England may have narrowly avoided a war with Spain in last week’s episode of Mary & George. But in Episode 6—the penultimate installment of the deliciously deviant limited series—the country, and all of the self-serving characters who inhabit it, are critically injured and bleeding out regardless. The constant power struggles fought by the malevolent matriarch Mary Villiers (Julianne Moore) and her equally capricious son George (Nicholas Galitzine) have waned now that they have gotten used to their posts inside King James I’s (Tony Curran) court. But the problem with sitting on a hard-won throne is that there’s always someone you stomped on while climbing to it, waiting in the shadows to take your seat.
This week’s episode opens in 1620, two years after the events of Episode 5. We know that time has passed because George’s short hair is now flowing at shoulder-length, and Galitzine should really consider working this lace front as a full-time thing, because George has never looked more dashing. But despite all of the Olaplex George is running through his mane to keep it silky and sexy for his royal lover, the king’s interest in George is declining. James has other things on his mind, namely the protests outside of his door, which haven’t died down since James decided to behead Sir Walter Raleigh for plotting treason and trying to incite that pesky war with Spain.
As chants of “King James: Spain-fucker!” grow louder outside, the inside of the royal palace is eerily quiet, more morose than ever before. Queen Anne (Trine Dyrholm) has succumbed to several illnesses, dying at the age of 44. In the weeks leading up to her death, James could barely bring himself to speak to his wife, and after her passing, hasn’t even been able to see her, lying embalmed in her coffin. But that neglect presents an additional problem: Anne needs a proper funeral, and James and George’s reckless spending has left no more money for state-sponsored service. In turn, James has left Anne to lay lifeless while he putters about, angering their son, Prince Charles (Samuel Blenkin), with his carelessness.
