HOLLYWOOD—The series finale of “The Tudors” was the best episode in four seasons. I have never seen a finale written as well as this series managed to do it. The death of a dictator would offer no empathy or grief on behalf of viewers, so the writers decided it would be best to have Henry not die on-air; thus, making viewers grieve for his final end without actually being witness to it. As the final scenes closed on the epic story of King Henry VIII’s life, fans witnessed scenes from previous seasons when Henry was a much younger monarch.

Henry VIII’s reign over the English realm ended almost 500 years ago, but he and his youngest daughter, Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen for which the Commonwealth of Virginia in the U.S. was named in honor of, both remain a part of our lives and our interests. Showtime did a marvelous job on the final episode.

Surprising to viewers was Henry’s decision to turn against his Bishop, who he banished from Court before his death. Bishop Gardner spent weeks building a case against Henry’s sixth and final wife Queen Catherine Parr for being a heretic. She was a secret Protestant, who was lucky that Henry was an older man with no more desire to murder or behead his wives. Seeing three of Henry’s four dead wives was a big surprise for viewers and well worth it. The actress who portrayed Queen Katherine of Aragon, the king’s first wife was amazing. Even as a ghost, Katherine’s mantra, “I am still your true wife,” echoed in Henry’s mind and it was played brilliantly by both actors in the scene.

Also, seeing Queen Anne Boleyn, who was cruelly and wrongly convicted of treason and adultery, return to Henry during his final hours to admonish him for his treatment of their daughter Elizabeth was brilliant. However, the most chilling words from Anne were, “Your fifth wife Katherine also lies in the cold ground next to me. It was not her fault either. For like me, she was attracted like a moth to the flame, but you burned us both.” Jonathan Rhys Meyers was brilliant in this scene. As Henry was just about to tongue lash his deceased second spouse, she disappeared. Meyers’s reaction to seeing Anne was astonishing to watch.

The most poignant moment in the episode came when Henry’s third wife, Queen Jane Seymour appeared to a welcoming king. She was the only wife he ever really loved, Jane also in a ghostly image chastised Henry for keeping their son Prince Edward hidden away in an ivory tower far too many years of his short life. “You have doomed our son, he’ll also die very young,” said the queen. “No,” exclaimed a defiant and grieving Henry. The final scene of the show was the most brilliantly written. Henry had commissioned a famous British artist to paint his final portrait, he did not want it to look as an old man with infirmities. The painting was unveiled and viewers managed to be surprised by the writers. The portrait was a combination of the older ”˜made up’ actor who played King Henry, VIII for four seasons on the hit show, and the actual real life portrait of the red-haired monarch who is best known for beheading two of his six wives and successfully pushing the Catholic Church out of England.

The episode had far too many scenes that were excellent to write about. The writers absolutely did not let viewers down. It ended as it started four years ago. On a very high note.

Photograph Courtesy: Showtime Productions