TV Show Review: Wolf Hall

Time for some Tudor talking.

It’s been about four months since I last talked about Cromwell, so clearly I’m overdue.

Last year I read the whole Wolf Hall trilogy because

Simon Haisell

was hosting a read-along. I have reviews for all three books (one, two, three) but today it’s all about the tv series.

I did watch season one several years ago, but in preparation for season two, I wanted to have a refresher.

Season one shows the rise of Thomas Cromwell in King Henry VIII’s court and ends with the death of Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife. That’s a very barebones description but it leads nicely into my first criticism.

This show assumes that you have either read the books or are very familiar with Tudor England. Perfect for me, but I was watching this with my parents and they had some questions, and I also provided additional information. Example: it doesn’t explicitly say who Jane Rochford is until the last episode. There are implications for people’s identities and connections—it does have a line between Henry and Suffolk that hints at their long friendship—but it leaves a lot unsaid or opaque. This is not a period drama for the casual viewer, which flows into problem two.

They have to cram tons of information and events into these six episodes, but the pacing is slow—they have long shots of people just sitting around, not talking. I don’t necessarily mind the relaxed pace, except they had to cut a lot of character development and backstory and regular dialogue because of the pace. I feel like they should’ve either had a quicker pace to allow for these extra moments, or had more episodes. The second book is squeezed into the last two episodes and that’s not the best way to tell the story. I’m sure there were contract reasons for why it wasn’t more episodes, but I think a moderately paced show of ten episodes would’ve suited things better. As it is, it’s full of gaps and missed opportunities to showcase the characters and story to a greater capacity. There’s nothing wrong with assuming your audience aren’t idiots who need more information. But just because I’m the intended audience and know the unsaid parts, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have liked to see more of the story from the book.

Mark Rylance does a great job in his role as Cromwell. However, it’s a softer portrayal of him than is in the books and I would’ve liked more cunning and someone not quite so immediately likable. You’re supposed to appreciate his sharp mind and understand why he does things, even if you don’t fully side with him. And here he’s a little too much like a nice grandfather. Based off what we see, it doesn’t make sense that his son would be intimidated and slightly fearful of him. There are moments where I see the Cromwell of the book, but I think they should’ve leaned into the street-wise lawyer side of him.

The rest of the cast does a good job, with a notable portrayal of Henry by Damian Lewis. Although, I wish these characters had more time to breathe in their roles, like Rafe and Richard, Cromwell’s chief protégés. We have this great shot of the three of them walking into the metaphorical saloon to get things done, but I wanted to see Cromwell teaching them stuff and being the father-figure to them. And poor Wriothesley is barely in it at all. I just wanted more of everyone’s dialogue.

The women do a good job too. It’s hard to like this version of Anne, so Henry’s lovesickness doesn’t have the weight it should, given all the trouble he goes through to get Anne. They probably could’ve cut out the liaison between Cromwell and Johane; it just takes up space since it’s not given enough time to matter.

The costumes and sets are great, although the wrinkled bodices on Anne’s dress bothered me (were they supposed to not be smooth?). They put in the effort to make everything look real and natural. I know the lighting might not be to everyone’s’ taste, but I think going with limited candle/firelight at night was a good choice; night scenes in current television are poorly lit to the point where you can’t see anything, but here it adds to the realism without inhibiting what I’m seeing. And this makes the daylight scenes more vivid. There’s no blue/gray/yellow filter and that’s a breath of fresh air. I want a return to when shows looked normal and not preemptively moody.

I don’t know anything about sound design, but I noticed the creaking floors, crinkling paper and the strokes of Holbein’s brush on the canvas. I suppose this is what people call “immersive,” but I didn’t feel like I was there; I felt like that’s what it would’ve sounded like if I were there. This is the first time in a while where I noticed the sound because it’s unusually good in a subtle way; it doesn’t add distracting orchestral music and explosions.

Overall it has good performances and it looks great, but the missing parts of the story and leisurely pacing kinda throw a wrench in things.

I’m bummed we didn’t get the Cromwell portrait reveal, so here’s my sister’s version:

Season two has pretty much the same likes/criticisms as the first one.

They did have to recast quite a few actors and that threw me off for a bit. (I was hoping that after the beheading, Rafe would remark that Cromwell looks ten years older.) For the most part, the new actors did a fine job; I like this Gregory and Chapuys better. But I’m not sold on the new Norfolk; that actor’s played too many villains and I liked the somewhat friendlier look of the first Norfolk (RIP Bernard Hill).

I know how this is gonna sound, but I’m saying it anyway: having black actors in the Tudor court is not only historically inaccurate; it’s distracting and takes me out of the setting. Season one didn’t have a single black person, this one has several and it is not going to age well.

The pacing is better in this one, but they still had to cut a lot. Characters like Christophe are given no purpose; he’s just there because he’s in the book but there’s no explanation for his presence. I love Cromwell and his world, so I wouldn’t have minded another episode or two just to really watch him work and hear more of the book’s conversations. But that last episode…wow! that’s a good’n. It’s depressing, but good, and my favorite in the whole series.

They removed the candlelit lighting for nighttime, which, okay, I get it. But it made the first season look different and now this one resembles regular, modern night scenes. Although, the daylight scenes don’t have any wonky filters, so it still looks natural and I appreciate that.

Once again, your enjoyment of this show is going to depend on whether or not you read the books and/or have an extensive knowledge of Tudor times. Because of that, I’d say this show is more of an accompaniment to the books than its own standalone story. I still like it because I know what’s not being said, but I wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone.

Overall, I had a good time watching it because it scratches that Tudor itch, but if more time were given to conversations and backstories, it could’ve been even better.

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