#king james and george villiers

[orionsangel86]

Mary & George

So we finally have the show we have been asking for since 2016 (I went back and checked my old posts to make sure and it was indeed 2016 where the "British King Can't Stop Promoting His Boyfriend" post did the rounds).

How did it fair in reality? Well, its hardly Tumblr friendly fanfiction - though it was certainly raunchy - at least at the start. This show was scandalous, sexy, rather filthy at times (in a good way), and absolutely stunning in terms of its production and costume design for sure. It falls very much in line with the expectations of modern period dramas in a post Game of Thrones world where we have shows like The Great, and movies like The Favourite gracing our screens far more regularly than endless fucking retellings of Henry the Eighth which are so fucking common I have even been in one of them myself (sorry - my bitter hatred for stories about Henry VIII and his bloody wives is difficult to restrain).

So FINALLY getting a show set during the reign of James I and VI of England and Scotland and his love affair with the Duke of Buckingham is definitely a breath of fresh air.

But its definitely not the beautiful queer love story tumblr might have hoped for when we all first saw that post.

Nope. If you're looking for a happy tale of queer love overcoming adversity, stick with Red, White, and Royal Blue. Mary & George is not a love story. Its a story of scheming manipulative people who will do anything to get money and power. It's a story that uses sex as a weapon and a tool for personal gain. There is no fluffy romance to be found here, no sweet queer love story and no happy ever after.

I mean, this IS the British monarchy we're talking about, during an extremely dark and horrific period of our history only a short time before the country was plunged into Civil War and a King lost his head. But you've been warned anyway. All you'll find here is brutality, betrayal and eventual death.

Regardless of that, this show was fucking brilliant. The first three episodes in particular are quick witted and hilarious and refuse to shy away from treating queer sex scenes any differently to straight ones. The full frontal male nudity that crops up was also a pleasant surprise - I'm happy that cinema has generally accepted a more balanced approach to nudity nowadays - also a surprise was the lesbian romance which was probably the only genuine romance in the entire show. It leaves you wondering throughout but by the final few episodes its clear that if any love is "true" in this show, its the love between Mary and Sandie.

I absolutely adored Julianne Moore in this as Mary Villiers, who ruthlessly claws her way into power and money through schemes, seductions, betrayals, murders, and anything else you can think of. But even with all of this, I can't help but root for her. Who doesn't want to root for a scheming lesbian and her lover as they manipulate everyone around them and ensure they always get the better of the horrible men that make up King James' court? In this house we support Womens Wrongs.

As far as George goes, Nicholas Galitzine is brilliant as a beautiful but dim mummy's boy in the first few episodes, throwing tantrums and pouting with perfection. He shines in the later episodes as the arrogant and powerful Duke who believes he is practically untouchable due to his hold over the King, whilst still showing through the vulnerability underneath where that relationship remains precarious. The underlying joke of the show is that everyone wants George, and George wants everyone. He's a slutty slutty man.

You know how tumblr has a tendency to split queer stories into one of two camps - either pure sweet romantic love stories or very bad evil messy queer stories? (a gross simplification but you get what I mean) Well Mary and George falls firmly in the second camp. I enjoyed it for what it was, but I was a bit dissapointed that the general approach and belief of the storytellers here is that George used the King for personal gain, that the King was nothing more than a hedonistic fool who let his favourites manipulate him, and that any actual love between them was shallow and fleeting. Its all extremely cynical.

Especially since we know its not true. the surviving letters we have between King James and George paint a much more romantic picture, one where love was definitely a significant factor in their affair. Yes, historians love to play down queer history as best they can, but I don't believe that George Villiers was quite the manipulative little slut this show makes him out to be.

And yeah, sure, we can laugh and dismiss any true history involved. Its just a story after all? It was a bloody good story and one I enjoyed, but was it a fair portrayal of the actual men involved? Probably not - then again, the actual men involved weren't very nice anyway, and the show glossed over a lot of King James' more infamous sins. His obsession with witches and demons leading to the horrifying witch trials throughout the country were completely left out. There was also no mention of the famous King James Bible - the one that heavily emphasised any passages alluding to homosexuality being a sin which is used so frequently even today by religious zealots to persecute gay men. The Sodomy laws during King James' reign were enforced with such brutality that they brought us the slur "f*gg*t" (which I'm not explaining here). Yet the show displays acts of sodomy as such a normal part of court life that you'd almost think it wasn't totally punishable by death.

I shouldn't complain. Especially not about the lack of homophobia. Its a great show. You should watch it. But take it with a pinch of salt. The true story of James and George was probably one with a lot more secrecy involved, a lot more sneaking about in the night (after all, why build a secret passage between their bedrooms if they weren't trying to hide it?) and therefore a lot more hypocrisy on the part of the King.

There are some very touching scenes between King James and George, and I feel the show attempted to portray the relationship between them as complex and multilayered, but I'm not sure it succeeds as well as I would have hoped. But perhaps I am just a silly tumblr romantic who likes her queer love stories to actually include genuine love within them, and I always hoped that any story about King James and George would focus on how that love grew over time. Because whilst George obviously went along with things initially for personal gain, I think the evidence we have at least gives an indication that he did love the King, and the King clearly loved George, and I am interested in a story about how they navigated that love at a period of time where it did need to be kept secret, even if it was a fairly open secret, where things such as the King James Bible and the Witch Trials would have affected them, and where George's rise to power would have caused so much conflict and anger within the court.

But regardless of all that, I still loved the show. Its still worth the watch. The gays deserve more messy sexy dramas where they get to be ruthless and powerful and slutty and murderous. Its excellent viewing for all.

Ultimately though, I may have came for the gay duke and his love affair with the King, but I stayed for the lesbians. The lesbians were awesome.

#JusticeForSandie

#mary and george #mary and george review #my reviews #queer media #king james and george villiers

[k-wame]

George Villiers & King James I MARY & GEORGE (2024) · S1·EP7

#nicholas galitzine #tony curran #mary and george #mary & george #perioddramaedit #george villiers #king james #queer #couple #kiss #affection #intimacy #desire #yearning #longing #king james vi & i #period drama #queer media #queer history #jacobean #scotland #beautiful men

[nicholasgalitznes]

king james & george villiers + softness .

#mary and george #maryandgeorgeedit #nicholas galitzine #tony curran #king james #george villiers #dailylgbtq

[stannyramirez]

𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞: 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲

#nicholas galitzine #tony curran #mary & george #george villiers #james x george #vvgifs #nggifs #this is so important to me #~delicate~ #and not just the way he's touching the king #i was going to queue this post but i keep looking at it

[dorkphenix]

#rwrb movie #red white and royal blue #rwrb #king james #king james i #george villiers #tony curran #nicholas galitzine #mary and george #mary & george

[oceancentury]

Tony Curran and Nicholas Galitzine as King James VI and I and George Villiers, The Duke of Buckingham in Mary & George (2024)

#me when I see another beautiful man #nicholas galitzine #george villiers #duke of buckingham #tony curran #king james I #king james vi and i #mary & george #mary and george #tv and film #oceancentury

[nicholasgalitzinemedia]

George Villiers and King James in 'Mary & George' (2024)

#nicholas galitzine #nick galitzine #mary and george #mary & george #george villiers #king james #tony curran #filmedit #perioddramaedit #my gifs

[trust-is-the-most-important]

This show will be amazing ⭐

#Nicholas Galitzine #julianne moore #tony curran #Mary and George #mary & george #George Villiers #mary villiers #King james

[iusedtobethemoon]

march 27: king james' real death day and alex claremont-diaz's canonical bday

no one on twitter appreciated this fucking masterpiece i made pls someone enjoy

#meme #original meme #welcome back #tony curran #george villiers #king james vi and i #alex claremont diaz #prince henry of wales #henry fox mountchristen windsor #rwrb #red white and royal blue book #mary & george #mary and george #m&g #nicholas galitzine #taylor zakhar perez #acd

[thomasbrodiesandwich]

these mary and george parallels have been living in my head rent free ever since i've watched it...

#mary and george #mary & george #george villiers #king james vi and i #tony curran #nicholas galitzine #theyre my gifs tyvm #two certain gifs' quality were ruined tho :( #n e ways #if this gets taken down then it is what it is #the king's assassin #gifset

[mhevarujta]

“I, James, am neither God nor an angel, but a man like any other. Therefore I act like a man, and confess to loving those dear to me more than other men. You may be sure that I love the Earl of Buckingham more than anyone else, and more than you who are here assembled. I wish to speak in my own behalf, and not to have it thought to be a defect, for Jesus Christ did the same, and therefore I cannot be blamed. Christ had his John, and I have my George.”

#mary and george #mary & george #george villiers #king james vi and i

[orionsangel86]

I have been saying FOR YEARS that there should be a lavish sexy period drama about King James VI and I and his lover George Villiers. FOR YEARS!!

How have I ONLY JUST FOUND OUT THAT THEY MADE IT AND ITS CURRENTLY SHOWING ON SKY?!?!

AAAAHHHH I'M SO EXCITED TO WATCH THIS SHOOOOWWWW

Apparently its gonna be on Starz in the US in April so you gotta watch it Tumblr cos I'm gonna need to scream about it with y'all.

Damn I hope it's good.

I've been asking for this show since forever, I can't tell you how long I've waited for a King James/George Villiers period drama omg i can't believe its actually a thing FINALLY

#mary and george #yes i came back to tumblr just to scream about this #because i literally only just found out #and now i need to find a way to watch it as i dont have sky #but you damn well know ill be watching this #king james and george villiers #bring it on!!!!

[k-wame]

George Villiers & King James I ↳ You smell of sweat, and grind. What have you been up to? Or up? Quiet. Be quiet. Listen to my heart……as you listen to your own. ↳ MARY & GEORGE (2024) · S1·EP5

#nicholas galitzine #tony curran #mary and george #mary & george #perioddramaedit #george villiers #king james #queer #couple #affection #intimacy #yearning #longing #king james vi & i #period drama #queer media #queer history #jacobean #scotland #beautiful men

[nicholasgalitznes]

put your head on my chest.

#maryandgeorgeedit #mary and george #nicholas galitzine #tony curran #m&gedit #george villiers #king james

[stannyramirez]

𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞: 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 - 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐰𝐞

#nicholas galitzine #ngalitzineedit #mary & george #tony curan #king james #george villiers #m&g spoilers #vvgifs #nggifs #nudity #q. #these are pixely as fuck but idc

[moonbreezes]

if I were to pick my favourite scene from the entire show this takes the crown easily. It is just so James, I have no words to describe it. I was rendered speechless the first time I have heard this monologue. It was also the only time I became emotional, sad even because of this entire show. It made me feel the heartbreak and grief and the inability to process those feelings. The questioning of what love is. the metaphor of love as a tempest that is so apt; it does not only reflect the relationship between Anne and James, the genesis of their first meeting, but also it represents this entire show. 

#mary & george #king james vi and i #tony curran #george villiers #nicholas galitzine #i love this scene #even if the rest of the show was dogshit it would be worth it #literally all of my favourite scnes are those with james or james with george #i scarcely get emotional while watching anything but this made me feel feelingsTM #tony i could kiss you for this james