‘Becoming Elizabeth’ Recap: ‘Either Learn or Be Silent’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Becoming Elizabeth’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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What is truly fascinating about the lessons we learn in life, is that few of them come with a label. For there is no text message to inform us that we’ve just learned a valuable lesson about love after an ugly breakup in our lives takes place. Nor is there a detailed email arriving in one’s inbox that explains how we just experienced the selfishness of others. We simply go through it and reflect upon the lesson inherent when the ugly moments have passed and of course, learn from those moments and grow. But it is the going through portion that outright stinks, for it often hurts and leaves us in a difficult place. If anything, how we learn critical life lessons is top of mind today, simply because it is precisely what Princess Elizabeth Tudor dealt with during this week’s episode of Becoming Elizabeth on STARZ.
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For when we catch up with the princess in ‘Either Learn or Be Silent’, she’s preparing to celebrate her fifteenth birthday and well… what should be a joyous and wondrous time, is instead filled to the brim with worry and terror. Largely because, word has traveled far and wide regarding the letter that Elizabeth sent to Mary regarding her allegiances and thoughts regarding her brother’s religious edict, and well… it was certainly not well received in the slightest. Since such a bold letter… could have brought forth strife and punishment if handled in the wrong manner via the king. Teaching Elizabeth a valuable lesson in how to communicate properly, by using the right words that don’t have a devastating impact and sadly, more tough lessons were on the agenda for her in this tale. 

Because once the dust settled from the letter, Thomas and Catherine came to realize… that the only way they could live a life without fear of reprisal or backlash in any form or fashion… was to curry favor with King Edward VI, and the best way to make that happen, was to spend time with him and lavish attention upon him, and what better way to do that, than by having him over for a birthday celebration. All so they could hold court with him and attempt to push him toward a marriage with Jean and hear of their demands and needs, after buttering him up of course. Which was quite crucial for them both at the moment, partly because of the letter incident, but also because… Catherine was with child. And it would not be a good look in the slightest, if the former queen was promptly pregnant with another man’s child. But the king could of course, smooth that over as well.

Which was a decision that taught Elizabeth two painful lessons for certain. The first, was the importance of treating others with respect at all times, even when we hurt internally. Which came forth from the fact that she realized halfway through her own party that this was an event designed to help Catherine and Thomas advance their needs, which hurt her deeply and in turn motivated her to lash out and embarrass them through Jean. All by asking her to sing for the king. For her voice wasn’t ready and Elizabeth knew that and knew such an act would embarrass all parties, and it most certainly did and of course, brought brief satisfaction to the future queen. But thankfully Robert was there to ground her and remind her of the fact that she was better than the cruelty of such acts and that motivated her to do the right thing and apologize for her transgressions. 

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But alas, the second lesson that Elizabeth was forced to learn at this event, came forth in the morning. In that, if one is genuinely uncertain about taking part in a particular act, regardless of the promise of pleasure it brings and how much it makes one’s heart sing… one should deny oneself that pleasure. For the gut always knows when trouble is afoot, and sadly, immaturity and the thrill of matters of love… forced her to ignore that regarding Thomas’ advances, but she won’t again. For she and Thomas were caught in the midst of their affair and the realization that Elizabeth curried Thomas’ romantic favor just by being herself was more than Catherine could bear. And after an intense and ugly confrontation between Catherine and Thomas… one that revealed his desire for the princess would not cool, she made quite the decision.
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In that, she basically banished the future queen from Chelsea. For ridiculous and insignificant reasons of course. But nevertheless, the move took Elizabeth and the rest of the household by complete and utter surprise. For it was a bold move, one that punished Elizabeth over a man that quite frankly, used her youth and naïve nature to get the sexual gratification he wanted. Which made these moments, both a powerful lesson about not giving into desires we know are wrong, and a fine reminder of how little has changed since the time of the Tudors. For women are still punished for the transgressions of men that cannot keep it in their pants and cannot exert a simple measure of self-control, making this quite the poignant and powerful move. One that puts Elizabeth in undiscovered country for certain. 

However, what matters more here, is that this was… a flawless exploration of how we learn ugly lessons in life. Because it is through the aftermath of making mistakes and taking part in poor decisions that we come to realize what went wrong and what we should have done differently. But what makes Elizabeth’s journey here so unique in that regard, is that she endured a lot of cruelty and selfishness as she learned her lessons, and doled out a bit herself, and one cannot help but wonder if the cruelty exhibited here, helped to form the temperamental nature of this future leader. All so that others would not feel the shame and pain that she did in this particular tale and if so, that makes this a powerful and important tale indeed.

One that also, set the stage for potentially ugly future conflicts. After all, there is bad blood now between the siblings because of the religious divide and the power play that the Duke of Somerset is taking part in, is of concern as well. Simply because, it’s obvious that King Edward has a touch of a temper and lusts for power and control, and any man that would dare speak to him in the manner that the duke did here, on more than one occasion, could pay the price dearly. Regardless of whether or not he’s right about the king’s immaturity and it is that immaturity that could lead to violent trouble. For an angry and unrestrained boy with the power of England at his fingertips could make life quite difficult for all. Until next time.

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