The fantasy-romance TV showMy Lady Janewas an immediate hit with critics and audiences when it premiered in June of 2024 on Prime Video, largely thanks to its sense of humor. Based on the book by Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton, and Cynthia Hand,My Lady Janetook the best parts of period romances, speculative fiction, and comedy and combined them into one of the freshest takes on all three genres that audiences have seen in years. The comedic timing of the tremendous cast and the sharp writing make itone of the funniest shows of 2024.
Led by Emily Bader and Edward Bluemel as Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley,My Lady Janerelied on the central pairs' chemistry, and critics and audiences were not disappointed. The fact thatMy Lady Janewas canceledhas been a source of upset and criticism against Amazon Prime. Plenty of other fantasy series that have received worse reviews and have much larger budgets are renewed, whileMy Lady Janewas axed after just one season. Though it seems unlikely thatMy Lady Janewill be saved, it’s still fun to return to the single-season and enjoy its quips.
10“Fingers Crossed”
Season 1, Episode 2, “Wild Thing”
My Lady Janenailed the enemies-to-lovers romance tropewith Jane and Guildford. Though they met once before by chance, Jane and Guildford have no idea it’s the person they found so attractive yet detestable at the tavern who’s also the person they’re being married off to. At the wedding, despite being just a little bit pleased that Guildford is the one at the altar,Jane does her best to get the wedding called off by pretending to have the affliction,a disease of the lungs. Of course, she doesn’t, so the nuptials proceed as planned.
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My Lady Jane features an amazing romance between Jane & Guildford, and while the pair might start at odds, their love story breaks barriers.
At their reception, Guildford calls Jane out for trying to get out of the marriage and asks her how she created the fake blood that came out of her mouth. Instead of admitting her trickery,Jane digs her heals in and tells Guildford that she might very well have the afflictionand that they’ll both die. In response, Guildford says, “fingers crossed,” implying that he doesn’t believe her for a second and is more than capable of keeping up with her tricks and deceptions.
Lord Dudley (Rob Brydon) and Lord Seymour (Dominic Cooper) are a hilarious duo inMy Lady Jane, as the pair hate each other and find themselves on opposite sides of almost every conflict, fighting like children. When Seymour and Mary (Kate O’Flynn) try to frame Dudley for poisoning King Edward (Jordan Peters), it’s just as Jane is named Queen and is trying her hand at ruling for the first time.She makes it her business to determine who is responsible for killing Edward,who she loved like a brother.
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Of course,Dudley had nothing to do with poisoning Edward, and Seymour is the real culprit,but the pair of them make fools of themselves while trying to convince Jane of their innocence. Though it’s a somewhat dramatic moment, it’s also satisfying because Jane feels no love toward her father-in-law and resents him for forcing her to go through with the marriage. Seeing him and the odious Seymour beg while the actors demonstrate their comedic skills is a strong break in the tension.
8Frances’ “First Best” Skill
Season 1, episode 7, “Another Girl, Another Planet”
Frances is one of thebest characters inMy Lady Jane, and though she’s unafraid to sell her daughters out for power and money, she does this with flair and style. Few can say that their mothers give as much advice about intimate relations as Frances does, and though Frances' comments embarrass Jane and her sisters to no end, it’s hilarious for the audience.She has a love affair of her own inMy Lady Janewith Guildford’s brother,Stan (Henry Ashton), and is proud of her achievements in the bedroom.
At the end of the day, Frances is a survivor and knows exactly how to massage the truth and manipulate monarchs to make sure her family survives every regime change.
At the end of the day, Frances is a survivor and knows exactly how to massage the truth and manipulate monarchs to make sure her family survives every regime change. After Jane is arrested for treason by Mary, and it seems her and her family’s heads are on the chopping block, Frances assures Katherine (Isabella Brownson) and Margaret (Robyn Betteridge) that her second-best skill is playing the game of the court. When asked her first-best skill, she tells her daughters it’s a particular sexual act.
7"This Is A Dagger"
Season 1, episode 3, “With A Girl Like You”
As one of thebest period romance TV shows,My Lady Janeknows how to build tension between its romantic leads. In episode 3, “With A Girl Like You,” Jane and Guildford go on a not-so-romantic stroll through the woods as they prepare to pay the ransom for Jane’s captured friend. Of course, things don’t go as Jane imagined, and she and Guildford aren’t the conquering heroes she planned. However,Jane first sets off alone but is soon startled by Guildford, who decides to join herin an unexpectedly chivalrous turn.
Naturally, Jane can’t make things easy for him and doesn’t take it well when he says he came to protect her, as she can take care of herself. When Guildford tells her she needs to arm herself with a dagger and pulls out a tiny knife,she shows him how prepared she is by pulling out a large and fearsome daggerof her own. It doesn’t take long after this for the pair of them to engage in a duel, which results in one of the couple’s most iconic scenes in the show.
6"Do You Come Here Often?"
Season 1, episode 1, “Who’ll Be The Next In Line?”
Jane and Guildford’s first meeting is one for the ages,and as the narrator suggests, while they might not feel love at first sight, they most certainly feel lust. Locking eyes with him from across the tavern, Jane approaches Guildford, and sparks fly, with the pair bantering and giving each other little digs from the start. However, Jane’s opening line helps to undercut the tension and sets them up for a verbal sparring match as Jane tries to recover from asking Guildford if he “comes here often.”
Though Jane is the heroine and inarguable brilliant, she’s far from perfect and gets flustered in Guildford’s presence.
The typical and often ridiculed pick-up line, “Do you come here often,” is well known in modern society, and though Jane using it here is anachronistic, it’s a scene that defines the show’s sense of humor. Though Jane is the heroine and inarguable brilliant, she’s far from perfect and gets flustered in Guildford’s presence. Of course,Guildford gets equally flustered,as shown in the rest of the scene, which establishes their dynamic perfectly.
5Stan’s Serenade
The relationship between Stan and Frances is not on the same level of epic love as Jane and Guildford’s romance,but it is a funny foil for the audience to watch. Frances has no trouble using Stan as she does everyone else, but the poor young man can’t help slowly falling for Frances, even though she consistently turns him down and tells him that their relationship doesn’t mean anything to her. This culminates in Stan taking matters into his own hands with a romantic gesture, 16th-century style.
Serenading Frances with a lute from below her window, Stan makes a fool of himself and embarrasses Frances, but it’s a great moment and a vital one. The stakes are getting higher at this point inMy Lady Jane, and it’s important for funny scenes like Stan’s misguided romancing to punctuate the drama of Jane and Guildford’s secret. Unfortunately, in Stan’s haste to please Frances and earn her love,he accidentally reveals Guildford’s true identity.
4Edward Learns The Ways Of The Kingdom
Season 1, episode 2, “Wild Thing”
King Edward has some of the worst luck inMy Lady Jane, as the young king begins the series getting poisoned, and his sister Mary plots his death to usurp him throughout the story. Being sheltered his whole life and prevented from experiencing the realities of the kingdom, Edward has no idea what to expect when he learns that he’s being poisoned and must take matters into his own hands. Venturing out to the market in disguise with his ally, Petunia (Tallulah Greive),he’s delighted to be insulted and ridiculed by the common people.
Everyone he talks to doesn’t treat him like the king, and while Edward is thrilled, this makes a hilarious juxtaposition between the things people are saying to him and his elevated reaction.
Everyone he talks to doesn’t treat him like the king, and while Edward is thrilled, this makes a hilarious juxtaposition between the things people are saying to him and his elevated reaction. Even though his objective is to discover who’s been poisoning him,Edward clearly longs to be away from the castle and understand how the world works.This ties into his later arc when he escapes from imprisonment twice and goes on the road with Fitz (Joe Klocek), the man who changes his life.
3“Missed”
It doesn’t take long for Guildford and Jane’s playful banter to transform into full-on loathing,even if that hatred is tinged with desire. On their wedding night, despite their mutual attraction, Jane and Guildford miscommunicate about how they see each other, and the secrets they’re keeping make it impossible for them to act on their feelings. When Guildford says he needs a drink for what seems like the millionth time that night, Jane decides she’s had enough.
After an explosive argument in which Guildford says horrible things to Jane that go against everything she believes in,she throws a drink in his face and leaves him soaking wet.In response, he tries to throw one back, but she dodges it and rubs the fact that he missed in his face. Unable to say how angry and hurt they are, Jane and Guildford resort to grade school insults and make the other look ridiculous. It’s funny to look back on this moment when compared to how far the couple eventually comes.
2Margaret Saves Katherine From Marriage
While murder is never funny,it’s hard not to see the end of the detestable Duke of Leicester (Jim Broadbent) as a good thingand hilarious in the way he goes. Jane’s youngest sister, Margaret, is characterized as having some intense and violent tendencies from the beginning, but for the most part, she channels these to protect her sisters. After Frances realizes that the Dudleys have no money, she sees no other choice but to marry Katherine to the old and decrepit Duke of Leicester, in a terrible turn of fate.
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Resigned to her fate, Katherine informs Margaret that she, too, will eventually marry whoever she’s told and end up in a terrible situation. Of course,the free-spirited Margaret refuses to accept this and decides that Leicester will never lay his hands on her sister,killing him by suffocating him with an apple. It’s a bizarre scene, as a young girl is committing murder, but this contrast is where the humor comes from. It also helps that Katherine appreciates this gesture so much.
1Jane Tries To Comfort Her Staff
By the last few episodes of the series, Jane has gone through a lot, and it seems like her fate is sealed. While waiting for her trial, which she knows will be a sham since Mary is presiding over it, Jane is sent home to await her summoning and tries to keep her head up for the sake of the staff who have known her for years.In typical Jane fashion, she quotes an obscure line of literaturethat no one really understands. However, in this case, even she isn’t sure what it means.
However, this dark humor and easing of tension in the most bleak moments is whatMy Lady Janedoes best. The series understands that it’s not a full-blown drama, so seeing Jane marched to her death with agony isn’t what audiences want to see. Additionally, as a character, Jane will always attempt to make the best of a situation and usually end up embarrassing herself a little, even when her life is on the line.
My Lady Jane
Cast
My Lady Jane is a Prime Video original series created by Gemma Burgess. The story is a “what if” style story of English royal history where King Henry VIII’s son Edward, Lady Jane Grey, and her husband Guildford all survive their real-life deaths. In the retelling of history, Jane Grey takes center stage, becoming queen and immediately finding herself facing nefarious villains.
