Sunday, September 8, 2013

The White Queen Recap: The Bad Queen

* Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen Episode 4, "The Bad Queen."

I rather enjoyed this week's episode, maybe because quite a lot happened, plus we're inching closer and closer to an actual battle (judging from the preview of next week's ep, it looks like we'll see Barnet).

Don't Give Me That Look, Young Lady

Elizabeth has a vision in her washbowl (no, really) of the baby Isabel lost and freaks out. Jacquetta comes running into the room, and Elizabeth tells her mother to leave her alone. Jacquetta gives Elizabeth this look that says, "You may be the Queen of England, but I'm still your mother, and don't you dare speak to me like that." Elizabeth feels a bit guilty about summoning the wind that battered Warwick's ship on which poor Isabel had to give birth and worries that Warwick is more desperate than ever to get a handhold on the throne.

This Was a One-Way Trip

In France, Anne wonders when it'll be possible to return to England, and Isabel informs her that after everything that's happened, there will be no return for them. This is only the beginning of the bad news for Anne in this episode.

Yay Henry, Yay!

Young Henry Tudor is practicing his swordsmanship, and Margaret wholeheartedly approves of his mad skills, obviously. She also nearly has a heart attack when her precioussss takes a nick to the face from his instructor's sword. Imagine what her reaction would have been if Henry had gotten seriously injured.

George Doesn't Understand

Warwick's latest power scheme involves marrying Anne off to Edward of Lancaster, son of the former King Henry VI, and return Henry to throne. George, upon whom Warwick once rested all of his dreams of being an in-law to a king, does not approve of this plan and lets Warwick know it.

Where's Jasper?

Yorkist Sir William Herbert turns up at Pembroke Castle looking for Jasper Tudor and and busts up Margaret's happy reunion with Henry with the news that the place is now his. But it belongs to Henry, protests Margaret! She gets all agitated and not very nicely tells her husband that Jasper would have done something about this travesty. I really do feel sorry for Henry Stafford; the guy never gets a break from hearing about how awesome Jasper Tudor is.

The Other Margaret

This was our first look at Margaret of Anjou, queen to Henry VI and mother of Edward of Lancaster. Like Margaret Beaufort, this Margaret is also crazy. I thought she put some much needed spark into the show, though. As for Edward—what is going on with his hair?! On first impression, he does not look like a pleasant fellow at all, and later in the episode, he reveals just what a monster he is. While his mother looks on. Yuck. Poor Anne; not only does she end up with a horrible husband, but a horrible mother-in-law as well. And Elizabeth thinks she has the worst mother-in-law in the world!

Word Travels Fast

Back in England, Edward receives news of Warwick and George's alliance with Margaret of Anjou. Edward, ever the forgiving brother, is prepared to offer George yet another chance to prove his loyalty. Jacquetta and Elizabeth go see Cecily, the Duchess of York, and ask her to persuade George to ditch Warwick and return to Edward. Cecily complies, sending one of her ladies to France to deliver the message to George via Isabel.

More Margaret (Beaufort) Rantings and Ravings

I figured I'd sum up the rest of Margaret's shenanigans here. She goes ballistic when Herbert won't let Henry leave Pembroke because the boy is now under his guardianship as punishment for the treason committed by Margaret's brother. Her departing words to her son take the form of her diving into her "You'll be king one day, Henry!" inspirational speech. Later we see Margaret all depressed because she hasn't heard a peep from Henry, and she confesses to her husband that as a girl, she wanted to join a convent and become a saint. That was like, the funniest thing I've heard her say so far, seconded by her cry later on in the episode that it's against God's will for Henry to fight for York when he's forced to go with Herbert to support Edward against Warwick and George's impending invasion.

Guess Who's Not Queen Anymore?

Elizabeth's sons from her first marriage, Thomas and Richard Grey, rush to their mother in the Tower of London to tell her that Warwick didn't land where he was expected to and took Edward and his troops by surprise. Edward, Richard, and Anthony Woodville have fled to Flanders, and Warwick has ordered Jacquetta's arrest for witchcraft. Elizabeth narrowly escapes the Tower with her children and seeks sanctuary in Westminster Abbey, where she gives birth to a male heir for Edward. Meanwhile, Warwick has successfully restored Henry VI to the throne, but worryingly for Warwick, Margaret of Anjou still hasn't upheld her end of their deal to bring her promised army to England.

The Richard Watch

Richard has a new hairstyle! Not sure how I feel about this yet. He only had a handful of lines again, but at least he was by Edward's side during the discussion of bringing George back into the fold. I really, really hope that if the battle of Barnet is the centerpiece of next week's episode, Richard gets the spotlight he deserves because, you know, he only commanded the vanguard and all. Oh, and this is the battle that took place in a thick fog, and I think I've already figured out how the show is going to explain the weather conditions. It looks like Elizabeth and Jacquetta will be quite busy next week.

4 comments:

  1. Guess what, my sister cancelled out STARZ subscription! LOL

    I was planning on just bingeing on the series and right now, that's no longer possible.

    So I'm guessing it's getting better? I can see the storyline is pretty faithful to the book so I'm pleased with that.

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    1. Oh no! But all the premium channels are rather pricey, so I understand. Just don't let her cancel HBO, because eek! No Game of Thrones, lol.

      I thought this episode was pretty well paced. Looking forward to next week's battle scenes!

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    2. Yeah we kept HBO & Showtime (Homeland!)

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    3. Yay for HBO! I only have that and Starz; would love to check out Homeland, but Showtime isn't in the budget right now.

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