Wolf Hall’s second episode has aired, and if you’re not a history buff or reader, you may be feeling overwhelmed by the cast of characters.
Thankfully, the Religion News Service of the Huffington Post has a thorough guide detailing the four Thomases.
From the article:
Viewers of Masterpiece’s “Wolf Hall” might be forgiven for getting a bit confused about who’s who in the six-part miniseries based on Hilary Mantel’s books. At least four of the main characters are all named Thomas. Even more confusing, three of the four Thomases wear nearly identical black hats.
The Guardian posted an in-depth recap of episode two months ago, when it first aired in Britain, but it may be helpful to American viewers struggling to keep up with the complex and slowly unfolding story. Spoilers abound if you haven’t seen the second episode yet, but it is available on the PBS website.
Hilary Mantel, twice Booker winning author of the original novels, was interviewed on Studio 360 for a long piece about Wolf Hall and Thomas Cromwell. She talks about the obviousness of Cromwell’s story, and her surprise that no one else wrote it. She sees Cromwell as a sort of archetype of the self-made person, rising from an obscure birth to a place of prominence and importance. (Audio only, no transcript)
Are you still enjoying the show? Would you enjoy it less if you weren’t already familiar with the story and the era? Most importantly: why do three of the four Thomases all shop at the same hattery?
Posted by David Streever