S01.E04: Lighten Our Darkness

[CountryGirl]

Quote

Having been sent away from Catherine and Thomas’ household, Elizabeth is amongst strangers in the house of Kat’s brother-in-law Antony Denny, and terrified of anyone finding out her secrets from Chelsea Place. Pregnant Catherine and Thomas put on a united front to the court and the king, staring down the gossip surrounding Elizabeth’s exile. As the rumors spread, Robert tries to defend his friend Elizabeth in her absence leaving his father the Lord Dudley questioning his friendship with the Princess. Thinking he has Mary under control, the Lord Protector Somerset allows Edward to pursue his Protestant faith. However, he is met with resistance from an unlikely place, as Catholic Pedro questions whose side the Lord Somerset is really on.

Quote

Airdate: July 3, 2022

[cardigirl]

Best episode so far. Really really enjoyed it. Best historical series so far, for STARZ. 

[Norma Desmond]

Holy cow so, in the series, the Elizabeth/Seymour sex was real. I thought that last scene from the previous episode was just a fantasy in Elizabeth's head.

[PinkRibbons]

10 hours ago, cardigirl said:

Best episode so far. Really really enjoyed it. Best historical series so far, for STARZ. 

Amen!

Also, I'm calling it - Romola Garai is the MVP of this show. I feel like this is the first time anyone has ever shown the real Mary Tudor as she was. That scene at the end, when Pedro asks if she prays for her enemies, the way she responds could have been so holier-than-thou, but Romola just makes it sound so tiredly honest. And despite knowing her later reputation as "Bloody Mary", when she said "let them burn" I did not get a foreshadowing chill, I instead thought, gurl you show. She is so firm in her convictions - just like Edward. A blessing and a curse.

Also MAN that scene where Mary confronts Catherine! That was just showing off, and I am here for acting skills. She goes from angry to tearful to laughing in one short monologue. I just loved every scene of her, from her peeved little reaction to losing her bet in the cock fight (yes show, we get that times were different) to telling Elizabeth off and then immediately scolding the Lord Protector for letting rumors about her sister spread.

This show on the whole is such a good example of writing layered characters. Catherine could have fallen into mustache-twirling villain territory - she sure teetered on the edge - but her complex of trying to handle what Thomas had done to her, her feelings of being betrayal by but also having betrayed Elizabeth, her seizing her own narrative - that was some strong stuff.

And the Lord Protector (who I know is named Edward, but since we have more than one I'll keep to his title) really got to shine too. His scene of informing the King of Catherine's death was amazing on both actors' parts. I love that they didn't have to say out loud that this was likely the only mother Edward could remember. And LP's actor was so amazing because there is so much going on there - it's his sister-in-law, the mother of his charge, a woman he dislikes, an important woman who is ultimately on the same side as him on religious reform. Then he goes to comfort Thomas and shows this real feeling of sadness for his brother. Meanwhile, Thomas is devastated yes, but they slipped that little line "I do not like suffering" in there. He's above all selfish. He loved his wife to a point, he was genuine in being kind to Jane, he has a motherless child that he worries about. And he is dumb and cutthroat enough to already start scheming again by taking another shot at Elizabeth.

Edited July 4, 2022 by PinkRibbons

[Haleth]

My fav part of this show is when the siblings have scenes together.  The acting is wonderful when dealing with these complex relationships.  You can see they want to love each other, rely on each other, but duty to country and religion means that they cannot be a family.  And John Heffernan is just superb as Somerset, both an ambitious villain and a competent advisor who wants what's best for the country.

You can see with the recent pregnancy scare followed by the death of Catherine Elizabeth is beginning to harden.  As she said, the naive girl is dead.  What a hard youth both she and Mary had, with no agency of their own and their futures dependent on the whims of their father and their brother.  No one could be trusted.

[Spartan Girl]

Thomas sure dropped the grieving widower act real fast. Asshole.

I really love this Mary. 

[CountryGirl]

I question if Elizabeth and Thomas actually had sex. I really hope not as what happened was bad enough. I could buy that Elizabeth, sheltered in some ways, though not in others, obviously, might have thought their fooling around was enough to cause pregnancy. 

I loved all of the interactions with various characters, Mary’s dressing down of former stepmother, Katherine, most of all. Edward, trying to keep his composure as he is, after all, the king, but visibly distressed at learning the only mother he ever knew has died. The Brothers Seymour recalling their sister’s death as Edward LP tried to give some comfort to Thomas by reminding him Katherine had been happy and enjoying their newborn daughter before she died just as Jane had been. 

One thing that seemed off to me was Jane seeking out Thomas to share the terrible news that Katherine had died. She was already bundled up for burial. Drunk and full of revelry or not, I cannot imagine him not being summoned as soon as she showed signs of childbed fever.

Him seeking out Elizabeth after her re-securing the King’s favor was all kinds of gross. So much for the grieving widower. Don’t get me started on whatever that was with him and Jane. 

I love continuing to see more shades of Mary. Her protectiveness of her younger sister chief among them. 

[tennisgurl]

I guess they really are going with Elizabeth and Thomas actually having sex, although they at least pulled back on Elizabeth actually getting pregnant. You can certainly see Elizabeth getting more steely, you can more see her as the young woman who will go onto weather this scandal and come out on top in several years. The lord she was staying with might have been gruff and rude, but he certainly did give her some good advice and the real talk she rarely gets.

I am glad that Pedro was honest with Mary, I like their odd friendship quite a lot. This might be an Elizabeth show, but Mary has been really stealing the show. We are getting so many sides of her, its probably one of her best portrayals I have seen. She's so firm in her convictions, but the writing and the acting makes her feel less like a fanatic and more like someone who is utterly sincerely determined. She's intense but also very human in her hurt over everything that has happened and her wanting to do what she feels is best, and behind her dignity is a person desperate to hold onto what she has before its taken from her. You could see that in all of her scenes involving Catherine, first in that great scene where she calls her out on how much she has failed Elizabeth and how she pities her, and then her grief at her death. 

I have not been a fan of the shows version of Catherine Parr, but at least they gave her a few decent scenes before she died. I guess I can at least somewhat understand why she put up with Thomas so much, she waited so long to be with him and probably idealized what their marriage would be like, but I wish they had used more of that complexity that have used with Mary on her. 

Oh yes, that wholesome brother/sister pastime...cockfighting. Any scenes between siblings in this show are so great, there is always so much going on there. Underneath the politics, religion, power plays, they're still family, and it makes their dynamics so complex. Everything between Edward/Elizabeth/Mary was all excellent, and even Thomas and Edward Seymour had a nice scene together, even if Thomas is still a selfish ass even in his grief. It was at least nice to hear them talking about their sister and how they can sometimes forget that she's Edward's mother.     

[Scarlett45]

On 7/4/2022 at 11:41 AM, CountryGirl said:

Him seeking out Elizabeth after her re-securing the King’s favor was all kinds of gross. So much for the grieving widower. Don’t get me started on whatever that was with him and Jane. 

I actually think his affection for Jane was wholesome and NON creepy. You know how a paternal figure should be towards a young girl under his care. Jane seems to be a very sensitive and intelligent girl. Thomas and Catherine noticed that about her, where her own parents did not (at least in this portrayal).

I think it looked creepy because we know how awful he is and how creepy he was with Elizabeth. Jane hugged him very innocently and full of affection, I think she will miss him. 
 

I actually appreciate how they wrote Catherine Parr in this episode- she starts off with “what has my husband done?” Putting all the blame on Thomas (as it should be) and giving Elizabeth an out. Elizabeth isn’t going to say anything to implicate herself and she likes Thomas, she felt pursued not “creeped on”. Getting Elizabeth out of that house was the best thing for her, even if Catherine was angry (and she admitted later she hated Thomas for what HE DID and how it affected her feelings towards Elizabeth). Kat was right, if anyone found out heads would roll for treason! And NOTHING good would come from it. 
 

I do think Thomas had actual feelings for Catherine, but he’s an overly ambitious idiot. 
 

I had a very busy July so I am behind but looking forward to catching up and reading your comments. 

[Scarlett45]

On 7/3/2022 at 8:12 PM, PinkRibbons said:

And he is dumb and cutthroat enough to already start scheming again by taking another shot at Elizabeth.

I went back and re-read the posts and this line stuck out to me. We are on the same wavelength. 

You cannot marry Elizabeth, THOMAS. While Edward is still a minor and unmarried, she is 2nd in line to the throne. Now if Edward was a grown man, with a wife and a couple of healthy children in the cradle (in 10-12yrs), MAYBE someone would allow it, if Elizabeth wanted it. But with Mary unwed and childless, hell no. Thomas, thank your lucky stars Catherine liked you enough that you got to marry a very wealthy widow and live comfortably for a little while.

[andromeda331]

This was a great episode. I always love when the three siblings get together. I loved Mary talking to Elizabeth. Her talk with Catherine was incredible. I didn't expect a scene between brothers Edward and Thomas to be that good. Talking about their sister and Catherine's death. Edward Seymour's reaction to her death and telling Edward was really good.