Discussion: Anne & Mary Boleyn on episode 5 spoiler alert!!

"I could not believe how awful Anne and her father were towards Mary Boleyn...I can tell Anne did not wanted to do this to her sister but she was force by her fathers comments and it was so sad how Mary kept calling her sister please... having sisters myself and having a good relationship with them I can not imagine having any of them vanished from my life. And I did not get Anne not been happy for her sisters happiness since at the end both Mary and Anne were used by their father for advancement Anne should have been more understanding of her sister.
what do you all think?
"

"As usual MsSquirrly, you make a very good point. It is hard sometimes to relate to such a different time and culture. "

"Anne was definitely the one who stepped in to help when Mary was widowed. She had to write to Henry to get him to tell her father to support Mary and she was the one who secured her an annuity. I'm not sure if she kept that after she remarried."

"And she secured her nephew Henry Carey an education at a monastery after the death of his father. Anne was definately a sister who cared, regardless of the true nature of their relationship as sisters."

"Rewatching the scene, I have to say that Thomas Boleyn is a master manipulator, and one who can employ a "divide and conquer" strategy very effectively. Probably a very useful trait for a diplomat in those times but not an attractive trait in a parent.

As I said before, Anne's reaction to Mary's pregnancy was surprise. She was taken aback by the whole thing, but not angry. It was more "Oh, wow!" than anything else. Boleyn's reaction, obviously, was one of anger but his words were well-chosen, if his goal was to ensure that Anne would side with him and not her sister. He is furious at the idea of having a poor soldier as a son-in-law, but he spins it as an issue revolving around Anne when he asks if Mary's husband is a worthy match for the Queen of England's sister. When he berates her for marrying without their approval, he's drawing a line in the sand, with him and Anne on one side and Mary alone on the other - let's face it, if he approved of the match, he wouldn't give a toss what Anne thought or wanted, but his use of the words "our" and "we" casts her as his ally.

The references to their being royalty now - I'm pretty sure that only Anne classes as royalty through the marriage; Boleyn's just the King's father-in-law - and the implication that they have to uphold a different standard is a reminder of his earlier warning to Anne. It casts Mary and her marriage as a threat to her sister and plays on Anne's fears.

It's a pity that Mary didn't wait until Anne was alone before going to speak to her. The scene might have played out very differently."

"As usual MsSquirrly, you make a very good point. It is hard sometimes to relate to such a different time and culture. My theory is that at the point Mary comes to Anne visibly pregant, Anne is already so worried about her own status and her relationship with Henry, she is terrified to overlook Mary's indiscretion. I'm betting that if things were better for Anne at that point and she felt secure with Henry, she would have been much more forgiving of Mary. Instead, it was just one more thing to make her look bad.
Now, as for their creepy father, I have no comment."