionate toward all three of Henry's children, providing them the stability and motherly presence that all three of them had largely been denied at this point in their lives (it is useful to remember that both Elizabeth and Edward were both very young when their mothers died.) Richardson brings a soft, glowing presence to the screen, and she does an excellent job of conveying Henry's sixth and final wife.

What truly set this episode of The Tudors apart, however, was the fact that so much of it took place on the battlefield, something that has been largely lacking in the prior three seasons (with a few exceptions, such as Henry's suppression of the Pilgrimage of Grace, which took place in Season 3.) Indeed, Henrys attack on Boulogne contained several scenes involving the siege of that city, while also showing the muck and ugliness that war in the Renaissance so often entailed.

It is also worth discussing the numerous political maneuverings that took place in the episode, primarily orchestrated by the reptilian Bishop Gardiner. Although not the most appealing character in the series, he is nevertheless endlessly fascinating, as he continues attempting to purge England of those he deems to be a danger to his own Catholic regime. Of course, now that he has turned his sight on the Queen of England herself, it's hard to tell exactly what will happen (although it's reasonably safe to assume that Catherine will emerge relatively unscathed, since she actually outlived Henry.)

All in all, this season of The Tudors does an excellent job of conveying the various political and religious tensions that were at the center of Henry VIII's court during the last years of his life. Perhaps even more importantly, it also conveys the sense of forlornness and desperation that Henry must have felt as he made his way toward middle age. With his leg giving him constant pain, is it any wonder that he did everything he could to shore up what must have seemed to be a failing body? Jonathan Rhys Meyers ably conveys the sense that Henry is slowly growing older, and that he realizes that nothing, no matter how much he does, will ever make him young again.