Matters of State (11 May 2008)

Henry warns Anne to stay out of state affairs, but her paranoiac fear of Catherine is only alleviated with her death and Anne's new pregnancy.

Director:

Dearbhla Walsh

Writers:

Michael Hirst (creator), Michael Hirst

Stars:

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Henry Cavill, Natalie Dormer

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	King Henry VIII
Henry Cavill	...	Charles Brandon
Natalie Dormer	...	Anne Boleyn
Maria Doyle Kennedy	...	Queen Catherine of Aragon
Nick Dunning	...	Thomas Boleyn
James Frain	...	Thomas Cromwell
Jamie Thomas King	...	Thomas Wyatt
Hans Matheson	...	Thomas Cranmer
Peter O'Toole	...	Pope Paul III
David Alpay	...	Mark Smeaton
Sarah Bolger	...	Mary Tudor
Stephen Brennan	...	John Seymour
Anita Briem	...	Jane Seymour
Padraic Delaney	...	George Boleyn
James Gilbert	...	William Brereton

Storyline

While the Pope still hopes that tide will turn Henry's England back to Rome's fold, Cromwell and Cranmer use a catalog of real, exaggerated and invented clerical abuses to close all religious houses and confiscate their immense wealth for Henry's treasury. The Boleyn family worries Anne's position is perilous without a son, but waits for Katherine' illness to prove fatal. Henry is prepared to ally himself with the emperor despite Anne. Hunting with duke Charles, Henry meets fellow France veteran John Seymour's enchanting daughter Jane.

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Plot Keywords:

pregnancy | pope | death | illness | mother daughter relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance | War

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Details

Release Date:

11 May 2008 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

PA Tudors, Peace Arch Entertainment Group, Reveille Eire

Technical Specs

Runtime:

56 min

Did You Know?

Quotes

Thomas Boleyn: [to George] Successful people only recognize fear in others.

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Connections

Version of A Man for All Seasons (1988)

User Reviews

Natalie Dormer's Anne Boleyn -- An Acting Triumph For The Ages

I cannot say enough good things about season two of THE TUDORS. Natalie Dormer really gives the performance of a life time as Anne Boleyn. Queen Anne has so many different sides to her personality -- defiant, courageous, outrageous, a temptress, a feminist, a martyr, a mother, a rebel, and so much more. And Natalie Dormer just makes it look easy in every scene, going from thrilling courage to heart-breaking loneliness to terrifying sexual mastery and power! To show how important this character really is, this episode literally kicks off inside Anne's head, with a terrifying nightmare sequence that looks like something out of an old Vincent Price movie. Poor Anne is asleep and dreaming that she's to be burned at the stake as a witch! It's just like that old horror classic, WITCH FINDER GENERAL, except that this witch is beautiful, brilliant, and ambitious. Even her dreams are daring and super dramatic.

Later in the episode, we get to see how devastatingly ruthless, cruel and manipulative Anne can be in real life, as she desperately corners the king for one last round of high-powered nasty sex, complete with tons of snarling, scratching and strangling. No wonder people think she's a witch! By the end of the episode, you can really see Anne's days are numbered, yet her courage and charm are so great that you just want history to somehow change at the last minute. The final image in this episode is Anne dancing for joy because she's pregnant again -- but somehow you know nothing can save her.

Natalie Dormer's Anne Boleyn -- An Acting Triumph For The Ages!