I think
the show has stepped up its game the last couple of episodes. The drama has been more compelling, and the
humor has struck a more successful balance between fun and hokey. We’re getting to know the individual
musketeers a little more beyond their larger archetypal identities of the
initial episodes.
Yesterday,
we got backstory on Athos, and Porthos had some heavy investment in the story
at hand. It’s Aramis’s turn in the
spotlight today, and D’Artagnan seems a bit more integrated into the
group. Anyway, what begins as a simple
but dull assignment – standing at attention while the Duke of Savoy and his
wife (the king’s sister) pay a courtly visit – immediately goes haywire. An assassination attempt is made on the duke,
and that’s just the jumping-off point for revelations of conspiracy, betrayal,
and international espionage. The
musketeers’ faith in the system to which they’ve devoted themselves is shaken.
At
first, I was concerned that Richelieu wasn’t going to deliver on his early
promise of entertaining villainy. It
seems like he’s been progressively less
shady with every passing episode, but today’s outing takes a step back towards
his original nefarious direction.
Basically, the good cardinal is up to his eyeballs in intrigue, and
while he’s not outright despicable, his scenes have a little more weight behind
them.
In
particular, he has an excellent scene in which he goes head-to-head with the duke. The king of France is an overgrown teenager,
who makes shows of defiance but generally toes the line. The duke of Savoy, however, is a grown man
who’s been to a few rodeos, and he’s not so eager to be managed. The two have words, and Richelieu proves he’s
not a man to be trifled with.
Sharp-eyed
Whovians will recognized Adrian Schiller, who played Uncle in “The Doctor’s
Wife.” And I can’t end this review
without mentioning the fabulous JJ Field, appearing in this episode as a former
musketeer. I first saw him as a tremendous Henry Tilney in Northanger Abbey a handful of years ago
(my introduction to the wonderful world of cinematic Austen,) and he was also
in the Sally Lockhart Mystery films with Billie Piper and Matt Smith (post- and
pre-Who, respectively.) He’s a great
actor, and I always enjoy seeing him.
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