Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Henry initially treats the accusations against Catherine as a fabrication, but orders a thorough investigation. The inquiry begins with the queen's earlier relationships, including Francis Dereham and her music master. Catherine is confined and questioned, struggling to find an account that will preserve her marriage or at least her life. Gardiner brings Henry her confession and plea for mercy, while the king asks how quickly the marriage can be annulled. Under torture, Dereham denies being her lover since the wedding and names the man who replaced him in her affections. Culpeper's involvement changes the inquiry from a dispute about the past into an accusation about the king's own household.
The questioning of attendants exposes the meetings arranged during the progress and Jane Rochford's part in making them possible. The investigation destroys the secrecy on which Catherine relied, bringing punishment to the men involved as well as the women who helped conceal it. Dereham and Culpeper are executed, and Catherine must prepare for the same end. Jane is brought to the block first, leaving the queen to face the blood and the immediate reality of what is coming. Catherine's terror breaks through the rehearsal and preparation she has tried to make. She gathers herself, speaks of Culpeper and kneels where she practised placing her head. The episode ends at the moment before the axe falls on Henry's young queen.