This My Lady Jane ending explained recap contains spoilers for the Prime Video series. It's been a tale with far more swearwords, modern cultural references and contemporary pop songs than we're used to seeing in historical dramas, but what a ride it's been!
As the finale begins, Jane is languishing in the Tower of London, awaiting death after being found guilty of knowingly marrying an Ethian, while her husband Guildford is locked inside Lord Seymour's Ethian prison — aka "The Zoo".
Elsewhere, Edward and Fitz are determined to try and win back his crown, Katherine is still making eyes at Seymour's son and the Dudley boys ("Dudleys never say die!") are mounting an effort to rescue everyone.
Will the Ethians — whom Jane has risked her neck to try and help — come to Jane's aid? Will Edward survive long enough to win back his crown? Will Jane's sister Katherine finally find happiness with Lord Seymour's son? ... And most importantly, will we see Stan Dudley and Frances Grey become an item? We're rooting for you Stan!
My Lady Jane ending explained
Jane has been sent to the Tower of London to await her execution. Her mother visits to explain that she's persuaded Mary to let her live, if only she'll renounce Ethianism. Good luck with that!
Meanwhile back at the Royal Palace (we’re pretty sure it’s Hampton Court) the people are calling for Jane’s release. Arch-pragmatist, the duke of Norfolk urges Mary not to make a martyr of her enemy and give in to their request, yet the new Queen seems desperate to continue on a path that will ultimately see her earn her a nickname fit for a cocktail.
When Mary starts taking crossbow shots at her younger sister, Bess, as a punishment for speaking up for Jane, Norfolk goes too far and gives her an ill-advised scolding. "Be a Queen, not a tyrant..." he says, moments before she shoots him. That’s the problem with hitching yourself to a runaway train in a bid to get to the finishing line, you have no control over the route. Maybe he thought he could manipulate her because she was a woman, if so he underestimated her dreadfully.
Does Katherine marry Lord Seymour's son?
Mary does have a deal for Jane though. She can't save her own life, but she can save Guildford if she endorses Mary’s plan to "eradicate Ethianism" to court. Yet Jane’s not the only person being offered a deal and at Seymour’s Ethian prison — aka "the zoo" — the slippery noble has offered to fake Guildford’s death, if he agrees to come and work as part of his squad of Ethian covert operatives. Jane’s morals have well and truly rubbed off on her husband though, because he says no.
Later on Mary confirms the offers weren't genuine, when she tells young Margaret — aka "Poppet" — that Guildfiord will meet his end along with Jane, no matter whether they accept the deal or not. When Poppet visits Jane in prison, she shares that news and while the outlook looks bleak, Jane is grateful to know the truth.
Meanwhile, Prince Philip of Spain is making eyes at Mary and she seems keen on marrying him. Seymour is crestfallen, but we think he might have dodged a bullet, although if we were him we’d be worried about the bride he has lined up for him. That bride turns out to be Jane’s sister Katherine, which both parties seem pretty pissed off about and Katherine immediately seeks out his son and asks him to marry her.
Later, on we see them getting married in a lavish ceremony... and to think she could have been stuck with the Duke of Leicester!
What happened on the night Dudley's mother died?
When Jane arrives at court, she fails in her attempt to poison Mary, before launching into a speech railing against the Queen's oppressive attitude towards Ethians. She's then dragged away, presumably for a far worse fate.
Luckily Lord Dudley and his feckless, yet warm-hearted son, Stan are about to launch a daring rescue mission and after setting our young hero free, they give Seymour a good pasting into the bargain.
Yet rather than fleeing the prison, the three Dudley boys decide this is the best time for a deep and meaningful about Guildford’s mother. Lord Dudley confirms that his son did kill her when he transformed, yet it wasn’t his fault and he must forgive himself.
It’s what Guildford has been needing to hear for his whole life and he urges his father and brother to escape, while he has a proper face-off with Seymour. As sword-fights go, it’s right out of the Princess Bride back catalogue.
Does Jane survive?
King Edward travels to the Ethian camp, hoping they’ll help him retake his throne and save Jane. Archer seems uninterested, however when Edward points out that the persecution they’ve suffered thus far will be a mere cakewalk compared to what Queen Mary will unleash, it gives Susannah food for thought.
Meanwhile at the Tower, Jane almost manages to poison her rather naive guard, but finds herself unable to commit murder even when her own life hangs in the balance. It’s something of a weakness in the cutthroat world of Tudor politics, but let’s hope she doesn’t regret her relentlessly virtuous outlook on life.
When the evening of her execution arrives, Jane struggles to find her way to the chopping block — which genuinely happened in real life. However the real Jane Grey wasn’t rescued by a load of Ethian birds, who swoop down to save the day.
She then struggles to rescue Guildford and when she’s unable to, the pair share one final kiss as the fire climbs higher. He begs her to leave, but she refuses and when she finally tells him how she really feels, he conquers his demons and turns into a horse at will, carrying her to freedom. Hurrah!
"But our story is not over yet," says our narrator. "Because Mary is still Queen and the Palace holds many secrets.” Plus, Jane has vowed to return to finish her work as the great reformer, so it looks like her battle with the bloodthirsty monarch isn’t done yet.
Elsewhere, Katherine and Lord Seymour's son get married, Stan and Frances continue their passionate love affair and Edward and Fitzy are an item. We'll see you all for season two!
All eight episodes are available now on Prime Video. You can sign up for Amazon Prime for $14.99 / £8.99 per month or $139 / £95 per year and that'll let you stream Prime Video with commercials. An extra $3.99 / £2.99 per month will let you stream ad-free and here's how to remove commercials from your Prime Video account.
If you've never signed up for Amazon Prime before, you can test it out without paying for a month because Amazon offers a 30-day free trial that'll let you stream Prime Video amongst the various other perks.
