Aaaaand we're back! Season 3 of Showtime's The Tudors started with more of a whimper than a bang, as the debatably most interesting period in Henry VII's rule (the Boleyn years) ended last season with poor, delicious Anne losing her head. Now we move into a decidedly slower, stodgier era, with the marriage of Henry to sweet, simple Jane Seymour, and the eventual birth of the King's long-awaited heir, Edward.

The season premiere confirmed the classier direction the show is taking; gone are the hallmark gratuitous sex and fluffy costume-porn filler scenes of the racy first season, and he...