Season 2 – Wolf Hall

Audience Reviews

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Andrei D Rylance and Lewis rock and the entire season is built to challenge what modern audiences think about historic epics and about the past Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/03/25 Full Review Audience Member An utterly sublime performance by Rylance and Lewis. The whole programme is beautiful. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/02/25 Full Review Cellarius M Passable though I suspect that’s more a result of the source material since the dialogue has taken a major decline. It’s pretty jarring if you begin immediately after watching the first series. The atmosphere/lighting seems over polished. Evidently there’s been a massive influx of new citizens from other continents in the year since we were last here. Finally, majority of supporting characters have underwent some brain damage in the interval as well as we now find once deep characters now all single dimensional “generic white male buffoon” archetypes that BBC became so fond of between 2015-2024. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/30/24 Full Review William F Grim grim grim - but brilliant performances by Rylance and Damian Lewis as the leads. The series is basically the tragedy of Thomas Cromwell, from all-powerful advisor to the fall. I love the Tudor music accompanying the action. Rylance as Cromwell is inscrutable but reveals emotion when rejected by Wolsey's daughter and when confronted by his own (unknown) Dutch daughter. It is hard to decide whether he is hero or pariah. Through it all Henry (Lewis) remains true to his murderous egomania. You'd have to be mad to want to be his wife, but I guess the victims had no choice. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/15/24 Full Review joanna d There’s no doubt that the BBC sank more money into Wolf Hall 2 after the excellent Season 1. Sets, costumes and daily Tudor life are portrayed in glorious depth and colour. This new season however has managed to destroy all historical credibility, while the screenplay erases Cromwell as a once cautious man of few words; he is now a reckless braggart regaling tales of his clever machinations to anyone who will listen. The most jarring part is being thrust into the 21st century at every turn. Colour-blind cast are randomly inserted into the Privy Council, Royal Court and inner sanctum of the Royal Bedchamber, Tudor nobles, every other palace guard, Wolsey’s daughter, and even Jane Seymour’s sister. It seems no history or famous literature is safe, and everything nowadays ends up looking like a gap ad with castles. Shame on everyone involved in this production. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/01/25 Full Review John L As a fan of Hilary Mantel's books the TV adaptation has been faithful but lacking certain aspects such as the ghost of George Boleyn who's character makes Cromwell second guess his path of Wrath. I assume that it will be up to the ghost of Wolsey to fill that role later on. - Wyatt appears to be forgotten; the mercy by Cromwell for his character blazes a path for Thomas's sympathy for Mary based on the same promise to a parent. - What is really disappointing is TC blabbing his intentions at the end of the 1st episode which is met with curious stares by the rest of the cast, and rightly so given that thus far he has been a very private person This was confirmed by Mantel herself before her sudden death and by Mark Rylance, the actor. - The production staff must've been providing exceptionally strong wine for that final scene for the director, screenwriter and actor to forget that essential character trait of the principal. - Good to see it back on the screen but it appears to treating the audience as children by spelling out subtle plans so blatantly which didn't happen in the 1st series. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/12/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Wolf Hall — Season 2

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