Martin Scorsese brings St Thomas Becket’s clash with the crown to life in ‘The Saints’

St. Thomas Becket’s stand echoes through history, a story of loyalty, betrayal and martyrdom brought to life with Martin Scorsese’s signature intensity in the newest episode of “The Saints.” 

Viewers are taken inside the escalating tensions that turned a once-unbreakable bond into a fatal confrontation at the heart of the English throne when Becket, torn between friendship and faith, chose allegiance to God over obedience to a king.

King Henry II’s sentiment that “the power of the crown and the power of the church [are] one and the same,” is echoed in the brand-new episode debuting Sunday, as it explores how that mindset helped spark one of history’s most infamous ruptures between crown and church.

Becket tells the king in this week’s episode that he “must reflect in solitude and prayer on this decision alone with my God,” a declaration that marks the moment their relationship fractures into an inescapable conflict.

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King Henry II, left, and St. Thomas Becket, right, are portrayed in the Nov. 30 episode of “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints” on Fox Nation. (Fox Nation)

Becket, once the chancellor of England, became the archbishop of Canterbury, a change that set him on the path toward sainthood and sealed his tragic fate.

Assassinated by the king’s loyalists, Becket’s murder in Canterbury Cathedral rattled the Middle Ages and led to his canonization by the Catholic Church shortly after.

Becket’s journey to martyrdom is documented in dramatic detail in the third episode of the highly requested second season of “The Saints.”

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Martin Scorsese attends the premiere of the second season of Fox Nation’s “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints” in Nov. 2025 in New York City. (FOX News Media)

Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese has described the series as decades in the making, remarking in a Fox Nation press release that he had long sought to explore facets of Christianity in depth as he is today.

“For many years, I dreamed of telling stories of the lives of the saints,” he said.

“It’s been an obsession of mine for as long as I can remember. So the chance to do this series meant the world to me, and it’s heartening to know that people have responded to it. I’m very excited to be coming back for a second season.”

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St. Thomas Becket’s episode appears alongside other influential Christian saints like St. Patrick, St. Peter and the most recently canonized St. Carlo Acutis in the second season of the special Fox Nation series.

Fox Nation subscribers can stream the brand-new season of “The Saints,” with episode two featuring St. Thomas Becket.