With a punny title (the knight certainly is taking the queen, wink wink nudge nudge), The Musketeers was back to combining all its best elements this week – action, political scheming and a healthy dose of sex. While Queen Anne was off taking a ritualistic dip in a lake, her husband got drunk and accidentally ordered her death. Like you do.
Maybe the mercenaries might have been more successful if the convent the musketeers stumbled upon hadn’t been filled by action nuns. Taking advantage of the mercenaries’ apparently sincere vow not to hurt the nuns, the nuns stood in plain view on top of the convent walls to rain down proto-Molotov cocktail and large beehives on the would-be invaders. And, luckily for musketeers with limited supplies, this convent comes with muskets. They’re for “shooting rabbits. And Protestants.”
Speaking of which, the wider political concerns of France keep being brought up, whether it’s Louis’ need for an heir, and a wife who can give him one, or the religious tensions that kept Europe in a tizzy throughout this time period. The Musketeers remains grounded in its world. And it’s that consistency that makes you want to give thanks to the continuity gods, who were shining down this week. Treville was still injured from last week’s fight, and d’Artagnan was getting teased for his preciousness over his new uniform. After so many ongoing dramas where each episode tends to be quite isolated, these little points are really raising The Musketeers up as a series.
Yes, Anne’s loose clothes and hair are kind of a given, as she was about to take another swim when they had to go on the run, but her earnest desire to help and free nature is such a good counterpoint to her formal restraint in the reunion scene at court. The more beautiful and bright and airy her surroundings and clothing are, the more restrained she is. But then compare that to the way Louis acts when he sees her; Ryan Gage was great this week, full of aborted movements when he sees Anne, as if he’s about to rush forward and kiss her, and then there’s the moment he returns from the hunt. There’s a slow realisation in his eyes that the Cardinal has probably ordered Anne’s death on his orders, and desperation to find someone else to blame.
Next week is the season finale, where Athos finally finds out about d’Artagnan’s ongoing occasional flirtation with Milady, and d’Artagnan finds out that Athos’ almost-executed wife is in fact his sexy patroness. But it doesn’t look like they’re going to have a sensible conversation about it, with a coffin featuring heavily in the preview. But whose? It’s not going to be one of the main four, so Treville? A fake funeral as part of a plan? Or is it all a joke on the audience, and be the foolish old musketeer from this week? Find out next week!