'Wolf Hall's' Penultimate Episode Leaves Cromwell for the "Crows"

Much like William Shakespeare's history plays, Wolf Hall takes history (in this case, history that happened just before Shakespeare's time) and retells it via the sensibilities of modern authors. However, much like plays like Julius Caesar and The Henriad, the dramatic liberties novelist Hillary Mantel and scriptwriter Peter Straughan took with history are easily mistaken by the audience as an accurate account of events. Two of those liberties are at the heart of this penultimate episode of Wolf Hall; we see Cromwell change the course of history twice: once, when his desire to see Jane Seymour brings the royal party to Wolf Hall, which has unexpected consequences, and then a second time when Henry VIII dies.

Jane: "I'll get my prayer book. I'm sure I can find something that will fit the bill."

Two of those liberties are at the heart of this week's episode. The first is the conceit that Thomas Cromwell was in love with (or at least harbored a tendre for) Jane Seymour. History doesn't say he didn't, but history does not record that he did either. However, it is suggested that Cromwell's overriding desire to see Jane, especially after last week's illness, is the only reason the royal party bothered to stop at Wolf Hall, with historic consequences.