The Musketeers: Series 1, Episode 5 – “The Homecoming” (2014)

 

Musketeer-wise, Porthos got some extra attention in episode 3, but “The Homecoming” definitely puts him center stage.  I’m reminded of the first season of Torchwood, where each of the supporting cast had one story more squarely focused on them in the midst of the Gwen-centric episodes and the ensemble offerings (“Greeks Bearing Gifts” for Tosh, “Ghost Machine” for Owen, and “Cyberwoman” for Ianto, in case anyone’s eager for a few seconds of Torchwood geekery.)

 

So, episode 5 finds Porthos in a spot of bother.  He’s been accused of a drunken manslaughter, and while his fellow musketeers try to prove that the dead man fell by someone else’s hand, Porthos is brought back to his old haunt.  The Court of Miracles, which I mainly know from the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre, is the thieves’ den the orphaned Porthos sprung from.  At the Court, he’s reacquainted with friends from his hungrier, less honorable days.  Essentially, it’s the old “you can never go home again (especially if you pulled yourself out of the gutter)” story, but with more sword fighting.

 

Very little Richelieu today.  A bit of scheming, a bit of advising, a bit of treacherous activity, a lot of barely-concealed disdain for the king.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  Now that PC is the Doctor, there’s a fairly good chance he won’t be too available for the show’s second season.  Having some PC in your show is always a good thing, but given how scantly they’ve used him so far, it might not be any great loss.

 

On a side note, I like the way that the series doesn’t insist on an all-white cast.  Two of the musketeers, as well as incidental one-shot characters, have been played by people of color, and I appreciate it.  It’s depressingly easy for movies or TV to homogenize in the name of alleged historical accuracy, and it’s nice to see a show incorporating PoCs without making a big deal of it.