Becoming Elizabeth

As a Spaniard I need to ask:

Why is Don Pedro a black man...? A very strange choice. Clearly they needed to put a black character somewhere -as always- and I guess the Spanish Ambassador was the easy option, but...

There where no black people AT ALL in Spain at that period, not to say a noble one or knight. Even if some of you are thinking on our moorish heritage I tell you:

1. The vast majority of the moors were expelled from the Iberian peninsula and they were replaced with people brought from Castilla. The small still remaining don't count, because they weren't (and are not) black.

2. Moors are from north of the Sahara desert, black population are from south of the sahara desert. More over, the biggest past of the population in Al-Andalus previous to the Castillian conquest were descendents of the Omeya tribes, from the actual Syria.

There were no black population in continental Spain until the XIX century, and those were from Ecuatorial Guinea and Cuba. Certainly, there were no Spanish politician of any kind or level without a long lineage of nobility or aristocracy, same as anywhere in the rest of the continent in those days.

So no, a spanish noble black man is as accurate as the characters from "Bridgerton" portraying an English noble family during the Regency, but hey, it's just historical fiction, same as the Netflix series

The rest of the show, a bit of a soap opera but very enjoyable and entertaining.

-- Excuse my english as is not my 1st language.

I started out a little underwhelmed. But by episode three I was hooked! It's very subtle acting, and truthfully, stays very close to history. The chemistry between Elizabeth and Catherine and Thomas is electric. And Bella Ramsey does a great job at a very persnickety role (Jane Grey). The actress that plays Elizabeth feels believable, naïve, and essentially, like a teenage girl! Tom Cullen steals the show. Highly recommend! Definitely watch past the pilot.

Seems more episodes arecwaranted to at least until she takes power. I wish they had continued with this trajectory and character the costumes and historical account of personages was interesting.

Well, it's a complex period in English history. Henry VIII has died, and after six marriages, left three children (from different wives) to navigate the hugely conflicting religious and political world, while all around them the landed power brokers are scheming for influence.

It's fair to say that without an understanding of the historical backdrop you may initially find this hard to follow. But none the less this is a well acted, high production value series which follows the development of our heroine, the teenage Princess Elizabeth. While time is compressed (understandably) it's fairly historically accurate and gives a great sense of Tudor England and the drama that plays out between factions. The fact that's it's based on reality not fantasy makes it even more compelling.

I hope Starz commission a 2nd season. There's a lot to pack into our young Elizabeth's life as she becomes one of Britain's greatest monarchs and this is a welcome addition to our playlist.

It has all great the writing of the White Queen but with a way bigger budget.

The acting is amazing and the writing is suitably dramatic and entertaining. The costumes and set are the best of I've ever seen in a Tudor series. Love that they actually show how people lived back then, not just them being serious and scheming.

If you love the Tudor dynasty you will love this series.