Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Wolsey struggles in York after losing the authority and comfort of court. He writes to Anne seeking help, but her refusal sends him towards another plan: cooperation with Catherine and foreign support to force Henry back to his marriage. Meanwhile, the government suffers without Wolsey's command of its daily work. Henry hears complaints and begins to recognise what he has lost, alarming the people who helped remove the cardinal. More pursues religious dissent in his new office, while Anne introduces Henry to writing that argues for a king's authority over the church. Henry's frustration with Rome now finds a different political language.
The discovery of Wolsey's conspiracy ends his hopes of returning to favour. Arrested for treason, he is taken into custody and left alone with his prayers. In his cell, he tests a knife against an apple before using it to kill himself. Henry receives the news while practising archery and conceals his distress in front of the court, although the loss reaches him more deeply in private. The cardinal who once managed his ambitions can no longer return. Henry and Anne then meet in the woods and become intimate. Anne insists that Henry withdraw before he finishes, leaving him angry despite the intimacy they have shared. The question of how he can marry her remains open.