– Cromwell: Poised and at Peace –
by Damianista | Fan Fun with Damian Lewis | December 16, 2024
“Valentines, sorceries, purple doublets. Any jury would laugh you out of the court. But then there won’t be a jury, will there?” – Thomas Cromwell
No jury. No trial. Only an interrogation team, perfectly convinced about Thomas Cromwell being a traitor, asking ridiculous questions. And an Act of Attainder which Cromwell himself also used against others.
Upon arresting him, Kingston brings Cromwell to the Tower, to the very room that Cromwell himself built for Anne Boleyn before her coronation. It is also the same room the late queen spent her days before her execution. Now, in his solitary confinement, it is inevitable for Cromwell to reflect on his past. And characters from that past, varying from Anne Boleyn to Cardinal Wolsey to Dorothea to the French executioner haunt his dreams.
Rafe is Cromwell’s first visitor. He has always been the closest to Cromwell. And the most loyal. If he had known about Cromwell’s upcoming arrest, he would have let him know. That is why Rafe was left in the dark about the arrest and that Wriothesley called him for some master secretary business minutes before the Privy Council Members started their attack on Cromwell.
Rafe shares that the parliament took the news about Cromwell in silence and the only person who tried to talk for Cromwell was, unsurprisingly, Rafe himself. But nobody heard him. Cromwell asks about Cranmer. The Archbishop is expected to write Henry a letter. Huh?
Cromwell is keen on protecting his family. He tells Rafe that he, his nephew Richard and his son Gregory should avoid each other, because seeing any two of them together could make their enemies take it as a conspiracy. He does not want Gregory or Richard visit him, either.
The furniture which I take as a medieval torture device for a second turns out to be a table installed for the interrogation. The interrogation committee is a joke: the new BFFs Norfolk and Gardiner along with two men who should be thankful to Cromwell for how far they have come: Richard Riche and Thomas Wriothesley who avoid eye contact with Cromwell. UGH. And the interrogation itself is a complete farce. Outrageous questions, forged letters, and lots of words. I love it that Cromwell is poised. His inner strength peaks that he has a peacefulness about him. And his sarcasm is spot on.
They start with Cromwell’s wardrobe! He had that purple doublet back in the day when he worked for the Cardinal. How dare he thought he could wear purple, a color reserved for the royals and the bishops?
Then they move to some letters they claim that have been found at Austin Friars. Cromwell is waiting for them to tell him what they are.
I cannot guess what you might forge, can I?”
Indeed.
Lutheran letters, Riche says. One is directly from Martin Luther himself and the other one is from Melanchton, his collaborator, whom Henry himself writes to. So does this make Henry Cromwell’s co-conspirator or what?!?! The committee also claims that Cromwell has letters from the German princes urging him to take the most unfavorable discourse for Henry. Now, put aside the fact that these letters do not exist, it would be laughable to think that Cromwell would keep them in the open if they existed.
The interrogation is interrupted with a letter arriving for Norfolk. The King of France is congratulating them for getting Cromwell down. No surprise there, my lord Norfolk. The King of France should be relieved that Henry will no more have the best advisor in Europe.
Cromwell knows that Norfolk has advocated an alliance with France for a long time. We have seen Norfolk trying to have Henry marry from France in Episode 4 Jenneke. King Francois has probably hinted to Norfolk that an alliance between England and France could be possible with a condition attached: Cromwell needs to go. This also explains the letter from the French Ambassador to his king that Wriothesley got hold of and showed Cromwell in Episode 5 Mirror: The letter said that Henry would take the Privy Seal from Cromwell and give it to Fitzwilliam. We don’t know if Henry was convinced from the get-go or Norfolk and Gardiner had to come up with false accusations against Cromwell and convince the King who loves crazy conspiracy theories.
The interrogation committee is now inquiring about Cromwell’s wealth. How much did he make when he worked for Wolsey who was known to enrich his servants? Not in his case, Cromwell says. Wolsey owed him money but because he was arrested before he could pay back his debts, he cost Cromwell money in the end. Next is the ring that the Cardinal gave him. It has certain properties. Is it me or Richard Riche really looks embarrassed when he talks about sorcery and that Cromwell makes princesses fall in love with him through the ring?
“I am turning them away daily.”
“But you didn’t turn away Lady Mary, did you?”
The charges about Mary remind me of the play Henry wrote about Anne Boleyn in Wolf Hall Episode 6 Master of Phantoms.
“I’ve written a play. A tragedy… My own story. I want you to see her true nature. I believe she has committed adultery with 100 men.”
What goes around comes around, I am sorry to say. Cromwell helped the King to get rid of Anne via outrageous charges against her, including adultery with her own brother! And now Norfolk and Gardiner are helping the King to get rid of Cromwell via outrageous charges, including his desire to be the King! They treat past events such as Mary calling Cromwell her only friend (because he was!), Cromwell being Mary’s Valentine (they had a draw!), the ring that Cromwell had for Mary (Henry liked it so much that he chose to give it to his daughter himself!) and Mary sharing her private health matters with Cromwell (Is toothache a private issue?!) as evidence for their intimacy.
Richard Riche: “She gave you a pair of gloves. That signifies hand in glove. That signifies alliance. That signifies matrimony.”
Thomas Cromwell: “The King of France gave me gloves. He didn’t want to marry me.”
They don’t care. They remind him that he, once asked, said that whether a woman could rule depended on whom she married. Norfolk remembers that when Henry had his falling accident and was considered dead or dying, the first person Cromwell asked about was Mary. Cromwell did that because he wanted to protect Mary from Norfolk himself and his niece Anne Boleyn in case of Henry’s death. But Norfolk claims that Cromwell asked about Mary because he would marry her and sit on the throne. That is why he has sent all her suitors away.
Read the rest of the original article at Fan Fun with Damian Lewis