"The White Queen" S1E6 review and reaction post
The White Queen reached 1471 and episode 6 tonight which meant the first appearance of Rupert Graves as Lord Thomas Stanley...
After months of anticipation - and a recap of the story so far - we didn't have long to wait! Clearly they know what their trump card is and they play it early - Lord Stanley has the first line of the episode, announcing Anne Neville to Edward's court. (We get a nice zoom in on Rupert as he does this - and he's looking good.)
After that we see Stanley hovering in the background of a few shots - at court talking to Richard, as the Royal household prepares for a hunt - establishing that he is part of the king's inner circle. Thank you, costume department, for giving him a nice visible purple cloak of sex.
Margaret Beaufort meanwhile has been spurned by Jasper Tudor so she decides to find a husband within the York court so she can find a way to let her son Henry return from exile. At first she sends her retainer, Sir Reginald, to make overtures to Richard, Duke of Gloucester but after that fails, he suggests Lord Thomas Stanley.
Margaret scoffs that she should never consider a traitor to the Lancastrian cause like Stanley but her adviser points out that the Stanleys are not traitors but strategists - Stanley and his brother always split up and fight on both sides so no matter what happens, one Stanley will be on the winning side.
Sneaky strategist = sexy in Margaret's book so she makes her move and invites Stanley to meet her. She's quite nervous before he shows up but... Hel-lo..
She likes what she sees ;) - and hears. Stanley makes all the right noises; he doesn't mind her stipulation that the marriage will not include any physical aspect - he has sons already - and he knows how to curry favour with the Yorks. He is both charming and cunning and Margaret seems - dare we say it - happy? The wedding goes ahead.
Afterwards Margaret... decides to test Stanley? Possibly? Or just wants some? Anyway, she greets him at the door of her bedchamber as he is heading for his. He seems interested but reassures her that he will respect her wishes and bids her goodnight.
She strangely looks less than overjoyed at this! Amanda Hale's "well... damn" expression had me literally laughing out loud. Not so keen on that "no sex please, we're power-broking" clause now, are we?
Finally Stanley brings his new wife to court to take up her position as Lady in waiting. She's now where she wanted to be - and the plan to get her son back can get going... next week.
Rupert looks great as Stanley - he can probably do powerful entitled swagger in his sleep by now - and the first impression of Stanley is that he's a devious charmer as opposed to an out-and-out baddie - hope that's the case.
Rupert and Amanda Hale are going to make a great couple - as are Thomas and Margaret. You can tell straight away they like playing off each other and I hope we get several more scenes of them and their flirting-masquerading-as-plotting.
Probably too much to hope for any actual action though... shame.
After months of anticipation - and a recap of the story so far - we didn't have long to wait! Clearly they know what their trump card is and they play it early - Lord Stanley has the first line of the episode, announcing Anne Neville to Edward's court. (We get a nice zoom in on Rupert as he does this - and he's looking good.)
After that we see Stanley hovering in the background of a few shots - at court talking to Richard, as the Royal household prepares for a hunt - establishing that he is part of the king's inner circle. Thank you, costume department, for giving him a nice visible purple cloak of sex.
Margaret Beaufort meanwhile has been spurned by Jasper Tudor so she decides to find a husband within the York court so she can find a way to let her son Henry return from exile. At first she sends her retainer, Sir Reginald, to make overtures to Richard, Duke of Gloucester but after that fails, he suggests Lord Thomas Stanley.
Margaret scoffs that she should never consider a traitor to the Lancastrian cause like Stanley but her adviser points out that the Stanleys are not traitors but strategists - Stanley and his brother always split up and fight on both sides so no matter what happens, one Stanley will be on the winning side.
Sneaky strategist = sexy in Margaret's book so she makes her move and invites Stanley to meet her. She's quite nervous before he shows up but... Hel-lo..
She likes what she sees ;) - and hears. Stanley makes all the right noises; he doesn't mind her stipulation that the marriage will not include any physical aspect - he has sons already - and he knows how to curry favour with the Yorks. He is both charming and cunning and Margaret seems - dare we say it - happy? The wedding goes ahead.
Afterwards Margaret... decides to test Stanley? Possibly? Or just wants some? Anyway, she greets him at the door of her bedchamber as he is heading for his. He seems interested but reassures her that he will respect her wishes and bids her goodnight.
She strangely looks less than overjoyed at this! Amanda Hale's "well... damn" expression had me literally laughing out loud. Not so keen on that "no sex please, we're power-broking" clause now, are we?
Finally Stanley brings his new wife to court to take up her position as Lady in waiting. She's now where she wanted to be - and the plan to get her son back can get going... next week.
Rupert looks great as Stanley - he can probably do powerful entitled swagger in his sleep by now - and the first impression of Stanley is that he's a devious charmer as opposed to an out-and-out baddie - hope that's the case.
Rupert and Amanda Hale are going to make a great couple - as are Thomas and Margaret. You can tell straight away they like playing off each other and I hope we get several more scenes of them and their flirting-masquerading-as-plotting.
Probably too much to hope for any actual action though... shame.