james i's groom of the stool

if not, no worries and feel free to work on it at your own pace, but i did also want to let you know that i find what you'd discussed so far very interesting and compelling, especially irt how a lot of things still end up falling in line with irl history (e.g. buckingham and charles becoming close, charles and henrietta marrying and having kids) but with changed contexts and different consequences now that henry frederick's in charge and not charles 👀

"You've both betrayed me. That's why he speaks against me."

this has been festering in my inbox forever, i'm so sorry anon. original, unfinished response under the cut

Mqos 1971- rewatched recently, always a favourite. Over the years I have become more critical of it, but it will always be the top for me. Unashamed to admit that is largely due to nostalgia. I love the actors (Glenda J, Vanessa, Timothy, Ian Holm...<3) and the costuming is quite nice, even when it strays to...more fanciful avenues with the deflated huge sleeves etc., but overall a stunner. I love their rendition of darnley, in its sensitivity towards his sexuality especially. My chief complaint is the bothwell marriage, but that aside, fave of all time.

Mqos 2013- this was neat, largely unobjectionable and visually beautiful. Camille Rutherford is tall, french, the right age (only missing the red hair), and plays her Mary rather soberly, which, even if missing her passionate side, makes for a fun watch. I like that this version leaves Elizabeth out, who only looms over the narrative rather largely, ever present but not physically there. it's an excellent adaptational choice. this also has marie de guise, which is a plus point. chief complaint is, again, the bothwell marriage.

gets a little difficult after this lmao.

Mary of Scotland 1936- I have largely forgotten most of this but giving points for katharine hepburn. costuming was nice, plot highly romanticised, elizabeth meeting, bothwell romance....

....how do i say this. reign....reign, while, all that, never pretended at a historical drama, so it is the least offensive out of the rest of them. do i have anything particularly positive to say about it? not really. some choice moments...hot james i, darnley absconding with baby james, that one unexplained screencap i have to darnley holding out mary's shoe for her....that one time will kemp (who plays darnley) liked my comment on the gram

pleaseee end my suffering. reinas. this was....hilarious, in every way. the costumes...the plotlines...the everything. but to be fair, it was a lot more entertaining than infuriating. my personal soft spot for this comes from 1) harry jarvis as darnley and b) the james moments where he looks so Tortured and Contemplative. my fave guy (derogatory)

gunpowder treason plot. bad. badness. i cant even begin to describe how i feel about this...the dialogue in particular i fear will forever haunt me. props for french mqos and making me laugh. the reaction pictures will be forever immortal.

Mqos 2018- god i hate this. it's not even funny it's just so....infuriating. i think that is largely due to the horribly conceptualised faux feminism that turned into misogyny. the denim, the bad casting, the Choices that were made in portraying the scots, just downright bad. only good thing about this movie is fancast potential.

Overall impression: I loved it. It was entertaining, very pleasing to the eye and well acted. Keep in mind that I have not read the source material, but I have had spoilers.

Everyone has said it already but the costumes were incredibly beautiful. I don't recall finding fault with anything.

The casting...hm. Alicia Vikander as Katherine was great, such a refresher after B.E, though I felt that she lacked some earnestness and zeal (my definitive KP will always be Joely Richardson, so there's that), but it didn't hinder her performance much. I was quite fond of how mellow she was, though perhaps if the series had covered her earlier years, maybe it would have been different?

Jude Law as Henry. Hhhh...I did like his performance as Henry. That is all I have to say for now, still articulating my thoughts. Loved Mary, really liked Elizabeth (the physical resemblance is astounding) though she was a tad too old and acted like it. Not too much of an issue. I also liked this depiction of Thomas Seymour, physically and acting-wise. Edward Seymour not so much, alas.

Historical license. First, I quite liked the Anne Askew storyline, a bit implausible as it is for the queen of England to be going on multiple excursions to see a contentious public figure. I thought the relationship between AA and KP was charming (the homoerotic undertones <3). The pregnancy....uhhhh....I'm not incensed by it but it failed to add anything gripping to the story. My biggest gripe, however, was the deletion of KP preventing her arrest by placating Henry. That was such an incredible moment with so much dramatic potential. I don't necessarily mind KP killing H8, though I'd rather it was not something so obvious as....that. But it felt like an underwhelming ending for me.

Some minor issues...did not like how H8's children became too outspoken after KP was arrested....Elizabeth would NOT have said that. Would have been better if she'd said that to Mary in private, for example. Mary bringing up her mother to H8 also falls into this. Also disliked KP's ladies calling her by name. Friends they may be, that's rather anachronistic. A few times in private scenes would have been nice.

I liked the scenes between KP and H8's kids...so cutes. The scene between Mary and Elizabeth, unrealistic and ahistorical as it were, was cute, as well as Mary's reaction. Another highlight was the group singing.

So I have seen until episode 3, with full spoilers for the rest of the series. Keeping that in mind, here are some thoughts.

The costumes were a definite improvement over most tudor media of the 2000s. I found the constant loose, free flowing hair annoying, though.

Everything has been said already re: Thomas Seymour, but I do have to say. what,

Elizabeth wanting to marry him in the first episode....helpme. She Would Not Fucking Say That dot jpg.

Katherine Parr....oh my goffff I don't even have words to say.

The constant usage of fuck and the modern music....just downright hilarious.

Loved Edward and Mary. Romola Garai really acted the shit out of this role. Loved her performance and finally, an Edward with a major role. Loved Jane as well, wish there was more of her. Edward Seymour and John Dudley were also delightful to watch.

what do you think of his most pious majesty king james vii & ii???

Hello anon, answering this two years later but I have not seen M&G, nor do I plan to, although I did like most of the costumes that I saw. disliked the george casting...1) he doesn't look that much like george (perhaps the actor playing Carr could have been a better fit?) 2) he looks too... modern is the word I suppose?

I have to re-read Alan Stewart's james bio one of these days but that is an interesting question. Pending any further information, I can say that it's safe to assume that James did feel strongly towards at least Stewart, Carr and Villiers (whether that can be called love, though, is up to your discretion and definition of love. I do not find myself bending towards one answer, for the moment, but I am touched by some of his letters to George. Particularly "I repent me sore now that I have suffered you to go away, i care for match nor nothing..."). Whether or not they loved him back....that is rather difficult.

As complex as James was, his personality and behaviour could be...shall we say, repulsive at times (particularly his hygiene or lack thereof). I don't know if any Gay4Pay was involved, it can be reasoned that these men might have indeed been bisexual or gay, but that the relationship between them and James was out of ambition rather than true love, as it were. However, we cannot discount the possibility that some elements of genuine love or affection/fondness of his favourites' part did exist, or grew over time, concurrently with ambition. Esme Stewart, however, I can safely say, being 37 to James's 13, was a predator, if sexual relations did take place.

All in all, I think the power imbalance itself and James's personality accounted for, I would not be confident in saying James ever enjoyed a relationship based on true love, as we understand it.