The White Princess Recap: Episode 2, ‘Hearts and Minds’

Henry VII embarks on a tour of England as a disease spreads across the kingdom, and the rivalry between the Tudors and Yorks continues to escalate.

The marriage between Elizabeth “Lizzie” of York and the newly anointed King Henry VII of the House of Tudor is one of convenience, a political arrangement to keep the peace following the tumultuous period now known as the Wars of the Roses, part of which was depicted in the miniseries The White Queen.

When we first meet the young couple, they view each other as a nuisance yet also a necessary component to retaining or one-day regaining power. It stands in stark contrast to the relationship between Lizzie’s parents, Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV, portrayed in the prior series, which was born out of love and eschewed tradition. Instead, Henry and Lizzie’s marriage is very much a product of its time as a means to unite two warring houses, though the battle lines persist.

The iciness between the two seen in last week’s premiere seems to have thawed a bit now that Lizzie is pregnant with what Henry and his doting mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, are hoping is his heir, as Yorkist threats to his throne remain.

To her mother’s delight, Lizzie is having no trouble concealing her true feelings about the king as they plot to overthrow his reign behind his back. But they have worthy adversaries in Margaret and the newly arrived Bishop Morton, appointed the Chancellor of England by Henry and close confidante of the king’s mother who’s tasked with keeping tabs on the soon-to-queen and her own mother, Elizabeth, who is portrayed in the series as having magical powers.

We learn early on in the second episode that an eight-week victory parade is planned to solidify Henry’s support throughout the kingdom as part of an attempt to win the hearts of the people by exhibiting his wealth and regality in the flesh. But Lizzie and her mother see the trip as an opportunity to touch base with families that remain loyal to the Yorks knowing that wounds from the recent battle have yet to heal.

She manages to convince Henry to make a stop in the city of York under the guise of visiting old friends, playing to his ego by suggesting that it would show he is unafraid of potential foes while knowing that it could provide an opportunity for a possible rebellion in honor of their house.

More from Show Snob

• The Santa Clauses season 2, episode 6 recap “Wanga Banga Langa!”
• Lawmen: Bass Reeves season 1, episode 7 preview: Non-spoiler thoughts for Part VII
• Goosebumps season 1, episode 6 recap: “Night of the Living Dummy”
• Beacon 23 season 1, episode 3 recap: “Why Can’t We Go on as Three?”
• Upload season 3, episode 2 recap: “Strawberry”

Lizzie decides on Yorkist loyalist Francis Lovell as the main contact for her visit, writing him a letter ahead of their departure. Elizabeth also concocts a plan to throw Margaret off the scent by having a purposely intercepted letter to known rebel Harry Stafford reach the queen mother. In it,

she writes of her alleged disappoint with Lizzie’s devotion to Henry, though she could do without his erectile dysfunction issues. However, after a brief conversation with Lizzie’s disloyal sister, Cecily, where she describes her mother and sister as being “hand in glove together,” Margaret decides to squash plans for Lizzie to join her husband on the Royal Progress by insisting that she stay behind due to her pregnancy, prompting Elizabeth to volunteer to travel with the group as a York representative in a show of unity. Margaret agrees, but before they leave, she has the bishop lock her and her three youngest daughters in the old tower to prevent her from traveling on the trip, taking her place instead. The bishop soon puts most of Westminster Palace on lockdown until the Tudors return.

“Hearts and Minds” is set against the backdrop of a disease dubbed “the sweating sickness” spreading across England, eventually reaching the palace doors in London and even following Henry on his trip to York. Much to his chagrin, Henry has been shielded by his mother as to how deadly it’s become.

Though they were apart for most of Henry’s life, Margaret tries to ensure that she is as influential and close to her son as possible, but we see the first schisms in their relationship after Henry discovers his mother’s secret connection with his Uncle Jasper, with whom he spent most of his childhood in exile, first admonishing her for her idea to offer Lizzie to the King of Scotland, and later defying her wishes for Lizzie to receive a severe punishment after she orders the guards to break down the door to the treasure room to give gold to the sick commoners.

There’s also certain fractures developing in the close relationship between Lizzie and her mother, who appears to be much more cutthroat and cunning than her daughter. Unbeknownst to Lizzie,  Elizabeth writes a letter in blood while locked in the tower to Francis Lovell, instructing him to kill Henry during his visit to York with the promise that Lizzie’s young cousin Teddy Plantagenet would then lay claim to the throne.

Henry is stabbed during the attack but survives, while Francis flees and is chased down by Jasper, who is met with further opposition, confirming Henry’s suspicion that those he hate him will not give up anytime soon, just as his quest to become king persisted for 28 years until it became a reality.

Image Credit: Starz

“You are your mother’s daughter,” Bishop Morton tells Lizzie after she threatens to abort her baby unless she’s allowed to see her mother, who’s been held captive. But upon their reunion, it’s clear that their attitude towards Henry is quite different, as Lizzie scolds her for making moves that are too obvious after Henry orders for Teddy to be held in the Tower of London like her brothers once were to ensure he’s not a threat to his throne.

She also suggests that Henry could be sent back from where he came from rather than killed. Meanwhile, Elizabeth argues that the disease ravaging the country plays to their benefit as it could turn the people against Henry, but Lizzie is more concerned about their well-being, and her ploy to help the sick ends up allowing Henry to get a hero’s welcome when he returns home due to her actions.

“You rule with fear and you will only get dissent and hatred in return,” Lizzie advises her husband. He argues that they’d make a great team if they could work together, but he knows she’ll always hate him. Still, he thanks her for her rebellious deed, and refuses to punish her over the protestations of his mother. 

Taking Lizzie’s words to heart, Henry decides to send a peace envoy to Burgundy after he’s informed that’s where Francis has headed, the same place where Lizzie’s grandmother retired earlier in the episode. In another show of defiance against his mother, Henry decides against sending her husband to lead the envoy, instead of sending his Uncle Jasper, his mother’s secret love, in his place.

Things end on a somewhat optimistic note for the young couple as Lizzie asks Henry to touch her stomach to feel the baby kick, but she’s soon taken away to be confined to bed rest, as her mother and cousin are also held captive while the York threat continues to loom over Henry’s head.

The White Princess airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Starz.