by Helen Langdon
The musketeers are back! The perfect antidote to the cold, rainy evenings of January, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d’Artagnan are back on BBC One to get your blood pumping and your face grinning as they swash their buckles. The Musketeers might have lost its main antagonist to Doctor Who, but in this first episode of season two, that didn’t seem to be holding them back, with a story combining political intrigue with daring rescues. With the Cardinal causing trouble from beyond the grave, and a treacherous new villain on the scene, it’s all systems go!
The musketeers are back! The perfect antidote to the cold, rainy evenings of January, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d’Artagnan are back on BBC One to get your blood pumping and your face grinning as they swash their buckles. The Musketeers might have lost its main antagonist to Doctor Who, but in this first episode of season two, that didn’t seem to be holding them back, with a story combining political intrigue with daring rescues. With the Cardinal causing trouble from beyond the grave, and a treacherous new villain on the scene, it’s all systems go!
So, what of the plot? Well, after skimming over the funeral of the Cardinal and the birth of a French heir, we were introduced to the Comte de Rochefort, who claimed he had a message for the king regarding a general the Spanish had imprisoned. But Rochefort was actually working for the Spanish, and planned on getting the musketeers killed during a rescue attempt, so that he could weasel his way into the king’s affections. Thrilling rescue ensues, the musketeers don’t die (obviously), and Rochefort gets the Cardinal’s old job.
BBC Obviously the big news from the episode is the new antagonist, Rochefort. Peter Capaldi’s Cardinal Richelieu was one of the highlights of the first series; Rochefort is similar enough to be familiar, but different enough that they’re not just rehashing the same plotlines. Where Richelieu wanted the best for France above all else, it’s difficult to know where Rochefort’s allegiances lie – maybe he’s a double agent for Spain, and maybe he’s just out for himself. In the original novels, Rochefort started out as the Cardinal’s agent before becoming d’Artagnan’s friend. With the audience just as unsure of Rochefort’s motivations as the other characters, anything he does is going to come as a surprise.
While Rochefort might be moving into the Cardinal’s dead shoes, taking his job and his sparsely decorated halls, he’s far more personally involved in violence than Richelieu ever was. While the Cardinal preferred to use agents such as Milady de Winter to do his dirty work, in one single episode Rochefort’s kill-count is up to five (leaving aside anyone who he might kill in a big fight scene). And then there’s the way Rochefort relates to the royal couple. Anne and Richelieu had an antagonistic relationship, where Rochefort claims the queen “loves” him. Whether or not that’s in an “I taught her all she knew of France INCLUDING THE KISSING” way remains to be seen.
While Rochefort might be moving into the Cardinal’s dead shoes, taking his job and his sparsely decorated halls, he’s far more personally involved in violence than Richelieu ever was. While the Cardinal preferred to use agents such as Milady de Winter to do his dirty work, in one single episode Rochefort’s kill-count is up to five (leaving aside anyone who he might kill in a big fight scene). And then there’s the way Rochefort relates to the royal couple. Anne and Richelieu had an antagonistic relationship, where Rochefort claims the queen “loves” him. Whether or not that’s in an “I taught her all she knew of France INCLUDING THE KISSING” way remains to be seen.
BBC With a focus on Rochefort and political manoeuvring, the episode didn’t really focus on the musketeers themselves, although the several endings to the episode hinted towards stories for the upcoming season. There’s the reveal of Porthos’ father, the Cardinal’s post-death threat to reveal Aramis’ affair with Anne, d’Artagnan’s new love interest who doesn’t have an inconvenient husband, and Constance making good points as to why she can’t have a relationship with d’Artagnan, because patriarchy sucks (more on that in later reviews). There’s even Milady’s return in the next time trailer, just to screw Athos over now that he’s started smiling a bit. The world of the musketeers isn’t any safer after the death of the Cardinal, not just yet.
RSS Feed
