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From: "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light
Date: Fri, 2 May 2025 03:55:05 -0000 (UTC)
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Wonderful, wonderful stuff; Mark Rylance is a terrific actor.

Henry is on the third of his fourth Thomases, shortly after the
execution of his second wife and through his fourth marriage.

Thomas Cromwell (Rylance) is low key but shows anger after a slow
burn. Jealous Duke of Norfolk (Timothy Spall) gives him plenty of trouble,
Henry (Damien Lewis) is more and more venal, Wolsey's daughter blames him
for her father's death, and Cromwell find he has an insta-growed daughter.

Henry doesn't get along with his third wife Jane Seymour (Kate
Phillips), but she bears him short-lived Edward VI. She will die shortly
after giving birth.

Cromwell falls out of favor for arranging the marriage with Anne of
Cleves. She thinks Henry is old; Henry finds her disagreeably pious.
It's to form an alliance that turned out to be unnecessary.

Like Thomases Wolsey and More before him, Cromwell is accused of
treason. He takes it in stride and disrespects his inquisitors. Now,
Cromwell wasn't executed, having died before he could be killed.

Rylance has several moving scenes at the end, and of course we get the
scene in which he tips his executioneer.

Norfolk, desperate for power, has foisted his giggly teenage niece onto
Henry, Catherine Howard, fifth wife. Why Norfolk despised his niece so
much to arrange that marriage is not stated.

Highly recommended.

By coincidence, I recorded A Man for All Seasons off TCM, which is about
Thomas More. I'll get to that next. I've never seen a fictional
representation of Thomas Cramner.