\n<\/p>\n
To be clear: This is not a Dr. Dillamond in Wicked<\/em> or Mr. Tumnus in Narnia<\/em> situation. Guildford is not half man, half beast: He can turn into a fully neighing, trotting, stable-sleeping steed. It\u2019s blatantly absurd, but he\u2019s not this universe\u2019s only shape-shifter. Just 10 minutes into the show\u2019s first episode, Jane\u2019s lady\u2019s maid and innermost confidant Susanna (M\u00e1ir\u00e9ad Tyers<\/strong>)\u2014yep, the same one recovering from the clap\u2014morphs from woman to hawk. (No, not that one.<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u201cDid I mention that, in this world, some people can transform themselves into an animal?\u201d the show\u2019s narrator offers. We learn that both Susanna and Guildford are Ethians: humans who can take animal form and are often hunted by pure-blooded people known as Verities. If you hadn\u2019t figured it out yet, this is meant to be a metaphor for the Protestant-Catholic conflict in Tudor England. And in case you were wondering, according to the series, Anne Boleyn was<\/em> Ethian\u2014\u201cAn animal both in and out of the sack,\u201d Guildford\u2019s father (Rob Brydon<\/strong>) quips.<\/p>\n Henry VIII has largely exiled the Ethians from polite society and made it illegal for regular folks to fraternize with the group, meaning they often have to scrounge and steal in order to survive. It\u2019s unclear how, exactly, an Ethian is detected because they can shape-shift at their own whim\u2014a man takes to his grizzly bear form during a barside brawl; a woman shifts out of her existence as a lap dog named Petunia to alert King Edward (Jordan Peters<\/strong>) that he\u2019s being poisoned. But that same courtesy doesn\u2019t extend to Guildford, who has never had control over when he begins to\u2014sorry<\/em>\u2014horse around.<\/p>\n