It’s hard to believe we’re already at the final episode of Mary & George, especially when things are really just kicking off. Last week, Francis Bacon (Mark O’Halloran) was disgraced, Sandie (Niamh Algar) was murdered (I’ll never get over it!), Parliament was re-opened, and the queen was finally buried. Whew! What more could possibly happen? Well, given that the name of the finale is “War,” I think that gives us a pretty fair idea.
It’s 1622, and Charles (Samuel Blenkin) and George (Nicholas Galitzine) have traveled to Spain to meet the Spanish princess, Infanta Maria Anna. A marriage between the two would prove extremely advantageous to keep the peace between the two countries, so that’s exactly what this trip is about.
Charles has always been a bit awkward, and he doesn’t speak Spanish, so his icebreaker comes in the form of song. While standing in the middle of a crowded and deathly silent palace, he sings. He’s not half bad, either — gives me a bit of Jeff Buckley vibes, actually. The performance seems to work wonders, as the princess herself breaks out in applause, followed by the rest of the court. Seems like it was a worthwhile trip — especially when you consider all the orgies George had while there.
Bacon is a bit of a sad sack now, living in a cold, musty house and feeling quite sorry for himself. Mary (Julianne Moore) comes to visit him, holding a knife to his throat. She would kill him for what he had done to Sandie, and he reveals that he would have left her alone had Mary not clearly loved her. He also reveals that George basically okayed Sandie’s murder, which only renews Mary’s grief.
In Spain, George is frustrated that he and Charles have been there for months, but there have still been no discussions about a marriage between the future king and the princess. The Spanish are unimpressed by the plan to wed off Infanta and send her over to England, but Charles and George point out that it could strengthen both countries’ standing.
One of the most important things Spain wants if this marriage is going to move forward is for Charles to convert to Catholicism, but George points out that it would never work and they won’t agree to it. That effectively ends the discussion, and the Spanish walk out. Well, that went swimmingly!
However, George later finds the negotiator and requests to speak. He wants to know how they can get Spain back to the table, but the negotiator tells George that he needs patience. George promises that England will reward Spain for its good will, but the negotiator isn’t moved. So, George changes tactics and threatens to destroy Spain as a whole, claiming that he has the power because he is the king. Someone has clearly got a bit too big for his britches, as they say.
Mary meets James in the forest, claiming she was stranded there because of a broken carriage wheel. James isn’t well, and he claims he’s not allowed visitors due to his health. She clearly wants an audience with him, and Mary always gets what she wants (well, almost).
James has been having fits, but Mary is thankfully there to call his doctor and get him back to the royal estate safely. She wants to have a heart to heart, to have James share his feelings with her, but James is aware that George has soured on his mother, and he doesn’t want him to sour on the king, as well. Still, she offers him something George cannot: a woman’s love.
Back in Spain, Charles is upset that they’ve come all this way, only to leave empty-handed. He wanted to be wed, and to be happy, but George messed it all up for them. However, he lies to cover his back and claims that the Spanish never wanted to negotiate and that they would never consider marrying the Infanta off to a “weak boy,” which didn’t happen.
However, George’s lie (he’s learned well from his mother!) is enough to get Charles riled up, and they agree to get back to England and make Spain pay. Upon their return, George is shocked to see his mother at the king’s side, and the king in extremely poor health. However, James wants to know what happened because he knows it was nothing good.
George and Mary come face to face for the first time in goodness knows how long. He points out that James isn’t meant to have visitors, but Mary points out that she’s not a visitor — she has a room there at the king’s invitation. George wants her gone, but she’s furious and confronts him about Sandie’s death. She wonders if he has no remorse, but George claims he has nothing to be sorry for, and that’s what worries her.
The following day, George and Charles come to see the king in his chamber. They want to tell James what happened in Spain. Charles reveals he performed well and won the Infanta over, but then everything went wrong. However, James is furious, as Charles was meant to save England from war, and the whole thing was a failure.
When they’re sent away, George notes that James flinched when he kissed him, and that doesn’t bode well. It means all the power and influence he built up over the years may be starting to wane, and his position in the royal court may become tenuous very, very soon (though he has managed to befriend Charles, so he’s not totally screwed yet).
Charles comes to Mary in her chamber and asks her advice. He doesn’t know what to do about Spain, especially how hostile they were. She tells him that there’s no quick fix — years of diplomacy are necessary, but Charles is smart, nearly as smart as his father. However, she also points out that she’s well aware that Charles didn’t come for advice and that he’s there to cover for whatever George is up to.
Indeed, George has sneaked into James’ chamber and wakes him from his sleep. He appeared to be having a bad dream — about a bad storm, apparently. George asks James to come with him, lifting him from bed and taking him outside in the dawn light. In the forest, George has set up a little retreat with tapestries, a bed to lounge on, and wine. It’s a respite in nature, which he knows James will love, and he does. He even gives him a bit of drink, which Mary previously forbade because it was causing him fits.
The gesture is extremely effective on James, and it reignites his feelings for George. They kiss, and James begs him to “f**k me alive again.” If only that was enough to fix the serious health problems plaguing him. After, James wants to know what really happened in Spain, and George repeats his lie that the Spanish wanted to embarrass them, and that England can’t let that lie.
George is clearly thirsty for war, and Mary points that out, accusing him of using battle as a cover for his failure in Spain. James has bought it hook, line, and sinker, however. He tells Mary it’s time for her to go home as she’s stayed long enough, and he’s sending Charles and George to London to deal with the whole Spain situation. Uh oh!
The first thing they do is go to speak to Coke (Adrian Rawlins), who’s still not interested in hearing from George. Charles tells him there will be a speech in Parliament that week about what happened in Spain, and to let them know that England is prepared to fight and show its strength. Coke says they need to be serious about their willingness to take action, and it’s clear Charles has plenty of reservations. However, George pushes forward and insists they’re ready.
George’s speech is certainly passionate, dressing up his bloodlust with talk about how the English are bound together by faith and that they need to stand together to protect their country. Rather than an offensive, this is a defensive act, meant to protect all they hold sacred, and Parliament eats it up.
Mary visits James and tells him that all anyone can talk about in London is war, and that it’s all but guaranteed thanks to George’s speech. However, James thinks war is still far off, and that it’s just idle talk. Mary warns him that George’s story about being disrespected by Spain is likely less than 100% truthful, and James finally starts to realize he’s been lied to. However, he still thinks it’s a bit too late — things have gone too far and there’s no stopping the coming storm, so to speak.
“It’s a real pity,” James tells her, pouring his brandy all over the tapestries and bedding George set up in the forest. He then sets it alight, the flames of which are still raging when George and Charles return from London. George runs to James, but James wants nothing to do with him now. He points out that he’s always been a king of peace, that many have used him over the years, and now George is doing the same.
James declares George a traitor, and Mary, in a panic, tries to insist that he’s not, especially since she knows that means George’s certain death. However, James doesn’t want to hear it anymore. He wants to strip all of George’s titles immediately and says that soon, he’ll build his own gallows and hang George for treason. However, he collapses moments later, so hopefully for George, James won’t remember all of that when he wakes.
However, when George asks Mary if James meant what he said, she admits she saw no doubt in him. He worries that if James talks to Charles and gives him the same orders, there will be nothing to save him. Now, all they can do is wait.
However, if there’s anything we know about Mary and George, it’s that they never wait. As James begins to wake again, George stands over him and holds his hands over the king’s mouth and nose so that he can’t breathe, while his mother stands by and watches. Given that they sent Charles to fetch the doctor, this was clearly the plan all along. James is now dead, and Charles is the new king.
In 1628, soldiers walk through the port. George seems to be in charge of them, and it appears England is fighting France again. However, one war George will never win is over a man who approaches him in a pub. He served under George in La Rochelle, where 5,000 men were killed. George doesn’t remember him, but the man has something to remind him: several stabs to the gut, after which George collapses and also dies. Mary isn’t shocked to hear the news — she knows it was all but inevitable, in fact.
George’s widow and children, as well as the rest of the Villiers family (which includes a now-pregnant Frances Coke), enjoy a life of opulence and wealth, but it’s clear from the final scenes that it’s all for nothing — no one is happy, and things are not okay. All that hard work Mary put in, and she’s left with this to show for it.
Jennifer Still is a writer and editor from New York who cares too way much about fictional characters and spends her time writing about them.
