by Helen Langdon
In "An Ordinary Man", it was time for Louis to do his "going secretly amongst the people" routine, a rite of passage all kings of note must endure. But of course everything went wrong, because otherwise there wouldn't be an episode. Kidnapped with d'Artagnan to be sold into slavery, it was time for Louis to actually listen to the common folk and see how little his rank means in the real world. Would that lead to a change in worldview, causing Louis to become a wiser and gentler king? Not so much.
In "An Ordinary Man", it was time for Louis to do his "going secretly amongst the people" routine, a rite of passage all kings of note must endure. But of course everything went wrong, because otherwise there wouldn't be an episode. Kidnapped with d'Artagnan to be sold into slavery, it was time for Louis to actually listen to the common folk and see how little his rank means in the real world. Would that lead to a change in worldview, causing Louis to become a wiser and gentler king? Not so much.
Pretty standard fare plotwise in this second episode of The Musketeers, with Athos, Porthos and Aramis wandering around France, threatening people in order to track down the king, while Rochefort made moves on the queen. The bad guys were bland and forgettable, the fact that no-one had noticed a large-scale slavery operation in Paris stretched credulity, but the episode is salvaged by the character development and acting performances.
BBC Mostly on the part of Louis. Throughout the first season and previous episode, Louis was a vain, spoilt and demanding brat. He’s still all of those in this episode, but Ryan Gage also gets to show Louis’ desperation as he realises he’s probably going to die in chains, as well as his jealousy towards d’Artagnan for having had a father. And this is, again, quite a musketeer-light episode of The Musketeers, but at the very start of the episode we see the very worst side of d'Artagnan's womanising streak. We’ve seen him love women for their own sake, but never use someone quite so cruelly as he’s doing now, wooing a woman just so he can be close to the Dauphin.
With Rochefort, that sneaky bastard, we got a glimpse of his limits. He might be willing to bring down France, but that doesn’t mean he wants to actually kill the king. Constance, as Anne’s new confidant, is the only real obstacle to him in that regard, and that brings up whole new issues. Because Rochefort can fight the musketeers physically, but he has to fight Constance diplomatically. And if there’s anyone who can stand up to him, it’s probably Madame Bonacieux.
With Rochefort, that sneaky bastard, we got a glimpse of his limits. He might be willing to bring down France, but that doesn’t mean he wants to actually kill the king. Constance, as Anne’s new confidant, is the only real obstacle to him in that regard, and that brings up whole new issues. Because Rochefort can fight the musketeers physically, but he has to fight Constance diplomatically. And if there’s anyone who can stand up to him, it’s probably Madame Bonacieux.
BBC But the episode ended with nearly all of the characters back where they began: the King was still King, Anne’s letters to Spain hadn’t been sent, d’Artagnan wasn’t especially in the king’s favour. The only real lasting point of the whole episode, then, was to bring Milady de Winter back into the series. Last week’s episode was poorer for her absence, but Maimie McCoy is back to strike fear into Athos’ heart. And it was the perfect reintroduction. We find the erstwhile assassin working with a slaving gang (apparently just pawning the jewellery they acquire), until she sees her salvation in d’Artagnan and Louis. From there, it’s just a matter of making sure Louis knows that she’s their rescuer, fluttering her eyelashes and bosom at him, and boom – she’s back in Paris, with the musketeers unable to do anything about it. Milady is still a brilliant villain, complicated and conflicted and just the right amount of ruthless. Now her old boss is dead and buried, will she be teaming up with Rochefort, taking her revenge on the musketeers or setting up in business for herself? Who knows? But it’ll be great fun to watch her go.
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