Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Surrey's command at Boulogne ends after a rash attack costs hundreds of men. Henry orders him home to answer for the losses and sends Edward Seymour to replace him. The struggle over who will control Prince Edward is already shaping the court, and Surrey considers taking the boy into his own hands. His plan fails, followed by an unsuccessful attempt to escape from imprisonment. At trial, he argues that the king's new advisers are using power against the old nobility. The jury questions the evidence, but pressure from Hertford produces a guilty verdict. Surrey is condemned while Brandon watches the result with little ability to intervene.
Gardiner also pursues Catherine Parr's religious circle through the arrest and torture of Anne Askew. Rich helps question her about support from people at court, and the investigation reaches the queen's attendants. Askew is burned, with gunpowder placed around her neck to shorten her suffering. Catherine continues to argue for wider access to religious books and presses Henry to carry his reforms further. He grows tired of what he hears as instruction from his wife. After she leaves, Gardiner offers to draw up charges of heresy against her. Henry agrees that she could be tried, while saying he intends to spare her life. Catherine's position is now exposed to the same court struggle that has destroyed Surrey.