Anne Boleyn Falls in 'Wolf Hall's' Finale, "Master of Phantoms"

Last week, Thomas Cromwell did the right thing for the country and saved Henry VIII's life. He will not live to repent that decision in leisure. This week, his choice comes back to bite him. Wolf Hall reaches its inevitable conclusion as Anne Boleyn fails to save herself. Cromwell watches her fate, knowing one day, it will most likely be his own.

Cromwell: I need guilty men, Harry. So I’ve found men who are guilty. Though not necessarily as charged."

Cromwell has been a fixer for the various factions in the royal family when needed (primarily Henry). Fixing it so the king can divorce Katherine, fixing it so he can marry Anne, and fixing it again when people like Harry Percy attempted to stand in the way of this project. But last week, Anne asked him for a fix too far — compromise Lady Mary, Katherine of Aragon's daughter, the only person who could be considered currently standing between Anne's children and the throne. 

It was the beginning of the rift that continues into this week, as Anne accuses Cromwell of betraying her and reminds him in a rage that those who can be made can be unmade. Little does she know she's speaking of her own fate. 

The finale opens with a stunning image as Anne is dragged up the long dining hall for Cromwell to carve for the awaiting guests of her enemies at the table. Faced with Henry’s request to remove this troublesome wife, Cromwell will take the easiest way. He will set up Anne like she requested last week for him to set up Lady Mary. Her ladies-in-waiting, including Lady Rochford, are ready to sing like canaries that she’s sleeping with anyone and everyone but Henry. So much for “this is not my aim; these are not my methods.”

At least taking down Anne allows Cromwell to take down other targets he’s been eying since Wolsey’s death. They’ll be the collateral damage: George Boleyn, Henry Norris, and William Brereton. Never mind that George is Lady Rochford’s husband or Anne is his sister. Rochford will happily sit there accusing him anyway*. It’s easy to use a teenage braggart like Mark Smeaton to bolster these charges, especially after Anne humiliated him in court. But even Cromwell admits he didn’t think it would be that easy. He promised he’d make them pay, and Norris’ horror that Cromwell has been waiting all these years is a wonder to behold. 

 (*This interfamily-incest angle might feel a bit too akin to Game of Thrones, but that’s history for you.)

Sadly, Francis Weston is also caught in the net, which Cromwell would have liked to avoid. But he’s the closest thing they have to a guilty party and the linchpin to make the charges stick. Unlike the other charges - all a bunch of he said, she said - Anne gave Weston money. Cromwell falters for a moment. After all, what has Weston done? His only sin was being guilty of loving Anne and hoping one day to marry her after Henry died. One has only to look into Mark Rylance’s eyes to see how much Cromwell hates this, even as he lumps the guy in with the others. But then again, most people hate their jobs. 

It’s a brilliant bit of business when it comes time for the trial, tricking George Boleyn into reading aloud insults to the King he never uttered previously. Up until then, George thinks he's winning the battle. All it takes is Cromwell telling him not to read the words aloud, and George is off to the races. "The king cannot copulate with a woman; he has neither skill nor vigor," indeed. 

Knowing how Cromwell feels about having to use Weston makes Anne's trial challenging to watch, seeing Cromwell use her kindness toward the young man against her in front of the court. It's the only charge she says yes to. It doesn't matter. They are both found guilty.

The most harrowing scenes to watch, however, are those surrounding Anne. Foy is brilliant here, as Anne hopes she will survive the whole way to the end. From the moment she's imprisoned with Lady Sheldon to the headsman's axe. Somehow, this nightmare she woke up in, the day after Henry's accident and her miscarriage, will end. She'll just clutch her hands the right way or be humble in the right tone, and all will be forgiven.

Even the day of her execution - brilliantly interspersed with Cromwell inspecting the platform the day before - she still believes. Even as Anne's ermine is taken off, they remove the half-moon headdress she made so famous. Suppose she says the right words, standing on the platform, in a lovely, quiet voice. Henry will walk out, save her, pull the blindfold off, and say, "Just kidding!" He'll change his mind, take her back. He changed the religious trajectory of an entire nation for her, after all. 

Anne maneuvered herself to become queen by forcing the king to promise to marry her before she would grant him sex. But, like all great Shakespearean tragedies, her greatest strength got her to where she was, but it was also her greatest weakness and the reason for her downfall. She was never prepared to hold the Queenship once she got there. 

You see hope in her eyes that she will wake up until those eyes are blindfolded and her head lops off. From the look in Cromwell’s eyes as Henry joyfully embraces him afterward, we know that when his own time to stand up there comes, he will have no such illusions.

One more note: In the opening scenes this week, we see Anne sitting with Elizabeth in her arms, showing how cute she is to Henry. It struck me that the little girl in her mother's lap would become Elizabeth I, one of the greatest British monarchs. Her 45 years on the throne will one day make up a decent portion of England’s "1000 Years of Monarchy" highlight reel. 

Anne Boleyn may have died, but she got her wish — to give birth to a great monarch who would rule the kingdom for decades. She gave birth to the child who would one day be Henry's most significant legacy, but he couldn’t see it because she had the wrong parts.

Perhaps, in the end, that is why this story keeps getting told. The irony is simply too delicious not to have another serving.

PATRIARCHY! **jazzhands**

This post was originally published May 2015. Updated 11.30.2024.

Wolf Hall Season 1 is available to stream on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel and for members of PBS Passport. Wolf Hall: The Mirror & The Light will debut at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 23, 2025, on most PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. All six episodes of Season 2 will be available as a binge on PBS Passport for members starting on premiere day. As always, check you local listings.