– Episode Titles, Synopsis, Air Dates & Cast –
The second series of Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light will comprise of six episodes, mirroring the first series. Episodes are set to be released weekly on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK beginning Sunday, November 10, 2024 at 9:00 p.m. and ending December 15, 2024. US release on PBS is set for Sunday, March 23, 2025.
Episode Guide
Episode 1: Wreckage
Air Date: Sunday, November 10, 2024
Run Time: 59 minutes
Plot Description: Summary – As Anne Boleyn’s blood is sluiced from the scaffold, Thomas Cromwell picks his way through the wreckage of her death to take his place as principal councillor to King Henry VIII.
Full – Wolf Hall returns with the thrilling final installment of Hilary Mantel’s magisterial trilogy, based on the life and death of Thomas Cromwell. The Mirror and the Light opens in the heartbeat after Anne Boleyn’s death, as the young Queen’s blood is sluiced from the scaffold and Thomas Cromwell picks his way across the wreckage to take up his position as principal councillor to an unpredictable King. Despite his lowly beginnings in a Putney blacksmith’s forge, Cromwell has made a reputation for himself as one of England’s most formidable politicians. On the day of the Queen’s death, he is at the height of his powers. He has found a bloody way for the King to escape his marriage, pinning Anne Boleyn and her circle to crimes they could never have imagined. He has delivered her to the Calais swordsman’s blade. He has smoothed the path for the King’s marriage to his third wife, Jane Seymour. And he has been rewarded well. Now both Master Secretary and Lord Privy Seal, there are few parts of the state’s business that do not pass over his desk. But in rising so high, Cromwell has also attracted powerful enemies…
Episode 2: Obedience
Air Date: Sunday, November 17, 2024
Run Time: 59 minutes
Plot Description: Summary – As the dissolution of the monasteries gathers speed, Cromwell makes a personal pilgrimage to Shaftesbury Abbey to speak with a young nun, who profoundly shakes his view of himself.
Full – Cromwell has become the most significant politician in the whole of England, his place as Henry’s principal adviser secure. The Duke of Norfolk, England’s most senior nobleman by rank, is in disgrace, tainted by the treasonous behavior of his niece, Anne Boleyn. So when Cromwell uncovers a clandestine affair between Norfolk’s brother and the King’s niece, an opportunity opens up to destroy his foremost enemy for good. Yet Cromwell stays his hand.
Episode 3: Defiance
Air Date: Sunday, November 24, 2024
Run Time: 58 minutes
Plot Description: Summary – A rising in the north destabilizes Henry’s kingdom. Despite the risks to his own life, Cromwell moves to protect Lady Mary from becoming the rebels’ greatest prize.
Full – Cromwell’s visit to Shaftesbury Abbey has undone him. His confidence in himself and in his decisions past and present has been shaken to the core, and he is no longer able to summon up the memory of his most beloved master, Cardinal Wolsey, to help him navigate the perilous shadows of Henry’s court. The court is more than usually dangerous in the autumn of 1536. A rebellion in the north country, fanned by the King’s cousin Reginald Pole with intent to force England back to Rome, is spreading south. The rebels are demanding a stop to the religious reforms of the past three years, a return to Rome and Cromwell’s head, perceiving him to be the architect of their misfortunes.
Episode 4: Jenneke
Air Date: Sunday, December 1, 2024
Run Time: 57 minutes
Plot Description: Summary: The birth of a Prince gives England the heir that Henry longs for, but at a terrible price. As the court grieves for Jane, it falls to Cromwell to find a fourth bride for the King.
Full: The court of King Henry is on the brink of a new era. Henry and Jane are expecting a child, and for the third time in his life, the King allows himself to imagine a legitimate heir. The war in the north is over, the rebels are stilled, and the Lady Mary is back at court and out of reach of Henry’s enemies. England is cautiously hopeful. But joy at the birth of the young Prince in the autumn of 1538 is short-lived, for Edward is only twelve days old when his mother Jane dies in the complications of childbirth, and Henry’s court is plunged into mourning.
Episode 5: Mirror
Air Date: Sunday, December 8, 2024
Run Time: 58 minutes
Plot Description: Summary: Cromwell’s marital diplomacy brings Princess Anne of Cleves to Henry’s court. Will the alliance create a Protestant superpower in northern Europe, or has Cromwell’s luck run out?
Episode 6: Light
Air Date: Sunday, December 15, 2024
Run Time: 58 minutes
Plot Description: Summary: Cromwell is stripped of his titles and brought to the Tower of London on a charge of treason. He has no friends to speak for him but plenty of enemies among his prosecutors.
Full: June 1540. Thomas Cromwell, lately Earl of Essex and lord great chamberlain of England, is arrested, stripped of his titles and imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he awaits trial. His fall has been dizzying. As Cromwell struggles to make sense of it, he is visited by his friend and former ward, Rafe Sadler, now one of the King’s gentlemen. Rafe is the only person brave enough, and loyal enough, to bring the so-called traitor news from court.
Cast of Characters
King Henry VIII of England (Damian Lewis)
Ascended the throne after his older brother Arthur died at age 16. First married to Catholic Spanish Princess Catherine of Aragon and yielded heir Princess Mary. Henry sought to have marriage annulled, which was not granted by Rome, so he broke with Catholicism, imposed Protestantism on England and sent Catherine and Mary away so he could marry Anne Boleyn. Anne gave birth to daughter Elizabeth I. Henry accused Anne of treason and had her beheaded so he could marry Jane Seymour.
Thomas Cromwell (Sir Mark Rylance)
English statesman and lawyer who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540. Various roles included Chancellor of the Exchequer, Principal Secretary, Master of Rolls, Lord Privy Seal, Governor of the Isle of Wight, and Lord Great Chamberlain. His current roles include Lord Privy Seal, Secretary of the Kind and Viceregent in Spirituals, aka the King’s deputy in the Church of England. Cromwell has made enemies and recognizes that his survival lives and dies with his dangerous, unforgiving king, and that he’ll have to walk an extremely careful path not to to be executed. Cromwell attempted to modernize government at the expense of the privileges of the nobility and church. He is basically King Henry VIII’s “fixer,” maneuvering alliances and aristocrats like chess pieces.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (Sir Jonathan Pryce)
Former Lord High Chancellor of England and King Henry VIII’s chief advisor. He also held important ecclesiastical appointments, including the Archbishop of York – the second most important role in the English church – and that of papal legate (precedence over all other English clergy). After failing to negotiate an annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Wolsey fell out of favor and was stripped of his government titles. He retreated to York to fulfill his ecclesiastical duties as archbishop, a position he nominally held but had neglected during his years in government. He was recalled to London to answer to charges of treason – charges Henry commonly used against ministers who fell out of his favor – but died from natural causes on the way. The Cardinal appears as apparitions and flashbacks in the new series.
Lady/Princess Mary (Lilit Lesser)
Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s 20-year-old daughter who has been declared illegitimate after Henry’s break with Rome. Mary has so far refused to swear an oath of obedience to her father as the head of the Church of England, choosing to remain loyal to her dead mother and to her faith. A Catholic that many believers still see as Henry’s true heir, Mary is the center of various plots to put her on the throne and restore Catholicism to England.
Jane Seymour, Queen of England (Kate Phillips)
King Henry’s third wife, a former lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn and part of the Seymour family who own Wolf Hall – from which Hilary Mantel’s trilogy and this series takes its name. Jane presented to Henry as shy, pious and virginal.
Rafe Sadler (Thomas Brodie-Sangster)
Loyal ward and surrogate son of Thomas Cromwell. Rafe was raised and educated as part of Cromwell’s household from the age of seven, and worked for Cromwell as his chief clerk. He has become a part of the King’s retinue and so now serves two masters – Henry and Cromwell.
Gregory Cromwell (Charlie Rowe)
The only son and heir of Tudor statesman Thomas Cromwell who eventually marries Lady Elizabeth “Bess” Oughtred, Jane Seymour’s widowed sister. He therefore became brother-in-law to Henry VIII and uncle to Edward VI. He went on to become a wealthy landowner and nobleman.
Thomas “Risley” Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton (Harry Melling)
Risley’s a case of ‘keep your friends close but your enemies closer’ for Cromwell. In the first series, the clerk was a protégée of Stephen Gardiner, the former Secretary to the king displaced by Cromwell, and no fan of our lead. Risley remains in contact with Gardiner, who is currently in France serving as the King’s ambassador.
Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester (Alex Jennings)
Cromwell’s former sparring partner and political rival. Gardiner is a conservative but wily religious figure, and the King’s ambassador to France. He was pushed out by Cromwell and resents him, and his continued alliance with new member of Cromwell’s team Risley represents another threat.
Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk (Timothy Spall)
Anne Boleyn’s wealthy, outspoken uncle who enjoyed the connection to the throne while she was alive and Queen. He is a brute of a politician, and no fan of Thomas Cromwell. He is also the uncle of Henry’s future wife Catherine Howard and closely embedded in Henry’s court.
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (Dame Harriet Walter)
A powerful noblewoman and niece to King Edward IV, the Countess of Salisbury is the matriarch of the Catholic Pole family. Her son Reginald was the last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury, and is in Europe forging alliances with Emperor Charles V and planning to lead a crusade to bring England back under papal control. To Henry’s horror, his cousin Reginald has written a book urging the people of England to rebel against their King and restore the country to Rome. The Poles wish Princess Mary restored to the succession.
Eustace Chapuys (Karim Kadjar)
The Spanish ambassador of Emperor Charles V to Henry VIII’s court from 1529 to 1545. Chapuys is a Catholic loyal to Princess Mary and a useful but dangerous man for Cromwell to know.
Richard Cromwell (Joss Porter)
Thomas Cromwell’s nephew who became a loyal servant to King Henry VIII.
Lady Jane Rochford (Lydia Leonard)
An English noblewoman who was married to Anne Boleyn’s brother George.
Fitzwilliam, Master Treasurer (James Larkin)
The treasurer of the Household.
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (Will Keen)
Cranmer was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1532 until 1555. He also oversaw Henry’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon and England’s divorce from the Catholic Church.
Elizabeth “Bess” Oughtred (Maisie Richardson-Sellers)
The wife of Cromwell’s son Gregory. Bess initially thinks that it’s Cromwell himself that she’s marrying.
Richard Riche, Solicitor General (Tom Mothersdale)
Solicitor General who helps Cromwell in charging Thomas More with treason.
Edward Seymour (Will Tudor)
A statesmen known as “The Protector,” who was also Jane Seymour’s eldest brother.
Lady Margaret Douglas (Agnes O’Casey)
Her mother was Henry VIII’s sister, Margaret Tudor.
Nan Seymour (Cecilia Appiah)
Jane Seymour’s sister-in-law. Her name has been changed from Anne to Nan for the series.
Jenneke (Ellie de Lange)
A woman from Antwerp who turns out to be Thomas Cromwell’s illegitimate daughter.
Anne of Cleves, Queen of England (Dana Herfurth)
Henry’s fourth wife for around half a year. She was often referred to as the “ugly one.”
Additional Cast of Characters:
- Richard Dillane as Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk – military leader and courtier
- Hannah Steele as Mary Shelton – Anne Boleyn’s cousin
- Paul Clayton as Sir William Kingston – a courtier, soldier and administrator who was also the Constable of the Tower of London
- Lucy Russell as Lady Anne Shelton – Anne Boleyn’s aunt
- Corentin Fila as Christophe – a fictional character whom Cromwell meets in Calais
- Viola Prettejohn as Mary Fitzroy – the Duchess of Richmond and Somerset
- Thomas Arnold as Hans Holbein – a painter
- Pip Carter as Sir Geoffrey Pole – The son of Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury and the brother of Cardinal Reginald Pole. The Poles had a claim to the English throne. Geoffrey pleaded guilty to treason and later left England when his mother was executed.
- Josef Altin as Thomas Avery – one of Cromwell’s protégés
- Sarah Priddy as Lady Margery Seymour – Jane Seymour’s mother
- Hannah Khalique-Brown as Dorothea – Cardinal Wolsey’s illegitimate daughter
- Amir El-Masry as Thomas Wyatt – a poet and courtier who was in love with Anne Boleyn
- Didier Vinson as Castillon – the French ambassador
- German Segal as Olisleger – Vice-Chancellor of Cleves and ambassador to England
- Summer Richards as Catherine Howard – Henry’s fifth wife
- Jordan Kouamé as Martin The Gaoler
- Hubert Burton as Thomas Howard the Lesser