I felt the overall concept is interesting, with a story depicting the political world during the reign of King Henry VIII. A lot of what I felt was unnecessary sex scenes in this episode, I hope doesn't take away what is interesting about this series, which are the political games being played in the court of England at the time. This episode deals specifically with England's conflict with France, which inspires the king to go to war with them at the episode's start. However, the ambitious Cardinal Wosley, aided by peace-lover Thomas More, manipulates the king to make a peace treaty with France, so that the cardinal may secure the votes from France necessary to become pope. Cardinal Wosley was played by Sam Neill who plays the manipulative cardinal to perfection. Queen Katherine, who has lost favor with her husband (King Henry VIII) for failing to give him a son and male heir to his throne, is in a very sympathetic position that, if done right, could make her a fan favorite, and personally I felt that Maria Doyle Kennedy wasn't bad as her. Also, Jeremy Northam as Thomas More was a pretty likable performance from him in his own right, as he seems like one of the few politicians who wants to make a positive difference in England, solely for the sake of making a positive difference. So pluses overall for Wosley, More and Katherine who I felt stand out, also Thomas Boleyn (Nick Dunning) came across as an interesting player, setting up both his daughters to meet Henry and an agreement with the Duke of Buckingham who is making a run for the throne. I can't critique the overall plot, because it simply is a retelling of history, just how the plot came together. I thought that Jonathan Rhys Meyers was horrible as King Henry completely overacting the role at times, and took away from my overall interest in the plot. The king lacked any characterization besides his clear desire to make an impact during his reign, which I felt was a big glaring hole in the show, given that he's the main character. I also felt that the Duke of Buckingham never came across as a threat, or really anything besides having a monotonous desire to take Henry's throne, so scenes with him were kind of boring as well, even though it could be made more interesting in the next episodes.
Pluses: -Scenes with an ambitious, yet seemingly good-natured Cardinal Wosley (Sam Neill) who makes the political aspect of the show the most interesting aspect of the show -Scenes with the sympathetic Queen Katherine (really I feel the acting of Maria Doyle Kennedy makes me invested in this storyline)
Negatives: -The Duke of Buckingham's Rebellion -The boring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as King Henry VIII -Unnecessary sex scenes
Pluses: -Scenes with an ambitious, yet seemingly good-natured Cardinal Wosley (Sam Neill) who makes the political aspect of the show the most interesting aspect of the show -Scenes with the sympathetic Queen Katherine (really I feel the acting of Maria Doyle Kennedy makes me invested in this storyline)
Negatives: -The Duke of Buckingham's Rebellion -The boring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as King Henry VIII -Unnecessary sex scenes