The WORST episodes of The Tudors

Every episode of The Tudors ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Tudors!

The young, vibrant King Henry VIII, is a competitive and lustful monarch who navigates the intrigues of the English court and the human heart with equal vigor and justifiable suspicion.

Last Updated: 11/15/2024Network: Paramount+ with ShowtimeStatus: Ended
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Simply Henry
star
7.17
1787 votes

#1 - Simply Henry

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/8/2007

Henry contemplates an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Spain despite his "Field of Cloth of Gold" ceremony celebrating allegiance to France, and executes a rival; Elizabeth gives birth to the king's illegitimate son.

Directors: Charles Douglas
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Protestant Anne of Cleves
star
7.24
1103 votes

#2 - Protestant Anne of Cleves

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/17/2009

War looms with France and Spain aligning against England with backing from Rome, so Henry agrees to a politically fortuitous marriage with Anne of Cleves, a plain and unsophisticated German aristocrat he has never met.

Directors: Jeremy Podeswa
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In Cold Blood
star
7.30
2133 votes

#3 - In Cold Blood

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/1/2007

Henry prepares for war with France but receives cautious counsel from the powerful Cardinal Wolsey, who urges a peace treaty; the king learns that his queen's lady-in-waiting Elizabeth Blount is pregnant with his child.

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Everything is Beautiful
star
7.37
1165 votes

#4 - Everything is Beautiful

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/30/2008

The Reformation begins as Henry breaks with the Catholic Church and declares himself head of the church; Anne's insistence leads to Henry breaking all contact with Katherine and banishing her from the court.

Directors: Jeremy Podeswa
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Tears of Blood
star
7.38
1144 votes

#5 - Tears of Blood

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/6/2008

Henry continues undermining the Catholic Church's influence in England, while his chaplain makes a fact-finding tour of Lutheran Germany; Anne resolves to consummate her relationship with the king as Brandon plants doubts about her virtue.

Directors: Jeremy Podeswa
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Civil Unrest
star
7.39
1135 votes

#6 - Civil Unrest

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/5/2009

Henry VIII weds a third time: to shy, demure noblewoman Jane Seymour, a union that he and his advisors pray will result in a male heir; once-loyal subjects rebel against Henry's crusade against Catholicism.

Directors: Ciaran Donnelly
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Checkmate
star
7.40
1181 votes

#7 - Checkmate

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/13/2008

His patience at an end, Henry marries Anne in secret, appoints his Lutheran chaplain Thomas Cranmer the head of the Church, and strips Queen Katherine of her title and status; the king and new queen's first child is born, a girl christened Elizabeth.

Directors: Colm McCarthy
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Search for a New Queen
star
7.41
1143 votes

#8 - Search for a New Queen

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/10/2009

Matchmaking begins in earnest as Cromwell schemes to secure the Reformation by marrying Henry to a Protestant wife - but the king's marital reputation precedes him; the condition of Henry's wounded leg turns life-threatening.

Directors: Jeremy Podeswa
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The Definition of Love
star
7.42
1101 votes

#9 - The Definition of Love

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/4/2008

The power of Thomas Cromwell spreads as he investigates the Church for corruption, even as the Pope denounces the execution of Sir Thomas More; the queen is rebuffed by the king of France, who refuses to recognize her daughter's legitimacy.

Directors: Ciaran Donnelly
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You Have My Permission
star
7.42
1484 votes

#10 - You Have My Permission

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/16/2010

The newly single Henry surprises his countrymen by restoring his daughters to the royal succession, forging an unexpected political alliance, and manipulating events to marry an attractive, mature, and recent widow.

Directors: Ciaran Donnelly
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Problems in the Reformation
star
7.42
1217 votes

#11 - Problems in the Reformation

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/3/2009

Henry remains in seclusion while mourning the queen's death, an opportunity that enemies of the crown seize to murder several friends of the court; Cromwell is disturbed when Henry doesn't resist his new church's similarities to Catholicism.

Directors: Jeremy Podeswa
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The Act of Succession
star
7.43
1116 votes

#12 - The Act of Succession

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/20/2008

The country is asked to swear an oath recognizing the new royal succession, and Henry's supreme authority; Anne becomes pregnant again; Sir Thomas More refuses to swear to all aspects of the oath and is jailed in the Tower of London.

Directors: Colm McCarthy
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Wolsey, Wolsey, Wolsey!
star
7.43
1525 votes

#13 - Wolsey, Wolsey, Wolsey!

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/15/2007

A visit from Charles V forces Henry to conceal his growing disaffection from Queen Katherine, who is the influential Spanish monarch's aunt - even as Henry comes face-to-face with the seductive Anne Boleyn for the first time.

Directors: Steve Shill
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Matters of State
star
7.44
1188 votes

#14 - Matters of State

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/11/2008

The persecution of the Catholic Church reaches its pinnacle as Thomas Cromwell confiscates its wealth for the crown, making Henry the richest English king in history, while Katherine dies in pious poverty.

Directors: Dearbhla Walsh
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Arise, My Lord
star
7.47
1414 votes

#15 - Arise, My Lord

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/29/2007

Henry is stunned by a reversal in his alliance with Charles V and forced to look elsewhere for European support, while an insulted Anne Boleyn refuses his offer of permanent mistress status, inflaming his desire to marry her.

Directors: Brian Kirk
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Moment of Nostalgia
star
7.49
1724 votes

#16 - Moment of Nostalgia

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/11/2010

King Henry VIII marries his fifth queen, a lusty teenager whose beauty and checkered past inflame the passions of a trusted courtier, Thomas Culpepper.

Directors: Dearbhla Walsh
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Bottom of the Pot
star
7.49
1658 votes

#17 - Bottom of the Pot

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/9/2010

The king is devastated to learn of his beloved queen's ribald past and present affairs, and banishes her from court, even as the investigation rounds up and tortures suspects.

Directors: Ciaran Donnelly
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Truth and Justice
star
7.49
1237 votes

#18 - Truth and Justice

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/20/2007

A special envoy from the Pope arrives to hear Henry's petition regarding the legitimacy of his marriage, with the fate of Cardinal Wolsey's career, the king's romance with Anne Boleyn, and the nation's relationship with Rome in the balance.

Directors: Alison Maclean
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Sister
star
7.50
1584 votes

#19 - Sister

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/18/2010

Henry's age catches up to him during Christmas celebrations, but his youthful and randy court continues the party without him; the arrogant Lord Surrey takes aim at the powerful Seymour clan.

Directors: Dearbhla Walsh
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Dissention and Punishment
star
7.51
1178 votes

#20 - Dissention and Punishment

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/19/2009

Henry reconciles with his estranged daughters Mary and Elizabeth in time for the Christmas holidays, but betrays and brutally suppresses the rebellion against him after making conciliatory promises to the uprising's leaders.

Directors: Ciaran Donnelly
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Something for You
star
7.52
1477 votes

#21 - Something for You

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/25/2010

A noticeably more benevolent and tolerant Henry VIII forgives the citizens of the North for their rebellion against him, but the youthful wife he dotes upon launches a passionate affair with Culpepper.

Directors: Dearbhla Walsh
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Sixth and the Final Wife
star
7.53
1431 votes

#22 - Sixth and the Final Wife

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/23/2010

War looms with France as Henry marries Catherine Parr, who proves to be an able and respected queen and stepmother, finally giving England's king the stable, happy household he has long desired.

Directors: Jeremy Podeswa
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Natural Ally
star
7.53
1548 votes

#23 - Natural Ally

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/2/2010

The king's warm welcome in the North reinvigorates him but his queen's past catches up to her when a former lover appears with threats of blackmail, and an anonymous letter exposes her infidelities to Henry.

Directors: Ciaran Donnelly
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Message to the Emperor
star
7.53
1337 votes

#24 - Message to the Emperor

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/13/2007

The country is struck down with food shortages and an outbreak of plague, forcing the normally buoyant Henry to doubt his future and abilities - but a sudden change in fortunes is on the horizon.

Directors: Alison Maclean
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Secrets of the Heart
star
7.53
1523 votes

#25 - Secrets of the Heart

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/13/2010

In the Series Finale, Henry defeats one final political foe but faces his mortality after the deaths of both his best friend Charles Brandon and King Francis of France, and the ghosts of his former queens appear for a final confrontation.

Directors: Ciaran Donnelly
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV