The story is about Mary and her family. After the death of her husband, the family is in financial stress and Mary decides to take matters in her hand. She sends her meagre, feeble son George off to France to learn how to become a gentleman. Meanwhile, she attempts to cling to financial security by marrying a rich widowed suitor. . As George garners the confidence to seduce and conquer, Mary sets her sights on him seducing King James I, and to rise the family up the royal ranks. King James was famous to have lot of male lovers, of which one was always prominent. We see episodes focusing n how eventually George manages to get attention of the king, how multiples cat and mouse games and political plotting is done, primarily by Mary, to up herself and her family in ranks. All this while, George has to try to get the kings attention away from his very manipulative and smart current lover onto himself and him becoming the One. This eventually happens, but Mary's hunger for power and money knows no bounds. She has other unwed boys (one of them mentally unstable) and she would go to any lengths to secure their future. Also, rising tensions from Spain threaten to destroy all that Mary and George have built.
First things first, let's talk about the two standout actors from the series. Julian Moore's performance is impeccable. She spits out profanities and ultimatums in a clipped, crisp accent, wearing a series of increasingly to-die-for costumes and never faltering in the face of those above her on the societal ladder. She maintains a sense of fear and vulnerability about her precarious state as a woman without money, and her need to overcome that, meaning Mary never really comes off as a villain despite her many dirty deeds. And her son George, played by Nicholas Galitzine (the star from Red, White and Royal Blues) also fits his role to the T. At the start of the episode, George is cowardly but quickly becomes the confident lord of the manor, who equally delights in his mother’s devious schemes becoming the sexually confident seducer that the series is building him towards. His chemistry with the king is strong, flitting between pure passion and quiet tenderness.
The show has a uniquely dark and twisted sense of humour. Right from the first scene, the newborn George is immediately dropped on the head by his nurses. There is sharp wit, violence, seduction, lot of F bombs and also plenty of sex and nudity. The story moves at a brisk pace, although I do feel that many a time when a new episode would start, it felt as if some time has passed and we are expected to assume what happened. Also on a flip side, there are too many characters to keep a track of and as hard as I tried to pay attention to all the plotting by multiple characters, it was really hard to keep up after a certain time and I just gave in to just simply sit and enjoy. There are multiple parallel storylines of King James current lover, George's elder brother and efforts to try to get him married, Marys' lesbian lover relationship with a brothel owner, a priest, king's ministers and many other folks. Who cares if there is any truth to any of this, at least the characters taken are real life. The way the show has been modernly handled will remind you of films like The Favourite or shows like The Great, but the formula works well for this particular story. It might not break new ground, but the results are deliciously entertaining, despite it going off the rails at many points and also if you overlook the convenience with which Mary is able to put everything and even execute it. (6/10)
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