I liked the first season much better than the second. Year two turned into the season of the wimps. This season begins with King Francis allowing himself to be compromised; with the first half or so devoted to that storyline. This whole plot line seemed contrived given that a King, even one as considered and "just" as he is written, would have a relatively simple solution to his little "problem". The provided justification for inaction seemed pretty lame (as well as flimsy) compared to the costs and simply wasn't consistent with the character they've developed over the first season. They had already established that he is perfectly capable (if reluctantly) of being ruthless and his horrific concessions went against everything established about the character. I didn't buy it.
Then after a traumatic incident, the writers further undermined established characters by compromising our Queen Mary, and turning HER into a whiny little wuss. I felt her behavior over the course of the season was completely out of character--she and her King have known each other for their whole lives; and aside from being a political marriage, were known to be a love-match. It was absolutely ridiculous that THIS individual, no matter how traumatized, would simply give in to her fears--not when she's been built up all along as someone that doesn't let anything or anyone stand in the way of duty or love. BOTH of our main characters have been turned into plot devices this season instead of being supported as the forceful and strong-willed, resolute and implacable Monarchs of season one; so deeply in love that nothing would ever break them apart and too formidable to compromise their principles. Big mistake. I would much rather have seen her as someone working to come back to her life over the arc of the season than as someone giving up and giving in. There were a few hints pointing towards recovery, but far too few and none that spoke to her strength of character nor her avowed devotion to her husband. I never got how she could blame her husband, the King--how she could associate him so directly with her trauma (just because he wasn't there?). Never bought it, and that was a BIG part of the problem.
Exploring THIS kind of struggle would have been far more in character and much more interesting; it's the strength in these characters that makes them enticing. This season was just tedious. The show's real hook isn't the romantic entanglements; it isn't even the court's intrigues; it is their struggle to live as they do while they fight against the forces that try to turn them from each other, and from their righteous principles. That is what they lost this season.
While the show always had it's share of soulful confessions and long-winded declarations, the second season had waaaay too much of it and not enough action or genuine intrigue; it turned into a contrived soap opera. Anyone who had grown up at court cut their teeth on intrigue and manipulation. The behavior of the two main characters and their story arc were completely inconsistent with their portrayals of the first season. And while not downplaying the lingering trauma of Mary's experience, the writer's missed a golden opportunity to firmly establish Mary's strength of character and perseverance and instead chose to show her as a spineless victim who unfairly (and illogically) blamed the one person she supposedly loved beyond anything else. I can forgive a lot, but not stupidity in characters that are supposed to be brilliant or whiny weakness in characters written to be indomitable. I really hope that the third season is more like the first season and our Monarchs go back to acting like Kings and Queens. This season has been very disappointing.
