Becoming Elizabeth

This take on the Tudors boasts poison of every flavour. Succession has a very promising heir.

Becoming Elizabeth grants the future monarch some of the agency that she claims to have been denied — and that the inevitability of history too often robs of its most influential figures. In the process, it turns a centuries-old tale into something both timeless and fresh.

Becoming Elizabeth takes a while to work up a head of steam. The dialogue contains quite a bit of idiot-board signposting – our daughter Jane, my sister Mary, your brother the King etc. Yet by episode three it has taken on a propulsive intensity, largely thanks to Anya Reiss’s sweaty, seamy, salty script, full of vomit and piss and cruelty.

Starz’s latest female-focused costume drama does excel at showing audiences that the formidable Queen Elizabeth was not the only extraordinary woman vying for power. The best part of Becoming Elizabeth might not be what it tells us about the legendary ruler, but how it lets the complex women in her orbit shine.

Smart, engaging and a lot of moving pieces (so do a little homework first).

The series isn’t content to be a saucy exploration of the Tudor era, but instead a searing examination of the politics of the time. Think of it like “Succession” with French hoods.

“Becoming Elizabeth” is steady enough on its feet to offer hope that there should be a more nuanced ending to come.

On the strength of the four episodes watched for this review, the whole is thinly plotted, slowly paced, lacking a strong center or any sense of humor. As played with spunk and dewy innocence by von Rittberg, the redheaded princess is appealing, but ultimately a blushing cipher.

Becoming Elizabeth is less obsessed with the royal intrigue than with bodice ripping—quite literally at one point—once young Liz’s loins are stirred by the flirtatious attentions of her brother’s rowdy uncle, Thomas Seymour (the charismatic Tom Cullen), who impulsively weds the late king’s lusty and manipulative widow, Catherine Parr (Jessica Raine, chewing the luscious scenery). [13 Jun - 3 Jul 2022, p.5]