White Queen Episodes 7-10 Recaps: The Final Battle (Series Finale)

I FINALLY got around to watch the rest of "The White Queen" series. What did we learn? I have jotted down a few notes. Below are also the episode overviews from Wikipedia:

I've said it before but I'm VERY thankful I didn't live back then. You could be poisoned, die in childbirth, beheaded for no good reason, killed in battle, die of the plague, flu or any number of other ailments or drowned in a vat of wine.
Women did not fair well back then-- very little real power even if you're royalty, your sole purpose is as breeder and you could be accused of witchcraft and convicted based on no evidence. Your only hope is to slyly play the hand your are dealt and these three women (Elizabeth, Anne and Margaret) did it very well.
I really wish Jacquetta had made it till the end. I love you Janet McTeer!
When watching period pieces I always remind myself that these people really were not this beautiful (with their model good looks and perfect teeth). But that apparently didn't stop them from bed hopping like a bunch of bunnies. And if they had actors who really looked like the originals, most people would not be watching the show.
There were WAY too many people named the same thing back then. People, please come up with some new names (besides Elizabeth, Edward, Henry, George, Anne, and Richard) so I can tell you all apart.
While I'm at it, y'all need to find someone else to romance. Your nice/uncle should automatically be off limits.
And I haven't even mentioned the external threats from France, Spain, Vikings, etc
I'm just glad I'm not royalty and members of my family are plotting to kill me so they can have the crown. There's something to be said for being poor.

Episode 7: Poison and Malmsey Wine
The brief peace is broken when Edward decides to make war on France, but both George and Richard are horrified when he makes peace in return for financial gain. Both Elizabeth and Anne give birth to sons. George's frustrations lead him to make a deal with the French king. When his wife Isabel dies, after giving birth to the son he has longed for, he accuses Elizabeth of causing her death by poisoning and employs a sorcerer to work against her "witchcraft" and plot the king's death. Left with no choice, Edward recognizes his brother as a traitor to the crown, and condemns him to death; George selects drowning in a butt of Malmsey wine as the method of execution. Elizabeth finally has her revenge against her father and brother's killer, but it brings her no satisfaction.

Episode 8: Long Live The King
The King is taken ill. Foreseeing his death, he asks Elizabeth to send for his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, whom he appoints Lord Protector. Elizabeth, mistrustful of Gloucester, asks her brother Anthony to arrange for her son, now King Edward V, to be brought to London by his half-brother Richard Grey; they are intercepted by Gloucester and the young king is taken to the Tower of London. Anthony pleads with Elizabeth to cooperate with Gloucester, but Margaret Beaufort and her husband Thomas Stanley sow seeds of mistrust in both camps, recognizing the potential advantage for Margaret's son. Meanwhile, the Duke of Buckingham, himself a distant claimant to the throne, works for his own ends. Elizabeth takes her children into sanctuary and tells Anthony to ensure that the fleet is ready to rescue them; ordered to send her second son to join his brother in the Tower, she sends a boy of common birth as a substitute. Gloucester, at first protective of his nephews, executes Anthony for treason when he hears of the Woodvilles' intentions. He is soon persuaded by his wife Anne to have his nephews declared illegitimate, on the grounds of a previous promise of marriage made by Edward to another woman. He and Anne are then crowned instead of his nephew.

Episode 9: The Princes In The Tower
Stanley advises Margaret to ensure that the two young princes do not survive the attempt to free them from the Tower; having unsuccessfully sought a sign from God, she instructs her men to kill the boys. Anne Neville, now queen, simultaneously hints to Brackenbury that she would prefer them dead. The attempted “rescue” is thwarted. Buckingham is persuaded to give his allegiance to Henry Tudor and implies that he will carry out the murder of the princes. It becomes clear that the two boys in the tower (the Prince of Wales and the impostor planted by Elizabeth) are dead, and Richard returns to London to look for them. After he secretly visits Elizabeth in sanctuary, she realizes that Margaret has deceived her and puts a curse on the boys’ murderer. Buckingham, unable to join forces with Jasper Tudor, is captured and executed, and Margaret is placed under house arrest for her role in the failed rebellion.

Episode 10: The Final Battle
Despite the threat from Henry Tudor, King Richard III remains confident that his reign is unthreatened. Richard begins to take an interest in his niece Elizabeth of York. Anne is jealous, but Richard reveals that he is doing so only to prevent Elizabeth's marriage alliance with Henry Tudor. The former Queen Elizabeth warns her daughter of the curse they cast on Prince Edward's killers: that his children and grandchildren would be struck down prematurely; this could include the young Elizabeth's children should she marry Richard. Following the death of his only son and heir, an embittered Anne dies, and Richard immediately dismisses Elizabeth, realising that his strategy has driven away Neville supporters. Lady Margaret Beaufort is still under house arrest, and there is friction between her and the young Elizabeth of York, who has been sent to stay with her. As Henry Tudor prepares to cross the Channel with his army of French convicts and mercenaries, a solar eclipse takes place; Margaret sees this as a message from God that Henry will be king. She defies her house arrest to ride to Bosworth field where she pleads with Stanley to fight against the king, but he refuses to commit himself. She sees Jasper and is able to talk to Henry before battle commences at Bosworth. Things are not going well for Tudor until Stanley's men charge the king's forces. Richard is killed. As Stanley kneels to offer Henry the crown, Margaret declares herself "Margaret Regina", ordering her husband to remain kneeling before the mother of the king.

Grade: 3 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). Beautiful costumes and great acting but it feels like too much was crammed into 10 episodes. I'd like to have seen more character development of the main players. Also the beginning episodes seemed to get off to a slow start.