I’m obsessed with period dramas – viewers saying Wolf Hall is ‘boring and slow’ are wrong, here’s why
WOLF Hall has returned to BBC One, but only two episodes into its second season and it’s been heavily criticised.
Yet actually the BBC drama doesn’t deserve the flack it’s getting.
Viewers have said it’s “too slow” or that it’s “boring” as they crave drama and excitement.
Yet from the brutal execution scenes of Anne Boleyn to the chess-like power play from Cromwell around King Henry VIII, this is the reality of Tudor Britain and it certainly wasn’t pretty.
When Anne Boleyn’s beheading aired at the beginning of episode one of the new series, viewers claimed they were ‘traumatised’ by the blood and gore.
Yet it’s a beheading so I don’t know why viewers were expecting anything less than a brutal death.
Boleyn’s death might have come from a French swordsman who did it quickly but there was always going to be blood and it was never going to be a clean death.
The reality is that despite this being a drama based off Hilary Mantle’s historical fiction, the Tudor times were still a dark part of history.
That means romps, sexual tension and growing romances don’t really have a place here.
If you’re looking for soft moments, sweet glances between lovers and falling in love then look to Bridgerton or another period drama, because Wolf Hall isn’t it.
It’s a masterclass in political power play with the stoic Mark Rylance leading the way.
The man’s eyebrows can say more than a whole scene of dialogue, and he’s portraying the quick thinking mind of Cromwell expertly.
Cromwell was ultimately the orchestra of Henry’s split from Catharine of Aragon, his set up with Boleyn and then the next marriage to quiet Jane Seymour.
There were no sword fights, daring duels or explosive rows, but ultimately smart moves, political alliances and engineered conversations was how Cromwell created the Tudor history we know about.
As a Tudor history fan and someone who has been eagerly awaiting the second series of Wolf Hall the minute the first ended, this second season hasn’t left me disappointed.
In fact if anything I’m more in awe of how the drama is retelling the Hilary Mantle historical fiction and how its developing the Tudor court on screen.
When I find myself craving a romance I’ll look to the next season of Bridgerton or the romance in series like Sanditon or Outlander.