The Tudors are back and this time, the King is in major trouble (The Tudors - Complete Series 2 (DVD))

Member Name: linzeelou

Product:	The Tudors - Complete Series 2 (DVD)
Date:	24/08/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: More exciting than series 1

Disadvantages: Nothing major

The Tudors series 2 was released on DVD in October 2008 and the box set is rated 15 due to violence and sex scenes. Series 2 consists of 4 discs that run for 8 hours and 23 minutes.

Plot
As the first series ended, we saw that the church had not yet given the King an annulment to his wife, Katherine of Aragon. Henry VIII quickly grows annoyed and marries his mistress, Anne Boleyn, in secret anyway and gives her every right as a Queen. All Henry VII wants is a son and heir but it seems that even Anne isn't able to give him that and he soon realises that she has been manipulating him.

As the Catholic church denied his request for a divorce and an annulment, the King has gone to war with Rome but at the same time, becomes the head of the Church of England. The Pope and Thomas More are working to challenge Henry's power and take his kingdom away from him but anyone who gets in the King's way will feel his wrath.

Cast
Henry VIII - Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Charles Brandon, The Duke of Suffolk - Henry Cavill
Anne Boleyn - Natalie Dormer
Katherine of Aragon - Maria Doyle Kennedy
Thomas More - Jeremy Northam
Thomas Wyatt - Jamie Thomas King
Thomas Boleyn, The Earl of Wiltshire - Nick Dunning
Jane Seymour - Anita Briem
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury - Hans Matheson
Pope Paul III, The Bishop of Rome - Peter O'Toole

Special features
- To capture a king
- To portray a pope
- Love and passion in Tudor times

My Opinion
Series 2 has been my favourite so far and as the 3rd has just started on BBC 2, I am anxious to see whether or not it will be as good.

Although the first series was good, series 2 had a lot more to offer. The main story of the series is that of the Catholic church's demise in England and Thomas Cromwell's influence over the King as well as the scheming and plotting of Anne Boleyn. While these two main plots were going on, there are also quite a few sub plots going on at the same time which make the series exciting and interesting at all times.

After watching this series, it seems that series 1 was just a big build up for the drama of series 2. There was a few episodes in series 1 that I found quite boring but that didn't happen this time. I loved each and every episode and found each one more exciting than the last.

Jonathon Rhys Meyers is back and better than ever in his role as King Henry VIII. Henry was supposed to be a bad tempered and selfish man and this is exactly the way that Meyers portrays him in this series. His speeches are very charismatic and you can see all of the emotion behind them. In this first series, I didn't see Henry this way as much but it is very clear that his temper is often brought on by the influence of those around him.

The character I felt most sorry for was Katherine of Aragon because really, she had done nothing wrong although the King didn't see it that way. She really conveyed her feelings extremely well and you could see the hurt and disgust on her face when the King was so horrible to her. At the same time though, Katherine was still trying to play the dutiful wife and Queen because she knew that the people loved her and she knew he was in the wrong. I loved that she had a backbone and would try and stand up for herself whenever she could.

I have to give a quick mention to the costumes as well because they were breath taking, especially for the female characters. Over 1500 costume pieces were made and a lot of research went in to the designs. Anne Boleyn's costumes were all made from scratch, complete with beading and jewel work. The costumes are one of the things I love most about historical programmes and the quality of them has been kept up throughout.

Some of the scenes are quite hard to watch like when a man is boiled alive and the beheading of Anne Boleyn but thankfully, they don't last too long. There are quite a lot of sex scenes too so I think the box set's rating of 15 was well deserved.

Summary: Series 2 is fantastic