– A Royal Performance of Confined Aggression –
by Harry Mockridge | Somerset County Gazette | November 22, 2024
Four and Half Stars out of Five
A NEW series has been released on BBC – but is it any good?
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer and gives viewers a deep dive into the history of the former King of England, Henry VIII.
The BBC series is split into six 60-minute episodes, each based on a section of the novel written by Dame Hilary Mantel, who died shortly before filming for series two began.
The historical drama television series also follows the rise and fall of Tudor statesman, Thomas Cromwell.
At the time of writing this review, the first two episodes have been released – episode 1, Wreckage and episode 2, Obedience.
Interesting to note that the season two cast is full of high-profile British film stars including Damian Lewis, Mark Rylance, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Claire Foy, and Harry Melling, who played Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter franchise.
I was disappointed to see that Tom Holland, who played Thomas Cromwell’s son, Gregory, wouldn’t be returning for the second Wolf Hall series – however, his replacement, Charlie Rowe, plays the character well in the scenes he’s in.
Starting the new series (which has come out almost 10 years since the first series aired)I was shocked as the first 5 minutes of Wreckage are pretty thrilling.
We are thrown into 1536 when Henry VIII has overturned a thousand years of religion in his kingdom so he can be parted from his first wife Katherine and marry Anne Boleyn.
However, as historically known, Anne failed to birth to a son and Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance), the principal advisor of Henry VIII, was instructed to concoct treason charges against her.
So within 5 minutes, Anne Boleyn is executed off-scene whilst Henry VIII, played by Damian Lewis, marries wife number three, Jane Seymour.
The plot follows Cromwell who has the difficult role of being the king’s principal advisor, facing Henry VIII’s rash decisions as well as covering the last volume and final four years of Cromwell’s life.
And it does so as beautifully, movingly and immaculately as it did in the first series.
Cromwell rises in the first episode to become Lord Privy Seal – displacing Anne’s father, Thomas Boleyn.
In Obedience (episode two), you start to see the deterioration of Thomas Cromwell, as his loyalty to Henry VIII is questioned, setting up a good plot for the final four episodes.
Overall, I enjoyed watching how the strong actors kept to the historical accuracy of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell’s relationship, and I believe using Somerset’s Wells as the location for scenes was a fitting concept for the narrative.
I was particularly a fan of Damian Lewis’ royal performance, especially his confined aggression, which was consistent whilst playing Henry VIII.
I thought that Thomas Brodie-Sangster was also impressive in the recent showing as Rafe Sadler, the former Privy Councillor to Henry VIII.
Known for his roles in his younger years as a child actor, Brodie Sangster has shown his dedication to his acting craft – as he deals with the transition of playing the ward of Thomas Cromwell, later becoming his secretary after a 10-year gap.
You can watch the latest Wolf Hall episode tomorrow (November 24) on BBC One at 9pm or load up BBC iPlayer, where you will find the first two episodes currently streaming.
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