The first 2 episodes of this were not as uproarious as I had hoped or expected. I was looking for high-energy style of The Great but this element, notably the use of modern slang and style, bit more subdued altho’ were flashes of this approach but was bit more serious in places and focused on advancing the plot. I felt at times that the writing lacked energy, which The Great had in abundance.
But the third and fourth episodes seemed to be finding itself and tuning out to be rather more serious and thoughtful than the PR and perhaps popular expectation had been expecting. The developing relationship between George and the King is being nicely explored, particularly in the 4th episode (the visit to Scotland) where revelations of James’s past experiences and his relationship with his first love, Lennox are making him a more rounded and interesting character – and George is showing greater depths and maturity as well.
The developing relationship that Mary is developing with the brothel keeper in London is another effective ay in which the series shows itself as having more depth and sensitivity than trailers and initial press publicity suggested. And as we continue George (after Episode 5) is becoming a much more sympathetic character
And as we approach the end, the power politics move to the fore – between al characters and with shifting alliances/Mary/her sons/the King/the parliamentarians. The show has well shown the intersection between the personal and political and how one centrally affects the other, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. In Villier’s case it seems it was, finally and inevitably, politics which brought about his downfall, not the personal.
Finally perhaps, the series showed that no matter how great the personal passion between two people, if there was a political dimension in their lives, particularly if it was of major political significance, grim necessities and reality will eventually destroy the greatest of passions. Possible interesting comparisons could perhaps be made with the personal and political intertwining of James’s predecessor.