To be clear: This is not Dr. Dillamond in sinister or Mr. Tumnus in Narnia situation. Guildford isn’t half-human, half-beast: He can turn into a whinnying, trotting, sleeping horse in a stable. It’s absurd, but he’s not the only shapeshifter in this universe. Just 10 minutes into the show’s first episode, Jane’s maid and closest confidante Susanna (Mairead Tyers)—yes, the one recovering from the applause—transformed from woman to hawk. (No, not that.)
“Did I mention that, in this world, some people can turn into animals?” the show’s narrator asks. We learn that both Susanna and Guildford are Ethians: humans who can turn into animals and are often hunted by pure-bloods called Verities. If you didn’t catch on, this is meant to be a metaphor for the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Tudor England. And in case you were wondering, according to the series, Anne Boleyn used to be Ethian—“An animal both in and out of the bag,” Guildford’s father (Rob Brydon) witty sayings.
Henry VIII banished the Ethians from polite society and made it illegal for commoners to associate with them, meaning they often resorted to scavenging and stealing to survive. It is unclear exactly how the Ethians were discovered, as they could shapeshift at will—a man transformed into a grizzly bear during a bar fight; a woman disappeared from her life into a pet dog named Petunia to warn King Edward (Jordan Peters) that he was being poisoned. But that courtesy was not extended to Guildford, who had never been in control when he began—Sorry—horses go around.
This film is primarily directed by Jamie Babbit, quickly, if somewhat confusingly, explains what Guildford’s condition means. Ethianism skips generations but is usually triggered at puberty in a moment of heightened emotion. For Guildford, it was on the day his mother was murdered. Ethians cannot choose what animal they turn into, which is bad luck for the insect-turned-man who is crushed under the boot of the sinister Lord Seymour (Dominic Cooper). With no authority over her own shapeshifting abilities, Guildford is cursed to be a horse by day, a man by night. When the sun comes up, Jane can use her husband as a vehicle, and after the sun goes down, he is taken for a different kind of horseback ride. They do it in an actual stable, by the way.
