Mary & George – Season 1 Episode 5 “The Golden City” Recap & Review

The Golden City

Episode 5 of Mary & George begins in an American colony; Sir Walter Raleigh’s attack on Spanish troops fails and he kills his captain to keep it a secret.

Mary and George keep rising as they get a new house and are titled Marques which irks Thomas Compton who leaves them for good. While mother and son are in favour of James, there is a rift between them as Mary pushes George to overtly control the King which he hates.

She has him attend a meeting between James and Diago, a Spanish envoy who wants Raleigh punished lest Spain declare war on England. Elsewhere, Frances cuckolds John by sleeping with a man publicly while Sandie Brooks becomes Mary’s lady-in-waiting.

James tries to teach George the ways of the court by having him attend Raleigh’s interrogation. However, the young boy is touched by Raleigh’s “courageous” tale of how he tried to fend off a Spanish attack and pardons him. Everyone is furious with George except a sick Queen Anne who supports Raleigh.

Mary tries to tighten her leash on George even more by having him marry Katherine of Rutland for her rich dowry but he lashes out at her. His sister, Susan is devastated as she has a suitor but he needs to marry before she can. She offers to help as she is friends with Katherine. Meanwhile, Sandie realises that Frances is pregnant and helps her abort the baby.

Elsewhere, Francis Bacon tries to rein in George by telling him about Mary’s relationship with Sandie and their murder of David. Diego joins them and they watch Raleigh instigate the commoners against James. They convince George to get the King to stop Raleigh.

But before George can do much, he is lured away on the pretext of a sick John and then locked in a room with Katherine. He has two options — he will be forced to marry her to save her reputation or they can strike a deal where she will turn a blind eye to his lovers while she provides him an heir to secure his legacy. They also vibe as they joke around and he agrees to the marriage by sleeping with her.

The excitement is dampened once he learns that John is being sent to an asylum as he gets worse. Unable to do much, George goes to the King and manipulates him into making him believe he is doing the right thing, i.e., to appease Spain and prevent a war, Raleigh must be stopped.

James gives in and executes Raleigh but the commoners riot. Anne is furious and takes it out on Mary who is helpless. She tries one last time to get back a guilty George but he walks away from her and into the arms of a waiting Francis at the end of Mary & George Episode 5.

The Episode Review

Mary & George Episode 5 sees the Villiers rising even higher if that is even possible. But not all is fine in paradise. In fact, the rift between Mary & George has been a long time in making. Since the premiere, we can see that George is not exactly comfortable with the way his mother pushes him. This time, her meddling outright leads to a wrong decision and James gets angry with him. 

However, poor George has gone from a wolf’s den to a lion’s. At least Mary would always look out for him no matter her methods. The same cannot be said for Francis. George is all alone now and he may very well make a lot of enemies as his manipulation of James has become very clear to the public now.