‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ brilliantly uses the show’s 10-year hiatus to its advantage
A 10-year hiatus is almost unheard of in television, even in today’s media landscape. Though, once upon a time, we went a mere summer without a new season of our favorite network shows, the streaming era has changed everything. Nowadays, we’re used to waiting two, three, sometimes even four years for the next season of a Netflix, Max, Disney+, or Prime Video original, and most of these seasons are only 6-10 episodes long. How many are truly worth the wait?
Granted, British TV has suffered slightly less during the streaming era. Most of the BBC’s or ITV’s crime, period, or contemporary dramas have historically consisted of less than 10 episodes a season anyway, and the Brits are generally quite good at keeping to a yearly schedule (though two-year waits are becoming more commonplace, too). Perhaps that’s why it was such a surprise when the BBC announced that it was producing a sequel to its gorgeous historical drama, Wolf Hall, nearly a decade after the original had premiered.
A surprise, but certainly a welcome one. The first series of Wolf Hall, based on the first two books of the late Hilary Mantel’s acclaimed Wolf Hall book trilogy, was very much Thomas Cromwell’s (Mark Rylance) and Queen Anne Boleyn’s (Claire Foy’s) story. Gorgeously acted, shot, and written, it is undoubtedly the pinnacle of royal British period dramas. The second series, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, is based on the final book of Mantel’s trilogy. Rylance’s advisor to the King remains a sensation, and though Foy’s Anne Boleyn’s is missed—the first series ends with her infamous beheading—Damien Lewis’ Henry VIII fills the void exceptionally well. Cromwell is stuck in a spiral of despair and deceit, while King Henry becomes increasingly megalomaniacal.
The brilliance of this show aside, 10 years is a long time to wait. Even more so than in 2015, audiences are accustomed to instant gratification. Would anyone still be interested in a show like this, a decade on? After all, people complain about forgetting what happened in a show released two years ago. Would people remember these characters, the complex politics, and messy familial relations?
You might not think it’s possible, but I’d argue the 10-year break was a brilliant move. If anything, it makes The Mirror and the Light feel like a true event. It’s a glorious return to a rich and thematically relevant world. We’ve essentially been given a reward for waiting.
Strangely, it also makes the history feel more significant. By splitting up these two very sequential periods in Cromwell’s life, let’s call them BAD and AAD (before Anne’s death and after Anne’s death), there’s a clear point of no return for Cromwell. He was a political snake before he condemned Boleyn to death, certainly, but he only truly begins to lose his grip on the situation in the aftermath of her execution. He’s a man on the brink; haunted by memories of his mentor, Cardinal Wolsey (Jonathan Pryce), and plagued by nightmares of Anne. He’s the same man, but different, and the long break between the two seasons emphasizes that even more. It’s marvelous—just like the rest of the show.
For television like this, 10 years feels like nothing.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light episode 1 is available now on PBS Masterpiece. New episodes premiere weekly on Sundays until April 27. All episodes are available now on BBC iPlayer in the U.K.
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