‘Mary & George’ Stop the Relentless Sex to Wage War—and It’s Just as Satisfying
As if there weren’t enough power struggles being waged from week to week on Mary & George, real war is brewing for the English in 1618, and Mary Villiers (Julianne Moore) and her son George (Nicholas Galitzine) are on the proverbial frontlines. Episode 5 of the deliciously provocative seven-episode limited series dials back its sexual overtones for the first time since its premiere.
If Mary & George were a lesser show, those who come to this period piece for all of its licking and lusting—of which there is so much—might be disappointed by this week's lack of copulation. But by dialing up the life-and-death stakes, and putting a sizable wedge between mother and son for the first time, Mary & George Episode 5 shows us that this series can be just as persuasive when it turns its focus from brothels to battles.
At the top of the episode, Sir Walter Raleigh (Joseph Mawle)—a soldier and explorer who was responsible for proliferating the legend of the golden city of El Dorado among the English people—has just recovered from a failed, rogue attack on Spanish troops. In a period of peace following the Anglo-Spanish War, Raleigh’s assault was treasonous to England, and Raleigh kills his Captain to cover it up, but must be shipped back to England regardless to explain the organized strike on Spanish troops to King James I (Tony Curran).