“Perhaps you should teach me your Three Card Trick… in case we both end up on the streets.” -Cardinal Wolsey
“Three-Card Trick” is a slow-burning episode that sets the scene for Wolf Hall. We get to meet our protagonist, Thomas Cromwell, and find out about his personal tragedy — from his humble beginnings as a violent blacksmith’s son to losing his wife and two daughters to “sweating sickness.” Cromwell starts at the bottom, escapes from home at an early age, spends time in Europe, learns trade, fights for France, and is now a pretty affluent lawyer in the service of Cardinal Wolsey, the Lord Chancellor of the King Henry VIII. Still, our Thomas is “Master” Cromwell — or “a person” as Duke of Norfolk likes to call him — essentially, he doesn’t have a title. Continue reading “Wolf Hall on PBS, Episode One: Three Card Trick”
