Becoming Elizabeth

Very beautifully produced series. For those that enjoy period drama with a historical backdrop this is a wonderful series. After watching the Tudors I was hoping for a drama about the rise of Elizabeth and here it is. Extremely pleased with the casting and writing. Well done.

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.

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.

This is an engaging look at the experience of the young Elizabeth Tudor as she tried to navigate the dangers of life after the death of her father Henry VIII. Some liberties are taken with history (eg a prominent role for Stephen Gardiner, the pro-Catholic Bishop of Winchester who was actually imprisoned the whole time, but none at all for the father of the English reformation Archbishop Thomas Cranmer; and there is also some compression of timelines), but on the whole it is much more careful about facts than, say, 'The Tudors'.

Costuming and scene design are very good, and there is generous use of candle-lit scenes, emphasising how dark it would often have been at the time.

The performamces are good. Alicia von Rittberg, who played the lead role in the Netflix series Charite, has been de-glamorised and makes an unusual, intense Elizabeth, sometimes almost surprising herself with the way she twists and turns to respond to danger whether it is the sexual advances of her stepmother's new husband or attempts to get her support for the latest conspuiracy. If at times she seems rather mature for a 15 year old, it must be remembered that Elizabeth was one of the most highly educated females in England, and had had to live on her wits since her mother was executed. There is strong competition in the acting stakes from Romola Garai, who plays Elizabeth's older sister Mary, fierce and upright but far from one-dimensional. In fact, at times the series is in danger of turning into 'Becoming Mary'. Perhaps the most surprising success however is Oliver Zetterstrom as the young Edward VI. A far from easy role: vulnerable but priggish and tending to fanaticism, having to fight his own battles against an adult woirld which bowed to him but controlled him. The supporting cast are also generally good.

The story only goes up to a point before the death of Edward VI, presumably with an intention of a second series.