The Tudors: The Complete Second Season | DVD Review

The second season of The Tudors is a worthy follow-up to the series debut season that delighted audiences and critics.

The season begins with the king, Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) continuing in his pursuit to nullify his first marriage. The continued resistance from the Catholic Church frustrates the king’s efforts until he s driven to declare himself head of the Church of England. He takes matters into his own hands, marries Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer) in a secret ceremony and strips Catherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle Kennedy) of her title and status.

In order to legitimize this second marriage the king demands that all subjects, upon pain of death, must take an oath of allegiance, recognizing the king’s authority and his marriage to Anne.

All seems to be in vain, however, as the new queen fails to deliver the kings paramount desire – a male heir. This failure alienates the new queen from the king, ultimately culminating with her fall from grace and her death.

The series continues to deliver breathtaking visuals, award-winning costumes and first-class performances. Natalie Dormer becomes Anne in her final moments in a wonderful performance. She’ll surely be missed in Season Three. Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ portrayal of Henry earned him a Best Actor nomination for the Golden Globes. Other noteworthy performances include Jeremy Northam’s poignant portrayal of Thomas More’s final days, and James Frain as the capable Thomas Cromwell. In the director’s chair this year we saw filmmakers Jon Amiel and Jeremy Podeswa join TV vets Ciaran Donnelly, Colm McCarthy, and Dearbhla Walsh for a pair of episodes each.

Michael Hirst continues in his role as head writer and executive producer. While the the first season took some criticism for its liberal adherence to historical accuracy, Hirst makes obvious attempts to address the issue Season Two.

The Tudors second season continues an excellent series. For those that love period-piece drama, the series is a “must watch”. It easily rivals heavyweights in the genre like HBO’s Rome and Deadwood. The drama of Season Two will be a hard act to follow.

On a final note, the DVD release got a little bit interactive — you can discover the Tudor in you by going over to www.whothetudorareyou.com.

The Tudors Season Two 4-disc DVD edition includes a few extra features, most of which were likely included as an after-thought, simply to fill up some space on the last disc.

This reviewer doesn’t have a problem with that, as a result the box set is very reasonably priced, particularly when compared to those pricey HBO box sets.

Tower of London featurette

This is a quick, 15 minute walk-through of the infamous Tower of London, with the show’s star Natalie Dormer for company.

Descendents of Henry featurette

Another (mercifully) brief featurette, where we get to meet Henry’s real-life descendants. An utter waste of time, but you can’t really blame the producers for the fact that Henry’s descendants are without exception exceptionally un-remarkable.

Whether you’re a history-buff, or you simply enjoy some good drama, this is a great addition to the movie library.

Movie rating – 3

Disc Rating – 3.5