The biggest mistake I made when settling in to watch episode 3 was a glass of red wine. I will never be able to drink it again and also just ewww. Like omg a pregnancy test back then. I would not wish that job on my worst enemy. For real, like why would anyone take on that job?
You’ll have to watch the episode to figure out what I am talking about.
Becoming Elizabeth is only in its third episode, but so much is happening that it’s kinda scary and kinda enough to give you an appreciation for your family drama. Not that we haven’t learned from modern day royalty that we want no part of their drama, but back in the day that things were a different kind of intense.
Elizabeth may be young, but she’s full of fire. She knows that everyday is a fight for her survival and that living with Catherine and Thomas is well, probably not the best thing. But in the same moment, she’s got such a crush on Thomas Seymour that it blinds her from reality.
Yet when you are blinded from reality, something will slap you back down to reality. For Elizabeth, this will be finding out that Catherine is pregnant. Yes, yes, her stepmama is going to have a baby.
When you are the former Queen and you didn’t get prego with the King (who yes, passed away) but you get pregnant immediately with you new hubby. People gonna have issues. Court politics are a pain and if there is one thing that Catherine knows – it’s court. She knows that one wrong move could mean her death, but also the death of her unborn baby.
You may remember in the last episode, Mary got a response from Elizabeth, regarding her letter and being her advocate. She was so upset about it, she threw it to the ground and the Lord Protector (who legitimately protects no one but himself) picked it up.
Let us all just be real here, Lord Protector is a douche bag. He’s using this moment to cement his place at court. He wants Edward to believe that he’s needed and he’s looking out for England. What he’s doing is looking out for himself.
Elizabeth simply said that she can’t be her advocate, which I am guessing wasn’t easy for her. But Mary is PISSED. She knows that Edward hates Catholics and Mary is afraid of the religion being destroyed. I can get that, believing in something so deeply that you would want to protect it at all costs.
But I also believe that the Lord Protector has put himself in a good spot here. He’s shown Edward that he’s behind him and he’s also shown Mary that he will be her advocate, hopefully cementing a place for himself if she becomes Queen. But for me, watching, I wanted to beat him, because in that moment he decided to sacrifice Elizabeth and throw her under the bus. Make it seem like she’s caused the whole thing.
He uses this as an opportunity to free the Bishop from the Tower of London. Probably not his best choice being as the Bishop heads straight to Mary at Framlingham and tells her she needs to make a play for the throne and reestablish the Catholic religion in England.
But you know, Lord Protector was just protecting and all.
The thing about this show is that it’s a master class in manipulation. Catherine and Thomas are the masters and right now, I don’t think that Catherine is making plays for power. She’s making plays for safety for her and her baby.
With Elizabeth’s 15th birthday, she decides (along with her hubby) that it’s the perfect time to get Edward to come over and get him in the same room as Jane Grey. Distracting Edward? I get it. But screwing over your stepdaughter? BAD.
The best thing about this episode is that we see that Elizabeth has learned to play the game. Granted it’s bad, but she learns that she’s gotta show dominance. She simply wanted the day to be about her, about her birthday. She thought that she was getting the attention that she wanted.
But when you find out that the dude that you let do somethings he shouldn’t have done to you and you’re 15, has lied to you. Game on. Jane has to be the sacrificial lamb though, and Elizabeth tells Edward that Jane has a song for him. One big problem – Jane can’t sing.
Second big problem – Janes father is a dick and decides to whip the crap out of his daughter for her bad performance. Luckily, Elizabeth comes in and puts a stop to it.
Janes Dad is a dick. He’s a power hungry man who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. It’s a sad thing to see because it’s his daughter that pays for his mistakes.
Elizabeth is making a lot of mistakes herself, but Thomas Seymour is a big part of that. Catherine finds Thomas in Elizabeth’s chambers. She’s pissed, but she’s fully aware of what Thomas will do for power.
I do believe that Catherine loves Elizabeth, but I also believe that she loves power more. She just wasn’t willing to share her husband and one can’t blame her. But Thomas is also an old dude and should have realize that he’s not supposed to be messing with a child. It’s gross and sick.
Catherine is fully aware of the man that Thomas is and when she keeps asking Elizabeth what Thomas did and she keeps saying nothing, it infuriates her. Her daughter has chosen a side and it’s not hers. But also for Catherine, she is fully aware should anyone find out, she’s going to loose her head.
They all will.
And she doesn’t want that.
So she does what she has to do. She sends Elizabeth away. I get Elizabeth’s feeling of rejection, her wanting to stay, but I also think that this is the best outcome for everyone.
For the life of me, I do not understand why she’s not living at the castle anyways. Not that she’s heading there now.
Thomas Seymour is so much like his brother but in a different way. Lord Protector uses his intimidation to get where he wants. Seymour uses his charm.
I just wonder which one will ultimately win. I am hoping for neither one.
Becoming Elizabeth is streaming now on Starz.
