Christopher Lockwood

My impression of the TV version of Mirror & Light (thus far after for 3 episodes ) vis a vis the prior Wolf Hall BBC production is an overall let down in relative terms even though this new installment still carries much of the ingredients that made Wolf Hall an all time favorite. It’s exactly the way I felt about this book which ii barely got through after reading WH and Bring Up The Bodies 5+ times each. The 10+ year time gap between installments really hurt these recent episodes but what really put me off was its revisiting of back stories that were thoroughly explored in the previous WH series (ie. Crums hiring by Wolsey, Wolseys subsequent fall ect). This exposition really derailed the flow of story and (as a Wolf Hall obsessive) was a wee insulting insinuating I needed a tutorial on basic Crum / Tudor milestones. But I get it, a broader audience may need a primer BUT WHY FOR THE LOVE OF THORADEA DID YA HAVE TO USE CGI DE-AGING IN RYLANCE IN THOSE WH CLIPS!!! I just can’t with any of that. Okay about the historical inaccuracy comments: THIS IS A FICTIONAL ACCOUNT, but even at that, for me captures more of the essence and intensity of Tudor power circles than the most accurate of academic papers and acclaimed histories I’ve read. It’s not the base of judgment that should be applied here. Alright enough insomnia driven ranting. The new episodes are step down for prior landmarks but still better writing, acting and intellectual craft than 99% of series offerings this past year.