The White Princess episode 5 recap: ‘Traitors’

Henry and Lizzie face threats from within their own kingdom in “The White Princess” episode ‘Traitors.’

On Sunday night’s episode of The White Princess, “Traitors,” we skipped several years ahead, after the events of “The Pretender,” which saw Henry face off against an impostor posing as Teddy Plantagenet at the behest of Margaret of Burgundy in a failed rebellion.

We find the king and queen now happily married with several children. England has seen peace for seven years, and yet views of Henry’s illegitimacy to the throne still abound, even among his own court, increasing the king’s paranoia, but also earning the loyalty of his wife, Lizzie, over the objections of her mother.

The Duchess of Burgundy trolls King Henry by inviting him and her niece to her court on behalf of Prince Richard, the boy who appeared in Burgundy at the end of “The Pretender” claiming he was one of the lost York boys who escaped the tower.

Credit: Starz

Naturally, the king declines, but decides to send the queen’s cousin, Maggie — now living peacefully in Wales with her husband Richard Pole and their son Henry — in his stead to question the boy about their childhood even though they had never met before in order to confirm that he is indeed just another pretender being used as a pawn by the Duchess to rally support throughout Europe. In fact, there are already rumors of nobles in the southern counties planning to flee to Burgundy to join the York cause.

Upon her return to London, Maggie makes a brief visit to her brother Teddy, now a sullen teenager who’s seen fidgeting with decayed apples as a means to entertain himself while locked in the Tower of London, where the York princes were once banished before being suspected of being murdered at the hands of either their uncle, King Richard III, or Margaret Beaufort as a way to secure the throne for her son, Henry. Teddy chastises his sister for naming her son after the man who banished him to the tower but is quick to embrace his nephew.

While visiting with Maggie, Lizzie demonstrates that her allegiances now lie strictly with her husband, quickly dismissing the idea of the boy being her younger brother, and acknowledging that her mother is the main person behind the plot against Henry. Lizzie gets Maggie to pledge her loyalty to the king and makes her promise not tell anyone that the real Prince Richard did actually escape the tower years ago with the help of his mother.

Lizzie then visits her mother, the Dowager Queen Elizabeth, at the abbey where she’s been held alone all these years as all her daughters have been married off to various nobles. We learn that Lizzie’s reservations about the boy extend beyond what his arrival means for her husband, but also what the toppling of the king would mean for her own position as queen.

“Is the truth that you have always loved my brother more than me?” she asks her mother, now older and sickly.

More from Starz

• BMF: Interview with Production Designer Kathrin Eder
• 9 of the best Valentine’s Day gifts and cards to give pop culture fans
• Hightown Season 2 newcomer Jona Xiao spills on her character Daisy
• Hightown Season 2: Riley Voelkel spills on Renee’s new journey this season
• Hightown executive producer Gary Lennon teases what’s to come in Season 2

Elizabeth, ever the opportunist, uses her cough to regain access to Westminster Palace, arguing that she should be close to her eldest daughter for her final days. Henry demonstrates his love for Lizzie by returning Elizabeth to the palace despite her numerous plots against his life.

He later comes to regret the decision when she interrupts the dinner celebrating the ennoblement of their son, Prince Harry, to encourage other nobles to follow her own son Prince Richard, instead of “this pretender.” She’s happily whisked away by the guards after being forcefully lambasted by her daughter, but not before privately calling out Margaret Beaufort over her own devious actions under the guise of being “God’s Will.”

“What will you say to God when you see him?” she asks the king’s mother. “How will you explain all that blood on your hands?” These questions stick with Margaret for the remainder of the episode, even after she commits her most villainous act yet.

By the end of “Traitors,” Henry is also able to confirm that Elizabeth is one of the numerous traitors in close proximity to him that have pledged their fealty to Prince Richard. They also include a handful of English nobles that have written the Duchess of Burgundy in support of her cause, labeling the king as “Henry the Pretender,” and Richard as the Duke of York. Lizzie smartly suggests that they ennoble their son Harry as the Duke of York so that the title is already taken, an idea that even gets the strong support of her mother-in-law.

Speaking of Margaret Beaufort, we learn early in the episode that her secret love Jasper Tudor did marry the queen’s aunt, Catherine Woodville, though the pair continues to share longing glances. But things take a turn for the worst after Margaret confesses to Jasper that she sent for the York Princes to be murdered in the tower, but she is now afraid that one of them did get away. Jasper is immediately horrified by her actions and vows to tell his nephew Henry everything, over her protestations.

Credit: Starz

Meanwhile, Maggie and her husband Richard are warmly greeted in Burgundy by her aunt and grandmother. But the Duchess makes a show of things by delaying Maggie’s formal introduction to her alleged cousin for a later event. Maggie’s loyalties are soon tested when her grandmother assures her that she feels confident that the boy is really her grandson, causing her to question the mission of her trip. Cecily, Duchess of York, also informs her granddaughter that Prince Richard has already been betrothed to Lady Cathy Gordon, a cousin of King James of Scotland, as Burgundy plots an alliance with the country.

Maggie’s doubts about the boy actually being an imposter are exacerbated after her public interrogation of him, during which he recalls a real moment he witnessed of Maggie tearfully embracing her brother Teddy on Christmas Day shortly after their father was executed by his own brother, King Edward IV, Richard’s father.

Maggie’s husband helps her sort through her thoughts the next morning, rightly pointing out that someone else could have told him about the story he recounted. He maintains that the boy is an impostor, and informs her that he’s already sent word to England about Richard’s betrothal to Lady Cathy Gordon.

Once they return to London, they are brought before the court for questioning. After a few suspenseful moments, Maggie casts her doubts aside and proclaims that the boy is not her cousin. More interestingly, Richard Pole has brought back evidence of the treacherous actions of a handful of nobles who have written the Duchess to pledge their loyalty to Prince Richard.

Among the wax seals are those belonging to the Dowager Queen Elizabeth, and surprisingly, Sir William Stanley, brother of Lord Thomas Stanley, Margaret Beaufort’s husband. The guilty are taken away to be executed, with the exception of Elizabeth.

Next: The White Princess ratings continue to grow

The episode ends on a shocking note when Margaret visits Jasper, who’s confined to his quarters due to an unidentified illness. The king’s mother had been nervously anticipating when he would tell her son about her actions. She first pleads with him not to tell him because it would destroy him, but he refuses.

Though they each confess to being the only other person they’ve ever love, Margaret decides to kill him to preserve her image in her son’s eyes by smothering him with a pillow. Unsurprisingly, his uncle’s death devastates the king at a time when he most needs his council.

Next week, Henry prepares for battle once more.

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