Never one to delay, Season Three starts off with Henry marrying Jane Seymour. Having been burned by a meddling wife before, Henry tries to put Jane in her place when she mentions reconciling with his daughter Mary. But Jane continues to work quietly behind the scenes for both Mary and Elizabeth. Mary signs a document acknowledging that her mother was never the true Queen Of England; but she quietly waits with plans for the future. With both Mary and Elizabeth at court with their father’s blessing and Jane announcing she is with child it appears that Henry’s personal life is in order.

However the battle over the churches continues and some fear that Queen Jane is secretly loyal to the Catholic Church. Buildings are ransacked and then destroyed leaving priest, monks, and the general population without a place to turn. Leaders emerge and, with someone to follow and organize, more join the Pilgrimage determined to ask the King to re-instate monasteries and that Sir Thomas Cromwell be held accountable for his actions. Both Henry and Cromwell are surprised at the sudden uprising and Cromwell is held accountable for the situation. Henry is dealing with the pain in his leg from an ulcer and angry with those who are speaking out against his Reformation; he turns his anger on the Pilgrims in a violent and extreme way that leaves Brandon sick and repentant.

Now where to start with Season 3? I was lucky enough to get to view the first 4 episodes of this season and I’m glad for that. With the absence of the force that was Anne Boleyn more of the focus shifts to what is happening in England, the church, and the rebellion. There is less focus on his personal life including his new wife. But let’s face it, how much focus can be put on her, she was married to Henry for a little over a year. What I have read about Jane Seymour, Annabelle Wallis does capture her quiet, poised, and conservative nature very well.

In past seasons we witnessed Henry as he passed his rulings down on England and fought with the Catholic Church. Now with the rebellion we are witness to how determined Henry is to have people stay faithful to him as King. A dark side comes out as he is willing to lie, torture, and kill as many as it takes to make his point. As usually Jonathan Rhys Meyers is powerful and even a little scary as King Henry VIII. And while it has been there in past season, there seems to be more of a King presence and less of a philanderer (though that part is still there).

I am a little hesitant as Joss Stone is starring as Anne Of Cleves, granted I have not seen her act in anything else. I will be interested in seeing if she can pull off a role of this magnitude given that her previous experience is an episode of Gossip Girl.

Characters from previous seasons continue their paths and nothing feels disjointed or is shockingly different. By the fourth episode Brandon starts to crack some and I’m interested with what they do with his character. The sets are still stunning, the costumes extravagant, and the mixture of history, sex, and drama will have you sucked right in. If you enjoyed the first 2 seasons I have no doubt that, from what I watched, you will enjoy Season 3. Granted having no Anne running around in all her beauty using her wits to conspire to help her family is difficult for the first episode; but we all knew it would be coming and there is no use fighting it. Season 3 though has its own subtle flare, give it a couple of episodes and you will find that The Tudors is still a captivating show and a fun way to get some general history.