What if history didn’t play out the way it did? What if a nine-day queen in the history books wasn’t labelled a traitor and beheaded?
Welcome to the alternate historical retelling of the story of Lady Jane Grey, full of bloody beheadings, poisonings, bawdy humour, conspiracies, intrigue and magic.
If you are looking for a historically accurate show, Amazon Prime Video’s My Lady Jane is not the show you should be watching. But if you are up for strong female characters, high adventure, magic realism, a lot of sexual tension, romance, great chemistry and banter, then this will hit the spot.
Based on the book series by Jodi Meadows, Brodie Ashton and Cynthia Hand, My Lady Jane opens with a voiceover asking you to remember everything you know about Tudor history and the tragic tale of Lady Jane Grey, who is portrayed as the ultimate damsel in distress, and then tells you to “F*** that”, setting the tone for what’s to follow.
Prime Video is unlikely to renew the show for a second season, a decision that has drawn backlash from fans and a petition, including The Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin. We hope that this decision is retconned and here’s why the eight-episode bingeable show created by Gemma Burgess is the perfect weekend watch.
The bold and beautiful Jane
Newcomer Emily Bader is brilliant as Lady Jane Grey, who is more interested in making herbal salves to cure vaginal itch (yes, that’s how the first episode begins) than getting married, which is what her mother is planning in order to secure their finances. Just like in the history books, Jane is cousin to King Edward VI, Princess Mary I and Princess Elizabeth I, which puts her in line for the throne. Also, like in the history books she does succeed to the throne, but unlike what happened in reality she is no damsel in distress and is not about to go quietly.
Powerful female characters
It isn’t just the titular Jane who grabs your attention. Her sex positive mother, Lady Frances Grey (Anna Chancellor), is not one to simper and flail either. She connives, manipulates and grabs what is necessary for survival in a world where men dictate women’s fortunes.
But the real eyeball grabber is the absolutely unhinged Princess Mary (Kate O’Flynn), who is into BDSM and violently averse to bathing. When Jane is named queen instead of her, she plots with her lover, Lord Seymour (Dominic Cooper), to take back what she believes is rightfully hers. O’Flynn has a ball playing this maniacal character, bringing to life her anger, frustration, bitterness and bloodthirstiness and creating a worthy villain.
A special shoutout is also needed for Jane’s youngest sister, the badass Lady Margaret (Robyn Betteridge).
Lord Guilford Dudley the charming rake
Edward Bluemel may not be your idea of a conventionally handsome hero but you can’t deny his rakish charm as Lord Guilford Dudley that endears him to audiences almost at once. Not only is he not the saviour type, he actively asks support from his wife to help him get out of a sticky situation that might end in his death.
The sizzling chemistry between Jane Guilford
It starts getting hot in there from the moment Jane and Guilford meet. The sparks fly as does the snark and the ribbing and the insults and the unwanted, irksome, pesky attraction. The sexual tension between the two is swoon-worthy and makes the lead up to their romance deliciously addictive.
The twisty, turny plot
You never know who is coming for whom or who is going to end up killing whom. The retconning of history has not done away with the politics and the intrigue of the Tudor era. There are schemes behind schemes and plots and subplots that keep the audience on their toes. On top of that, there is war brewing between two factions of people in the kingdom. One thing is for sure, there is not a dull moment in the show.
The magic
My Lady Jane has servants morphing into owls and flying away to avoid capture. Isn’t that marvellous? In the show’s version of history there are men and women who can transform into animals called Ethians, who are despised and pushed to the margins by the Verity (the plain humans). The Ethians beg, borrow and steal to survive but have had enough of being persecuted and plan to reclaim their rights, pitching themselves directly against the crown.
