Review: 'Tudors': Henry sheds frat boy crown

The evolution of Showtime's grand costume drama, "The Tudors," has taken a remarkable turn in Season 2: It gets a whole lot better when it was already very good. The familiar story of England's King Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and his all-encompassing, dangerous lust for Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer) was the jumping-off point for Season 1 of "The Tudors." It allowed screenwriter Michael Hirst to create a series based on the early years of Henry, much the way he did for both of his feature films, "Elizabeth" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age." By catching Henry in his formative years, Hirst was able to make him virile and emotionally vibrant, breaking from the stereotype of the older, fatter, more vicious king. But it also allowed Hirst to deliver unto Showtime a mostly meaty, and deliciously sexy costume drama. And it worked. The series was a huge audience draw for Showtime and it emboldened the channel to ask for more. Once Rhys Meyers was onboard, despite a thriving film career, everything took off for Season 2. Of course, there were still some critical snickers that "The Tudors" in Season 1 lacked gravitas, that it was devoted to the fashion and sexuality of the period and less to the dramatic heft and historical details. Not that there's anything wrong with that - Rhys Meyers was absolutely riveting in every scene, and Joan Bergin won an Emmy for costume design (a feat she's likely to repeat, given the magnificent, leap-off-the-screen costumes in Season 2).Perhaps some revisionist criticism will come Hirst's way after Season 2, because his efforts in the freshman season now have more clarity. Henry essentially stumbled into the crown when his brother died, which Hirst played up with sex and scandals, aptly using Rhys Meyers and Co. But it spoke to a less-serious Henry. In the early part of Season 1, the king is easily shaped by those in the court, particularly Cardinal Wolsey. The emphasis then was on Henry's much freer spirit. He and best friend Charles Brandon (Henry Cavill) are like two good-looking rich kids having the party of a lifetime: booze, food and girls everywhere, with some jousting and other sports thrown in. And when things get a little slow, some rabble-rousing with neighboring countries. SOURCE OF THIS STORY