In Hulu’s Shardlake, as in Arthurian legend, a hand emerges from a body of water bearing a sword. Though lacking Excalibur’s magical touch, this blade’s discovery does serve the ambitions of a monarch. After splitting England from the Catholic Church in 1534, King Henry VIII and his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell (Sean Bean), have begun dissolving monasteries across the realm and seizing their wealth. The decapitation of Cromwell’s representative (Michael Rivers) at an abbey near the remote, boggy town of Scarnsea presents an opportunity to advance that crusade, with Cromwell sending an odd couple of agents to investigate the incident, commanding them to find sufficient reason to shutter the order.
In the third episode, the monks watch in horror as endearingly determined lawyer Matthew Shardlake (Arthur Hughes) and Jack Barak (Anthony Boyle), the cocksure enforcer assigned to accompany him, find the submerged murder weapon on their grounds.
In the third episode, the monks watch in horror as endearingly determined lawyer Matthew Shardlake (Arthur Hughes) and Jack Barak (Anthony Boyle), the cocksure enforcer assigned to accompany him, find the submerged murder weapon on their grounds.
- 4/30/2024
- by Niv M. Sultan
- Slant Magazine
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