‘My Lady Jane’ – Our Biggest Unanswered Questions After the Finale

The Big Picture

• My Lady Jane
  is a Prime Video series with a whimsical twist on history, featuring a daring and charming reimagining of Queen Jane’s reign.
• Queen Jane faces powerful foes, escapes execution, and seeks to save her family while challenging societal divides between Ethians and Verities.
• The cancelled series tantalizes viewers with unresolved questions about Jane’s future, reuniting with Edward, and potentially ending the Ethian-Verity divide.

It’s terribly unfortunate news that My Lady Jane, even with its biting sharp wit and impetuously endearing charm, has been put to the ax after just one season. Prime Video’s newest and most daring original series features a cheeky revisionist history of the Nine Days’ Queen, Jane Grey (Emily Bader), and her unexpected rise to England’s throne — as well as her subsequent execution shortly thereafter. While the real-life Queen Jane was unable to escape the chopping block, the fictionalized version of Tudor England’s brightest woman manages a miraculous escape from her execution, even rescuing her husband, Guilford Dudley (Edward Bluemel), along the way. But while the fiery couple makes their daring dash from their planned execution, their story is far from its happy ending. With the gloomy cloud of the series cancelation looming over viewers’ heads, the eager audience is left enraptured by the many unanswered questions from this plucky romantic fantasy — about Lady Jane, the crown and kingdom, and, perhaps most enigmatically, the sordid love affairs brewing within the castle walls.

What Is ‘My Lady Jane’ About?

My Lady Jane follows the titular Lady Jane, likely the most learned and studious woman in England, during her unlikely ascent to the throne. The romantic fantasy series takes a bold and defiant approach to historical accuracy, choosing to forgo precision in favor of a stylized adaptation of the real Jane Grey’s tragic life. The show radiates a whimsical energy, combining fantasy and romance in its already compelling narrative, as Jane’s journey toward freedom is a story full of charming wit and character.

Shortly after her marriage to Guilford Dudley, Jane’s world gets entirely upended. First, she learns that her husband is secretly Ethian, a person magically capable of turning into an animal (in this case, a horse), though he’s unable to control his transformations. Second, her cousin King Edward VI (Jordan Peters) is believed to be dead, leaving England without a ruling monarch. Third, the “late” king’s will is found, declaring Jane Grey to be the new Queen of the kingdom. As the unexpectedly appointed Queen of England, Jane becomes a progressive and daring ruler, challenging the previously established Division Laws that separated Ethians from their non-magical counterparts, the Verities. However, despite the favor she curries from Ethians, there are those in court who jealously seek Jane’s downfall.

What Happens in the ‘My Lady Jane’ Finale?

The most precocious opponent of Queen Jane is Princess Mary (Kate O’Flynn), the half-sibling and attempted murderer of the previous king. After some failed assassination attempts against the new Queen, Mary and her loyal conspirator Lord Seymour (Dominic Cooper) return to the castle and oust Jane by force. Unfortunately for Jane, her progressive politics leave her without many allies, perfectly susceptible to a coup d’etat.

Mary arrests Jane on the grounds of treason, asserting that her claim to the throne is entirely invalid. Though the support of Princess Bess (Abbie Hern) nearly allows Jane to walk away a free woman, Guilford’s secret is revealed to the court. With Division Laws still in place barring marriage Ethians and Verities, the two are scheduled to be put to death. However, in the last moments before her head is lopped off by the executioner, Jane is rescued by a group of Ethians led by her dear friend, Máiréad Tyers, which allows her and Guilford to escape the Tower of London with their heads intact. But though the pair escape the bloody queen’s clutches, there are still innumerable loose ends that have yet to be sorted.

What Will Happen to Jane and Her Family?

Though Jane is able to escape in the season finale, there’s still plenty to do for the one-time queen. Her mother, Frances (Anna Chancellor), and two sisters, Katherine (Isabella Brownson) and (Robyn Betteridge), remain under Queen Mary’s vice-like clutches. Now that she’s escaped death, will Jane be able to rescue her family from the spiteful queen’s wrath? Even within the castle walls, the rest of the Grey family has considerable unfinished business as well. Will anything come from Frances’ illicit affair with Guilford’s brother, Stan Dudley (Henry Ashton)? Will Katherine truly find love with William Seymour (Brandon Grace), the son of one of her sister’s greatest adversaries? And will little Margaret learn from her previous follies and accidental betrayal of her family to become a more loyal member of the Grey household? There’s plenty of drama and conflict still to be explored within the formidable walls and stunning gardens of the Tudor castle.

Can Edward Reclaim the Throne from Mary?

Not only does Jane have to find a way to save her family, so too must she find a way to oust Mary from the throne. Though she’s no longer queen, Jane has her ever-reliable intelligence to support her in her endeavor — as well as the aid of King Edward VI, who survived his assassination, and the Ethian camps, who like Jane very much after she fought so tirelessly for them. What plan will Jane formulate to remove Mary from the throne? And will Edward be able to reclaim his rightful place as King of England? The series’ entire premise is about changing the course of history, but the line of succession has thus far remained true to real life, begging the question whether Princess Bess, or more officially, Princess Elizabeth, will have a crown and scepter in her future.

Will the Ethian Division Laws Finally End?

Just like the ever-ambitious Lady Jane herself, the series doesn’t content itself with being just creative enough, as the fantasy elements of the series provide additional layers of intrigue and excitement. The introduction of the Ethian-Verity divide is a perfect encapsulation of My Lady Jane’s unmistakably stylized writing approach, creating tension and intricacy within the story. In some ways, it’s a simplified version of social commentary, exploring class division through a highly fictionalized lens. In other ways, it’s an acute criticism of classism told through a satirical and deliberately exaggerated medium.

While the overarching themes of the series can be extrapolated even without a second season, there are, quite tragically, some questions that may never be answered. The inquisitive mind may always wonder what causes a person to become Ethian, or what caused the division between the Ethians and the Verities in the first place. Will Spain’s brutally effective Beast Inquisition threaten England’s shores? And how will Jane and Edward usher in peace and coexistence for the Verities and Ethians? As Jane remains free in the wind, her burning desire to see an England free from Ethian-Verity division remains unfinished, but it’s a good thing Jane Grey never fails.

My Lady Jane is streaming now on Prime Video.

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