We all know that when it comes to Heny VIII, there’s no guarantee of life. Thomas Cromwell is seeing that’s the case in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light episode 3, but is there anything that he can do to stop the walls from closing in?
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light episode 3.
Well, we know how Cromwell’s story actually goes. He is not one of those who makes it through Henry VIII’s reign alive, and this episode sees how the downfall begins. Henry needs to safe face by appointing Cromwell so high in the first place, but it’s hard to do that when England is at war.
Thomas Cromwell is plagued with guilt for his lies in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light
For the longest time, I’ve always wondered how Cromwell actually felt knowing that he brought up lies to get rid of Anne Boleyn and the Boleyn faction. Of course, we don’t know that nothing was true, but we know that a lot of the accusations against Anne and the men executed just before her were lies. Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light shows that Cromwell does feel guilty for his actions. He has a nightmare of Anne’s ladies offering him her head.
Throughout the episode, Cromwell continues to try to deal with the situation at hand. England is in a revolt due to the changes to the religion. We’re constantly reminded that the Catholics believed that with Anne Boleyn gone, the country would go back to Catholicism. That’s not the case, and Henry is fed up of people asking him to give the Catholics a hint of hope.
So, the people in London and to the east revolt. To make things worse, there is a more dangerous rumor than Cromwell set to marry Lady Mary going around. The people are hearing that King Henry VIII is dead and Thomas Cromwell is running the show. The man who tells Cromwell this clearly has no idea who Cromwell actually is, and it’s clear that Cromwell knows how dangerous this rumor is. The Poles and Courtenays are doing what they can to get rid of Cromwell.
Henry does initially consider leniency if the revolt stops now, but one of his advisors suggests against that. This revolt could reach the north, and that makes it much more dangerous. Cromwell has the smart idea to send the Duke of Norfolk, but Henry doesn’t trust that man. He’s still sure that the marriage between Margaret Douglas and Thomas Truth was orchestrated by Norfolk and doesn’t trust him.
As Henry decides that he should go to the east himself to prove that he’s alive, Fitzwilliam advices against that. Fitzwilliam says that the people will think Cromwell has brought Henry back from the dead, and it’s the first stage of the council turning against Cromwell. Everyone is willing to throw Cromwell under the bus, without thinking what it means for them when Cromwell is gone. Do any of them think that they’re safe?
It also doesn’t help that the nobles hate that Cromwell has be raised up by Henry from being a blacksmith. The rich will always look down on those who don’t come from “old money.” Cromwell can’t get support from the people when they believe he’s a sorcerer, though. He’s in a catch-22 situation, and he needs to do something.
Cromwell turns to Queen Jane on Mary’s behalf
While all this is going on, Lady Mary is being used as a figurehead for the revolt. She doesn’t agree with it and she hasn’t given her support, but that doesn’t matter. Because of this, Henry doesn’t want to bring Lady Mary back to court, but the longer Mary is kept away from Court, the easier it is to make her a scapegoat for the revolt. Cromwell needs to do something, so he turns to Jane. Maybe she could put in a good word for Mary.
Jane doesn’t see what she can do. She points out that she’s not pregnant yet, and this is a concern. She knows that Henry needs a male heir, and not having being pregnant just yet makes it much easier to discard her. After what Henry did to both Katherine and Anne, it’s not surprising that Jane worries about keeping her head.
Jane also worries about Henry, as he is having bad dreams that involve his late brother, Arthur. This isn’t new for Henry, as he had these dreams in Wolf Hall, but it is new for Jane and she is worried about what it means. However, she does petition the king, and it goes well until she crosses the line by bringing up private matters in front of other people. Jane needs to learn some diplomacy if she wants to keep that pretty little head.
Henry VIII fears for the future of England
I will admit that Henry remained relatively calm when it came to Jane lecturing him about what the Catholics need to feel secure in their country. He knows that someone likely lectured Jane to say these things in an attempt to bring her down. The problem is he needs to shut it down quickly. As he points out, he has made his daughters illegitimate (and therefore unable to succeed to the throne) and he has no heir. His country is struggling financially and the people are turning against him. He knows that the Poles and Courtenays are doing it, but he can’t just take them down right now.
Henry needs to get rid of Reginald Pole, and he needs Cromwell to either bring Pole back to England or get rid of him in another way. Cromwell can’t do that, and Henry decides to threaten Cromwell in another way: he’ll bring Gardiner back from France.
Cromwell continues to lose people to support him, but there is someone who is trying to look out for him. She has heard the rumors of Cromwell marrying her, and she decides to make it clear that he is “like a father” to her. Now she needs Cromwell to stay away from her due to danger against him. At least she’s trying.
Cromwell arranges a marriage for his son in Wolf Hall season 2
Despite everything that is going on right now, Cromwell is still the most eligible bachelor in the nation. So, when Cromwell starts looking for a marriage for his son, it’s understandable that Bess believes that Cromwell is the one who wants to marry her. When she heard a Cromwell is interested in marriage, she was always going to assume it was the father and not the son.
It doesn’t help for Bess that the Seymours believe that Cromwell is the one who wants to marry her. This is another way for them to gain more power right now, so they encourage Bess to marry him.
When she finds out that he is arranging a marriage with his son Gregory, there is some anger and shame. She can’t believe that she has fallen for the idea of marrying him. However, she won’t say outright if the marriage to Gregory is a second choice. That’s smart of her, but the court gossips and it doesn’t take long for everyone to learn about the mistake.
Gregory makes it clear to his dad on his wedding night that his dad needs to stay away from Bess. He knows that he was second choice, and he’s not happy about that. He feels like everyone is laughing at him.
Jane has some good news — sort of — in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light
The episode ends with some sort of good news for Jane. She is pregnant, but she makes it clear that it isn’t going to be happy news if she has a girl. She needs a boy if she wants to keep her position. Considering everything that Henry has done, it’s not surprising that she fears her position right now. She knows that Anne probably didn’t do everything that people claimed she did.
Lady Rochford confirms the good news for Jane. Will this put Henry in a good mood? Probably not until he knows that it’s a boy.
Finally, Cromwell gets a visit from a young woman who recognizes a tapestry that depicts the Queen of Sheba. This tapestry was introduced in Wolf Hall, and we learned that the woman in the tapestry reminds Cromwell of someone he loved when he was younger. Well, this young woman has news that the woman in the tapestry is her mother. She claims that she Cromwell’s daughter.
What!
Just a note that this character is entirely fictionalized in Hilary Mantel’s novels. We’ll get to that in a separate post. It certainly adds some drama for the series.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light airs on Sundays at 9/8c on PBS.
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