‘My Lady Jane’ Recap: ‘With a Girl Like You’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Emily Bader and Edward Bluemel as Jane Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley in Episode 103 of ‘My Lady Jane’ – ‘With a Girl Like You’. (Photo Courtesy of Jonathan Prime/Prime Video.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘My Lady Jane’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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For the most part, stories that exist in an alternate timeline where someone important in history survived their early expiration… rarely right the timeline, if you will. Simply because, the possibilities are now endless, and a life can truly be explored to the fullest… so why bother with going back and set up the possibility that someone might tragically fade from time once again? But now and again, you do see a story go the opposite route and feature that cornerstone moment of their life. Not to be cruel, mind you, but to further toy with the notion of ‘What if?’ and see what would happen if they were able to live and thrive and be part of what robbed them of life.

If anything, this particular aspect of storytelling is top of mind today, simply because the next episode of My Lady Jane on Prime Video, opted to slightly correct the very timeline that it shattered, in quite the grandiose fashion. For ‘With a Girl Like You’ spent a lot of time, inside the palace walls to explore the finer points of what happens when a King dies. For dear Edward VI was gone now and that meant Seymour and Mary were eager to execute the next part of their plans. Which was to have Mary ascend to the throne, and execute Lord Dudley for harming the King, so they could enact horrific and sweeping changes to England, the kind that would see the Ethians perish. 

But there was, just one particular problem with their plan. In that, the last Will and Testament of the King, went missing. Which they badly needed in order to properly complete Mary’s ascension to the throne. So, rather than wait to find it and do things the right way, it stood to reason… to just forge a document. After all, once a guy like Seymour decides to commit to regicide, what’s a little forgery going to do to a fractured conscience? But alas, forging a new Will was no easy task. In large part because the new one needed the King’s seal, which wasn’t readily available. But that didn’t stop Seymour from trying to push it through and well, it was a wonderful thing that everyone demanded that seal. Because it allowed for the real Will to finally show up (it was in Beth’s room all along) and well, put history back on course, just a bit, if you will.

Because it did name a successor, Jane to be specific, and that could not have come at a better time for her. Since her journey here was filled with struggle and moving moments. Since she failed over and over again to find a cure for Guildford, and she even found herself under fire from assassins. Granted, she clearly could handle herself, but that was a lot, as was what Susannah did to try and afford a meal. Since she lied about being kidnapped to get some money, a move that prompted Jane to take a beat and learn the why behind such an act and well, that made the news that she was now the Queen of England, both bittersweet and delightful. The former because obviously, Edward has followed his fate, albeit late and that’s just tragic.

But the latter, means that Jane gets her shot to be Queen after all, just like her real-world counterpart did, and that perhaps… things will go quite differently this time. Since this Jane has a little more life experience, which can help guide her and well, this made for one wild episode. One that showcased all kinds of incredible moments and incredible ideas and truly does pique our interest with its bold choice storytelling wise. Because history is kinda, sorta, back on track here and that can indeed lead to a unique examination of how Jane would have ruled under better circumstances, just… with Ethains present. Which means the time has come to hit play and see what a Jane Grey era would have looked like, courtesy of the wonder of ‘What if?’ Until next time.

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