Back in the palace, Prince Edward suffers from yet another fever and ends up interrupting a conversation his parents were having about Henry looking to unite the houses of York and Lancaster, as well as Anne’s hostility toward “the bastard girl Elizabeth,” by vomiting on the floor. He’s immediately rushed to bed, just as Lizzie and Cecily arrive at court. Anne addresses them both coldly from her throne and subtly insults their mother by saying that she’s a Queen who’s easy to serve; however, that evening, she is awakened by Lizzie playing the violoncello for a casual audience and witnesses Richard offer his niece his hand before the two begin dancing. Stanley was there to witness everything and takes the news of Lizzie having a suitor back to Margaret, rubbing in her face the fact that Henry needs the Rivers girl in order to be taken seriously should he win the battle with Richard. After expressing disgust at Richard pursuing his niece, especially since he still has a wife, Margaret suggests that perhaps he’s doing this to shame Lizzie, only Stanley thinks that they each have genuine feelings for the other.

Anne confronts Richard about the fact that she wants to banish both Lizzie and Cecily from court. While she finds out that he doesn’t wish to bed his niece, he wants to use her status among the men who still support King Edward as a way of keeping Henry’s ranks low, even if it means embarrassing his wife in the process. That night at dinner, he does just that by offering to walk Lizzie into the dining hall, though they all get pulled away when the royal daughter Margaret comes running, frantically searching for help for Edward. The two had been playing and she fell asleep while he still had a fever; as a result, the prince dies and Queen Anne causes a scene at the funeral, almost as a way of testing where her husband’s loyalties lie. Instead of comforting her, he does so with Lizzie, furthering her grief and belief that all this is the result of Elizabeth’s curse on those responsible for the death of her son. Richard suggests that they should have another son, but after 10 years of trying for another boy, Anne no longer longs to be touched, as she knows what the outcome will be. She accuses Richard of not loving her anymore before turning away from him, forcing him to leave.

Once she receives a letter from her mother urging her to hold out for Henry Tudor, who will be arriving shortly now that Richard doesn’t have an heir, rather than siding with the King, Lizzie arrives back at Grafton with Cecily at her side. She didn’t listen to the letter, though, and has already been kissing her uncle and taking his declarations of love to heart. She insists to Elizabeth that Richard isn’t the tyrant that people claim him to be and that she doesn’t think that he was responsible for the deaths of the boys, claiming that he’s already promised to marry her. Elsewhere, Margaret writes to Henry and Jasper with news of Edward’s death and urges them to get their army ready as quickly as possible, because now is the time to strike, before Richard has another son to continue the York line. However, Henry’s army has been decidedly disappointing, compromised mostly of injured/untrustworthy prisoners rather than the type of man he needs to seize the throne for himself. He does get a vote of confidence when the French grant him an army to supplement his brood, something that sends Richard into panic mode.

He tells a deathly ill Anne, who has developed a nasty cough, that he is going to outfit Lizzie in the same silk ensemble that she’s currently wearing. After mentioning that she needs to go to bed, he acknowledges that the north has been in his pocket only due to his marriage to Anne and that they won’t take kindly to him disrespecting her so publicly. As Elizabeth sends Thomas to Flanders to retrieve her “precious jewel” Richard, word spreads around court that Richard has only taken a shine to Lizzie to cuckold Henry, who no one thinks can unite the houses. Unfortunately, Richard has indeed been using Lizzie and tells Anne that his niece’s status as “broken meats” is to be expected considering the price that they all have to pay for war and to keep him on the throne. He’s been encouraged by sealing off the York ranks from possible poaching by Tudor, leaving the young man with only the Lancastrians at his disposal, but Anne is in a different frame of mind, regretting ever becoming Queen in the first place and wracked with guilt about her possible role in the deaths of the boys. Following a nightmare, she asks Sir Robert about the fate of Edward and “Richard” and whether he listened to her words in the tower that day. He assures her that he didn’t kill the boys and that the death didn’t occur on his watch, clearing her conscience.

A solar eclipse occurs and Margaret has a vision that the York reign has ended and that the new king will come like a dragon. Now is the time for Henry to set sail. At the palace, Anne has hallucinations of her sister and her recently departed son before passing away, leaving Richard beside himself with grief. He ponders whether she might have died from a broken heart as a result of his actions and hates that the rumors have started that he was responsible for her death as a way of getting to marry Lizzie. He sends his niece to live with Margaret and Stanley as a way to prove that she’s a chaste woman and that they never slept together, taking advantage of Lady Margaret’s notorious piety. As the winds change and Henry sets sail, Margaret promises to simply guide Lizzie toward God, though their interactions are tense at best. Henry touches down on land and finds that Lord Stanley’s armies have yet to arrive and that Wales isn’t behind him like he thought. She tries to convince Stanley to side with her son, since where he throws his resources will determine the result of the battle and the fate of England, to no avail, as he makes clear he’s not choosing until the battle begins.

Richard finds out the good news that Tudor’s numbers are about half his and lacking the support of Wales, while Margaret and Lizzie have a confrontation about the latter’s foolishness in believing Richard loves her and the former’s role in the death of Prince Edward. Though Margaret grabs Lizzie’s face and claims that Henry will never marry her, Lizzie counters with the fact that Henry has to marry her if he hopes to be a successful ruler and says that no matter what happens this day, she will be the Queen of England. On the battlefield, Stanley’s son insists that his father is ill and won’t be able to meet before the battle, causing Richard to threaten his life if his father won’t show until the armies depart. In the Tudor camp, Henry expresses worry about Stanley possibly siding with Richard and writes his mother about said worry, asking her to persuade Stanley to work with him. Margaret rides to the York camp and meets with her husband, pleading for him to pledge his armies to Henry before the battle, as he will lose otherwise. However, Stanley won’t relent and have his son die as a result, despite Margaret’s assurances that he’ll be honored for his service to future King Henry.

On her way out of the tent, Margaret comes face-to-face with Jasper Tudor, where she despairs at getting them into this mess and being unable to find a solution. She urges him and Henry to run away as quickly as they can, but Jasper says that that’s what they’ve done all their lives and now is the time to stand their ground and fight. He takes Margaret to meet with Henry as she requested and the two embrace as he asks whether God is here. She acknowledges that he is and that Henry cannot lose now, not with God on his side. As Richard gets ready for battle, he mounts his horse and puts on his helmet, which has the crown attached. His army rides out just as Henry’s creeps along in the woods on foot. The two meet in the middle of the woods and Sir Robert gives the call for charge as swords are drawn. While Margaret is alone in a York tent, despairing at what is transpiring outside, Elizabeth is reunited with Richard and the battle begins, with Richard getting surrounded and brought down from his horse. He retrieves the helmet-crown and proceeds to fight on foot and it looks for a while like Henry’s numbers disadvantage was going to be too much of an obstacle to overcome, especially once he found himself alone and vulnerable in the middle of the battle.

But what saves him is Stanley’s armies being called and pledging “for Tudor” before pouncing. Sir Robert’s calls to get Richard a horse come too late, as both he and the King are slaughtered, the latter stripped of his armor and jewels. Stanley takes the crown from the helmet and presents it to King Henry, bowing in the presence of the new King of England. The rest of the soldiers all do the same and proclaim “God save the King” before Margaret arrives on the battlefield to reunite with her son. After forcing Stanley to kneel when he attempts to stand up and embrace her, she proclaims herself to be Margaret Regina. Elsewhere, Elizabeth tells Lizzie that she needs to be strong right now and that she will marry Henry Tudor and become Queen of England, just as she herself once was.

Additional thoughts and observations:
-Well, that was awesome. Easily my favorite episode of the series, if only for the significant emotional payoff (the last 10-15 minutes, especially) and how the show was still quick but didn’t feel like it was glossing over events as much. I still maintain that the show would have been better served as a 4-5 season type of production, but The White Queen had the strengths, commanding performances, and distinct point-of-view to be able to recommend pretty easily, regardless of what may be deemed wasted potential. The historical inaccuracies that I’ve seen some complain about don’t bother me and honestly never took me out of the story, whenever I even noticed them.
-Interesting how Elizabeth was mostly sidelined for this episode – her character arc was very strong and kind of petered out, but I’m glad that she found the happiness at Grafton that was hard to grasp in the palace. Anne and Margaret had stronger overall arcs, the former being redeemed after embracing her inner Margaret of Anjou once becoming Queen and the latter having her prophecy of it being God’s will for her son to be King coming true. I’m just happy that there was a historically-based television series that featured so many (varied, interesting) female characters so prominently and hope that it’s lack of success isn’t a deterrent for similar productions or a series based on other Philippa Gregory works.
-The finale was gorgeously directed. The show has always done well with lighting and toned down its Instagram-y coloring as the series went on, but between the edge of the bed providing a split-screen after Anne’s argument with Richard, the “heavenly light” that shone on Henry and Margaret when he asked about God’s presence, and the cross on top of the throne that was highlighted following Anne’s conversation with Sir Robert, it was well done.
-Margaret provided two of the laughs in the episode: one for her reaction to Stanley ordering her not to bully Lizzie and one for her “whose side?” reaction to finding out that Stanley was indeed bringing his armies.
-Richard getting one of Anne’s outfits replicated for Lizzie was awesomely creepy, for some reason. Cable has gone to the incest well a lot recently (Boardwalk Empire, Magic City, Game of Thrones, True Blood), but the hints at it this episode worked for me (showed Richard’s desperation and insecurity with his public image, etc.) and provided a counterbalance to the tragic or comedic ways that it’s been played on other shows.
-I know it’s probably cliché to love the “cat fighting,” but Margaret’s confrontation with Lizzie was fun and part of me wishes they had embraced that aspect of power more. I don’t need this to be Bad Girls Club set in 15th century England; I just think scenes like this and the one in the pilot with Duchess Cecily are electric and bring about an energy that the show could sometimes lack.
-So, the turncoat proves to be the hero in the end. Good job, White Queen. I loved how Margaret already fully embraced her status as the King’s mother and made Stanley kneel before her, even after he was the reason that Henry won the battle to begin with.
-The entire battle was my favorite action-y scene of the series, especially the silence right before it was revealed that Stanley’s army would be defending Tudor. Since a lot of the action took place on foot, sometimes it could get a little chaotic and claustrophobic in earlier episodes; here, though, it was well done and extremely effective.
-Thank you guys for following my White Queen recaps this season. Although it’s disappointing that this is the end, the show went out on about as good a note as it could have and I don’t regret investing the time (and effort) at all.

The post The White Queen Series Finale Recap: God Save the King appeared first on TVHackr.

While Elizabeth is still incensed about Richard seizing the throne, and worried about receiving no word from Richard in Flanders, Lady Margaret learns that Buckingham has set his terms for his involvement in their proposed rebellion. It seems as if now is the time to tell Elizabeth and use her army to rise with them against Richard, hopefully freeing the princes as a result, one of the main points that had to be agreed on for Elizabeth to join forces with Lady Margaret. However, the princes are still extremely supported around the nation and this fact worries Lord Stanley. Anne visits the tower and peeks in on the boys; Sir Robert inquires about their fate and when Anne claims that she can’t bring herself to order their killing, he mentions how much of a threat they are to her and Richard. Since declaring them illegitimate did nothing to squelch the support for King Edward, she agrees to their execution.

Elizabeth receives a message from Richard asking her to come out of sanctuary and live at Grafton Manor, likely under the watchful eyes of guards for the remainder of her life. She mentions that she needs to have her boys released safely and soundly before she agrees to it; before long, though, she learns everything about the plan with Buckingham and Lady Margaret, including their terms of participation. He wants his daughter to marry Prince Edward and himself to be named regent, while she wants Henry to marry Lizzie and become the first heir behind Prince Edward, something she claims will unite the houses and bring an end to the cycle of violence. Elizabeth reluctantly accepts and sends Dr. Lewis back with word of her agreement, in addition to a note to give Thomas Grey.

Margaret writes a letter to Jasper telling him of the news of her involvement with Elizabeth and Buckingham. However, she also mentions that there will be a second battle, that after a victor emerges from the battle between Elizabeth’s army and Richard’s army, Jasper’s army would strike and try to restore Lancaster to power. Lord Stanley brings news of the men selected for the mission to the tower and asks Margaret whether it would be her will for the two boys to be killed once they’re reached. Although it causes her great pains to give the okay, she knows that Henry would never be chosen by the public of England ahead of Richard and Edward and tearfully agrees to their deaths. Before Stanley and his men go, a letter is drawn up to “warn” Sir Robert of the attack, a letter that will be given to him following the conflict. It is to ensure that if things were to go south, they would not look culpable to King Richard. Meanwhile, Elizabeth gives Thomas Grey and Sir John words of encouragement before the battle is to begin.

However, there’s not much of a battle to speak of, as Grey’s men aren’t able to get inside the tower due to a previously unaccounted for swarm of guards and the boys are subsequently removed from the room they were staying in. Despite Lizzie’s concerns about her mother being in bed with the devil, Elizabeth knows that now is the time for uprising and she must contact Lady Margaret if she is to recover her sons in one piece. Richard becomes aware of the note and Lord Stanley has no suspicion throw his way, though Anne has grown more paranoid and he admits that the boys are commanding the outside men with their very existence. Elsewhere, Margaret prays for a sign in terms of what direction she should proceed in and goes to the woods where she has an argument with Stanley, bitterly spitting out word of her meeting with Buckingham, who has access to the tower. At the tower, the two agree to bring down the Rivers line by having Buckingham be the one to do the job. He pledges complete fealty to Henry and becomes next in line for the throne behind the young boy.

The Rivers family has not had any word sent to them from Edward or Richard, their letters being returned unopened. Richard’s son Edward has already been named Prince of Wales and Lizzie tries to bring to her mother’s attention the miserable existence they’ve had since being forced into sanctuary, where Elizabeth spends a majority of her time plotting revenge. After all this plotting, she might not have a boy to put on the throne, should she even win, and Elizabeth mourns the desperation of her situation by reminiscing over Edward and wearing his coat. Soon, though, Thomas Grey brings word from Richard in Flanders – the boy is safe, as is Elizabeth’s claim to the throne. Margaret writes to Jasper once more and mentions that her home is now the headquarters of rebellion, with Elizabeth signing up men still loyal to Edward to fight for her and Dr. Lewis acting as an intermediary between the two.

But Margaret’s claim that Richard won’t know what hit him gets dealt a major blow when Stanley goes to the King with knowledge of the rebellion and implicates his wife in the matter. No one really knows what side Stanley is ever on, though, and Richard bucks when Anne suggests that they arrest Margaret for treason, seeing as how her notorious piety could land them many more enemies than the onslaught they’re currently facing. While the boys are woken up with a start in their room in the tower, Stanley wakes up Margaret and mentions that the King doesn’t trust anyone and that he suspects that she’s one of the ringleaders of the rebellion bubbling against him. She claims that the princes are dead, only for her husband to question whether she saw the bodies or why she is so trusting in what Buckingham has to say to her. Before he goes, she reminds him that he better fight for Henry.

Richard has been intercepting Margaret’s letters and learns that Buckingham has a major role in the impending rebellion. He’s upset not only at the betrayal, but that he has to cancel the session with Parliament that he finally booked, where he was going to preview what kind of King he was going to be and how he would serve England. There’s also a rumor floating around town that the princes are dead at his hand, which he claims isn’t true. However, that’s not stopped it from spreading all the way to Elizabeth, who learns of her sons’ supposed demise from Sir John; he claims that all he’s heard is that they’re dead and that it was at the hands of one of Buckingham’s men. She orders him to go to Kent and prepare to rise up to destroy the false king and deliver the vengeance for her and her sons.

While Richard is given a wife’s blessing before departing for war, where he will try to cut off Buckingham’s impending meeting with Henry Tudor in Wales, Dr. Lewis confirms the rumors of the boys’ deaths to Elizabeth, yet she doesn’t seem to accept the idea. She questions why Buckingham would do it to cast the blame on Richard when the King would have been blamed regardless and lets it slip that the Richard in the tower isn’t the Richard who is in line for the throne. Lewis mentions the boys dying in their beds, immediately drawing suspicion from Elizabeth and fleeing before the conflict could escalate. Lizzie, though, doesn’t hear the river the same way she did when Antony died. She hears more of a lullaby, but drowning out the lullaby is her mother’s insistence on changing sides and going after Buckingham and Margaret, who she thinks killed her children.

Lewis returns to Margaret and tells her what Elizabeth said, though she won’t confirm or deny the idea that the boys are dead. Elsewhere, Elizabeth and Lizzie bring about a rain that stops the conflict from happening, leaving Margaret worried about her son, Buckingham separated from Henry and stuck in Wales, and Richard miserable from the unending pouring. While Buckingham writes a letter telling of Richard hunting him, conceding the fact that he doesn’t have the forces to take the King on himself, Richard searches for the boys in the tower, where he discovers that they’ve dissolved into the ether. Anne tries to no avail to get him to call Parliament and convince him that Elizabeth had spirited them away; Richard believes that Buckingham had a hand in whatever happened to the boys and executes him for ruining his good name among the English public.

Lord Stanley confronts Margaret with the fact that Buckingham has been executed, the King knows of her involvement in a plot to bring him down, and that he was faithful to Richard the entire time. The reason he went along with the idea of rebellion? To seize Margaret’s assets, including her extensive money chest, as he’s been named her jailer and gotten her a house arrest sentence at his country home in Bledsoe. He says that they will have to keep up the appearance that he has more control over her and that any letter she writes will have to go through him. Meanwhile, Richard visits Elizabeth in sanctuary to inquire about whether she has the boys or knows of their fates. She doesn’t have them, of course, and he denies being the one to order their execution, citing the line-ending murder of King Henry and how he was quick to show off his handiwork there. Telling her she has nothing to gain from sanctuary, he offers her safety if she comes out and lives out the rest of her days in Grafton. Elizabeth and Lizzie swear to curse the person responsible for killing the boys, should it not be Richard, and to make the first born son of every generation die out.

While in confession, Anne frets that her words to Sir Robert were responsible for the deaths of Edward and Richard. Later, she tries to get Richard out of bed and he seems to be too depressed at not knowing where the boys are and his wife thinking he played a part in it. Anne gets offended at him offering Elizabeth safety should she leave sanctuary at the Abbey and even moreso when he mentions that he wants the older girls, particularly Lizzie, in court. Back at Westminster, Lizzie learns that her betrothal to Henry Tudor still stands, with her mother claiming that they haven’t sacrificed as much as they have to turn back now, and she wishes for someone else to be sent to her.

Additional thoughts and observations:
-Aside from moments of being too exposition-y (e.g. multiple instances of characters saying “Are you saying that…?” and restating what just happened), I thought this was pretty strong and continued the forward momentum that last week kicked off. What makes shows like this fun is how twist-y the narrative can get and how quickly alliances (and motivations) can change, so this was an hour of political maneuvering that was fun to watch and revealing about where certain characters will be at come the finale.
-Although it was nice to see Anne show some emotion at the end of the episode following a turn into ice queen territory, I still found myself pleased at Richard turning his back on her and snapping at her when she tried to tell him what to do. As was mentioned last week, I think Richard is a pretty decent guy who lets other people control the way he lives his life and rules his kingdom far too much, a trait that he shared with his dearly departed brother. Richard’s tendency to do this is more about insecurity vs. the stupidity and naivety that Edward showed, though.
-I like that they used Lord Stanley’s turncoat tendencies against Margaret, although I’ve grown to love the latter over the last few weeks. Chekhov’s Military Strategy? I also kind of wish that their confrontation in the woods, where they were obviously turning against one another, would have played out a little more, just because I think it had the potential to be the best scene of the episode.
-Great moment: Transitioning Margaret’s “Richard won’t know what hit him” letter into the reveal that Stanley still supported the King. Another great reveal: Elizabeth letting it slip that it wasn’t Richard in the tower.
-Interesting that they have Lizzie embracing her abilities, with her visions, the curse, and the rain. Maybe she’ll use them to help her mother sometime in the finale?
-Do you think that Edward and Richard are dead?
-Next week on The White Queen: In the series finale, Anne, Margaret, and Elizabeth reach an end in their respective journeys and a new generation of schemers and seducers rises toward the English throne.

The post The White Queen Episode 9 Recap: Save or Slaughter appeared first on TVHackr.

Nobody knows the cause of Edward’s illness, as it didn’t come from the food and was too sudden to catch; as such, Elizabeth sends Thomas to find Antony and tell him to go to Wales and bring Prince Edward back home. She’s worried that Richard will try to apprehend her son and stop his ascension to the throne. While Margaret still believes that God will put her son on the throne and prays for such a miracle to occur, Lord Stanley advises her to keep Henry in Brittany and see what happens from here, as he could put a target on his back by arriving in London too early and without assurance of a place on the throne. Richard makes it to see his bed-ridden brother, where Duchess Cecily takes the aside and compares Elizabeth’s current state to a wounded beast defending her lair. In urging those around him to make it their duty to protect the prince, Edward has already accepted that it’s his time to go and laments not seeing his children grow up and rule the country.

He makes them vow to put Prince Edward on the throne and names Richard as his son’s guardian instead of Antony, much to Elizabeth’s dissatisfaction. She urges the rest of those in the room to leave and allow her to say goodbye to her husband, though when they do exit, she tries to convince him to name Antony as the prince’s guardian, citing the fact that he taught the boy everything he knows. Edward says that Antony’s name has been harmed in court and decided to name Richard as Lord Protector due to wanting to keep the peace; he then tells her that he doesn’t want to spend his final moments discussing stately matters and she kisses his forehead before laying her head on his chest. He thanks her for waiting under the oak tree that fateful day and for wanting him, while she thanks him for giving her another chance at life and a certainty that she was lacking before him. Edward then passes away and Elizabeth loudly mourns the loss, causing those listening nearby to console each other. She gathers herself enough to join them, where everyone except Duchess Cecily bows before her. Her reasoning? She and Elizabeth are now on equal footing, as they’re both the mothers of kings.

Both Elizabeth and Cecily plot to get Edward from Wales, with the former being unable to trust anyone and the latter wanting to take the steps necessary toward securing the throne for Richard. They think that Elizabeth was lying about being willing to comply with Richard’s new role as Lord Protector, but when Anne tries to encourage him to seize the opportunity by the throat and show Elizabeth who’s in charge, he tells her to stand down and that he knows what needs to be done. He then runs into a mourning Jane Shore and banishes her from court, explaining that it’s disrespectful for her to be there and that her kind does not belong in and around the palace, even though she has nowhere to stay. While Jasper interrupts Henry having sex with a woman to tell him about the king’s death and the fact that he’ll have to wait longer to return, Richard’s men encounter Prince Edward on the road to the palace with his guardian. They want to take him to the tower, while Antony wants him to go to Westminster and Edward simply wants to see his mother. One of Richard’s men kills Edward’s guardian and subdues Antony, allowing him to take the prince to the tower.

When Edward arrives at the tower, he continues protesting the fact that he’s not allowed to see his mother, but Richard and Anne tell him that his mother is grieving right now and doesn’t need to be bothered. However, Elizabeth is furious that Richard took her son, even though Antony has already petitioned for a release and maintains that he trusts Richard. Thomas wants to raise an army and act now, especially since Richard Grey was arrested, but Elizabeth thinks they should seek sanctuary at Westminster for the time being, since only fools wait to see whether their enemies are their friends or not. In her mind, staying out in the open will give Richard the opportunity to seize her other sons, but she does allow Thomas to stay above ground and act as her eyes/ears. Elizabeth then warns Antony that if anything happens to her children, she’ll never forgive him.

While Margaret and Henry are excited at the possibility of Elizabeth and Richard destroying one another and paving the way for Henry’s ascension to the throne, a letter from Thomas to Edward Rivers gets intercepted by Richard and causes him to arrested them both for treason, as the letter called for a fleet to be raised. Anne and Cecily continue to try and convince him that Elizabeth is devious and that she was responsible for the mists that killed Lord Warwick, with the latter urging her son to name himself Lord Protector before she can do anything about it. At the Abbey, Elizabeth sees how her children are giving up hope and orates a stirring speech to her children about how their father overcame plenty of adversity on the battlefield and his valiance and bravery is in each of them.

After being caught sitting on the throne by Margaret, who then offered her services, Anne tells her ladies that she’s not up for the coronation fitting that day, even though the country needs direction right now. The ceremony is scheduled to take place in three days and Lady Jane brings news to Elizabeth from Antony, who she had been staying with after being banished from court. Although he had been keeping his distance, it was only for appearances sake and he is the one who convinced Richard to set a coronation date, thinking that Elizabeth could attend and show that she could work with Richard. Elizabeth tells Jane to tell Richard that she’s sorry for everything and that if he removes the soldiers from their door, she would consider attending. Richard complies and removes the guards, but Elizabeth is still paranoid about whether she can truly trust him.

Lord Stanley, however, is deadest against the idea of Elizabeth and Richard trusting one another and sets out to plant seeds of mistrust in them both. Margaret encounters Elizabeth and mentions that there are rumors that Prince Edward is a bastard, which, if true, would cause her children to be disinherited and lose their chance at the throne. She also mentions that Anne refused to be fitted for a coronation gown, allowing Elizabeth to draw her own conclusion that there might not even be a coronation ceremony whatsoever and that Richard could be trying to lull her into a false sense of security. Lord Stanley is much less successful with Richard and Anne, who dismiss him almost immediately; however, his talk of Lady Jane inspires them to send men to follow her to see who she’s dealing with. They find her at Antony’s and arrest him on grounds of being a traitor before publicly humiliating her. Though Richard was thrown for a loop by Antony, a man he trusted fully, going against him, Anne encourages him to show Elizabeth who the real Lord Protector is.

At Westminster, Lord Buckingham visits Elizabeth under the guise of bringing her children fresh food and informs her that both Antony and Jane have been arrested, with Thomas having gotten away. He suggests that it would be best for her to comply with Richard and help her brother, but he’ll give her until tomorrow to decide if she wants to do that and send her other son Richard to the palace. To defy Richard would be to put the entire family in danger; however, Elizabeth knows that Richard will do whatever he wants and that for now, it’s best for her to save her son. She sends him away with Thomas and gets a boy of common birth named Geoffrey to pose as Richard before writing to Lady Margaret and cursing Richard with a string she wraps around her wrist.

Feeling the effects of the curse, Richard’s sword arm grows considerably weaker and he openly frets about the council’s true motives in demanding Antony’s release from the tower. In his mind, there are too many people who have a say in the future of Prince Edward, which leads him to send his men, including Sir Robert, to search Lord Stanley’s belongings. Being that Lady Margaret just put an incriminating letter from Elizabeth in her consecrated Bible, she causes a scene when they apprehend it and forces them to give it to her without opening it. No charges are brought against the two as a result.

Lord Buckingham and Lord Stanley are among those who meet Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, and “Richard,” the latter of whose role in the plan is to give them some time to get away. While Elizabeth explains to her daughter that Richard having both heirs in the tower would have given him all the leverage against her, Edward talks back to Richard and says that his father would be ashamed of how his brother is treating the family. Nonetheless, the crowning is set to begin sometime the next morning and Richard doesn’t notice that “Richard” isn’t actually Elizabeth’s son. Later, he meets with Anne and Cecily, who try to convince him that even if Edward is crowned, he’ll continually be looking toward Antony and Elizabeth for guidance vs. Richard as Lord Protector. Anne suggests that he name himself king, as the safest option that’s available, and Richard confirms that Edward had had secret martial ceremonies with women in order to get them into bed, likely producing bastard children throughout England. Though he worries that he won’t be king in the eyes of God, Anne assures him that God will be okay with him preventing a commoner and a witch from assuming the throne.

While out with her daughter, Elizabeth runs into Lady Margaret’s physician Dr. Lewis, who informs them that Parliament has declared her marriage to Edward invalid and her sons to be bastards, though Margaret and Lord Stanley are reportedly in her corner. Richard meets with Antony in the tower and tells him that Edward would only take his counsel should he be crowned, meaning that he can’t be trusted. Antony tries to convince Richard that he’s no threat, only for Richard Grey to be brought into the room and Richard to mention that he has named himself king and that Antony will never see him crowned. Back at the Abbey, Princess Elizabeth has a vision of Elizabeth’s ambition ruining the lives of her sons and forcing her daughter on the throne, that she loves the throne more than she ever loved them.

Just then, Antony and Richard Grey are each brought out and executed on Richard’s orders. Meanwhile, Anne and Richard are crowned and named King and Queen of England.

Additional thoughts and observations:
-We’re now 19 years removed from the events of the first episode. I wonder how much ground will be covered by the final two episodes of the series.
-I like how Edward remained a naïve idiot until his dying breath. His words for Elizabeth were very sweet, but the fact that he named Richard as Lord Protector tells you everything you need to know about him.
-Although I think Anne’s character arc has been arguably the strongest on the show, seeing her as this bitter, ruthless wannabe queen (and as a spitting image of Duchess Cecily in terms of manipulating Richard) just made me frustrated. RIP, Anne’s likability. Hopefully someone brings her down in the last two episodes.
-I did, however, love Duchess Cecily not bowing before Elizabeth. In the alternate universe version of this show (that exists solely in my head), Duchess Cecily is a tremendous series-long villain and gets much more screen time than she got during this show. It’s very fitting that none of the three Sons of York were very assertive and ended up allowing other people to dictate how they ruled/lived their lives.
-The line “I’m your Grace.” was very well-delivered, though. The events of the final 10-15 minutes of the episode were all very chilling, in fact, but that stood out to me as something especially effective.
-I truly think that if Elizabeth had played along from the very beginning, she might have been okay. But she gave Anne and Cecily ample opportunity to fill Edward’s head with the type of information that motivated him to do what he did and paid dearly for her insistence on clinging to the throne.
-Can someone like Richard hand down a treason warrant without being the king or the offense being against the king? That just seemed extremely arbitrary, as did Richard literally becoming king because he said so.
-Since this show is very Tudors-y, I kind of wish that the episode ending executions were grander, like Anne Boleyn’s (devastating) death in season two of the Showtime series. They were still very sad here, but they were quick and mostly off-screen, so their impact wasn’t as felt as it could have been. I don’t need to see severed heads flying about, but it would have been nice to have a bit more pomp.
-Next week on The White Queen: Lady Margaret and Elizabeth scheme against one another.

The post The White Queen Episode 8 Recap: You Will Never See Me Crowned appeared first on TVHackr.

While Edward is off screwing anything in a skirt, Elizabeth is going into labor with what they think is another son. She’s afraid of having to go through her first birth without Jacquetta and sends Lady Margaret out for some lavender, where Stanley urges his wife to get in closer with the queen and Margaret tells him that Elizabeth only loves her own vanity – no one else. She goes to the chapel and prays to God for a sign that she’s where she belongs, only for someone to alert her to the baby being stuck and a chair being required. Once Elizabeth gets on her knees in front of the chair and leans over, the baby comes; however, he’s not crying and Elizabeth thinks that another one of her children has passed away. Margaret takes the baby in her hands and he comes to life, crying after being with her for a few seconds. Joyful, Elizabeth claims that she’s in Margaret’s debt and Lady Margaret seems a little shook up herself.

Richard comes home to Anne and their son at Warwick Castle and she expresses gratitude at being away from court. However, that lasts for only a short moment when Richard brings in Countess Warwick, who previously disowned and cursed her daughter. The reason? George had expressed a desire to snatch her from sanctuary and secure the family fortune, so Richard took her before he could and will make sure that Isabel and Anne will get to split the Neville fortune themselves. Anne isn’t happy whatsoever, as her mother left her on the battlefield, while the Countess isn’t looking forward to being under Richard’s rule, especially since he’ll be going to Edward to pass an act declaring her dead. That will release the fortune to both Isabel and Anne and Richard reminds her that it was either this, the tower, or the grave. Countess tries to go to Anne and get her daughter to stand with her, but Anne’s trust is completely within her husband.

Over at George’s, Isabel overhears him talking to their daughter Margaret and gets wind of how deep his hatred of Elizabeth runs, as he thinks that she favors George and has been in Edward’s ear to deprive him of what is rightfully his. In his mind, Richard and Edward consider themselves untouchable due to having three sons between them, but once he gets named regent, he’ll show Edward what he’s made for and possibly earn himself more power and responsibility. With his brothers by his side, Edward announces plans to invade France to those in his court, though Elizabeth isn’t happy about yet another war and the possibility of George being granted power by his brother, which she warns could lead to their downfall. While Edward argues that fighting for a common cause will draw them closer together, Lady Margaret and Lord Stanley discuss the chances of a York victory and what that would mean for their son, who they think would be led to slaughter by Edward.

Also not happy with having to deal with another war is Antony, to the point where he’s decided to head to Rome until the conflict is over. Elizabeth needs him now more than ever to watch over Edward and keep George from getting too close, but Antony doesn’t want to risk his life over something that he doesn’t truly believe in. Richard isn’t that thrilled with the conflict, either, though his concern mainly lies with power-hungry George being granted control over France. Meanwhile, Lady Margaret writes to Jasper and Henry, afraid of what a York victory would mean for them while also praying for her husband’s safe return from battle. To her, Elizabeth has been behaving like a king at court, ruling by her lonesome and with a much tighter fist than her husband, something that Margaret fears. She’s also bemused by how her life ended up like this, since she’s acting as Elizabeth’s youngest son’s nursemaid and can’t bare to tend to him, since he reminds her of Jasper and Henry.

Anne goes to Isabel about the reemergence of their mother and Isabel confesses that George is so angry recently due to being pushed further from the throne. In her mind, he needs something for himself before he will be happy and alas, herself and Margaret seem to have disappointed him so. Once she has their son, she thinks he’ll finally love her. Elizabeth summons Isabel and asks about what she heard from George, hoping for news from the battlefield and the progress of the conflict with France. Unfortunately, George has only mentioned his desire for a son, though Elizabeth gets wind from newly minted spy Lady Margaret that George has eyes on the throne. She makes a passing comment to Isabel and Anne about she hopes that they have the same luck as their mothers in terms of having children, with Jacquetta having born 14 children during her life. Countess Warwick, on the other hand? Four – two boys, two girls. Isabel takes this as a curse, only for Anne to try and talk her down, claiming that the only reason her sister sees Elizabeth as a witch is their father. However, Isabel is convinced that if she fails to have a son, it will be Elizabeth’s fault.

While out at the battlefield, Edward, George, and Richard have disagreements about how to approach the conflict with France. Edward wants to do without bloodshed and thinks that they should at least get King Louis’ terms and discuss them. He also reminds George that the talk of becoming a regent was only that – talk. He was never promised anything. Richard writes to Anne and tells her that the entire campaign was a farce, that Edward ended up taking the deal offered by King Louis, which included a marriage between the French son and one of the English daughters and a whole lot of gold. Though he’s been on his brother’s side for much of his reign, Richard believes that he can’t forgive Edward for his actions in France, as he’s been made to feel like a merchant rather than a soldier or a royal. As a result of what happened, George has become increasingly angrier and blames Elizabeth for his misfortunes.

Back from the war, Elizabeth heartily welcomes Edward, claiming to be sick of being around women, while Richard is noticeably distant from the king and George refuses to celebrate, opting to go home to be with Isabel. George rants to his wife about how treacherous Edward is and how he will get what’s coming to him, since he made a deal with King Louis that hinges upon Isabel having a son – if she does, the French get land and George gets the army he needs to overthrow Edward and take the throne. Isabel tells her husband about the curse she believes Elizabeth has put on her that killed their first born. His big plan to get the queen back? Hire a sorcerer.

Meanwhile, Richard is offended at Edward sending a package of hold to buy his affections/loyalty, claiming that his brother doesn’t know him at all. He existentially ponders whether he can trust anyone anymore and whether he’s truly alone, ignoring Anne’s attempt at showing him affection in the process. Anne then goes to talk to her mother, who again attempts to convince her to join forces; this time, she argues that since Anne’s marriage had no dispensation from the Pope, Richard could very easily divorce her and take her entire half of the Neville fortune, which is in the bill that declares the Countess dead. Anne doesn’t take anything her mother says seriously, though, and calls her mad before leaving.

Elizabeth’s oldest boy Thomas gets married to a commoner from England and at the reception, Cecily’s gossiping gets shut down quickly by an irritated Anne. The real fireworks come when George refuses to stand and toast his brother and Elizabeth, instead knocking his cup over and exiting the room. As Edward won’t do anything about it, telling Elizabeth that he’ll have Cecily talk to him about it, the queen goes after her brother-in-law, who accuses her of being a murderer. While he leaves after she tells him that he won’t ruin everything they’ve built up at court, George ends up killing the family dog and bringing its body to Isabel, claiming that he found it in one of their rooms and that the animal was poisoned. Later, he goes to a sorcerer to work on killing Edward, while Isabel writes Anne to tell her sister that she had a baby boy named Teddy, that the sorcerer was hired to ward off spells, and that she had been bed ridden recently.

It turns out that Isabel died from her illness before Anne could reach her and George doesn’t want to tell anyone about it, as he doesn’t know who they can trust and Edward would only try to marry him off to someone out of the country. Anne ends up telling her mother about Isabel’s death and the Countess apologizes for leaving her on the battlefield. Elsewhere, George comes to Edward and asks about the possibility of marrying Mary of Burgundy, which he declines. Elizabeth then calls Anne to court in an attempt to scorch the rumors that she’s a witch, something George publicly accuses her of. Elizabeth berates the young girl for thinking that Edward would want George to remarry someone from Flanders, who would have the access to overthrow him from the throne, and plants a seed of distrust in her mind about George’s involvement in Isabel’s death.

Anne goes to Richard about this and he doesn’t know that what happened was even murder, though Anne still isn’t satisfied and demands to go fetch Isabel’s children to live at Warwick Castle with them. Back at the palace, court is dividing over the accusations against Elizabeth; however, Lady Margaret isn’t as satisfied as she thought she would be and assumes that Isabel’s death was the result of George’s sorcerer’s power backfiring. As Edward learns of George’s plan with King Louis, he sends men after his brother in Tewkesbury looking for an arrest, only for George to escape. Antony arrives back from Rome and comforts Elizabeth, who is forced to go to a celebration of Edward’s 15 years on the throne when half of her court thinks she’s a murderous witch. With several armed men to protect against a rumored assassination attempt, everyone at the celebration dons animal masks; George makes his presence known to Anne first and then runs around the tight corridors of the party, loudly rants about how both Edward and Elizabeth are murderers before being drug off to Margaret’s bemusement and Elizabeth’s horror.

George stands trial for treason with nobody acting in his defense and Edward acting as prosecutor. A guilty verdict quickly comes, despite the pleas of Duchess Cecily, who can’t control her grief around Richard and goes to Edward to ask for a reversal in the ruling. However, Richard simply asks her if she would have rather it been himself or Edward instead of her precious George and Edward apologizes for her loss before mentioning that George will get to pick the way he dies. After commanding him to reverse the decision, she throws herself on the floor and begs Edward to change his mind, latching on to his leg as he walks by and allowing him to drag her across the floor.

The method George ends up choosing is drowning in malmsey wine, which Elizabeth takes as a personal affront since its known that malmsey wine is her favorite and Edward brought some home from France specifically for her. While Cecily and Anne mourn George, and Edward argues with Richard over the sentencing, George is led to the tub by two guards and gets drowned before anyone can see him or he can have any last words. Elizabeth takes his name from her locket and burns it in the fireplace; Richard and Anne embrace while at the church altar; and Margaret’s son has his title restored, though there are five people in front of him in line for the throne. Margaret prays, lights five candles, and blows one out.

Additional thoughts and observations:
-So, Edward’s belly at the beginning of the episode was awesomely pillow-like, with zero indication elsewhere that he was aging or gaining weight. He looked a bit more realistic later in the episode, particularly when he sits by the fire and tells Elizabeth about George’s plan with Louis, but the shots of him with the women and talking to George and Richard were nearly comical.
-Richard’s speaking voice reminds me so much of Iwan Rheon from Misfits, for some reason. Also, the increased Richard in this episode was much appreciated, because he’s only been in the series in fits and spurts, and then only as a romantic interest for Anne. Here, he was more fully formed and quite a bit more compelling as a result. Do you think that he’s been honest with Anne and isn’t going to divorce her to take her fortune away?
-Props to The White Queen for doing somewhat realistic birth scenes, even though the shot of one of Elizabeth’s ladies scooping something out of her following the birth wasn’t exactly my favorite thing in the world.
-I’d like next season of Call the Midwife to star Amanda Hale as Margaret Beaufort. The shot of her reaction to the baby living was really excellent.
-Favorite lines: Richard telling Countess Warwick about her options being a faked death, the tower, or the grave; Edward’s wilting “I’m sorry for your loss”; Anne’s “You can’t hear witchcraft in everything she says”; Elizabeth’s “I’m tired of women.”
-When they showed George talking to Margaret and only showed his face, I thought for a second that maybe his anger had consumed him so much that he went mad and was talking to himself. Nice fake out, show, by having him with the baby.
-Isabel telling Anne that George will finally love her once she has a son, combined with George telling Anne that he had grown to love his wife – saddest moment of the episode? Poor Isabel.
-Conversely, George telling Isabel that he was going to hire a sorcerer was deliciously funny, likely for unintentional reasons. That was such a strange line to say so seriously on a show where the supernatural was really limited to Jacquetta and Elizabeth and felt much soapier than anything we’ve had thus far.
-Edward’s stupidity could be so irritating, but I like seeing just how deep it runs and how his only positive moves seem to come from Elizabeth pulling the strings. Thinking that George will be faithful to him because they’re brothers? Overriding his brothers by accepting Louis’ terms and expecting them to be perfectly okay with it? Wonderful.
-I might have gasped aloud when Elizabeth got out of her chair and went into the hallway to confront George, though it would have been nice had the scene went longer. They needed one good tussle before George met his end and that felt like the moment to pull the trigger, with emotions and tension as heightened as they were.
-That celebration gave me serious Eyes Wide Shut vibes, in a good way. Visually, the show has never let me down and this was no exception, with the tight corridors, masks, dancers, drummers, and woodsy décor.
-Don’t look now, everybody, but Lady Margaret is coming for blood. And I cannot wait.
-Next week on The White Queen: Dark days could be ahead for Edward.

The post The White Queen Episode 7 Recap: Stay in Here and Be Dead appeared first on TVHackr.

Appointed to the role of Isabel’s lady-in-waiting, Anne tells her sister that their mother had been writing her asking for help and that she doesn’t buy Edward’s argument that the Countess wants to stay in sanctuary. Isabel, though, doesn’t want them to draw any more of the king’s ire and have him question where their true loyalties lie, so even with George being appointed as her sister’s guardian, she orders Anne to not bring attention to herself. Later, Anne approaches her sister, worried about the future of her dowry if she doesn’t marry by the time that their mother dies, as that would mean that the Warwick family fortune would be in George’s hands, as he is her guardian. The two get into a physical altercation that ends with Anne biting her sister’s hand and pushing her to the floor, with Isabel forcing her back into her room until she shows gratitude for the situation that she’s in.

Following the death of her husband, Margaret is conflicted about her future with the Yorks and whether she should follow his decree to find peace with her enemies. Just as she asks God for a sign as to what to do next, Reginald comes in to inform her that Lady Beachum has fallen ill. Margaret immediately goes to her mother’s bedside, though she’s not sad about the sudden turn for the worse; in fact, she’s more disgusted by the smell of putrefying flesh. Beachum expresses regret that her son isn’t there to comfort her and asks Margaret to release whatever grudge she holds against her. Margaret, however, only hears a call for forgiveness without a confession of her sins, so she’s not exactly jumping to release her mother from the cage of anger she’s currently held in. As such, Lady Beachum simply says that it was God’s will that her daughter bear a Lancastrian heir and that Margaret has always had a hard time with reconciling her saintliness with the vanity of wanting to marry someone like Jasper Tudor, who would worship her. Before she leaves, Margaret says that when her mother dies, she will be reborn at last.

While Jacquetta has urged Elizabeth to seek the peace that the country needs right now, it seems as if her own household is in the most need of reparation, as the York brothers wants to send Prince Edward to Wales as a way to establish his future household and have the country learn to love him. Elizabeth doesn’t want him to go, though, and will only agree if she’s the one who gets to pick who acts as his guardian, an idea that is rejected due to Edward needing someone who could raise his son into a king. The Queen goes to her mother and laments how much distance there’s been between her and Edward since he arrived back from the latest battle, only for Jacquetta to sense that her daughter is pregnant and suggest that she tell Edward to close the emotional gap between them. Rejuvenated, Elizabeth does just that and walks into their bedroom, where she finds him having sex with Jane Shore. She gets told that whoring is simply a sport to Edward, something that’s been bred into his nature, but Jacquetta doesn’t like what happened one bit.

Anne approaches George and Isabel with the intention of seeing her mother, only to be rejected because there was “no horse” available that day. Additionally, her guardian officially bars her from going anywhere aside from chapel due to the potential for her to disgrace them in public, so Anne meets up with Richard to question him about bringing her back here. Since he claimed she would be safe, did he lie then? Or did he not know the extent of his brother’s plans until it was too late? He claims the latter and agrees to meet with Anne in the garden that evening after dinner. Meanwhile, an ailing Jacquetta informs Elizabeth that she wouldn’t be attending the Christmas celebration that evening due to suffering from an irregular heartbeat, which she claims will take her before too long. However, she won’t let Elizabeth call the physician; the festivities are all a blur to Elizabeth due to the news of her mother’s state and seeing Jane Shore making eye contact with Edward throughout.

Richard and Anne find themselves outside, where the former claims that he thought he was doing the right thing by bringing her back to her sister. For six months, she was being seen only by Isabel and Isabel’s ladies, with George coming up with excuses ranging from illness to grief with why Anne wasn’t out and about. Richard advises her to pretend to go along with George, perhaps by using flattery, in order to make it out of his custody; he will wait for the right time to go to the king and ask that his brother’s guardianship be lifted. Elizabeth goes to Jacquetta’s side, where her mother feels no pain except that which her daughter is going through. Jacquetta claims that Elizabeth would have another son and that he would turn into someone great, that she would be okay with passing due to leaving a potential line of kings and queens in her wake. Elizabeth, though, doesn’t feel ready to let go, not after her mother had done so much for her.

Margaret hears from Jasper, who informs her that Henry is doing well and that there would be no need for her to come to them as she had inquired about in her previous letter. She would be better off helping her son from England and redoubling her efforts to the crumbling Lancastrian cause. Margaret then decides to marry into the House of York and tasks Reginald with sending feelers around court to see about the interest level. Particularly, she wants to know about the king’s brother Richard. He does just that during an organized bird hunt, which finds Anne out of the house and Elizabeth witnessing Edward’s flirtation with Jane before the party sets off. While she asks Antony to take her son to Wales and raise him into a king, Reginald tries to convince Richard of Margaret’s virtues as Anne watches from a distance. Afterwards, she confronts him over the marriage proposal, calling Margaret ancient, ugly, and fanatical. He counters that she’s one of the richest women in England and Anne says that if she had the freedom, she could get any man she wants before storming off.

As she comes back inside, Anne requests to speak with George and asks him how she would go about getting married. He claims that the year of grieving isn’t over and that it would be untoward of her to get married again so quickly, threatening to send her to an abbey when she won’t let the issue drop. Anne pleads with Isabel, but her sister simply turns and follows her husband. Margaret finds out from Reginald that Richard declined the marriage proposal; however, he has another potential option in Lord Thomas Stanley. She laughs at the idea due to him being a turncoat, but Reginald mentions that he and his brother always end up on opposite side during battles so that their family will have at least one winner per conflict. That, combined with the news of Jacquetta’s worsening condition, seems to raise her spirits enough to where she agrees to meet with the man.

George and Richard argue over what their intentions are with Anne Neville before Elizabeth comes into the room upon hearing complaints of Antony being named Prince Edward’s guardian. She finds out from George that Edward is with Jane Shore at the moment, while Anne writes a note for Richard to meet her in the garden that night. Eventually, they both make it out and she informs him that George will be putting her in a nunnery and that she will be running away to avoid that fate. As she learned from Margaret of Anjou, sometimes you mustn’t hesitate and put yourself as your top priority, but that gets questioned when Richard proposes and claims that he loves her. Though he would indeed become a rich man from a marriage to her, Anne would gain a title equal to her sister and a true husband who would do his best to take care of her. She says yes and the two kiss as the snow falls around them.

Lord Stanley comes to Margaret’s home and the two agree on the arrangement, as Stanley already has sons and Margaret needs to garner favor with the king. However, she will have to leave Jasper Tudor behind and serve the House of York, working in the queen’s chamber to prove herself to Edward. Elsewhere, George is furious that Richard and Anne have ran away, as his brother didn’t ask permission for the union to occur. Edward laughs, calling George out on his hypocrisy since he never asked if he could marry Isabel, but before he can formally give Richard the go-ahead, word comes that Elizabeth has went into labor early and that she might not make it. Edward runs to be with her and helps her push through the bloody, painful endeavor to give birth to a baby boy, who ends up being too premature to survive. Before he passes away, Elizabeth takes him to Jacquetta and places the baby on her chest. She moves her hand slightly in recognition and draws her last breath, causing Elizabeth to breakdown at the bedside.

Richard and Anne, as well as Margaret and Thomas, get married, albeit in separate ceremonies, with the former having a passionate first night together and the latter sleeping in separate rooms, to Margaret’s chagrin. Isabel and Anne make up when the latter gets a curse sent to her by their mother; Anne will be living in Warwick Castle with Richard and the two promise to visit each other regularly. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Edward are in bed mourning the loss of the baby and Jacquetta. Elizabeth makes it known that she’s uncomfortable with her husband’s connection with Jane Short and that she’s stood by him through too much for him to do that to her. Her issue is that he lays with Jane as if she could replace her on the throne and he says that she could never do that, not when Elizabeth is the one who keeps him going in battle. However, he does remind her that he never promised to be faithful and that they’re not the same two people they were when they met under the oak tree.

Margaret and Thomas arrive at the palace and she bows in acknowledgement of both Elizabeth and Edward.

Additional thoughts and observations:
-I appreciate that Edward doesn’t take George seriously. It undercuts the latter’s sense of self-importance to an entertaining degree and keeps him from being as big of a threat to Elizabeth as he could be.
-As with Lord Stafford’s death last week, Jacquetta’s death was terribly sad and well-executed. Her powers made knowledge of her demise that much more impactful, as well as the fact that she’s been the rock that Elizabeth has had to lean on during the stormier days of her time as queen. I honestly don’t know how she’ll handle a life with Edward straying from her and no Jacquetta there for support.
-Interesting that Margaret seemed disappointed in the lack of consummation of her marriage to Thomas. Is she lonelier than she lets herself acknowledge, especially since Jasper doesn’t want to be with her right now?
-Do you think the letters Anne and Isabel have been receiving are, in fact, from their mother? Or, in their pursuit of the Warwick family fortune, has someone been telling her what to write?
-I never understood the whole “send a royal baby to another country to grow up” thing. I get that it keeps them from being in harm’s way and that they’ll be protected until they’re a certain age, but making them the house of household and such seems a bit silly. How much power and decision-making ability should a 3-year-old have, y’know? And there’s no guarantee that those in charge of raising them will do a good job or shape their ideals in the best way possible.
-Next week on The White Queen: Paranoia runs rampant through the Neville family.

The post The White Queen Episode 6 Recap: You Flatter Her to Even Dwell on Her Name appeared first on TVHackr.

Back at the palace, Warwick gets Henry to pray and calls upon Jasper to go to Wales and raise an army that can join with Margaret of Anjou’s in order to defeat Edward. Though she fully supports the cause, she’s made wary when she’s told that he will be taking Henry, as the boy is now second in line to the throne and too vulnerable an asset to leave unprotected. After the two ride away, Margaret goes up to Edmund Tudor and attempts to convince him that while her husband may be a peaceful man, he might be willing to raise an army if a man were to help him see the light. Edmund quickly agrees and rides away to join the rest of the soldiers.

Elizabeth and her family are still holed up in Westminster Abbey and she’s very much on the defensive in the wake of being separated from Edward. When she hears something outside, she runs to the front door and sees a cloaked figure headed toward her, along with another figure wielding a torch. She rushes to grab a weapon and plant herself between the door and her children, only to find out that the figure in the hood is her husband, anxious to see both her and his son before battle. Having slipped into the Abbey since all of Warwick’s men have been called to arms, he tells her that George has been good to his word and that the Sons of York have reunited before picking up his son and promising to return home safely. Later, he and Elizabeth make love and afterwards, she convinces him that he has a right to be vengeful toward Warwick, whose moves he knows well, and that nobody blames him for being captured and held. He replies that he was never afraid when he was in captivity and that the thought of his son filled him with hope.

While Isabel confronts her father on the confusing state of her allegiance now that she’s by her lonesome, to which he responds that she’ll be okay regardless of the battle’s outcome, Margaret Beaufort discovers a swarm of tenants in her home, signifying that Henry is ready to head into battle. Gleeful, she goes to thank him/bless him until she finds out that though he’s going into battle, he’ll be fighting for York. He reasons that the only peace the country has known has been under York rule and that he’s trying to make sure the country doesn’t collapse in on itself under a rule of a mad king, a tyrant queen, and a vile prince. He mentions that there’s no God in those people and when Margaret threatens to cut him out of her life should he fight against her own house, he gets down on one knee, kisses her hand, and says “God bless you, Margaret, even if you won’t say it to me” before leaving.

On the ship, Anne gets sea sick and has to deal with Margaret of Anjou’s questioning about what kind of queen she would be and insults regarding how weak she is, similar to her sister. Meanwhile, Jacquetta arrives at the Abbey and informs her daughter that Warwick has 3x the troops that Edward does and with Margaret on her way, that number will go up in number. As the armies are currently near Barnet, a city north of London, the two devise a spell that will raise the fog, giving Warwick’s men zero peripheral vision and allowing Edward’s men to sneak up. The Yorks get very close to the Lancastrian army before attacking and for a while, it seems as if Edward, Richard, George, and Warwick will all make it out of the battle unscathed and with high body counts to their name. However, Richard gets nicked and Warwick is punched, the latter righting himself and coming face to face with Edward. Before either of them can make a move, though, Warwick gets sliced on the midsection by a random York soldier, who then stabs the Kingmaker in the back, killing him.

All but one of Margaret of Anjou’s ships have come to shore, but they arrive to news that Warwick has been killed on the battlefield, having murdered his horse in a gesture to his men that he wouldn’t be riding away from them. Though Anne is devastated by the loss of her father and her mother running to seek sanctuary at a nearby abbey, she still manages to give Margaret advice about what to do next, telling her to head west towards Wales, an area with no affiliation, as the south is notably pro-York. They decide to go through unaffiliated Tewkesbury and Margaret tells Anne that if she tries to go see her mother, her name will mean nothing and she will be at the mercy of the York courts, known to not look kindly on traitors. When she goes on to say that they don’t need her anymore, Anne reminds her that they, in fact, do, as Edward needs an heir and she might be carrying the future King of England at this very moment. In honor of her father and to help fulfill his wish, she will ride with them.

Margaret Beaufort hears that Henry has been injured on the battlefield and forces Reginald to take her in a cart to see (and possibly retrieve) him. When she arrives, she sees piles of bodies being looted or chewed upon by animals, only for Henry to be weak and have his stomach wrapped in tight bandages in a protected location. He tries to get her to accept the loss, but he accidentally lets it slip that Lancaster still has a chance, should Margaret of Anjou hook up with Jasper’s army. She rushes to a nearby desk and writes her love a letter about the loss the Yorks suffered and how all hope might not be lost, reminding him to seize the moment and do what needed to be done. Back at the palace, Warwick’s funeral is attended by Edward’s closest family, who debate on how much they should be mourning; while Richard is aligned with Edward in thinking they should think about the hero he was vs. the traitor he became, George is vehemently opposed to remembering Warwick well and can’t stop thinking of him how he went out. As such, Jacquetta suggests that she and Elizabeth should forgive George and leave the rest up to God, though Elizabeth still has his name in her locket.

Edward gets ready for the final battle, where he will hope to stop Margaret of Anjou from linking up with Jasper Tudor, and is gifted with words of encouragement from his wife, who he orders to the tower. Antony will protect her during the duration of the battle; should he lose, though, he directs her to a man in Flanders who will aid her in keeping her son safe until he is old enough to seize the throne for himself and their family name. Elsewhere, Margaret of Anjou has reached the halfway point of her journey and gives a rousing speech to her army, only to find out that they can go no further that night. She opts to once again listen to Anne and has everyone pitch camp while heading to the abbey, where she gets Anne to pray for not only her father and her husband, but for her. Said prayer ends up not working well, as the Yorks end up losing the battle and Edward of York loses his life on the battlefield. Before Anne can gallop away on her horse, she gets surrounded by York soldiers who pull her off and look as if they were about to sexually assault her before Richard steps in to save the day. Margaret of Anjou refuses to go with Richard to London, as he has been ordered to bring her along by King Edward, and attempts to bribe him with the offer of becoming her heir and ascending to the throne. Richard doesn’t want to be king, though, and gets two guards to carry her away.

A weakened Lord Henry is home and being tended to by Reginald when Margaret comes to him with the idea of riding to see her son and Jasper one last time before they go into exile once again for an indeterminate amount of time. She basically steamrolls her way into getting him to agree and leaves the room as he reaches for her; when she returns, she finds her house full of people and the priest said to have been called for last rights. Henry, noticeably frailer than he was when she left, tells her to lie to her son about what happened to him; that he knows she never wanted to be with him; and that he’s sorry for disappointing her before advising her to be herself from now on and do whatever makes her happy, not what she thinks she should do to please God. Once he expresses regret at not having a child with her and urges her to make peace with the Yorks, he passes away.

At the palace, Elizabeth receives a bit of menacing eye contact from George during a celebration of Edward gaining the crown back, making her think that his allegiance might not be to his brother after all, and catches the three brothers sneaking into Henry’s room and smothering him with a pillow that night.

Additional thoughts and observations:
-The best shot of the episode was the cut to Margaret of Anjou looking like a predator about to devour her prey when Countess Warwick and Anne were in the boat. It was kind of horror movie-y and underlined the fact that, yes, she is the villain, but I thought it looked cool and added to The Bad Queen’s aura.
-So, apparently Edward could not be bothered to see his three daughters before the battle. Also, the sex scene? Was that in the same room as the kids or did they sneak off just to get some nookie?
-I like that, however much of a bastard you consider Warwick to be, he did take care of Izzy in case of his demise. His death, though, was super anticlimactic and felt like it happened too early in the series. I know that they’re trying to synthesize 1500 pages of material into a cogent, cohesive miniseries, but it felt like they were setting him up to last a lot longer and go out a lot bigger than the way it turned out. You could look at it as a commentary on how war stops for no man and even the biggest and baddest of leaders can be taken down by anyone; dramatically, though, it left something to be desired.
-This was a wonderful Henry Stafford episode. Between the stirring argument he has with Margaret where he stood by his belief in King Edward, him kissing her hand after she tells him she would consider him dead if he fought with the Yorks, and the absolutely gutting final conversation he had with his wife, which may  or may not have made me cry, it was the richest his character has been in the series and gave new dimension to his dynamic with Margaret.
-Also having a good episode was Anne, who went toe-to-toe with Margaret of Anjou in a way that the Anne Neville of episode one could never have done. She leaves episode five with Richard at her side, The Bad Queen no longer a threat, and a promise to see her sister once court resumes, along with the added self-confidence of surviving without her father.
-Do you think George is working an angle in his support for Edward? I originally thought that there was at least something genuine about the change of allegiance, but it looks as if he abandoned a sinking ship in Warwick and wants to quickly regain Edward’s trust (which will be given, due to the King’s naivete) before striking with a plan to gain the throne for himself.
-Now that Elizabeth has seen her husband commit murder, how will her feelings about him change? Granted, he did it to tighten his grip on the throne after losing it several times, but will she be okay with death that occurs away from the battlefield?
-Next week on The White Queen: Anne furthers her political aspirations, while Elizabeth experiences heartbreak.

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By 1470, Warwick had moved to France to raise an army that would bring down Edward and remove him from the throne. However, Isabel is still dealing with grief from her ordeal on the ship and has seemingly lost all hope in ever going back to England or feeling happy, while Anne isn’t pleased at the thought of being married off to Prince Edward of Lancaster, Margaret of Anjou’s son. Due to George losing his son and not having an heir, he wouldn’t have the support to be named king, seeing as how those in power would look at the misfortune as God ruling against a potential Plantagenet reign. Warwick argues that the only way they can get Edward off the throne is to align themselves with the Lancasters, which King Louis will support them in. Margaret has already pledged her allegiance to the cause under one caveat – should she help displace Edward, Warwick has to use his powers to make Henry the king once more. Of course, George doesn’t want to have to align himself with the woman who killed his father, but as he’s out of options after turning his back on his house, country, and brother, he has to play along. For now.

Over at Pembrooke, Henry is still acting cold toward his mother, longing for the days when he was with Jasper. Coincidentally, Margaret has been longing for Jasper, herself, and chides her husband for nicking her son in the face during a sword fight, but she has bigger problems to deal with once Sir William Herbert and his men arrive at the castle, which is now theirs following her treasonous acts against King Edward. Margaret attacks her husband once again for not standing up for himself/them, reminding him that Jasper would have done something, before being forced to prepare the guest rooms for the three of them.

Anne and her family await the arrival of Margaret of Anjou at her request, as she wants to get a look at the girl who would become her daughter-in-law. The former queen arrives and begins spitting venom at a groveling Warwick, desperate to sure up his new alliance and gain not only her support, but the arms she has at her disposal. After telling him that his sudden epiphany is convenient and admonishing him for imprisoning her husband, she brings out what she says is a fragment of the True Cross and makes him swear that he will be a faithful servant to her while his hand is on the historical relic. Once he does, Margaret summons Anne and examines her, deeming her plain but acceptable due to her willingness to abide; Warwick then asks her to summon her armies quickly in order to squash Edward and get her husband back on the throne. Not willing to be ordered around by anyone, Margaret says that she won’t be doing anything until Warwick goes back to England and raises an army on his own, thus securing London. As she’s leaving, she tells him to scorch the nest, meaning that when he takes out Edward and the so-called witch he married, he should kill any sons she may have.

Jacquetta and Elizabeth visit Edward, where he’s already been informed of the new alliance between Warwick and Margaret; they bring the additional dagger that Anne has been promised to Prince Edward. While Edward is at his wit’s end with trying to figure out his brother’s position in this and whether any of what Warwick got him to do mattered, Jacquetta and Elizabeth pledge to weaken this new alliance, which they begin to do by approaching Duchess Cecily. However, Cecily doesn’t fully believe what they say about her son betraying his house and his brother, not until Elizabeth mentions that George has absolutely nothing to gain from his ties to Warwick – he will either lose in battle and be executed by Edward or he will win and not gain the title of King like he wanted, due to Margaret of Anjou’s son being next in line to the throne. As they seek to prevent further suffering, Elizabeth mentions that Edward would welcome George back into the family with no questions asked, causing Cecily to become tearful and seemingly ready to align with her daughter-in-law.

Warwick catches George having a party and in bed with another woman. He tells his son-in-law that he’s only ever wanted a York king but that he ran out of options for now. George says that as a Son of York, he will be vital to Warwick’s future plans, while Warwick simply tells him to produce an heir to the throne. Meanwhile, Margaret is still clinging to the idea that Henry will be restored to the throne, allowing her son to regain the title he lost and them to return to Pembrooke. However, Henry is now under Sir William’s guardianship as a result of her traitorous activities and words, which she takes as God teaching her a lesson. Before she is parted from Henry, she reminds him to always remember who he is, but he’s decidedly unemotional about the separation, not even hugging her back when she embraces him before departing.

Anne and Isabel are paid a visit by Lady Sutcliffe, Cecily’s number one lady-in-waiting, who has a message to deliver to George. She says that the family would welcome him back should he decide to return and expresses her condolences for the loss of her grandson, telling Isabel that she should be around her friends and loved ones at a time like this. When Sutcliffe leaves, Isabel becomes emotional at the idea of coming home and at the possibility of being on opposing sides with her sister, should the marriage to Edward of Lancaster go through. However, the plan that Warwick made goes through the motions and he and George travel back to England in order to raise the army that could overthrow King Edward.

Back in England, a very pregnant Elizabeth hears from Edward that Warwick is expected from the north and Margaret the south, meaning that he has to act quickly before they close in on him. He needs to crush them quickly and he might have a chance, as he heard from George, who promises to switch sides once the battle gets underway. Does he trust his brother? He wants to, though he orders Elizabeth and his daughters to the royal rooms in the tower as a safety measure. Meanwhile, Margaret Beaufort hasn’t heard anything from her son since he was taken by William, causing her to despair over the punishment that God continues to enforce against her. Though she aspired to sainthood as a girl, she feels as if she’s been held accountable for the actions of her father, who hanged himself and, in her words, tried to play God. Hearing this and feeling sympathy for his wife, Lord Stafford offers to take her to see Henry in person; unfortunately, when they arrive, Henry is getting ready to go into battle with William and against the Lancasters, which Margaret feels will make God angry. He still goes, though.

Anne is distraught over Isabel being summoned back to England to be with George, as her father wants her to continue spying on him since he doubts the boy’s intentions. Countess Warwick reminds her daughter that marriage is not meant for love – it’s a contract, a way to fulfill your duty to your family and positively impact the lives of others. She goes on to say that one day, Anne will grow to like Edward, possibly the day that he gets named King of England and she Queen. While Elizabeth is hunkering down in the tower with her daughters, she receives a visit from Richard and Thomas, where they inform her that Warwick didn’t land north as expected – he was already well into London by the time Edward’s men set off, meaning that George didn’t have the opportunity to switch sides before the battle began. Edward ended up fleeing to Flanders, having been removed from the throne; Elizabeth must now find a new way to protect herself and her family, as she is no longer queen and is vulnerable to attack from Warwick.

That attack comes sooner than expected, as Warwick is already within shouting distance of the tower. Elizabeth gathers her things and gets her children out of the room just in time, as Warwick and George led the charge to go into the building and retrieve them. The former queen and her brood slipped out the back and used the kindness of a guard to avoid being detected by Warwick, who deems Westminster Abbey as the only logical place she could end up, since she has no allies now that Jacquetta has been arrested on suspicion of witchcraft. While Elizabeth takes cover in her newest sanctuary, Warwick puts Jacquetta on trial, claiming that her sorcery was the impetus behind the marriage of Edward and Elizabeth and using false witnesses to solidify his claims. However, she calls a witness of her own: Margaret of Anjou, who she has a long personal history with. Jacquetta says that if she is found guilty of the alleged crimes and loses her life, it will be Warwick’s head on the spike this time due to Margaret’s anger over the injustice and she ends up being free to go.

Margaret Beaufort, meanwhile, has been paid a visit by her son, who describes to her the scene that followed their capture by Warwick. Sir William was held down and beheaded, a fate he would have shared had he noted mentioned his Tudor heritage; Warwick ended up letting him go with only a bruise to the side of his face. As a result of his name saving him, Henry pledges full loyalty to his mother and takes back his earlier reticence at becoming the King of England, a role he now pledges to fill one day. Having married Edward with only her mother and Margaret acting as witnesses, it’s time for Anne’s wedding night and consummation of the marriage, only she’s scared because no one ever told her how to have sex. Her mother-in-law places a towel underneath her as evidence of the consummation and watches from a nearby doorway as Edward strips down and tells Anne to lie there silently, since being reminded of who she is disgusts him. When she resists, he holds her down and has his way with her.

Warwick officially restores King Henry to the throne of England, with Margaret Beaufort taking her son to see the man who inspired his naming, while Elizabeth goes into labor; Jacquetta quickly comes into the building and acts as the midwife. After several attempts, Elizabeth has finally produced a son.

Additional thoughts and observations:
-The appearance of Margaret of Anjou definitely didn’t disappoint and proved how strong the series is at writing adult women. I could definitely see how she would become this almost mythically feared creature within her kingdom, especially when she recoiled once Warwick urged her to send armies to England.
-Margaret Beaufort’s delusion gets validated once she gets her son back into her life. Although it was touching to have the two reunite, will this make her even more of a crazy person? I kind of hope so, due to how Amanda Hale is killing each second of her time on screen.
-Due to the cutting comments George made to Warwick in the tower, it seems as if he’s not fully on board with the plan to restore Henry to power. But he’s going to have to make a move, lest he get too entrenched in the Warwick camp to burst out.
-Good for Duchess Cecily for putting aside her hatred of Elizabeth and Jacquetta in order to help bring George home. How long will it be before she calls him to her quarters for a meeting about where his head is at and where his loyalties lie?
-I must admit, I got chills when Richard and Thomas told Elizabeth about Jacquetta’s arrest – the entire scene where Elizabeth escapes was the most enthralling part of the episode, in fact. I did love how she maneuvered herself out of that predicament, though, by namedropping Margaret of Anjou without her consent. Does Margaret know that Elizabeth is her former friend’s daughter?
-That birth scene. Look, I’m all for realism when it comes to shows, but the shot of the head coming out was traumatic.
-Also traumatic: poor, sweet Anne having to be married to that troll and getting raped on her wedding night. Crossing my fingers that she ultimately emerges on top, either by killing Edward or getting someone else to do so.
-Next week on The White Queen: Anne and Margaret see their relationships turn even more bitter.

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Listed below are the dates, titles, times, and description of the episodes in the upcoming marathon of The White Queen, with recaps to each episode linked accordingly.

Saturday, August 31st – “In Love with the King” (9:00)
The romance between Lancastrian commoner Elizabeth Woodville and Yorkist King Edward IV leads to a secret wedding and a new queen of England; two female rivals for the crown vow to take the queen down.

Saturday, August 31st – “The Price of Power” (10:05)
After Elizabeth’s coronation, Edward desires a son to solidify his reign, but court tensions escalate into war and he’s forced to fight those closest to him to keep his crown. Meanwhile, Elizabeth deals with the full force of Warwick’s hatred.

Saturday, August 31st – “The Storm” (11:10)
To further her son’s claim to the throne, Margaret Beaufort joins Warwick’s rebellion against Edward, but when the insurrection is thwarted, the traitors flee for their lives, with Jasper Tudor going into exile, while Warwick and George sail to France.

The White Queen airs Saturdays at 9:00 on Starz.

Will you be watching the White Queen marathon? If you’ve caught the first three episodes, where do you think the show goes from here? Do you like networks stretching out the run of shows with catch-up marathons?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGo4aDz4-Ig

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Margaret Beaufort is excited that Parliament is sitting at York, as this means the Lord’s will can be carried out and Edward can be bumped off the throne in favor of a more righteous king. Her husband, though, has grown weary of her zealotry and obvious affection for Jasper Tudor, questioning whether he shares her blood lust. While Edward and George exchange trash talk as the latter rides out to meet with Parliament, the soon-to-be king claiming that his brother hadn’t been the same since he met Elizabeth, Isabel is busy trying on the coronation furs that were shipped over from the castle and still smell like Elizabeth. Anne may be elated at the idea of her sister becoming queen, but Izzy is still reeling from finding out the marriage wasn’t based on love; she would technically be the third queen, with Margaret of Anjou in exile and Elizabeth cowering in the tower, and she worries that not only would she be seen as expendable to her father, she would never measure up to the life that Elizabeth had before the death of her family.

The Parliament session doesn’t go well for Warwick and since they couldn’t get Edward to abdicate and they won’t kill him themselves, George is not named king. Having been restored to the throne, Edward gets reunited with Elizabeth, who still wants revenge for what happened to her father and brother. However, Edward says that he wants to embrace Warwick, seeing as how the uprising came from how he had been shutting his mentor out; Edward goes on to mention that since the country couldn’t possibly handle another war right now, not one that splits the two factions into even smaller alliances, he’s going to give Jacquetta’s first husband’s title to Warwick’s nephew as a peace offering. Additionally, their daughter Elizabeth will be betrothed to the boy, causing Elizabeth to recoil in anger and Edward to inform her that as king, he doesn’t have to listen to anyone.

The impact of Edward staying on the throne has also reached Margaret Beaufort and her husband, the latter having lost his position as the king’s sheriff after the letters she and Jasper wrote proclaiming loyalty to King George were discovered. While he’s telling her how the loss is her fault, he says that she will only ever be the Lady Stafford and that if she continues to contact Jasper, he’ll strip her of her freedom.

Christmas comes and Edward has invited Warwick, George, and all the like to the castle, displeasing Elizabeth in the process. She plans, though, to make Isabel and Anne her ladies in waiting; on the way to the castle, Isabel continues to fret that the queen will hate her due to Warwick trying to seize the throne. Edward is doing his best to welcome his family back to the castle, embracing them all as soon as they set foot on the grounds, but Elizabeth can barely contain her fury toward Warwick, unleashing a tirade on Countess Warwick after she apologized for the Rivers family loss. Elizabeth says that the deaths of her father and brother were not a result of war, like the Countess claims, but treason and just then, the candles in the room are blown out without anyone moving. She then storms out of the room and into the dining area, where a colorful, lively celebration is going on in honor of the holiday season – performers, music, all the rest. They go silent when she comes into the room and only continue when she signals that they have her approval.

Warwick approaches Elizabeth once she sits down, but before he can get into what he wants to say, she tells him that she knows he was plotting against Edward and while he may forgive the trespass, she will not. She does get some unsettling news when Duchess Cecily reveals that George will soon have an heir, as Isabel is pregnant. She goes to speak to Edward, busy writing out land deals and general favors to the nobles that should buy him their allegiance for the time being, only for Warwick to follow behind her. He receives a paper from the king, as well as congratulations on Izzy’s pregnancy, which he hopes will turn out the son that all fathers hope for. Resolved to give her husband a son, Elizabeth approaches Jacquetta about having her fortune read using the fishing line method from the first episode. At the end of the line she selected is a silver baby spoon with the name Edward engraved on it, a sign that she will have the son that has eluded her since marrying Edward.

The two quickly go to bed in order to make said baby, catching Anne in their room and making her unlace Elizabeth’s dress before throwing their bedclothes at her as she left. She runs to her father, who assures her that the hardship their family is currently facing will soon come to an end and what awaits them will be worth the trouble. Meanwhile, there’s been another uprising against Edward, though no leader has been named as of yet; Edward thinks it could be the work of Margaret of Anjou, but regardless of who started it, he feels as if its his duty to finish it and defend the crown they’re trying to snatch off his head. Elizabeth thinks that by telling him of her pregnancy he’ll refrain from going into battle, but it simply makes him want to fight harder knowing that there’ll be a son to give control of the country to. Edward claims that both George and Warwick have pledged their loyalty to him and that while the former will ride along with him into battle, the latter is busy raising an army in the north. But how long will this last? The king pledges to be home by May Day, bringing along peaches and salted cod to his queen.

Word of the uprising spreads to Margaret Beaufort thanks to Jasper Tudor. Margaret’s husband, however, doesn’t share their jubilation at the thought of displacing King Edward, even with half of Wales being under Tudor order and an additional 10,000 men ready to bring the king down. He’s weary from having lost his brother and father in the seemingly never-ending push-pull between the Yorks and Lancasters, a vicious cycle that will continue for as long as the two will still fight, and even claims that King Edward is better than the former King Henry. He also calls Margaret on her devotion to the idea that the king is chosen by God; if Edward is the king and chosen by God, and George is the rightful king and chosen by God, is God confused? Does He not know what He wants? She calls him a blasphemer and rushes out to see Jasper, who she gives a necklace to while her husband watches from a nearby window.

It turns out that the uprising was spearheaded by Warwick and George and will need people like Jasper Tudor and Margaret Beaufort in order to be successful. Jasper explains that the goal of the uprising announcement was to get Edward on the battlefield, where George and Warwick would then turn on him and make the former King of England shortly after. As George would only ever be a short term king as best, it would then be the Lancasters turn – namely, Margaret’s son Henry’s turn. She decides to go to her brother Richard in Wales to see about raising an army and that night, asks her husband to take her to see her mother before making love to him. They arrive and Margaret whisks Richard away to go to the altar the family built inside their home, where she informs him of the plan and how God spoke to her of him, that he was the one to lead the Holy Crusade against Edward and win back the throne for the Yorks. If he brings the army to the battle, God would look so kindly upon their family that he would install Henry as the next King of England, so even though Richard had never been in battle before, he agrees to what his sister is asking.

Isabel, Anne, and the Countess aren’t taking news of the impending battle all that well, with Isabel reiterating that she doesn’t want to be queen and her mother insisting that the three support Warwick, because who knows what would happen if he doesn’t succeed this time. While in camp, Richard becomes aware of the plot against the king and sprints from the tent toward Edward’s camp in hopes of letting him know about what’s to happen. Though Richard does get everything out, Edward still calls him a traitor before stabbing him in the stomach. The news devastates Lady Beachum and Margaret for different reasons – the former is beside herself with grief at the loss of her son and the latter is upset that the plan failed and that her brother turned his back on his house during a pivotal moment, drawing the ire of her husband. Margaret does get a message from Jasper that says he’s fled to France and to immediately ride to Pembrooke and retrieve Henry, which she talks her husband into doing and allowing her to ride along.

For his part, Warwick isn’t worried about the setback and calls for them to raise an army. Unfortunately, Isabel is far enough along in her pregnancy that sailing might not be healthy for her or the baby, but Warwick doesn’t care and rushes them onto the boat. Still thirsty for revenge, Elizabeth pours water into a bowl and circles her necklace around the edge of the bowl while whistling. Jacquetta and her granddaughter join in the practice and soon enough, storms come to England, nearly sidelining Margaret and causing the boat trip to be rocky and painful for Isabel, who has to deal with water rushing onto the boat. She also finds herself bleeding from her vagina and thinks that this means the child is coming, so Anne informs her mother and father of the impending birth and struggles to put together the necessary materials for a birth to happen. Even with Jacquetta telling her to pull back before things get too crazy, Elizabeth continues to let the storm fester and as a result, Isabel loses the baby. It was stuck inside her birth canal and with no midwife on board and the city they were looking to port in firing at them, there was no one to save it.

Margaret arrives to see her son and yet, he doesn’t recognize her and won’t leave without Jasper. It turns out that Jasper didn’t leave for France just yet, as he wanted to make sure that Henry was taken care of before departing, and he pledges to leave and raise an army to overthrow Edward. Jasper bids Margaret and Henry goodbye, leaving the boy to refuse his mother’s offer to pray, while Isabel blames George for the death of the baby.

Additional thoughts and observations:
-Although I’m still not a big fan of the pacing, I do appreciate them fitting in ways to tell the passage of time: the episode opening text, the weather differences, the ages of Elizabeth’s children. As long as I know how much time has passed in an episode and where we are historically, I can handle the jump-y writing.
-Seeing Edward being as passionate and forceful as he was with Warwick at the beginning of the episode was awesome both from a character and acting standpoint. Pity that he turned into a dunderhead pretty much the rest of the time. How in the world he believed that Warwick trying to make a move was the result of not spending enough time with him, I’ll never know.
-I like seeing Isabel and Anne changing roles, in a sense, since the first episode – Izzy’s went from a cold and loyal supporter of her father to someone who simply wants out of the political cage that she’s held in against her will, while Anne has become an eternally optimistic, almost child-like force stripped of most of her awkward and muted qualities.
-Jacquetta scurrying away when Warwick came to talk to Elizabeth at the celebration made me laugh more than it should. As did Elizabeth and Edward basically making love in front of Anne and throwing their clothes at her. As did Elizabeth’s daughter joining in the whistling when they were casting the spell. As did seeing how furious Elizabeth was with Edward regarding his plans for Warwick and Countess Warwick regarding what she said about the deaths of Richard and John. But the latter was a more appreciative, good-for-you-I-didn’t-know-you-had-it-in-you kind of way. I love a fiery Elizabeth.
-Even though I completely sympathize with Margaret’s husband and think that she’s a mentally ill zealot who would be locked in an institution if she lived today, I can’t help but like her. I don’t know why – maybe it’s the performance from Amanda Hale, maybe it’s the depth and breadth of her beliefs, but she’s a frustrating person and a captivating character.
-Next week on The White Queen: New alliances are formed as Warwick grows more desperate for power.

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Escorted by two priests, she enters the cathedral to the silence of those in the pews, though Warwick, his daughters, Edward’s brothers, and her parents all watch her intently as she walks down the aisle toward the altar. Elizabeth then sits down on the throne and receives the anointing oil, scepter, and ring before being crowned the next Queen of England, causing the entire crowd to bow/curtsy in her presence. Afterward, she gets a minute alone with her boys before she has to begin getting ready for her first feast as Queen, which also finds Richard offering an awkward Anne Neville a seat at the table, George teasing the Rivers sisters for their similar appearance, and another presentation of Elizabeth, this time led by Lord Warwick. She marvels at the extravagance of the coronation and Edward assures her that since there was no royal wedding for the people, this is their way for the masses to involve themselves in an important time in their country.

Warwick, already stressed from having to deal with Elizabeth’s family from Burgundy, comes over and tries to get Edward to focus less on nearly making out with his wife at the dinner table and more on signing the peace treaty with France. Edward, though, brushes it off and assures him that he’ll sign it the following day, going back to focusing exclusively on Elizabeth. The two go back to their room, a place that Elizabeth thinks should be cleared of Margaret of Anjou’s belongings, and Elizabeth brings up the issue of their safety. Edward believes that there’ll always be alarm due to Henry being out in the ether and encourages his wife to look over the brusque Lord Warwick, who he knows will grow to love her; he also suggests asking Isabel and Anne to join her ladies and making them her favorites as a way of bonding the two together. However, when she brings up the idea to the Kingmaker, who just heard that Edward isn’t completely sold on the French peace treaty in favor of a possible Burgundy (e.g. the French enemy) alliance, he’s very cold and passes a reminder that this country doesn’t need any more scheming women.

It turns out that the reason Warwick was pushing so hard for the treaty to be signed was that he made a deal with the French king and would receive a territory were he to get Edward to sign. The original deal hinged upon Edward marrying Princess Bona, but the King threw a major wrench in that when he announced that he was married to Elizabeth. For his part, Edward doesn’t see anything wrong with Warwick going behind his back and claims that his only problem with it was not being told upfront; Elizabeth and Antony, though, see that Warwick is thirsty for power and the biggest danger to Edward’s rule, so he tells her that she’ll have to do the thinking for him. The following day, there’s an event with hawk races where Richard loses to one of Elizabeth’s brothers and George ends up winning the title of Earl of Richmond, once possessed by Margaret Beaufort’s son. However, Edward deigns that since her son was Henry’s nephew, he has to strip the boy of the title, something that destroys the religious woman once she finds out the news. She laments that brother-in-law Jasper Tudor, with whom her son is currently staying, would never have let this happened and that this title was the only thing her son has, meaning that she’ll do anything to get it back.

Elizabeth finds out that Warwick’s daughters have declined the invitation to join her ladies and goes to Jacquetta, busy planning how to marry her children off and sure up the royal family. She advises her daughter to do as her husband says and attempt to be friends with Warwick while focusing on making her family strong. When her father bursts in with news of Edward naming him treasurer and two of his sons to important posts (heading the fleet, bishop), Elizabeth’s water breaks and she ends up having her third child – and first girl. Though disappointed at first, Edward assures Elizabeth that they’ll love the girl very well and that he doesn’t know what he’d do without her. Warwick, of course, is giddy at there still not being an heir to the York throne and informs his wife that he’s taken a prize that not even Edward will be able to resist.

Margaret and her husband arrive at Jasper’s where they inquire about her son Henry. She sees him for the first time in quite a while and he merely bows at her due to not remembering that she is his mother. Henry Stafford, her husband, takes the boy to the stables to look at the horses and Jasper asks whether the man is treating Margaret well; she acknowledges that she gets an allowance and has been learning Latin. Just then, Henry bursts into the room with a letter from the king – Margaret’s son has been promised to Elizabeth’s youngest sister Catherine. Though Margaret is upset, she decides to attend the ceremony to see her mother.

The ceremony itself is quite tense, since Duchess Cecily attends, but the real news comes when the guests hear horns in the background and go running to the courtyard, where they find Warwick and a noticeably weak Henry, captured while the Kingmaker was away. Richard attempts to take a sword and kill his former leader, but Edward halts him and reminds his brother that if he were to kill Henry, he’d be no better than him. Instead, Edward announces that the former king will be held in the tower and shown the kind of mercy he himself didn’t show during his reign. Later, the Countess of Warwick takes Anne and Isabel aside to tell them that their father is meeting with the king to discuss marrying them off to his two brothers and making them duchesses, thereby outranking Cecily.

One of the few not on top of the world after Henry’s capture is Margaret, who believes that the man is still the king in the eyes of God. Her mother, Lady Beachum, admonishes her daughter for being dramatic and tells her that as a woman, she’s not allowed to live the life that she wants – she’s merely to follow orders from her mother or her husband. Margaret wanted to marry Jasper Tudor, but Lady Beachum felt like Henry Stafford was the better match and doesn’t care whether or not her daughter is happy about the new arrangement. Amid the celebration, Elizabeth talks to Edward, who told Warwick he would think about marrying George and Richard to Isabel and Anne. This would give the Warwick access to the biggest fortune in the country and his family royal blood on both sides, in what could be the final move before he decides to bring down Edward. Elizabeth convinces her husband to reject the idea and offer his cousin something in return, but Warwick is infuriated at the rejection and blames Elizabeth, claiming that she will not win this battle.

That night, Isabel laments having another bad queen after having dealt with Margaret of Anjou. At the urging of Anne, she tells the story of the former queen, referred to as a she-wolf with a wild army of naked men. Her husband was kept in a glass coffin while she tore apart England, killed their grandfather, and nearly killed their father. Luckily for them, Edward and Warwick won the snowy battle and watched her blow away like a blizzard; she intimates that Edward is an “ice boy” and was cutting off heads by the time he was 7 years old, as well as the fact that he’s not a legitimate heir to the throne. While Elizabeth and Jacquetta watch Warwick prepare to escort Margaret to Burgundy to marry Charles, the latter mentions that it’s time for Elizabeth to begin having sons.

Three years later…
Elizabeth has three girls – Mary, Lizzy, and her youngest, who rarely leaves her hip. While on the way to meet with Edward, who has been traveling through his kingdom, they receive word of a well-funded rebellion rising against Edward, led by Lord Warwick. Meanwhile, Isabel and George get married, much to the chagrin of Anne, who just wanted to know what it was like to be a duchess. The marriage is done without Edward’s approval in hopes of installing George on the throne due to being the only legitimate heir, devastating Anne when she finds out the real reasoning behind the ceremony; if the two have a son, Edward will officially have been booted from the throne. However, this actually gives Edward some motivation to bring down Warwick and perspective on his former mentor, as he sends Elizabeth to Norwich until the conflict is over.

However, Edward gets captured when the rest of the army attempts to hold Warwick’s bunch off and sends Elizabeth a message warning that Warwick will come after her and advising her to raise London and arm the tower. Antony bursts into the room and reveals that their father and brother John have been killed in battle – they were beheaded with no charge and no trial by Warwick’s men, who were waiting for them on the road. Overjoyed is Margaret Beaufort, promising to write George for the restoration of Henry’s title and informing her son that she had a vision he would become the King of England, where Lady Beachum would be forced to kneel before her.

While mourning, Jacquetta brings out a letter than her husband sent her before he was supposed to come home. In it, he tells her to be happy and sends Elizabeth his love. However, she’s besides herself with grief and fury at the deaths and vows to kill George out of revenge, after having tried to do the honorable thing and be friends with Warwick. Jacquetta tells her to write the names of those she wishes death in blood while by the riverside under the waning moon, heat a charm, and store it in darkness, all of which she does. By her will, she says, they both shall die.

Additional thoughts and observations:
-Well, that was a lot of plot, huh? It was good plot and plot that I was interested in, but this was really overstuffed and breezed by what could have made for interesting developments. While I know that this was said to be a limited series, had they slowed down just a tad, the episode could have been all the better for it. It reminded me a lot of the first season of The Tudors, which, while very good, covered 12 years in 10 episodes and felt like somebody was pressing the fast forward button and stopping occasionally.
-The shot of Elizabeth walking down the aisle toward the altar at her coronation was gorgeous and filmed very well, in that you got to see all the key players reactions to her impending crowning. It was one of my favorite pars of the trailer and it didn’t disappoint.
-Oh, Edward. So handsome, so sweet, and yet so stupid. He may have the charisma to be king, but he apparently has zero sense of self-preservation and trusts those around him far too much, considering his position and the marriage that rippled throughout the country.
-I will say, though, that every scene with Warwick alone with Elizabeth was rife with tension. It felt like any second he could bring the hammer down on her or let some type of withering insult slip out; thus far, though, he’s held his tongue around her. Now that Edward is captive, we might see him get more cocky around her and taunt the queen’s recent losses and dwindling status.
-So, Amanda Hale killed it as Margaret Beaufort, playing her psychological instability and self-destructiveness as something almost noble and quite sympathetic. Not knowing anything about what’s to come, it seems as if she’ll be a major wildcard, in a good way.
-Isabel’s puppet show was bizarrely funny to me, for some reason. Also, I will be referring to myself as “ice boy” from here on out.
-The mid-episode time jump: did you like it? Or was it too much?
-I was surprised at how upset I was at Richard and John being killed, given that we’re on episode two. Darn you, White Queen.
-Do you think that Elizabeth will get too in over her head with the magic?
-Next week on The White Queen: Margaret joins the rebellion against Edward, while Warwick and George sail to France.

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