The Cutprice Guignol

After a season exploring Cromwell’s various relationships with the most important people in his life, the second-to-last episode, Mirror, focuses in on the most important and ultimately most costly one: Henry.

The relationship between Cromwell and Henry has been the centrepiece of Wolf Hall across both of these seasons, for better and for worse – Damien Lewis and Mark Rylance are at the heart of this show, and I’ve always found the odd layers to their relationship really compelling. They’re friends, they’re colleagues, they’re king and subject, they’re father and errant son, at times. And, in this episode, all of that comes to an end, as a failed marriage to Anne of Cleves and clashes in the advisory council seal Cromwell’s fate for good.

Rylance and Lewis share a couple of standout scenes in this episode, which serve to underline the ever-changing dynamic between the two. I mentioned last week how impressed I’ve been with what Lewis brings to this portrayal of Henry, that sense of childish hypocrisy matched with a near-autocratic level of power, and it’s never been on better display that here – he wafts around his chambers, picking out a silly outfit he can greet Anne of Cleves in to surprise her, choosing between fluffy boots and furry hats, despite the best efforts of Cromwell to dissuade him – he refers to himself and Cromwell as “knights of Camelot”, a constantly referral to this fantasy plane where he is a King who stands amongst legends, rather than as a political figure required to function in the real world.

The way his character has been crafted over the course of these two seasons – how we’ve seen him indulged, over and over again, even in the face of the foolish and sometimes dangerous choices he’s insisted on making – lends this version of his character a twisted version of sense. Of course he sees himself as some untouchable figure beyond reproach – why wouldn’t he, when that is, functionally, exactly what he’s been all this time? As Cromwell tells Rafe, it’s wrong to believe that there’s anything the King won’t do – because, ultimately, he’ll be indulged at every turn.

And that leaves Cromwell in a dangerous position, as, after ten years, the novelty of his presence begins to wear out. I have to say that the scenes between Rylance and Lewis this episode are some of my favourite in the entire show – Henry, physically weaker than he’s ever been, heaving breath with every movement, reminiscing to Cromwell about how impressed he once was at Cromwell’s willingness to stand up to him and say what needed to be said. How, by now, Cromwell fails to surprise him, and that he doubts he will again. It’s a childish approach, but one that suits this Henry down to the ground – Cromwell, due to his background and his current status as The Grand Protector of Henry From the Consequences of His Actions, cannot engage with the King’s frivolity and fantasy, and it’s rendered him boring as a result. And, in the court of this particular King, as his previous brides will attest to, a lack of novelty is a death knell. Sometimes, literally.

There’s a glum sense of inevitability that hangs over this episode, as we close in on Cromwell’s death. Fractures are beginning to show in those closest to him – Wriothesley (Harry Melling, who has mostly been confined to subtle but important Peering in the background of various scenes this season, but who I have to mention is so bloody brilliant in The Pale Blue Eye that I’d recommend it on the strength of his performance alone) is frustrated by Cromwell’s consistent overlooking of him for serious business, and even Mary won’t stop playing her harpsichord to entertain his proposal of yet another marriage.

Though there are some more explicit problems unfolding in Cromwell’s life, especially with regards to the Duke of Norfolk – which means, yes, it’s time for another instalment of Wolf Spall. Timothy Spall really has done such a great job filling the shoes of Bernard Hill as Norfolk, and, in this season in particular, I’ve found his development really compelling – he’s a brutish, violent misogynist, who also relies on the women in his family to draw him closer to power, a contradiction that Cromwell is quick to point out. After Cromwell closes down the very place that Norfolk’s family are buried and have been prayed for, he and Norfolk share a fiery confrontation. Cromwell has been so controlled for so much of his time in this show, and seeing that moment he turns his back on Norfolk and takes hold of a knife concealed under his robes – it’s almost shocking, seeing him even consider violence as an answer to his problems, even for a second.

But his problems soon grow far bigger than just Norfolk. In the final few minutes of the episode, for a moment, it looks as though things might have fallen into place for Cromwell – he’s elevated to Earldom, splitting his position between Wriothesley and Rafe, his position apparently, finally, consolidated as a member of the titled classes. He makes his way to a meeting with the council, and he’s followed by the rest of the council to their chambers. For the first time, maybe ever, he’s on the same level as them – he’s undeniably one of them.

And, yet, still, when he sits down, none of them do. Still oblivious, he continues to joke with them, unaware that anything is wrong – until he’s declared a traitor, and he’s violently stripped of his new title. In those moments, as he’s pinned against a wall and fighting for his life, it’s hard not to see the younger version of Cromwell, the one who was physically assaulted by his father – his desperation, his helplessness in the face of what’s happening to him. There’s no way out. He will never be one of them. He does not have the intricate web of connections they do, and it has, at last, cost him. As Stephen Gardiner (Alex Jennings) tells him, he’s nothing more than what God made him – and that’s how he’ll face his creator.

We’re heading into the final episode of a decidedly – but predictably – downbeat note. And, while I’m seriously looking forward to seeing how Wolf Hall brings things to a closer, I’m distinctly sad to be saying goodbye to this sensational show. How do you think this season is stacking up so far? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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(header image via Hello magazine)