The Tudor Style

In anticipation of the upcoming series finale of the Tudors, I thought a retrospective might be of some interest because of how allegorical the show has become. As the fourth and final season of the historic-serial-epic draws to a close, we see the characters once full of youth and vigor now wizened by both time and probably their conscience as well. Jonathan Rhys Meyers-Henry VIII-has finally sprouted some respectable facial hair in the form of a (fake?) grey beard for the final season. His figure is still not nearly as rotund as the idealized Harry, but he manages to ham-fist a few convincing mannerisms into his exposition, including a stilted gate from a wound sustained way back in season two.

The wound has drained the king of much of his vigor but Episode 8 finds Henry able to muster enough strength to continue his interminable and intractable war with France. The conflict has become unpopular at home and abroad, and is seen as yet another vainglorious venture by a king obsessed with how history will remember him. Of course the allusions to Iraq and Afghanistan don't end with the unpopularity of a fool-hardy ideological fiasco. The war has drained the royal treasury and the empty state coffers have forced the king and kingdom into some dubious 15th century deficit spending. Henry and his officers are also at loggerheads over the proper tactics and strategies. Some favor a surge, while others pensively hint at drawbacks. Could you guess that all of this rightfully placed anti-war, humanist rhetoric came from a British or English production house, because it didn't-the creators are Canadian and Irish.

On the sidelines sits Charles Brandon, a clench jawed nobleman and Henry's best friend and right hand man. Brandon has asked a Frenchwomen-Brigette-to accompany him back to England. He woos her despite his inability to give anything in return, even a simple favor he spurns due to his loyalty to the king. This is a stretch but I couldn't help but compare Brandon to the portrayal of Dick Cheney in Oliver Stone's W. He'll meekly go against the king and request provisions for his own selfish interests only to be decisively and acceptingly rebuked, at least most of the time.

Episode 8 sees the consequences of this futile strain on both the king and his subjects, all hoping for a victory reminiscent of the old days that will almost certainly not come. Despite brief breakthroughs in sieges and battles the momentum of history has turned against Henry and England itself. Henry's current queen (Joely Richardson), pines for not only her king but a return to peace. This nostalgia is misplaced, as both the queen and court never really had a firm grasp on either. We have seen that all of Henrys' dreams have been squandered on misguided conflicts and vain palaces and luxuries while his people die and kingdom crumbles. Will the show and king go out in this hopeful fit of glory and regain some of its former dignity, or will it hobble to a painful exit, as the wounded old king both physically and metaphorically bleeds out all of his past hopes and ambitions.