Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Henry tells his advisers that the failure to consummate his marriage proves something is wrong with the marriage itself. Cromwell is left to find a lawful escape from the match he arranged, while Brandon, Seymour and Gardiner recognise the opportunity in the king's dissatisfaction. Henry offers Cromwell reassurance and a new title, but the minister's enemies continue working against him. Francis Bryan also brings Henry to Catherine Howard, whose confidence and attraction offer a sharp change from his unhappy nights with Anne. The king begins another relationship while the woman he has just married waits alone, increasingly fearful about what the failure means for her.
Cromwell is arrested at a council meeting and taken to the Tower, stripped of the protection he believed his service had earned. He supplies the account needed to dissolve Henry's marriage and begs for mercy, but his appeal does not save him. Anne accepts the annulment and the generous settlement offered by Edward Seymour, breaking down only after the councillors leave. Cromwell's enemies arrange for his executioner to drink before the beheading. The man repeatedly misses the necessary blow until a guard takes the axe and finishes the killing. Cromwell's son witnesses his father's last moments, while Henry turns towards Catherine. The season ends with the adviser destroyed and the rejected wife alive because she has agreed to the king's terms.