Who’ll Be The Next In Line? – The episode opens with Lady Jane Grey (Emily Bader) urging Esther (Bryony Corrigan) to do it only if she wants to. Esther assures her that she wanted to. Lady Jane warns her against having sex with him if his penis has pustules. She applies a homemade salve to Esther’s itchy genitalia and tells her to hold off on sex for a few weeks. Esther sarcastically says Lady Jane is saving herself for marriage. Lady Jane claims to be doing it for herself and may never marry. Esther questions what Lady Frances Grey (Anna Chancellor) would have to say about it. Not caring what Lady Frances thinks, Lady Jane explains her plan to write a book about England’s medicinal herbs and maybe utilize the proceeds to live independently. Susannah (Mairead Tyers) alerts her of the Duke of Leicester’s (Jim Broadbent) impending visit. Jane grabs her basket and races out to the garden.

While picking flowers, Susannah and Jane see the new bare-chested stable boy (Olly Allen). A short time later, Frances, Jane, Lady Katherine Grey (Isabella Brownson), and Lady Margaret Grey (Robyn Betteridge) greet the Duke of Leicester who inherited Lord Grey’s estate and provides for his wife and daughters. During dinner, the Duke of Leicester plops his foot in a dirty sock with his gouty great toe exposed on the dining table. Everyone is shocked except for Jane who suggests he eat cherries. The Duke of Leicester asks if she read it in a book and admits to prohibiting his now-deceased wives from reading. He announces Jane’s marriage to Lord Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel). Irate, Jane admonishes him. Frances intervenes and escorts Jane to her room. Jane says rumors have it that Guildford Dudley is a vile man and vows to stop the marriage. Frances tells Jane that she burned her herbal book.

Jane interrupts Susannah and a man having oral sex. She tells her that they are going to flee and live off the proceeds from the sale of her herbal book. Susannah warns her that she will luckily survive a week. Jane shows her a ring that she plans to sell. They set out toward Marlow to catch the river barge. A short time later, they hear dogs approaching. They run but only get a short distance before Frances finds them. Frances claims Susannah stole her ring and kidnapped Jane. Jane refutes her claim. Susannah asks Jane to forgive her and runs a short distance before morphing into a hawk. Jane denies any knowledge of Susannah being an Ethian. King Henry banished Ethian from England.

Frances leaves for London. Jane races to catch up with her. Preparations for Guildford and Jane are in progress when they arrive. Learning Guildford is not at home, Jane suggests he is drinking and having relations with a woman of fiscal virtue. Frances intervenes to shut her up. Lord Dudley (Rob Brydon) tells them that Lord Stan Dudley (Henry Ashton) is to be married to a wealthy Bavarian princess. Jane blurts out that she doesn’t want to marry Guildford. Dudley says no one cares what she wants. Outside, Jane sees Stan teasing an urchin (Ethan Wesley) and threatening to kick him. She intervenes and demands he give the money to the boy. He drops the coins on the ground. The urchin hurriedly gathers them up and calls him a bad name. Stan warns that the urchin has fleas before walking away. She believes Stan is Guildford.

During a speech, King Edward (Jordan Peters) regrets his being unable to fight alongside his men. He asks them to refer to him as their friend. Realizing something is wrong, Lord Seymour (Dominic Cooper) calls for a chair. Charles (Christian Patterson) emerges from the castle with a wheelchair. Rolling his eyes, Edward refuses to sit until the crowd disperses. A short time later, Seymour tells Edward that the Ethian Resistance, The Pact, violated the Division Law by trespassing into the Verity city of Grimsby. Edward questions why the Ethians went to Grimsby if food was plentiful in the wilderness. He orders them released back into the wild. Seeing Jane, Edward dismisses everyone. She takes him outside before asking for his help in stopping her marriage to Guildford. He tells her that people do things because it is expected of them, not because they want to. He blurts out that he is dying of Affliction. He gives her a few words of encouragement.

Princess Mary (Kate O’Flynn) and Princess Elizabeth “Bess” (Abbie Hern) race over to greet Edward with a blackberry pie. After taking a bite, he coughs until collapsing on the ground. Seymour summons Dr. Butts (Kevin Eldon). Jane sends Bess to fetch lungwort from the garden. When Bess returns, Jane chews the lungwort and puts it into Edward’s mouth. Ingesting it, Edward is remarkably better. Bess says Jane saved the King’s life. Seymour and Mary repeat it. Out of breath, Butts squats down and averts Edward’s eyes. While being forced into a carriage, Jane insists Edward has elfdock. Seymour assures her that Edward has the best medical care.

Butts detaches leeches from the sole of Edward’s foot and recommend boiled kitten tea with an elderly man’s urine. Seymour urges Edward to appoint Mary as his successor. Dudley questions the validity of Mary’s birth and insists she was born out of wedlock. He suggests appointing Jane as his successor. Seymour points out that Jane is to marry Dudley’s son, Guildford, and their son would be the future king. Edward appoints his successor which will not be revealed until he dies. Elsewhere, Jane’s carriage loses a wheel. The royal coachman (Jordan Long) warns her against riding home alone. Back in the kingdom, Seymour is upset at the thought of Edward appointing Jane as his successor. Dudley says if Jane is appointed, Seymour will be redundant. Upset, Seymour insists Edward eat Mary’s blackberry pie. Petunia bites him. He orders the guards to kill Petunia. Edward intervenes to save his dog.

Jane is riding a horse alone after dark when a search party approaches. She seeks refuge at a crowded pub. A dispute breaks out between a man and a woman. Guildford tries to intervene only to have them turn on him. They threaten to gut him but realize their knives are missing. Guildford pulls out their knives, one by one, throws them at a wall, and recites lines of a poem. The crowd cheers. Jane and Guildford make eye contact. She approaches him. He burps in her face. She insists he apologizes. He says, Oops! She insults his Latin. The tavern owner (Chris Jarman) refuses to search Archer (Michael Workeye). Owen (Will Merrick) tries to convince him to reconsider when a Kingsland guard, Joe (Brandon Bendell) bursts in and threatens the crowd if they don’t hand over Archer. Archer identifies himself before morphing into a bear. The crowd goes wild. Jane is hiding when she sees Susannah. Guildford asks her to go with him but she refuses and races to meet Susannah. Joe catches them together. Susannah morphs into a hawk to avoid capture, Jane isn’t so lucky.

Edward is preparing to eat eels when Petunia transforms Susannah who claims his great-grandmother sent her. Covering his mouth with her hand, she shows him his great-grandmother’s Bietso cross. Shocked, he recalls his grandmother being buried with the cross. Nude, Susannah claims she is alive and suspects someone is poisoning him. He watches as she puts on his shirt. She hides while Charlie retrieves his chair. Edward refuses to go with Susannah. Elsewhere, Mary and Seymour kiss. He tells her that Edward chose his successor. She vows to kill all Ethians when she becomes the Queen of England.

Jane watches the royal guards drown a man suspected of being an Ethian. A guard threatens to drown Jane when Frances arrives and orders him to free Lady Jane Grey. En route home, Jane pleads with Frances to stop her marriage to Guildford. Frances agrees but only if Katherine marries the Duke of Leicester.

Jane sends Margaret to fetch something for her. She returns with it a short time later. At the church, Edward walks Jane down the aisle. Stunned, Jane and Guildford look at each other. The bishop (Haqui Ali) prompts Guildford to say his vows. Jane faints. Margaret yells out that has Affliction. Edward begins to cough uncontrollably. Lying on the floor, Jane opens her eyes. Guildford shakes his head as the episode ends.

 

My Lady Jane Synopsis

Lady Jane Grey is destined to remain single and independent. Her plan to produce a medicinal herbal novel is cut short when the Duke of Leicester announces her marriage to Lord Guildford Dudley. Her multiple attempts to flee are thwarted by her very determined mother, Lady Frances. A brief encounter with Lord Stan Dudley leaves a bad impression on Jane. Believing he is Guildford, she sets out to fake her death at the altar.

 

My Lady Jane Review

The series is like a parity and only loosely based on the life of Lady Jane Grey. Surprisingly, it is well done but obviously not perfect. There are more than a few aspects of the show that could easily be frowned upon. It is surely not to be taken seriously, otherwise, it wouldn’t be worth watching.

The acting is superb and the costumes are fun and mostly relevant for the time period. I’m still not sold on the fantasy. It just feels out of place but so does much of the show. It deserves a 6 out of 10.

 

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