Customer Reviews

The Tudors: The Final Season

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Ironically enough, I've had a tumultuous relationship with The Tudors ever since it first started. It was an odd, kind of on-again, off-again relationship that ranged from near-fanatic fandom to downright apathy. I was a fan of Tudor historical fiction novels before the show began, and was more than ecstatic when I heard that Showtime was bringing the infamous Henry VIII to the screen with his many wives.

Sadly, the series didn't always deliver for me. The biggest issue for me, especially in the first season, was the incredible number of historical inaccuracies. Even though this always bugged me throughout the entire series' run, I had to just put it aside and accept the fact that this show is a Hollywood-ized version of Henry VIII's reign. Perhaps the aspect that got me through were the lush sets, impeccable art direction and absolutely gorgeous period costumes and accessories (especially on all of Henry's queens) -even though the costumes were more like Tudor style mixed with modern couture influences (okay, they looked cool).

In season four -titled by Showtime as "The Final Seduction" -Henry deals with war with France, lingering religious issues, his own fading health and of course, wives five and six -Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr, respectively. By this point, of course, Henry should be very rotund (300 pounds) and nearing the end of his life. Even though Jonathan Rhys Myers does get the aging treatment in the final episodes and they try to dress him up in large, heavy clothing to make him look a little bigger it's doesn't quite work-though it's at least something.

The season, overall, is relatively entertaining, though some episodes are better than others. The first half deals primarily with the young Katherine Howard, her affair with Thomas Culpepper (and Lady Rochford's well-documented involvement), the oddly included misadventures of Lord Surrey (a supposed distant relative of Katherine, who is a boring and pointless character) and Henry's continued political troubles. While I didn't find Kitty Howard particularly likable, Tamzin Merchant brings a strong liveliness to the character and emphasizes her age, her questionable moral character, and the fact that she is a completely inept queen.

After beheading poor Katherine Howard, the married Lady Latimer (Catherine Parr) grabs Henry's attention. Once her husband dies, she reluctantly marries Henry, and decides to use her new position to advance her strongly Protestant beliefs. Henry, meanwhile, departs to France for war and Catherine dodges accusations of heresy. After the war is over, Henry's health starts to decline until he dies.

The highlight of this season should have been the much-anticipated and strongly rumored "dream sequence" in the final episode that would feature Henry's deceased wives. Though this ended up being somewhat disappointing (only three of the wives appeared), it was good to see some of the ladies return to Henry's life at the end, but it just wasn't enough. The fact that I felt let down by this, as well as the somewhat anti-climatic ending, left me with an unsatisfied feeling at the end that even made me wonder why I had spent all of my time watching the show. You know what would have made this finale better? More Anne Boleyn -okay, maybe not, but I've seriously missed Natalie Dormer since she was knocked off at the end of season two. Not only was she a wonderful actress, but she portrayed a strong and compelling Anne who stands as the strongest and more interesting of Henry's wives, stealing the show in every scene she was in.

Thus ended my strange relationship with Showtime's The Tudors. Even though I had my doubts, I kept with it until the very end, and, unfortunately, wasn't satisfied but have to admit -journey getting there was entertaining and wonderfully done.

I agree with the reviewer who noted the historical innacuracies in the Tudors series. While some of these innacuracies can be condoned on grounds of poetic license, some appear to be egregiously gratuitous (i.e., having Henry's sister Margaret not only marry the King of Protugal--which never happned--but then have her murder him!) There appears to be no dramatic reason for that kind of historical innacuracy which is truly unforgiveable. On the other hand, I am more forgiving of the Series having Wolsey committ suicide rather than dying of natural causes inasmuch as there was some speculation at the time of his death that he did indeed commit suicide given that he was facing the curel justice of a vengeful Henry.(And certainly if Wolsey did committ suicide, Henry would have every reason to cover it up in a way that the historians could not access). A more serious criticism is that the Series apparently made no effort whatssoever to represent Henry even close to how the paintings of the day depicted him. Arguably the "young" Henry--depictions of which are quite rare--could have looked something like the actor in the Series, though the dark slicked back hair of the actor is hard to reconcile with the descriptions of Henry as more blond and stocky. And certainly the marine crewcut styles are even more difficult to reconcile with the images available. But perhaps the worst failure is to not have Henry age at all over his entire reign, especially given the numerous historical sources which all agree on his ballooning obesity and deterioration in his health. This failure is all the more stark given the near perfect depictions of Ann Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon by the actresses.(Especially the depictions of Anne Boleyn which is so nearly on the money that it's almost scary). So why, given these obvious deficiencies do I give this Series four stars? Because I applaud every attempt by the dramatic arts to make history interesting enough to inspire an interest in history. Many of those who watch this series will go to the history books and read the real stuff (and hopefully discover that Margaret never married the Kind of Portugal, and never in fact murdered him). Indeed, had the Series at least made a half-hearted attempt to depict Henry according to the sources available, and not engaged in the most egregious of it's historical innacuracies (the marriage of Margaret to the Kind of Portugal), I would have given this polished, entertaining, and addicitive production a full five stars. (I appreciate very much the use of candlelight in the indoor night scenes).

My biggest complaint about "The Tudors" is that it ended after only four seasons. The Tudor dynasty didn't end with Henry VIII. Showtime had an amazing opportunity to continue this show with the short-lived reigns of Edward and Mary, followed by the lengthy Golden Age commandeered by Queen Elizabeth I. The network chose not to go that route, which is a major bummer.

As for the fourth and final season of "The Tudors," it definitely had its moments. I've been a fan of the show since Season 1, realizing that the series is completely historically inaccurate and a blatant depiction of nothing but sex, violence, and more sex...however, I love it for what it is! By far the best parts of this season were the appearances of Henry's final wives, the flighty Catherine Howard (perfectly portrayed by Tamzin Merchant) and the strong-willed Catherine Parr (Joley Richardson). I won't go into the plot details because I'm assuming that anyone who ever took a history class knows how Henry's story ends. I will say that I think the show took a downward spiral during the final two episodes. Jonathan Rhys Meyers began speaking in a "sickly old Henry" voice that sounded identical to Dick Van Dyke's portrayal of the old banker, Mr Dawes Sr., in "Mary Poppins." Obviously, instead of coming across as ominous and grave, that awful voice was severely comical to me, which kind of took away from the serious events leading up to Henry's demise.

Also, the season finale itself was a huge disappointment. I was thrilled that the show brought back three of Henry's former wives, who I assumed were going to haunt him, but their appearances were both short and uneventful. Had I the opportunity to write the final episode of this show, I think I could have done a heck of a better job. It was a real shame to watch what used to be such a powerful show go out with a whimper instead of a roar.

Still, the majority of Season 4 is filled with more good scenes than bad. I am sad the series is over and look forward to re-watching it on DVD (especially the Anne Boleyn episodes, which were by far the best).

I LOVE the Tudors as a time period. I produce a webcast on English Renaissance History. I'm a nut about this stuff. But I still LOVE The Tudors (the show) as what it was designed to be: entertainment based on history. If it gets people to read some popular non-fiction like Alison Weir, that'd be great! If it gets people looking on Wikipedia, that'd be great, too. Even if it just gets people saying "wow, that was an interesting time... I guess everything in history isn't completely boring" that'd be awesome as well. This show is like chocolate. I want to savor every minute of it. The costumes, the dialog, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, the scenery, the MUSIC (I downloaded the score - it's so beautiful). It's all just STUNNING. If you're going to sit around and say "well, yeah, but Robert Aske really didn't have a family," then you're MISSING a wonderful show that is introducing people to Henry the MAN and not just the legend.

I do wish they'd make more, with ALL the Tudors, though!!!

For three years I didn't get a chance to watch "The Tudors" until couple of weeks ago I finally watched the first episode of the first season. I was hooked from the start and ended up watching all episodes of all seasons. Further more, I am dying to watch the next episodes. The series has been absolutely magnificent. It was expertly produced, exceedingly and skillfully performed, especially Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The customes were out of this world.

I am not much familiar with the history of that era but the series were well done and depicted a quite enticing fictional if not the real historical time.

I totally disagree with the reviewer "Senna777 "cartfan", she didn't do the series justice, which has not claimed to be a true historical sequel. Showtime has presented a very entertaining series and not history.

I would rate this drama series as SUPERB.

I also recommend Spartacus: Blood and Sand as another spellbounding series.

This review pertains only to the DVD version, which I purchased thinking my DVD player up-converts to 1080p so it should look almost as good as a Blu-Ray. Wrong! In Season 1, it was not usual to see only 1 episode per disk, sometimes 2, or perhap 3. By Season 2 there were 2 or 3 episodes per disk. Now in its last season we are seeing 4 episodes per disk, 4! The result of which is low quality resolution, so that even on a 32" screen the images are noticably pixelated. It's barely tolerable on a 32" screen. If you have a small TV, or don't have 1080p quality, or are on a shoe-strong budget, then by all means buy the DVD version. But if you've come to expect quality and can spend a penny, get Blu-Ray!

As a grad student in history, one might expect me to trash this series for it's truncated and sometimes inaccurate depiction of events. But those who criticize the series for those things are missing the point of period dramas. The audience isn't looking for absolute accuracy. If they were, they'd watch a documentary. What The Tudors does so well is it creates an engaging, emotional story and gives this period relevance to a young, modern audience. It proves that history can be exciting and sexy, not just names and dates in a book. In short, shows such as The Tudors are an excellent way to spark interest in history and historical figures amongst people who have perhaps not had the best experiences with it in high school or college.

The final season picked the series back up after a relatively disappointing third season. (Season two was an extremely tough act to follow!) The series refreshed itself with new, younger characters that kept the show sexy as the characters of Henry VIII and Charles Brandon aged quickly and dramatically. In my opinion, season four is bested only by season two, and only by a very narrow margin.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers and the rest of the cast finished up this epic series in style, with a well written series of episodes in this final fourth season. Although the adult-themed scenes were unnecessary and detracted, the rest of what was accomplished here makes this series well worth watching. The DP/dir of photography, writing, acting, costuming and timing/pace were on the money and this is a series I thoroughly enjoyed.

The last two episodes felt a bit rushed in trying to compress many years etc of deteriorating health into a rapid close, but having his former wives' ghosts appear was a great touch, and well handled. Like "mad men", this is a high quality series well worth seeing over and over again. The battle scene episodes (and the final ep w/henry's wives) were highlights of this season. The actor who played Howard, Earl of Surrey did a super job, totally believable in his role, and garnered sympathy at his trial. The aging folks close to henry not so much, and the bishop was an unlikable character. His last wife was well-played though. Mixed bag of supporting characters, some were solid as noted.

Having enjoyed the entire series, reflecting back on it, Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn was the best character portrayal (Jonathan does a superb job as Henry as well); the season two with her in it was the best of the four seasons. Natalie you rocked.

I'd Really like to see "The Return of the Tudors" and see Elizabeth I's reign covered with the same style and grace that this series was able to create. Thoroughly captivating, engaging and well done. Bravo, folks. This one's a winner.

-k

I do agree with various other reviewers about the glaring historical mistakes and I'm waiting for the release of the final season before I can give an overall grade. What I was impressed with was the potrayal of some of the other characters, mainly Wolsey, Cromwell and More. In most movies or series one or the other of these three pivotal men is shown in a criminal light. I was impressed by how even handedly they were potrayed; it showed their strengths and weaknesses. Brandon's character seemed a little idealized but also showed a nice complexity. For me to see these men who had so much to do with the shaping of England and the Tudor reign being painted with such subtle overtones was a treat. I don't want to forget the great job of the characterization of Ambassador Chaupys who gave us a great view of an outsider with his own agenda. Of course the visual eye candy - sets, costumes etc. - didn't hurt. I'd recommend it for anyone who's interested in this period of time provided of course that you read up on the real facts

This season was very exciting with all the same political squabbling that I love. They also go to war, so we got to see some good action scenes. The acting has been phenomenal and the finale really brought out the best. I am sad the series is over, but will certainly watch it again in the future.