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This much we know: Henry desperately wants to bed Ann Boleyn, who has him convinced she will do no such thing until she is his wife. Katherine, the king’s first wife, holds on strongly to her throne, although it will not be long before she has no choice. The king’s closest friend, Charles Brandon, has married and buried the king’s sister. This season, all these seeming loose ends will be tied up, thanks to divorce, more death, a religious Reformation, and so much more!

“If the lion knows his own strength, no man can control him.”

It’s now 1532, and it looks like not much has changed in England. Henry and Ann are praying together publicly, while the queen is in her chambers begging God she keep her crown. Sir Thomas More seems to be praying for that same thing, and even as he meets with Spanish ambassadors, it’s clear he will not stand with the king in his many attempts at divorce. When the Emperor has given a letter to be delivered directly to Sir Thomas, he refuses it. To accept such a letter will immediately implicate him against the king. At least he’s willing to tell the king that he doesn’t agree with the beliefs of the Reformation. Hard as that may be to stand up to the king, he might just be the only one who can still do so. That said, even he is unwilling to speak a word against Henry in public, which he makes sure to tell Henry before storming out of his chambers.

Henry has gathered together a group of both lords and clergy, to try them for following Wolsey at the detriment of the kingdom. The archbishop is asked to give his conclusion, but before he does he calls on the Bishop of Rochester. Too bad for this idiot he goes off in public opposition against the King’s desire to move against Rome. It certainly sounds like the rest of the crowd doesn’t agree with him (at least publicly), and this can’t be good long-term for this man. Once he’s done, the Archbishop gives the king the title of the head of England, but with the addition of “as far as the law of Christ allows”. This means that he realistically has no more power than he had before, and when everyone is silent at the vote, the Archbishop says they’ll assume everyone silent agrees with the judgment.

Off in Rome, the Pope is meeting with Cardinal Campegio about the drama in England. They’re still trying to avoid judging on the King’s request or annulment, without realizing the king has just started the process of removing all Rome’s authority in England. With letters from both Henry and the Emperor, the Pope makes an astute observation: it is in their favor to not upset either power, and so subtly suggests they hire someone to “get rid of her”. Nice. The Pope is now ordering murders!

Back in England, Ann’s been in her room reading, and Henry walks in to try to bed her. Status quo for this pair. How she was able to keep him running like that for almost a decade is beyond me! He tells her that he’s been made head of the church, and then lets her know he’s going to have the apartments in the Tower of London refurbished so that she can stay there before her coronation as queen. Before she can celebrate, however, her father shows up and lets her know that the “as far as the law of Christ allows” means Henry really doesn’t have much more power. This vote was not all for nothing, however. With most of the Bishops and clergy and lords already conceded to the principle of Kingly rule over the church, it’s just a matter of getting rid of those that oppose.

The boys club (Wyatt, Boleyn, Cromwell, Brandon, and the newest member Cranmen) are meeting to discuss the discuss the appointing of the King to the head of the church. They all seem to be in agreement with Mr. Boleyn that the Bishop is the only problem. While they’re discussing this, Ann’s uncle has set up a private meeting with one of the cooks in the Bishop’s home. And with a large sum of coin laid out on the table, it’s clear that he’s to kill the Bishop. With one last threat of complete family destruction, Uncle Howard sends the cook on his way with a small vial of poison.

Mr. Cromwell brings Cranmen to meet the king. He seems to be rather tongue-tied at meeting the king and discovering he’s been appointed the King’s personal chaplain. Looks like Henry’s found someone else to have in his pocket. After that meeting, Charles and Henry go for a walk in the garden, where we find out Charles has married his ward, Katherine. At least Henry’s over the loss of his sister, because he’s fine with teasing Charles for his infidelities and then blesses the marriage.

Looks like Wyatt hasn’t stopped loving Ann, as he’s dreaming of the days when they used to bed without worry. At least he’s able to hold it together while he visits her in her receiving room. And then we find out Cromwell has given Wyatt his patronage, before being introduced to Mark Smeaton, a violinist that’s just been brought to court. With smoldering eyes and an impish grin, Mark enchants the entire court as he plays and then “shows Anne how” … by standing behind her and playing while she holds her hands over his. Super cute, super slutty, and that relationship is bound to get Anne into trouble at some point!

The cook holds to his duty and pours the poison powder into the soup being served for the Bishop that evening. There are also, however, several guests at his table, including Sir Thomas More. He turns down the soup (the only one to do so), and then we find out the Archbishop will condemn the King’s latest adventures. It’s with this that those around the table quickly expire of the poison, but the Bishop survived thanks to having so little of the soup. When Thomas tells Henry, he seems to care little for the plot against the Bishop. Until Ann’s father is named as part of the plot. He freaks out when he’s told some even blame Lady Ann, defending her like a teenager in love. It isn’t until Thomas tells him he must react strongly and condemn the act, otherwise people will assume it had been done with his blessing, that Henry agrees to torture and then punish the cook. These scenes don’t really need to be explained further, do they? Torture at the time involved everything from beating to the rack to dipping in boiling oil. A terrible way to die!

Back at the castle, Ann is walking through a great room when she finds out Katherine still makes shirts for the king. Horrified, she storms into the king’s private chambers, where he is contemplate the events of recent times. Turns out Henry hasn’t even thought about the fact that Katherine still makes his shirts, and Ann uses it to push him to turn Katherine out of the castle. It seems to backfire on her, however, as he screams back at her that he’s got more important things to think about than his shirts. Ann needs to learn to pick her battles better!

Thomas More is meeting with the surviving Bishop, discussing the torturous death prescribed for the cook who almost had him in the ground. The Bishop is more worried that Henry will take the opportunity to divorce, but when the King suggested going against the Pope and marrying Ann to his advisers, only Ann’s father supported him. While More and the Bishop are conspiring against Henry, he’s storming into Katherine’s chambers. It seems Ann’s words about having three people in a marriage have finally sunk into him, and he orders his wife to cease making his shirts. And when Katherine tells him their daughter is sick, he tells her she can go visit Mary and stay there, to which Katherine tells him she won’t leave her rightful place at his side for anything. Poor Katherine won’t go down without fighting to the very last, that’s for sure.

At supper, Ann is enjoying dancing with Mark Smeaton while Charles Brandon is showing off his new bride. Henry asks a favor of Charles, but he seems unwilling to comply, despite the king’s insisting. The next time we see him, he’s in Katherine’s chambers, telling her that she is to withdraw her appeals to the Pope and Henry will be gentle with her. She refuses, of course, and turns Brandon away without budging an inch. Back in the hall, Henry has been impatiently waiting Brandon’s answer, which is not what he wants to hear. Storming out of the hall, he runs into the Spanish Ambassador, and angrily tells him that he refuses to be subject to the Pope, and then welcomes him back to court.

In bed that night, Brandon and his wife … well, they do what husbands and wives do. Talk matters of court and plot their futures! Charles promises that he will always be true to her, very unlike his character (remember the man who cheated on the sister of the king while she was lying on her death bed). Henry has called for Ann, and he asks if she wants to go hunting, stay away from the castle for a time, visiting people and seeing the countryside. Confused by his actions, Ann is overjoyed to discover that he means to send Katherine away while the two are gone from the castle, successfully ridding their “marriage” of a third person.

The next morning, the lovers take off on a ride with a card packed full of their belongings. Watching from the window is Queen Katherine, who is told only after Henry is long gone that she is to be swept from court like last night’s leftovers. Cromwell is the one who is sent to tell her of her expulsion. She still seems resigned to call herself his wife, and balks when she is told she must return to Henry the official jewels of the Queens of England. She refuses, but she must eventually give in. For as much as they are her jewels, they belong in the royal family, and if she is to be cast aside, she must no longer wear them. Waiting outside for her as she embarks are a large group of servants and ladies, mourning her leaving as much as she herself is. And with them is Charles Brandon and Thomas More. I bet the King wouldn’t be too happy to know that!

Henry, however, doesn’t seem to care too much for the Queen, as he’s enjoying his supper with Ann. When a page comes to tell the King that the Queen sends her goodbyes and inquires as to the King’s well-being, he gets up and beats the man near senseless, all the while telling him that he wants no news of the Queen and she will have no news of him. After throwing the page out, he and Ann go back to their supper, not knowing an assassin has been hired by the Spanish Ambassador to kill the Lady Ann herself, in order to end the suffering of the Queen and restore her to her throne!!!

Head on over to Showtime’s Tudors site to get more info on the new season!