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The Best Episodes of The Tudors

Every episode of The Tudors ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Tudors!

Binge this in 1d 9h•Peaking at 8.7/10

The Tudors is a history-based drama series following the young, vibrant King Henry VIII, a competitive and lustful monarch who navigates the intrigues of the English court and the human heart with equal vigor and

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  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    The Tudors Season 2 Episode 10 - Destiny and Fortune
    8.7/10(990 votes)

    #1 - Destiny and Fortune

    S2:E10

    Queen Anne is imprisoned in the Tower, awaiting her execution. The king granted her wish for a special executioner, but he is delayed and the execution has to be postponed. King Henry proposes to Jane Seymour now that his marriage to Anne has been declared null and void. He hopes she will gave him a legitimate, male heir.

    Director:Jon Amiel
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. The Tudors Season 2 Episode 9 - The Act of Treason
    8.6/10(853 votes)

    #2 - The Act of Treason

    S2:E9

    Anne has lost a son and with it her last chance at a lasting marriage with Henry. The King's affections are shifting anyway: the Seymour family are awarded rooms at court and seem likely to replace the Boleyns as royal favourites. Several in the court begin to move against Anne who is accused of adultery. Arrests are made of suspected lovers and of Anne herself. All, including the Queen, are sentenced to death.

    Director:Jon Amiel
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. The Tudors Season 4 Episode 10 - Death of a Monarchy
    8.6/10(883 votes)

    #3 - Death of a Monarchy

    S4:E10

    Finale - Henry’s thoughts turn to his own mortality with the news that his long-time friend and sometimes foe King Francis, and his unshakable soldier Charles Brandon, are each dying. As he faces death, Henry encounters the ghosts of his former wives who each get a chance to confront him. Hans Holbein paints a last, iconic portrait of the Tudor King.

    Director:Ciarán Donnelly
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. The Tudors Season 2 Episode 5 - His Majesty's Pleasure
    8.3/10(857 votes)

    #4 - His Majesty's Pleasure

    S2:E5

    Attempts to legitimise the King's marriage and increase his power hit unmovable obstacles as Sir Thomas More and Bishop Fisher insist that only God can be head of the church. Imprisoned in the Tower of London they face likely execution unless they take the Oath of Allegiance. Meanwhile Henry's wandering eye continues to roam.

    Director:Ciarán Donnelly
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. The Tudors Season 4 Episode 5 - Bottom Of The Pot
    8.3/10(670 votes)

    #5 - Bottom Of The Pot

    S4:E5

    Lord Hertford’s investigation into allegations of the Queen’s infidelities moves with speed. Deeply upset by revelations of his beloved young wife’s sexual past, Henry weeps. But once adultery is uncovered, his response is swift and decisive.

    Director:Ciarán Donnelly
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. The Tudors Season 3 Episode 4 - The Death of a Queen
    8.2/10(710 votes)

    #6 - The Death of a Queen

    S3:E4

    The leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace uprising are put to death, but Brandon is disturbed by the cruelty and mercilessness of the suppression; Henry celebrates the birth of a son but his joy is short-lived as Queen Jane dies within days.

    Director:Ciarán Donnelly
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Tudors

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  7. The Tudors Season 1 Episode 10 - The Death of Wolsey
    8.1/10(986 votes)

    #7 - The Death of Wolsey

    S1:E10

    Cardinal Wolsey is down but not yet out. Although exiled, he tries to gather last-minute support from his old enemy, Queen Katherine. She hesitantly agrees to his plan, as she finds herself in a situation similar to that of the fallen Cardinal. But their plot is intercepted by the King's new advisors and Wolsey must pay the ultimate price.

    Director:Ciarán Donnelly
    Writer:Michael Hirst

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  8. The Tudors Season 2 Episode 8 - Lady in Waiting
    8.1/10(763 votes)

    #8 - Lady in Waiting

    S2:E8

    At Henry's command Jane Seymour is made a lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn, to the discomfort and suspicion of the Queen. When Henry is seriously injured in a jousting match all thoughts turn to who might succeed him. There will be far-reaching consequences if Anne's pregnancy does not deliver a healthy son.

    Director:Dearbhla Walsh
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. The Tudors Season 3 Episode 8 - The Undoing of Cromwell
    8.0/10(719 votes)

    #9 - The Undoing of Cromwell

    S3:E8

    Henry moves swiftly to annul his loveless marriage to Anne of Cleves, and beds a new mistress, 17-year-old Katherine Howard; Princess Mary falls in love with Duke Philip of Bavaria; Cromwell's fall from favor is sudden and dramatic.

    Director:Jeremy Podeswa
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. The Tudors Season 2 Episode 3 - Checkmate
    7.9/10(794 votes)

    #10 - Checkmate

    S2:E3

    Henry's patience finally wears out and he marries Anne in secret, appoints his Lutheran chaplain Thomas Cranmer the head of the Church of England, and strips Queen Katherine of her title and status; the king and new queen have their first child, and are disappointed that it's a girl...whom they christen Elizabeth.

    Director:Colm McCarthy
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. The Tudors Season 2 Episode 6 - The Definition of Love
    7.9/10(774 votes)

    #11 - The Definition of Love

    S2:E6

    As the Reformation gathers pace Sir Thomas Cromwell becomes ever more powerful as propagandist-in-chief of a new moral order. Royal confidence has given way to doubt. Henry is haunted by the memory of the executed Thomas More while Queen Anne Boleyn's insecurities border on paranoia. Her husband's affairs continue and an effort to have her daughter Elizabeth betrothed to a French royal fails when the French King refuses to recognise that the infant Princess is of legitimate birth.

    Director:Ciarán Donnelly
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The Tudors Season 2 Episode 7 - Matters of State
    7.9/10(761 votes)

    #12 - Matters of State

    S2:E7

    The English Reformation is in full swing. Queen Anne suffers from nightmares and feels threatened by Katherine and her daughter. Henry pays an unplanned visit to an old friend, Sir John Seymour, father of Jane Seymour.

    Director:Dearbhla Walsh
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. The Tudors Season 3 Episode 1 - Civil Unrest
    7.9/10(774 votes)

    #13 - Civil Unrest

    S3:E1

    King Henry marries for the third time, taking as his queen the demure noblewoman Jane Seymour. A growing number of his subjects protest the king's decision to abandon the Catholic Church.

    Director:Ciarán Donnelly
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. The Tudors Season 3 Episode 3 - Dissention and Punishment
    7.9/10(696 votes)

    #14 - Dissention and Punishment

    S3:E3

    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.

    Director:Ciarán Donnelly
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. The Tudors Season 4 Episode 7 - Sixth And The Final Wife
    7.9/10(627 votes)

    #15 - Sixth And The Final Wife

    S4:E7

    Henry marries Catherine Parr - his sixth and final wife. A loving step-mother and compassionate companion, Catherine is liked and respected by all at court save the Catholic Bishop Gardiner who suspects her to be a heretic. Henry prepares to invade France.

    Director:Jeremy Podeswa
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. The Tudors Season 4 Episode 8 - As It Should Be
    7.9/10(621 votes)

    #16 - As It Should Be

    S4:E8

    The siege of Boulogne is a long, expensive and difficult military campaign that is finally won by Henry’s troops at great financial and human cost. Rejuvenated, Henry rejects the idea of marching on to further conquests, preferring to return to England in triumph.

    Director:Jeremy Podeswa
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The Tudors Season 4 Episode 9 - Secrets of the Heart
    7.9/10(611 votes)

    #17 - Secrets of the Heart

    S4:E9

    Henry VIII’s health is on the slide: the recent siege of Boulogne has taken its toll on his aging body and his ulcerous leg is constantly in pain. Bishop Gardiner and the Catholic Church are once again in the ascendant at court but, tired of conflict, Henry demonstrates little enthusiasm for the ambitious Bishop’s accusation that Catherine Parr is a heretic.

    Director:Ciarán Donnelly
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. The Tudors Season 1 Episode 8 - Truth and Justice
    7.8/10(936 votes)

    #18 - Truth and Justice

    S1:E8

    A papal envoy has come to discuss the annulment of the King's marriage to Katherine of Aragon, as requested by the King. The outcome of these discussions will determine Cardinal Wolsey's future career as well as the King's romance with Anne Boleyn. These discussions will also influence the nature of the relationship between England and Rome.

    Director:Alison Maclean
    Writer:Michael Hirst

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  19. The Tudors Season 2 Episode 2 - Tears of Blood
    7.8/10(826 votes)

    #19 - Tears of Blood

    S2:E2

    Christmas at the Tudor court is a time for ringing in the new. Mistress Anne Boleyn has replaced the banished Queen Katherine. The King's chaplain, Thomas Cranmer, makes a fact-finding visit to Lutheran Germany while Henry withdraws both the authority and taxes of the Catholic Church at home. And a royal visit to France finally convinces Anne to consummate her relationship with Henry, even as his best friend Charles Brandon suggests that she is no virgin.

    Director:Jeremy Podeswa
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. The Tudors Season 2 Episode 4 - The Act of Succession
    7.8/10(779 votes)

    #20 - The Act of Succession

    S2:E4

    Sir Thomas More refuses to accept Henry's command that his people swear an oath of "allegiance and recognition of the King's supremacy" to both church and state. Anne is made aware of the King's womanizing ways, and arranges then gives her blessing to his next mistress. Also, Anne has a confrontation with Lady Mary, Henry's daughter.

    Director:Colm McCarthy
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. The Tudors Season 3 Episode 2 - The Northern Uprising
    7.8/10(699 votes)

    #21 - The Northern Uprising

    S3:E2

    The uproar over the king's break with the Catholic Church turns into a full-blown rebellion that comes to be known as "The Pilgrimage of Grace." Immobilized by an old jousting injury, Henry sends Charles Brandon to deal with the uprising and focuses his attention on the Lady Ursula Misseldon.

    Director:Ciarán Donnelly
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. The Tudors Season 1 Episode 4 - His Majesty, The King
    7.7/10(1097 votes)

    #22 - His Majesty, The King

    S1:E4

    As a reward for his denunciation of Martin Luther, the Pope christens Henry “Defender of the Faith,” but a brush with death causes the king to seek a solution to his lack of an heir. Princess Margaret marries the decrepit King of Portugal reluctantly, but the union is short-lived; Henry's desire for Anne Boleyn intensifies when Anne goes home to her family estate.

    Director:Steve Shill
    Writer:Michael Hirst

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  23. The Tudors Season 1 Episode 7 - Message to the Emperor
    7.7/10(961 votes)

    #23 - Message to the Emperor

    S1:E7

    England's population is suffering, both from a lack of food and from a lethal plague called 'The Sweats'. As a result, King Henry feels depressed and not his usual, confident self. He starts having doubts about the future and his ability to rule the country. Fortunately for him, a change is coming up.

    Director:Alison Maclean
    Writer:Michael Hirst

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  24. The Tudors Season 2 Episode 1 - Everything is Beautiful
    7.7/10(875 votes)

    #24 - Everything is Beautiful

    S2:E1

    The King makes himself head of the Church of England while the Catholic Church fights a losing battle to control Henry VIII's desire for an annulment. Anne Boleyn demands that Henry break off contact with Katherine, so the noble Queen is banished from court. On top of that The Reformation is underway.

    Director:Jeremy Podeswa
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. The Tudors Season 4 Episode 1 - Moment of Nostalgia
    7.7/10(726 votes)

    #25 - Moment of Nostalgia

    S4:E1

    A long hot summer, thirty years into the reign of King Henry VIII, and well into middle age, Henry takes his fifth wife, Katherine Howard. The Queen's "low background" combined with her youth and beauty, arouses a lusty familiarity in certain members of King Henry's court most notably his handsome young servant Thomas Culpepper.

    Director:Dearbhla Walsh
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Destiny and Fortune" is the best rated episode of "The Tudors". It scored 8.7/10 based on 990 votes. Directed by Jon Amiel and written by Unknown, it aired on 6/1/2008. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Act of Treason".