So I have a free day to write this self-indulgent post!
I mean, I have a book I want to read (Emilie Autumn's
Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls if you care and if you don't, this is my self-indulgent post so there) and some albums to listen to (Civil Wars and Amanda Palmer) and a show to watch (
Avatar) and even another post I could be writing but I think it will have to come after this (an analysis of the relationship between Wesley and Fred in
Angel because why not; it's not topical but neither is this really). No, I need to put a lid on my
Tudors posts cleanly and this is it.
First I will do some random favorites of the show and then I will do my favorite (and least favorite) clothes of the girls I talked about.
Here we go!
Favorite Character:
Mary Tudor
I definitely admitted to this during the post I did on her. Yes, she's insane but in all honestly, it's next to impossible to find a wholly virtuous character on this show (Catherine of A, Jane, and Cat Parr come close but everyone else is kind of aggressively morally ambiguous). I think it's something with her striking the perfect balance between someone who takes no crap and has strong convictions and yet, when these things become problematic (i.e. BLOODY MARY), she then switches over to sad, damaged girl and you want to give her a hug because her life really has been crap.
Favorite Wife:
I'm stuck between the two Annes.
Anne Boleyn
She's just such an interesting figure. She might be difficult to be friends with but, man, is she fun to watch. She has such a wide range of feelings and such a tight lid on expressing them. She's clearly got a head on her shoulders (at least at first, har har) and it's actually when she starts to let her emotions overtake her that her downfall comes about.
Anne of Cleves
And on the flipside, I would totally be friends with Anne of Cleves. She's got such a good attitude and can be rather funny and she isn't boring like Jane Seymour. She lacks all the scary intensity of most of the wives in spite of the fact that she ended up in a bad position too but she made the most of it and I admire the hell out of that.
I should point out that I also like Catherine of Aragon but I feel like her role in the story
The Tudors was telling harped so much on her marriage that her character really suffered.
Least Favorite Wife/Character:
Catherine Howard
Even though she is much more interesting than Jane Seymour, I ultimately judged this one based on who I would not want in my life and it came down to her. She would be annoying and would probably get you into trouble.
Thomas More
This may seem kind of random but the fact is, most of the guys on
The Tudors are crapsacks; I just had the biggest personal problem with Mr. More here. Specifically, the fact that he refers to himself as a humanist who hates war and then goes around burning heretics. It doesn't work that way, asshole. At least none of the other people Henry had beheaded had such a twisted grasp on morality. Most of them seemed to know they were acting out of self-interest. As a humanist myself I must say: this guy will go to that hell he believes in so fervently.
Favorite Friendship(s):
George and Anne Boleyn
It's unfortunate the conclusions that were drawn here because they really seemed to have a great relationship. While Anne is more serious and closed off, George is more fun-loving and they kind of balanced each other out. It was also clear that although George didn't have the greatest grasp on what Anne had gotten herself into, he was always there for her when she needed someone.
Eustace Chapuys and Mary Tudor
It's a damn good thing Mary had him around. I think she would have gone much crazier, much sooner if she hadn't had an ally in Eustace. He really helped her through all the messy court things when she was being reintroduced and they always seemed to be on the same page with each other. Plus, this scene: "My poor, sweet lady." My heart hurts so much.
Favorite Ship(s):
I have kind of an issue with historical ships even if I put my mind specifically in the realm of the show and try to ignore the fact that they were real people. That said, there is one show-based ship I can get behind.
Mary Tudor/Philip, Duke of Bavaria
(Yes, I had to Photoshop that top image because it was so dark and it only served to prove how terrible the quality of my season three videos is). So cute. He's cute. She's cute. They're cute. And they can't be together. Even better in my shipping world.
Mary should have married a Lutheran so she could get passed her crazy hatred of Protestants! DUH!
Least Favorite Ship(s):
Henry VIII/ANYONE.
No really. You can sit there and argue that he seemed to not do anything awful to Jane Seymour or Catherine Parr but honestly, he wasn't exactly nice to them either.
I would also like to point out that early on in the show there were a lot of side characters having relationships with other side characters for absolutely no reason and I wasn't a fan of this either. I really couldn't figure out why I was supposed to care.
Favorite Last Words:
"Life is so very beautiful."
Sure, Anne Boleyn had a really nice speech prepared but I really liked the simplicity of Catherine Howard's last words. They actually made me like her more than anything else she did.
(Some) Favorite Moments:
Some I just enjoy on a simple amusement level and some I like for how they contribute to the story.
Henry and Anne Boleyn meet during a morality play.
Philip of Bavaria pretends Mary Tudor stepped on his toe to get her alone.
Henry and Anne of Cleves play cards as friends.
Catherine Howard dances in her cell in a character defining moment.
Henry reflects on his life, satisfied.
(Some) Least Favorite Moments:
They're just painful.
George Boleyn rapes his new wife, Jane.
Catherine of Aragon hallucinates seeing her daughter while dying.
Anne Boleyn waits for that final blow.
Henry and Anne of Cleves go through with their marriage.
Mary Tudor learns that Philip of Bavaria was sent home by her father.
Fashion:
Catherine of Aragon:
Favorite(s):
I'm not really a fan of most of Catherine of Aragon's clothes. There's nothing really wrong with them but there's nothing that really strikes me as something I'd want either. I like this dress though probably because it's black and fairly simple in terms of pattern and shape.
This isn't necessarily something I'd wear (I'm a plain dresser) but I really liked the colors and the subtle pattern of the coat and skirt here. And I just noticed this: same crown.
Least Favorite:
Dowdy as hell. I get that she wanted to leave the castle with quiet dignity but dressing like a nun was not the answer.
Mary Tudor:
Favorite(s):
This is really one of the more fun dresses Mary wears and although it is so unlike her to put herself on the market, it still looks like one of her dresses. I also love how it's a complete look with the crown, the hair, and the cross necklace. This is Mary trying to get a man.
I don't know what it is about this dress but I like it. It might just be the whole collar bit with the unique shoulders. Definitely the best light-colored dress she has.
The dress is nice but I'm all about the hat and the coat. Anne Boleyn has some nice hats but I think this hat tops all. And that coat looks both warm and practical and yet badass.
I love that this is a Christmas dress although she does wear it again to meet some Spanish dudes. There's so much color and design here but I love the overall shade. I also love the jewelry and how that crown works so well with the designs on the bodice.
Least Favorite(s):
There's not too much difference between these outfits. They're her poor girl mourning clothes so you can't come down on her too hard for them looking dowdy and nun-like.
Anne Boleyn (Season One):
Favorite(s):
Anne's lady-in-waiting dress is like a mosaic. I wish I had a better picture.
I love the black and white damask sleeves and the lace on the front and the awesome hat. Anne had some really great riding clothes.
Anne's Henry dress is still really nice even after seeing it a million times but I needed to use this picture because of the nice hat.
Have another spiffy hat and those sleeves again. This is something I would wear in real life. I kid you not. (If you have never seen pictures of me, you might not know this: I wear black and white pretty much every day so this pick is obvious).
Least Favorite(s):
Eh, it's plain and frumpy especially since Mary got the cuter dress,
The colors are puke-y, the short sleeves are odd, I'm not a fan of this style of sleeve, and that French hood is really large without anything interesting on it.
This yellow is not a good color on her and the dress is really incongruous with this time in her life. The sleeves are all huge and funny and the designs are excessive and her hair looks terrible like that.
Anne, I don't care that you wore it first. This is Anne of Cleves' dress. Put on something else.
Anne Boleyn (Season Two):
Favorite(s):
Fluffy! Look at how fluffy!
I like this dress better than her coronation dress because it is just so much more memorable. Red > White and Jewels > Pearls for me. I also love the elaborate necklace and the little detail on the sleeves.
Anne has the best drinking dress ever. I love the colors and the simple pattern and simple jewel design. I also like the simple jewelry (that's totally her death jewelry; just noticed).
Fierce. This dress is all sex and violence and would totally work today if you wore it outside.
Least Favorite(s):
Anne's church dress is so terrible. Look at how those sleeves make her head look small. She has worn nicer things to church.
I think Anne has the worst wedding dress of any of the wives. Something about the buttons down the front and how low it is makes it look like a stripper wedding dress. The hair and lipstick don't help.
Anne's maternity clothes are all kind of underwhelming (especially compared to Jane Seymour) but this brown thing is the more plain and dingy looking frock. The ribbing looks sloppy and there's no interest here at all.
This makes me think of like, aging silent film actresses who don't leave their house. Too many fabrics and is that a cheetah print? This is just tacky, even for a queen.
Well, at least Anne isn't supposed to look pretty here. Ugly maternity clothes strike again.
Jane Seymour:
Favorite(s):
It was really hard to find Jane Seymour dresses that even provoke a reaction from me. Here I like the sleeves and the dress is fine and simple. The colors are more interesting than what she wears after becoming queen.
Jane pretty much wins the wedding dress competition by default since Anne and Parr have not very nice dresses and Anne of Cleves has a rather strange one. Jane went simple: pretty and white.
Again, this is fine. I like the patterns on the shoulders and the shape of the front. That's all.
Least Favorite(s):
This is just too precious. I can't. It's like doll clothes with the pink and the front detail.
I actually really like this dress as is but this is Catherine Howard's execution dress. That was too memorable a moment for the ghost of Jane to take it from her.
Anne of Cleves:
Favorite(s):
Anne may not really win the wedding dress competition but there are a lot of awesome things here. That head piece is crazy awesome as is the chain necklace and I love the colors.
Of course. This dress has so much symbolism for her and in general, it's a nice dress. The shape of the front is really nice with the pops of red.
Least Favorite(s):
I doubt I need to explain this.
Looking at Anne is this outfit makes my eyes twitch from the fabric overload and don't forget the weirdness of that thing on her head that isn't actually part of the hat. Without it, she would look so much less kooky.
Catherine Howard:
Favorite(s):
I really like this red and the shoulder cloak thing is really great too. And don't forget the kicky little hat.
Howard as the night sky. I love the star crown here and the dark blue is one of my favorite blues. It might actually be the same dress as this one:
Really with Catherine Howard it's all about the blue and this dress has a lot of different shades, nicely arranged, a nice cape with that cool shoulder detail and a kicky little hat.
Kicky hat strikes again! This coat is really nice. The fur on the sleeves is a tad big for me personally but the color and the detail make up for it. Damn this show has good riding clothes.
Yes, that's a crazy collar but this dress is more about an idea than anything. She's the sky during the day! I love the star pattern and the color.
Least Favorite(s):
Child prostitute dragged from the gutter?
I said before that I don't like this kind of sleeve and it looks really weird on Howard. She's just too young and not believable as a queen to try to pull it off.
Immature stereotypical princess Christmas dress.
This is just not pleasing to my eye. The lace on top looks like it was stapled on, the shade of pink is kind of sad, and the detail down the front looks like a craft project. I still like that cloak thing though.
Catherine Parr:
Favorite(s):
Parr likes the shiny but I'm not as much of a fan. I love this kind of indigo shade with the black floral design. In other colors that design might be overwhelming but here it's subtle and classy.
If I have to go with one of her really metallic dresses, I'd go with this one for the pattern instead of just the shine.
I much prefer her smaller sleeved dresses and I like the shade of this one and the belt.
This is an intense goodbye dress. It's like all her elements into one dress and you have to admit that it is really striking.
Least Favorite(s):
I understand this dress but it doesn't mean I have to like it. The sleeves are just not to my taste and I'm not a fan of brown. The detail also makes it look sort of wrinkly.
The front of the dress is too overdone to me and the shoulders look like fuzzy caterpillars.
Giant sleeves in a bad color. And what is at her wrist? It doesn't go at all.
Now I think I'm done.
*bows*
