The Tudors Episode 6: Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn Face Off

Wednesday, 16 of May , 2007 @ 9:55 am

Tags: Showtime, The Tudors, King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Natalie Dormer, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

This is another The Tudors post. What can I say? This show owns me.

Thanks to a late night call from Tiffany last night, I was able to watch Episode 6 on Daily Motion without having to wait for the torrent to download. Here’s a brief rant and rave on two characters, with some screencaps. I’ll try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible, but they cannot be fully avoided, so proceed with caution if you haven’t seen this episode yet.

Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn Face Off!

I’m sorry, I despise, hate Anne Boleyn. Insolent bitch, especially in this episode. Agh. Catherine of Aragon is my girl. I can see why the English wouldn’t acknowledge her as Queen. And Catherine was right, King Henry did tire of her eventually. At least Catherine got to keep her head. Hah!

However, Jonathan Rhys Meyers made a very interesting point in one of his promotional interviews. Catherine and Anne both did not give Henry a son. He sacked both of them as a result. In spite of that, both daughters eventually became Queen of England. Mary I, Catherine’s child, will always be remembered as Bloody Mary, for all the Protestants she had killed. But Elizabeth I, Anne’s daughter, is revered as one of England’s most popular monarchs, and her reign marked with prosperity and power for her country (the Elizabethan Era. Think Shakespeare).

So, as Rhys Meyers pointed out, Henry VIII’s wish for a son was granted in Queen Elizabeth I, “the greatest son he could ever ask for”. Except that she was a woman. And, it was granted to Anne Boleyn’s child, not Catherine of Aragon. Hmm. Interesting. Maybe Anne wasn’t entirely useless after all.

In fairness, Natalie Dormer is gorgeous. If Anne Boleyn looked anything like her, then I’m not surprised Henry VIII wanted her for himself.

Ah, I enjoy history very much.

Category: Pictures, TV

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