The Spanish Princess

I watched with an open mind, and hoping it would at least hold a candle to the previous two series: The White Queen, and The White Princess. It didn't. The characters were off beat from the preceding shows. When The White Princess followed the The White Queen, the director, and casting management really did a great job of finding actors that fit the roles of their predecessors. It was done so well, that I didn't even need to hear their name to know who everyone was in most cases.

This latest effort fails terribly in that department, as King Henry is a doofus, and his son is homely, I can't even look at him. The son of Henry should be attractive, as in the prior series the parents were extremely attractive. So, if the idea that the preordained Princess from Spain is semi attractive, and Prince Arthur is homely, is the opening premise for this show, and none of the characters seem to be the same character they were in the previous two series I liked, and the sets are a low budget version of its predecessors, then I will pass on this mess.

If you know absolutely nothing of this era, this is your show. If you do, you must ignore the very obvious historical inconsistencies.

Honestly, why? They have the money. The history is very interesting on its own. I am so disappointed, Catherine of Aragon deserved better.

In the end it is the material you are working with and the skill of screenwriters that allow actors and directors to turn a story into a compelling screen piece. Unfortunately, whether it is the book or the screenwriting, this story has slipped in Starz's Tudor trilogy. Laura Carmichael and Harriet Walter give excellent performances and should receive their credit. Frankly, they carry the show. This third installment is more a romantic then historical fiction.

As others have pointed out Henry was 11 when Catherine came to court, not some love sick 16 year old. If you want the Catherine/Henry/Boleyn story, which I expect Season 2 to be, watch WolfHall for first rate historical fiction and acting.

I give it 5 stars instead of 1 because if the aim was to make a soap opera they fulfil their goal. And for that it is somewhat entertaining and the costume design is really good. I don't like soap operas so didn't want to be a judge on this category. Such a strong character, a women ahead of her time. Beautiful, smart, determined in a time such traits were unattractive for women. How do you take on such a person's amazing story and make it a "blah" soap opera? It really saddens me. And it is bad to the point you get lost in soap opera nonsense and the story loses emotional highs that would be a definitely plus to it. It is a historical onde so I don't believe I am delivering any spoilers. This woman survived Henry VIII wife killing tendency. More, she was really loved by him for her beauty and personality for most of their marriage. Honestly, I didn't feel this intense love while watching the tv show and it bothers me that somehow writers are driven to spoil such a good story to begin with.

This review comes after only the first 3 episodes. I was excited at the prospect of seeing the story of Catherine of Aragon, which usually is only a sideline to the story of Henry VIII and his six wives. Now, I'm aware that historical dramas cannot be totally factual in every way for good reason, but I find it disconcerting to twist what is known to be true in a massive way. In just 3 episodes I have witnessed countless discrepancies that are just too glaring to be ignored. Most egregious is portraying Henry, Arthur's much younger brother, as being the same age as he and Catherine. I think I understand their reasoning, but it cuts down my star rating (among other glaring mistakes) by quite a bit. I watch historical pieces for the history as much as the drama. And really, this story has plenty of real-life drama which doesn't need made up stuff to be interesting. Hopefully the rest of this series won't be as big a disappointment, since I intend to keep watching anyway.