[Editor’s note: The following article contains spoilers for a big twist in “ My Lady Jane ,” which is revealed about 10 minutes into Episode 1.] Watching the trailer for “My Lady Jane,” the pseudo-feminist alt-Tudor history show based on the bestselling 2016 YA novel of the same name, you’d be forgiven for assuming the plot. In real life, Lady Jane Grey, alongside her husband Guildford Dudley, was executed months after a mere nine days on the throne in 1553.
In the opening seconds of the Prime Video show, the modern British narrator of “My Lady Jane” asks: “What if history were different?” What if, indeed. Instead of immediate death, in the first few moments of the show teenage Jane (newcomer Emily Bader) is a smart medical gal, curing her friend’s 16th century STI. She’s then told she’ll have to marry for a political alliance.
Instead, she grabs her maid, Susannah (Máiréad Tyers), and attempts to make a run for it. The duo are immediately caught, and while Jane will just be returned to her family, poor Susannah is tackled by guards and told she’ll be sentenced to death for stealing. But instead, she instantly transforms into a bird and flies away .
You probably have a lot of questions. I sure did! No, there has been absolutely no indication leading up to that moment that this was an option. Yes, Jane knew that some people could turn into animals, but she did NOT know Susannah was one of them.
No, the CGI isn’t very good, and no, the trailer .
