Wolf Hall - The Mirror and the Light - S02 complete (1080p, soft English subtitles)
E01 Wreckage
Wolf Hall returns with the thrilling final instalment of Hilary Mantel’s magisterial trilogy, based on the life and death of Thomas Cromwell. The Mirror and the Light opens in the heartbeat after Anne Boleyn’s death, as the young queen’s blood is sluiced from the scaffold and Thomas Cromwell picks his way across the wreckage to take up his position as principal councillor to an unpredictable king. Despite his lowly beginnings in a Putney blacksmith’s forge, Cromwell has made a reputation for himself as one of England’s most formidable politicians. On the day of the queen’s death, he is at the height of his powers. He has found a bloody way for the king to escape his marriage, pinning Anne Boleyn and her circle to crimes they could never have imagined. He has delivered her to the Calais swordsman’s blade. He has smoothed the path for the king’s marriage to his third wife, Jane Seymour. And he has been rewarded well. Now both master secretary and lord privy seal, there are few parts of the state’s business that do not pass over his desk. But in rising so high, Cromwell has also attracted powerful enemies. Anne Boleyn’s uncle, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, will never forgive him for his part in displacing the aristocracy in his ascent to power. Margaret Pole, daughter of the old families with a rival claim to the throne of England, sees in him an upstart lieutenant to a barely legitimate king. Not to mention his brazen insolence in pushing through his own agenda for religious reform, to which even the king offers only partial support. But power is lonely, and Cromwell has few friends. His loyal ward Rafe Sadler is now one of the king’s gentlemen, his son Gregory is young and green, his secretary Thomas Wriothesley cannot be trusted, and the men with whom he sits on the Privy Council are more rivals than allies. His only constant is the memory of his mentor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, and his consolation is the running conversation with Wolsey that he has in the privacy of his rooms when the noise of the day has fallen still. But there is little time for nostalgia in Henry’s court. Newly married, and with the hopeful prospect of a male heir at last, Henry’s attention turns to securing the succession. His daughter Elizabeth is an infant, but Mary is a threat, and her adherence to the old religion makes her an enticing prospect for the king’s enemies. As the king’s anger rises to a crescendo, Cromwell is tasked with neutralising the threat. While the rest of the Privy Council watch in appalled fascination, convinced that the lowborn Cromwell has been instructed to execute the king’s daughter, Cromwell himself embarks on an act of delicate diplomacy, persuading the Lady Mary to set aside her faith and declare allegiance to her father as head of the new Church of England. His success opens new avenues of danger for him, as rumours begin to circulate about his own intentions towards one so near to the throne.
E02 Obedience
Cromwell has become the most significant politician in the whole of England, his place as Henry’s principal adviser secure. The duke of Norfolk, England’s most senior nobleman by rank, is in disgrace, tainted by the treasonous behaviour of his niece, Anne Boleyn. So when Cromwell uncovers a clandestine affair between Norfolk’s brother and the king’s niece, an opportunity opens up to destroy his foremost enemy for good. Yet Cromwell stays his hand.
E03 Defiance
Cromwell’s visit to Shaftesbury Abbey has undone him. His confidence in himself and in his decisions past and present has been shaken to the core, and he is no longer able to summon up the memory of his most beloved master, Cardinal Wolsey, to help him navigate the perilous shadows of Henry's court. The court is more than usually dangerous in the autumn of 1536. A rebellion in the north country, fanned by the king’s cousin Reginald Pole with intent to force England back to Rome, is spreading south. The rebels are demanding a stop to the religious reforms of the past three years, a return to Rome and Cromwell’s head, perceiving him to be the architect of their misfortunes.
E04 Jenneke
The court of King Henry is on the brink of a new era. Henry and Jane are expecting a child, and for the third time in his life, the king allows himself to imagine a legitimate heir. The war in the north is over, the rebels are stilled, and the Lady Mary is back at court and out of reach of Henry’s enemies. England is cautiously hopeful. But joy at the birth of the young prince in the autumn of 1538 is short-lived, for Edward is only 12 days old when his mother Jane dies in the complications of childbirth, and Henry’s court is plunged into mourning.
E05 Mirror
Cromwell’s marital diplomacy brings Princess Anne of Cleves to Henry’s court. Will the alliance create a Protestant superpower in northern Europe, or has Cromwell’s luck run out?
E06 Light
une 1540. Thomas Cromwell, lately Earl of Essex and lord great chamberlain of England, is arrested, stripped of his titles and imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he awaits trial. His fall has been dizzying. As Cromwell struggles to make sense of it, he is visited by his friend and former ward, Rafe Sadler, now one of the king’s gentlemen. Rafe is the only person brave enough, and loyal enough, to bring the so-called traitor news from court.
First broadcast: November-December 2024 Duration: 1 hour per episode
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