Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Henry pursues Cardinal Reginald Pole as an enemy abroad while Brandon lives with the consequences of the northern suppression. The business of government continues around the king's plans for a grand new barge and the child Jane is carrying. Francis Bryan and Thomas Seymour are sent after Pole on the continent, but foreign rulers do not automatically cooperate with Henry's wishes. At home, the defeated rising has become punishment, and Aske's fate completes the destruction of a man who trusted the king's assurances. Jane's pregnancy stands beside these acts of vengeance, bringing hope at court without cancelling the violence Henry has ordered elsewhere.
Jane's labour lasts long enough to frighten the household and force discussion of what might happen if she cannot survive the birth. Mary stays near her, while Henry waits for the news he has wanted through three marriages. Edward is finally born, and Jane Boleyn carries the message out to Edward Seymour, who runs to tell the king. The celebrations and christening welcome the long-awaited prince, but Jane's health then deteriorates. Henry recognises that the physicians cannot save her and clears the room after a brief moment of shared grief with Mary. Kneeling beside Jane, he pleads with her and with God not to leave him. She dies after giving him the son around whom the court has already begun to organise itself.