THE TUDORS SEASON 3, EPISODE 3.1 ■ FUNDAMENTALS
| Tudors episode: 3.1
| First aired: 4/5/2009
| Tudors season: 3
| Prod. code: | Writer(s): Michael Hirst
| Director(s): Ciaran Donnelly
| Guest star(s): Sarah Bolger, Max Brown, Mark Hildreth, Max von Sydow
| | Mini-synopsis:Episode 1 Season 3 begins with the marriage of Henry (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) to his third wife, Jane Seymour (Annabelle Wallis). In contrast to the scheming upstart Anne Boleyn, Jane is a shy and demure young woman of noble birth, given away on her wedding day by her brother Edward Seymour (Max Brown). Henry's wife may have changed but his marital ambition remains constant -- siring a male heir to the Tudor Dynasty. At the festivities to celebrate the marriage, an attractive young woman catches the eye of Sir Francis Bryan (Alan Van Sprang). She is Ursula Misseldon (Charlotte Salt), lady-in-waiting to the new Queen. He will not be the last nobleman to desire her charms or try to get close to her. Sir Thomas Cromwell (James Frain) wonders aloud if the new Queen harbours Catholic sympathies - thereby posing a potential threat to the ‘progress' of the Reformation. Everyone agrees that a quick pregnancy is imperative for stability. Meanwhile, the dissolution of the Catholic Church continues with vigor and ruthlessness. Religious buildings and orders are destroyed and their assets confiscated by Cromwell's Church Commissioners. One such rampage is witnessed by a young man named John Constable (Kevin Doyle). Deeply disturbed and angered by the desecration, he suggests to a local attorney, Robert Aske (Gerard McSorley), that the common people are only in need of a leader to give them the courage to rise against Cromwell and his lackeys. Being a loyal and prosperous subject, Aske is unmoved by the suggestion. Henry receives a letter from Princess Mary (Sarah Bolger), his first daughter from his marriage with Katherine. She asks to be taken back into his good favor and be readmitted to the court. But Henry has declared both his daughters illegitimate and refuses to contemplate taking her back...unless she signs the Oath of Allegiance - something her mother refused to do. In Rome, Cardinal Campeggio (John Kavanagh) is visited by the young English priest Father Reginald Pole (Mark Hildreth) who voices the hope that Jane is Catholic and may yet convert Henry back to the Church. Sir Francis Bryan, a new favorite of the King, has been charged to obtain Mary's signature on a document which recognizes Henry's supremacy as head of the Church of England and acknowledge that his marriage to her mother was incestuous and unlawful. Mary tearfully replies that she cannot go against her conscience to do such a thing. However, she reluctantly concedes. Henry is greatly pleased by this decision and declares that he will meet Mary soon. John Constable and Robert Aske attend a secret meeting of restless commoners who have grown tired of Cromwell's vicious and avaricious destruction of their Church. By such acts, Cromwell has doubled the King's income and taken possession of huge tracts of land belonging to the monasteries. Aske is sympathetic to their plight, but does not accept their call to arms against the King. In reward for his strenuous and conscientious efforts in abolishing the monasteries, Thomas Cromwell is rewarded with a Knighthood and a Barony and made Lord Privy Seal. His power is now second only to the King's. News comes to Cromwell that peasants in the north of the country have risen against the King. Henry is angered by the news and annoyed that Cromwell didn't know sooner - nor anticipate the grievances of the commoners against the destruction of their churches. He orders the dispersal of the rebels. News soon arrives to the contrary: the rebels have taken the city of Lincoln and are moving towards York. Cromwell is chastised; his career, so recently made, is on the line. Meantime, Robert Aske has given up his earlier loyalty and becomes a leader of the rebels, who take the Five Wounds of Christ as their symbol. The ‘Pilgrim of Grace', the greatest threat to Henry's reign, has begun. Charles Brandon (Henry Cavill) is appointed by the King to be Commander of the royal army: no force should be spared in suppressing the rising. Having been so recently so content, Henry is now pained on many fronts: vexed by the threat and ungratefulness of his subjects; troubled that his wife has not yet conceived; and in great suffering from a bleeding leg from an old jousting accident. His Tudor dynasty is under threat as it has never been before. | | | | |
■ BEST QUOTES - Henry VIII: "If [Mary] truly wants to forget the unhappy past, then she can start by disowning it."
- Henry VIII: "If still they do not submit, Mr. Cromwell, then I promise the utter destruction of them, their wives and their children. Do you understand? I will destroy them all and then I'll destroy you, Cromwell."
- Sir Francis Bryan to Princess Mary Tudor - "you are an unfilial daughter....if you were my daughter I would smash your head against the wall until it was a soft as a boiled apple, you understand?"
- Sir Francis Bryan recited to Lady Ursula Misseldon - "here is the real Danaë - she would kindle your lust even higher -with a touch, one mere touch of her body - and your limbs melt in the fire"
- Jane Seymour to Jane Boleyn- "Lady Rochford it's not your fault that your husband betrayed you. Nor is it Mary's fault or Elizabeth's fault to be born of a King. Women are much put upon in this world. It is my desire to promote their interests. I must do it quietly but I will do it all the same"
| | ● SEE MORE: THE TUDORS MEMORABLE QUOTES | | | ■ UNANSWERED QUESTIONS - What is going to happen to Mary and Elizabeth if they are not going to be legitimized by their father?
- Why is Henry already threatening to destroy Thomas Cromwell?
- Will Jane speak up about her discomfort about what Henry is doing to the Church?
| ● SEE MORE: THE TUDORS HIDDEN MEANINGS
| | | ■ TUDORS EPISODE BEST MOMENTS AND BIGGEST SHOCKERS - Nasty Henry! HVIII whispers (and being so loving) to Jane about speaking her mind about his daughter and his business...He reminds her of the fate of wives before her. Here's where you can tell hes getting really mean.
FMFJRMGRL - The touching reunion between Henry and Mary with Jane watching.
- Sneaky Henry! HVIII spying on Jane and Chapyus through the little space between the wall...No trust there...
- FMFJRMGRL
- Cromwell gets biffed upside the head by HVIII!
- FMFJRMGRL
| ● SEE MORE: THE TUDORS TOP TEN LISTS
| | | ■ TUDORS EPISODE TRIVIA - 1536 is a year in English history where three women claimed the title of queen consort - Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour. Episode 3.01 picks off on May 30, 1536 on Jane and Henry's wedding day.
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