Starz‘s scintillating new series Mary & George follows the wild true story of the ruthlessly ambitious Mary Villiers (Julianne Moore) and her incandescently charming second son, George (Nicholas Galitzine). In the 1610s, a recently widowed Mary pushed her beautiful boy into journeying to France, so he could be polished into the perfect cosmopolitan courtier. When he eventually returns, George does possess a swagger that he didn’t have before, but how much of that confidence comes from his studies versus his very sexy extracurricular activities? Namely how much does finally embracing his queer nature have to do with George’s newfound charisma?
**Spoilers for Mary & George Episode 1 “Second Son,” now streaming on Starz**
Mary & George is based on Benjamin Woolley’s non-fiction book, The King’s Assassin, which retells the story of James I’s (Tony Curran) infamous love affair with George Villiers, the future Duke of Buckingham. However, as its title suggests, Mary & George is more concerned with the relationship between Villiers and his mother. By the end of Mary & George Episode 1, Mary is already plotting to position her handsome son as King James’s new favorite, i.e. lover. She’s emboldened in her strategy thanks to the knowledge that George — who hitherto had been despondently in love with lowly maid Jenny (Emily Fairn) — finally experimented with same sex hookups while in France.
George’s beauty, coupled with his bisexuality, makes him a perfect pawn in Mary’s plan. But how much does George’s queer experience influence his confidence moving forward?
“Yeah, I mean, I think it gave him a freedom to to be entirely himself,” Mary & George star Nicholas Galitzine told Decider. “I think then with that comes a lot of charisma.”
However, Galitzine was quick to point out that George’s French tutor Jean (Khalil Gharbia) taught him way more than to embrace his desires.
“I mean, I wouldn’t also underplay all the other things that Jean teaches him in France, you know? All these skills that he learns to become this renaissance man,” Galitzine says, referring to George’s French, dancing, and fencing lessons.
Nevertheless, Galitzine admitted that by embracing his bisexuality, George is able to embark on the show’s larger mission: to woo and win King James.
“It’s the avenue by which he comes back home and this idea about pursuing the king is formed,” Galitzine said. “And so, you know, the method by which the family will raise themselves from potential oblivion is born.”
So how will George seduce the king, when he’s already dominated by lover and right-hand man Robert Carr, the Earl of Somerset (Laurie Davidson)? You’ll just have to keep watching Mary & George on Starz to find out…
