Sunday night now means two things in our house - the end of the weekend and another episode of BBC's drama series, The White Queen. However it appears The War of the Roses drama has not kept hold of all its fans as last night's episode saw a drop in nearly 900k viewers according to Digital Spy. Don't cry yet BBC One, it was still one of the most-watched shows of the night!
In last night's episode "The Price of Power" it is now 1465 and Elizabeth Woodville (Rebecca Ferguson) is about to be crowned Queen Elizabeth of England. The coronation is an extravagant occasion designed to silence critics of their marriage, although their loudest critics (Lord Warwick and Duchess Cecily) aren't easily persuaded. In fact the good old queen mother, Duchess Cecily, doesn't even attend! Like I said in my previous review, she's the mother-in-law from hell!
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Now Edward IV (Max Irons) and Elizabeth need a son to secure their reign. The line "What's the point of being king if I cannot have you naked all day." will remain firmly ingrained in my memory for days to come. Unfortunately this episode doesn't focus on Edward and Elizabeth's baby-making exploits (Edward IV had ten children by Elizabeth Woodville) but the tensions at court that escalate into outright war.
Remember you can catch up with episode 2 of The White Queen on BBC iPlayer! You might want to do so before reading any further, as here in my weekly recap of the top 5 unmissable things from last night's The White Queen episode.
5. Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville got their crowns from Burger King. Overall I love the costumes and set design of The White Queen. Yes, it's too clean to be realistic but who wants realism when watching historical period dramas anyway! However, I can't be the only one who noticed during the coronation that Edward IV and Elizabeth's crowns looked like they'd just gone through the Burger King drive-thru and picked up two kids meals. I mean seriously, I expected that creepy king to come bursting onto the set demanding his crown back!
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4. Return of Princess Leia Hair. Princess Leia's hair buns are pretty much as iconic as the Star Wars films themselves. Whenever you get a Star Wars parody I think Princess Leia's hair is one of the first things to be mocked, with her hair often being replaced by donuts. I'm pretty sure Carrie Fisher is still cursing George Lucas for that one. Imagine my surprise when Lady Jacquetta Rivers (Janet McTeer) walked on the screen sporting the exact same do! I think there needs to be a "Who Wore It Best?" segment in some magazine!
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| Princess Leia v. Lady Jacquetta Rivers |
3. A random puppet show from the kingmaker's daughters. In this episode of The White Queen we begin to explore the other characters a bit more including Lord Warwick's daughters, Isabel Neville and Anne Neville. Isabel is portrayed as a bit of a brat heavily influenced by her father's beliefs. Anne as the sweet and naïve one with a bit of a crush on Richard, Edward IV's youngest brother. Then Anne asks Isabel to once again tell her the story of the "Ice Queen" which Isabel does using shadow puppets. I assume this was written in to show first the Isabel really isn't all bad and is quite loving towards her sister and to give some background on the war in a "clever" way. However this display of shadow puppetry just didn't work for me.
2. The Earl of Warwick throws his dolly out of the pram. Poor Lord Warwick, things just didn't go his way this episode. First Edward didn't listen to him and had Elizabeth crowned Queen any way. The peace treaty from France that he had been working on for two years went to pot. His wish that his girls would marry Edward IV's brothers, George and Richard, are denied. You can't really blame the guy for being just a tad bit angry. Still it was bit excessive really to all of a sudden claim Edward IV a bastard child and start a war. I think Lord Warwick needs to be put in time out!
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1. A vision from God that appeared more like an orgasm. The Twitter-sphere went crazy last night when Lady Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale), a devout woman and Lancasterian, has her vision from God that her son Henry Tudor is destined to be on the throne. She made faces and moaned like a woman in the throes of passion. One couldn't help but giggle. I don't remember hearing of any other godly visions occurring in such a way. Lady Margaret then goes on to tell her son that God has told her that someday he will be king. Young Henry Tudor does in fact go on to become King Henry VII. He actually marries Elizabeth of York (the eldest daughter of Edward VI and Elizabeth), ending once and for all The War of the Roses. Yes the vision comes true but that doesn't stop Lady Margaret Beaufort from being absolutely bat-shit crazy!
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Q: What was your favourite part of The White Queen this week? Do you like Lord Warwick? Lady Margaret? And most importantly... who wore it best - Princess Leia or Lady Rivers?
I like want to love the hairstyles in this show...and then I can't. Its like they almost hit it on the head and then something went a little wrong in the hairdressing department. Then again I've been watching Game of Thrones and I really love all the ornate hairstyles in that show better.