'The Spanish Princess' Season 2 Episode 5 Preview: What new relationship brews amidst 'Plague' in London?
After stillbirths, loss of child, and her husband's unfaithfulness, Catherine of Aragon (Charlotte Hope) still somehow manages to stand strong and proud as she addresses her people. There's something absolutely unwavering about the way Catherine is built that simply won't allow her to be deterred by her life's many tragedies. But while her relationship with her husband, King Henry VIII (Ruairi O'Connor) disintegrates into bitterness, love blooms elsewhere on the palace grounds, as the whole court moves away from London, in the wake of the plague.
The reason to prepare ourselves for the worst in Catherine and Henry's marriage is the official teaser promo released ahead of the episode. The trailer sees Cardinal Wolsey chastising Catherine saying if she cannot give a male heir, all her other values and talents are deemed redundant. This hints at Henry's further discouragement and resentment towards Catherine's expertise for political counsel and bearing a male child both. Catherine doesn't let it dim her spark even though Henry's wandering eyes know no rest. At one point, the teaser highlights the tension between the two when Catherine barges into Henry's chambers and suggests something, to which Henry reacts by sliding the contents off his coffee table in a fit of rage.
The official synopsis for the fifth episode this season, titled 'Plague' also offers some insights into the glimmering wits of the state as it reveals "When the plague hits London, the court flees to Hampton Court". With such an air of impending gloom, it makes sense just why everybody is so displeased about the chain of events. But not all love is lost from the palace, as a certain couple decide to stay back.
Although not a couple, romance can be expected to bloom between Margaret Pole, aka Maggie (Laura Carmichael), and Thomas More (Andrew Buchan). The synopsis teases how "Maggie and Thomas More remain in the empty - and surprisingly romantic - palace". There's also a promo snippet teasing an interaction between the two, where Thomas approaches Maggie cradling the baby on the palace grounds. Maggie hands her child to her lady in waiting before the two chat about the baby, her future in the court, and eventually Maggie's own mother and the death of her parents within the short few seconds of privacy they get before interrupted by Maggie's suitor, Sir William. The man looks awfully pale and drops to the ground, unconscious the moment Maggie turns to look at him, asking if he's well.
Maggie has tried her hardest to convince Henry to not force her to marry this man, but the king has been rigid. Looks like William seems to have a bout of not the most forgiving virus at the time - his imminent death hereby offering a segue for Maggie and Thomas's relationship to bloom.
'The Spanish Princess' Season 2 airs on Sunday at 8 pm only on Starz.