Watch: The Spanish Princess Season 2 Begins with Hope and Heartache

By Keri Lumm  |  October 12, 2020 | 12:15pm
Photos Courtesy of Starz
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Watch: The Spanish Princess Season 2 Begins with Hope and Heartache
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Keri Lumm reviews the premiere episode of The Spanish Princess Season 2 for Paste, which you can watch in the video above or read the transcript of below. For more on the series, check out our spoiler-free review, an interview with EPs Emma Frost and Matthew Graham, and a video interview with the cast about Season 2.

The Spanish Princess is back for its second and final season, and the first episode had plenty going on.

Though they do deny us a whole wedding scene, we’re shown a flashback to Catherine remembering the day as she chooses which crown to wear to meet her father who is coming for a visit.

The series also shows a spicy bedroom life for the King and Queen with an abduction scene complete with masks for Henry to get his wife in bed.

They seem to be doing fine

Catherine’s father coming to visit isn’t as great, although he is going to meet Henry and the baby, Henry the IX, for the first time. Of course, in-laws are notorious for causing problems, and the King of Spain is no exception.

He comes in and greets his son in law with a kiss on the lips. That was unexpected!

While he’s pleased to have a grandson, the King of Spain seems a little on the fence about working with England against France. Henry then decides to show off and prove that his armor is the best with a joust. It’s the typical medieval scene one remembers from old favorites like Robin Hood only this time, the injury is for REAL.

King Henry rides the joust without incident, but his opponent goes down and his eye is hanging and he just rips it out. Ironically, I had to cover my eyes. He would have only had to cover one!

Meanwhile, Lina and Oviedo are still in love and doing well. The couple is stable, just a normal family that happens to work within the palace.

Princess Meg, however, does not seem to be loving her life in Scotland, maybe because even though she is royal, she is essentially the nanny. She is not only taking care of her own kids, but her husband’s kids from previous relationships.

Not what a queen was necessarily trained to do.

What she wants to do is make peace between England and Scotland. That is why she married King James in the first place, but he does not seem interested. In fact, he doesn’t even seem interested in getting his clans to agree with one another.,

Back in England, Catherine’s father decides that Spain will ally with them. What could he do after a guy sacrificed his eyeball?

This makes things upsetting for Lina, who is now expecting and her husband must go away and serve their country, but they all do what they are duty-bound to do.

The problem is, while some might feel duty-bound, the King of Spain does not. He does not ultimately meet up with the English. Instead, he goes to deal with his own lands, and the English waste time and resources waiting for him.

It’s like a bad Tinder date, only it costs you money and months.

Lina is embarrassed because she is Spanish, and Catherine feels responsibility because her father betrayed her husband. She then goes to ask Henry to sleep with her, but he says he is tired. (That’s even worse than pleading a headache.)

Lina wants to be normal, but Catherine is itching for power. It’s in her blood, and it is her duty as a daughter of a king and the wife of one. But, she has no power over death, and when she is praying in the chapel her son dies unexpectedly. It is shocking and heartbreaking. She is grief-stricken, as one would assume, but ultimately, King Henry tells her not to worry—they will have another son. A stronger son.

This is the one downside of historical fiction. We kind of know what happens, and the Camelot these have created is not destined to last …

The Spanish Princess, though, is finally being given the spotlight she has deserved for years—and all the girl power in the show is a treasure.

The Spanish Princess airs Sunday nights on Starz.

Keri is a professional chatterbox who loves watching TV & movies, reading about pop culture, and gawking at any craziness on the internet. You can follow Keri on Twitter.

For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV.

 
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