Gretchen8

Henry couldn't touch Catherine of Aragon because she was too powerfully connected in Europe. It would have caused a war, as his "divorce" nearly did anyway. Anne had no such protection. But in addition, I've read that Henry wanted to ensure that any heir Jane Seymour might conceive would be recognized as legitimate, not just under his new English religion but to France and the Holy Roman Emperor as well. His enthusiasm for bucking convention had cooled and he was now going for a marriage less controversial than the one to Anne Boleyn. The only way marriage #3 would be acceptable to Catholics was if Henry was a widower. Catherine conveniently passed away. Leaving Anne alive in a convent would look too much like "divorce." Therefore Anne had to die.

I agree about Genevieve Bujold. Also she was French Canadian, and Anne, though English, spent her formative years speaking French in France and Belgium and was seen as "French" at the English court. In Hilary Mantel's books she pronounces "Cromwell" as "Cremuel," with a French accent. I also like Anne in the less-seen 2003 version of The Other Boleyn Girl with Jodhi May. It's an unusual film that skips around from the present to the past, and has an experimental feel to it which is fun if you like that kind of thing. It shows Anne as a person trapped in a particular moment in history that sucked her in and destroyed her, unlike her sister Mary who managed to escape. May is someone who can be either beautiful or ordinary depending on makeup/lighting/style and she does a great job imho at making Anne a sexpot/temptress who catches the king's imagination while others can't really see what he sees in her. Also Jared Harris as the king is not at all hard to watch.

Having been in Mrs. Drewe's situation (except that my husband was a victim along with me), I thought Edith's story played out realistically. I had to give up an adopted baby when the birthmother wanted it back. The scene in my home was pretty similar to the one on tv. Once Mrs. Drewe was convinced that Edith really was the birthmother, she knew the baby had to go back to her, for the child's sake, not because Edith was richer or anything else. I've never seen anything but great love for her child in Edith, and once Mrs. Drewe figured out the truth, and realized why Edith was always hanging around, she saw it, too. Anyway that's how it played to me.