The best fantasy romances often feature a pivotal moment where one half of the ship saves the other from impending death, making their adoration clear as day. In My Lady Jane, it’s a joint effort, showcasing that even though they didn’t initially choose to marry, Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley will now and forever only choose each other.
My Lady Jane’s Season 1 finale features a few instances where even while they’re separated, nothing is more apparent than the detail that they’re thinking of the other’s safety. Jane wants to ensure that Guildford is safe, not in the same prison she’s in, and he’s thinking solely of her. And although she’s waiting for her death, the sole regret that Jane has is the fact that she never told Guildford she loves him. Thus, even as we’re watching and questioning what’s about to happen, they’ve already shown us that they’ll choose each other until their final breath.
And they do—surrounded by burning flames and people fighting all around them, Jane and Guildford take another moment for themselves, which is reminiscent of an iconic scene featuring a marriage aboard a pirate ship. (Cough, Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner, cough.)
While a band of Ethians saves Jane from execution, she runs to Guildford, trying to undo the ties around his wrist. In her failure, she confesses that she loves him, promising that she’ll never leave, which beautifully juxtaposes how they got together in the first place. She was going to divorce him. She was going to leave. But today, she’ll never leave him, and Emily Bader is breathtaking in how sincerely she conveys Jane’s promise.
Related Content: Relationship Deep Dive: Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley
Further, while it’s not verbally confirmed on the show, Edward Bluemel’s expression after Jane’s confession tells us enough to understand that Guildford changes freely from her unwavering acceptance. (This is confirmed in the book, however.) So, when he realizes he can be his most authentic self while still having her unwavering love, it gives him the strength and will to control his transformations fully. It gives him the assurance he needs to let go of all the binding trauma that goes hand-in-hand with his transformations, allowing him to then give her more of himself to her.
In more ways than one, My Lady Jane is dramatic and catastrophically meta. But the show knows this and leans into it fully, which then makes scenes like this even more riveting because we have material backing every decision. One of the most undeniable things about the series is the fiery chemistry between Jane and Guildford, which comes alive even more acutely in this scene with real flames surrounding them.
This scene directly mirrors their vulnerability in “Another Girl, Another Planet” because it’s there that viewers also realize these two are it for each other. They’ll never leave, no matter what either of them say or do. He desperately wants to protect Jane when he initially goes to rescue her, and he does so right now, too. Yet, how they continue being selfless for one another counts. The thought matters significantly because, before this, neither thought they’d find a person worth risking everything for.
The show plays into everything it can, ensuring that come hell (fire) or high water, nothing is going to keep these two apart in this life. He’ll transform in front of everyone and ride off to the sunset with her, where they can take a breather for the first time in…well, for as long as they’ve been alive.
Yet, perhaps more importantly, what makes this promise and the final scene so profound is that as much as it’s feeding into every cliché possible, it’s allowing viewers to have an absolute blast with the two of them. What scene from Pride and Prejudice 2005 has the most impact? It’s Darcy walking through the morning mist to Elizabeth with a sunrise illuminating their promises of forever. We get this with Jane and Guildford, too, which brings their relationship to a gorgeously worthy conclusion. [There’s so much potential for what could come next if the show is renewed, but even if it isn’t, this is the type of powerful ending that feels earned.]
It’s a beautiful, perfectly tender moment that not only gives characters room to once again talk about their feelings but it shows the audience proof of their lasting adoration.
Now streaming on Prime Video: What are your thoughts on Jane and Guildford’s sacrifices in My Lady Jane’s Season 1 finale? Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Prime Video
Such insightful thoughts on the series. I too loved the onscreen couple, the seemed so real and authentic together.