Warning: This article contains spoilers for My Lady Jane.

Summary

• My Lady Jane is a fantastical retelling of Lady Jane Grey's life, set in a magical world divided between Ethians and Verities.
• Ethians have the ability to transform into magical creatures, while Verities are ordinary humans without magic. Their conflict is rooted in prejudice and oppression, reflecting historical and current social issues.
• The show's creators intended the Ethians and Verities to represent marginalized groups, drawing parallels to real-life struggles and promoting understanding and empathy.

Amazon Prime Video show strikes the perfect balance between whimsical and realistic when creating the show’s universe.

The characters in My Lady Jane are primarily based on real-life figures, maintaining their names and connections to one another. However, these historical people have vastly different personalities and are set in a world where magic exists. The population of Europe, and presumably the entire world, is divided into groups called the Ethians and Verities, and their ongoing conflict sets the stage for the hilarious show.

What Are An Ethians & Verities In My Lady Jane? The Amazon Show's Magic Explained

The Ethians And Verities Are Groups Created For The Story's Fantasy

The central conflict in Europe throughout My Lady Jane is the Ethians versus Verities. The Ethians are humans who have the magical ability to turn into magical creatures. Most Ethians can change at will from their human form to their animal form and back. Guildford is considered the exception to the rule, so he begs Jane to cure his Ethian form.

Ethians also have no ability to choose what animal they change into, which is confirmed by My Lady Jane’s narrator. Based on Cynthia Hand’s YA book, the specific Ethian form might have a genetic component based on some of the Ethians within the same family.

Even if the specific animal isn’t genetic like in the book, Prime Video’s show confirms that the Ethian curse – or gift, depending on the perspective – is ed down through genetics. It can skip generations. The trigger for an Ethian’s first change is induced by hormones or stress, leading most of them to turn during puberty.

On the other hand, Verities have no ability to change into animals in My Lady Jane, making them ordinary humans. The show jokingly pretends that Jane might be able to perform magic with incantations, but the narrator quickly confirms that this is not “that kind of show.” From that quote, it seems that the Verities don’t possess any magic at all.

Why Ethians & Verities Are Fighting In The Prime Video Show

The Ethian And Verity Conflict Goes Back Centuries In My Lady Jane

Amazon’s My Lady Jane provides very little explanation as to why the Ethians and Verities initially started fighting. The narrator explains that Verities are taught from a young age that Ethians are abominations sent by Satan to cause mayhem and ruin the Verity way of life. As such, the current conflict within the show relates to taught discrimination.

The Verities hate the Ethians, so they oppress their enemy. The Ethians fight back against their oppression and dismal living conditions, which causes the Verities to deem them dangerous and criminals. The Verities use these labels as an excuse to create laws against the Ethians. They also act barbarically towards their enemies. The Ethians become angry and upset about being treated as lesser than, legally and socially, so they create groups to commit acts of violence against their oppressors. This becomes a cyclical, self-fulfilling prophecy in the historical fantasy show.

What Ethians & Verities Represent In My Lady Jane

Ethians and Verities Are An Allegory For Actual History And Current Events

If the conflict between the Ethians and Verities sounds familiar, there’s a good reason. In real history, the Protestants and Catholics fought for control over Europe during the Tudor era – the setting of My Lady Jane. England was a hub for this conflict as the Protestants tried to keep the Catholics off the throne, which is why King Edward named Jane Grey and her future male children his successors instead of Mary (via The Tudor Society). A Nerdist interview with My Lady Jane’s director, producer, and showrunner indicates that they had this conflict in mind when creating the show.

However, the creative team also kept in mind the true cause of the Protestant vs. Catholic conflict – otherism. When speaking about My Lady Jane, the showrunner, Meredith Glynn, explained that the us versus them mentality of that age is unfortunately still prevalent today. Glynn expressed that, as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she related strongly to the Ethians’ oppression. The parallel can also extend to BIPOC people, disabled people, immigrants, and so many more systemically and socially marginalized groups. The exploration of this division is part of what makes My Lady Jane so prevalent and meaningful in 2024.

Sources: The Tudor Society and Nerdist