The Musketeers 3.02 - 3.10.
Dec. 4th, 2016 10:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakI had stopped watching early on due to fatigue with what looked like yet another run of the "evil councillor whom the King listens to versus Musketeers" plot, but jesuswasbatman convinced me there was more to the last season than this, and as Netflix put the third season up in my region, I have now watched the remainder. All in all, I'm good (and in one case amused) with where everyone in this particular incarnation of the tale ended up, and it definitely made for a better ending than the second season would have.
Aside from endings, another thing that amused me was that a soon as I had growled "I don't understand why they had to invent a scheming half brother for Louis XIII when he historically had a perfectly bad scheming full brother whom no version ever uses" and quit watching, when lo and behold, Gaston actually shows up, as one of the season's minor supporting villains. It also becomes clear when the point of the fictional Philippe de Freron was, who was sharing Big Bad duties with Grimaud through half the season until getting an unexpected (until that episode, the opening monologue kind of gave it away) ending; he had the honor of being the sole more dimensional arc villain since Richelieu left us, and ended up with family feeling for brother Louis winning over ambition and resentment, in the knowledge that this would cost him his life. (At the same time, with zero feeling for anyone not family, which means there was no unrealistic redemption arc.) Meanwhile, Gaston was one dimensionally vile, which I didn't have a problem with because aside from good looks, I'm not familiar with any virtue Gaston ever possessed. (He did marry into lots of money and land which made his daughter, the Grande Mademoiselle, the biggest heiress of her time. She remained unmarried, which meant cousin Philippe d'Orleans got the goods after her death. Since neither the Grande Mademoiselle nor Monsieur exist in this 'verse, the point is academic, though.) As for the ultimate Big Bad of the season, Grimaud, he was also one dimensionally evil, and nihilistic, but the show did give him background to show he's (one) consequence of the devastation warfare wreaks on the population, which was one of the season's big themes. More in a moment. Note: neither Freron, nor Grimaud, nor Gaston rapes anyone. (The writers did learn from Rochefort.) Though rape is thematized, but not by depicting the event itself on screen but by showing the long term consequence to the woman who went through it. Who happened to be Grimaud's biological mother (in the episode in question, we find out she was gang raped by soldiers as a girl), but what makes the episode is that the character (and her refusal to engage with her son) isn't presented as responsible for what he became, nor is her story in the episode about reconciling with him or dying sacrificially. She's a scarred survivor decades later, but ultimately focused on defending her people, not on going on nihilistic rampages.
So much for the villains. But of course they, not even in the great first season Richelieu & Milady combination, aren't what makes or breaks the show (to me). The third season featured our heroes as a great team, without trying for artificial crisis; and btw, that was refreshingly true as well for Constance and D'Artagnan as husband and wife. Constance as garrison boss throughout with the cadets doing her bidding and looking to her for guidance was great. The one genuine reason for interpersonal resentment, Aramis' s2 behaviour, was, I felt, fairly dealt with by, a) the first episode of the season thematizing it, and b) occasional echoes like Athos keeping Dauphin-related intel from Aramis or him and Porthos ruefully observing "Aramis is my penance"/"Yes, mine, too". As for Aramis himself, he, too, struck a balance between on the one hand still having strong feelings about Anne and the kid but on the other, as opposed to s2, not doing stupid things endangering other people (and them) because of that. Those four years as a humble monk in the monastery taking care of kids and learning medicine definitely were good for him. Which is why his ending is the one which cracked me up in a good way, as it's perfectly fitting for the character in this particular 'verse, and the 'verse itself. My occasional "but where is Mazarin?" nitpick was answered by the finale reveal that Aramis IS Mazarin. No, really. He ends up as First Minister to Anne's Regent.
Not as the new Richelieu, though he has his job now; that would be Anne herself, which is the cream on the cake in regards to another character, too. Milady is in two episodes this season, to wrap up the character. In the first episode she's in, we wrap up the relationship with Athos as in "well, it would never work, because he instinctively distrusts her - which isn't unearned by past history -, and also, he's with new character Sylvie now". Which on the one hand wasn't wrong or ooc - Milady/Athos were a fascinating trainwreck, but given their past history and both characters, a happily after was never in the cards. Plus the show thankfully avoided having Milady go after Sylvie (been there, done that). But as a pay off/exit for the entire character, it would have been really lame. And that Treville, in the same episode, hires her in her old capacity as spy/assassin for France was but meager consolation, since no actual Milady mission and no Milary appearance in the next few eps followed, and I was all set to growl "they brought her back for this?" when lo and behold, the show finale offered the second appearance by Milady de Winter, and this one truly was a good ending, as the finally confirmed as Regent Anne calls her and gives her first mission. The scene between the two women is great, tense, and makes me long for a "Queen Anne and her Assassin" spin-off. And then we see Milady accomplish the deed (since the person Anne wants dead makes sense, it's a perfect choice, btw), exiting the show both as she began it - skillful spy/assassin working for the true ruler of France -, and yet not, because she's no longer haunted by her own past and free of revenge plot. And like I said: that dynamic with Anne is fascinating even in two minutes. If I were to look for fanfiction, that's what I'd want to read, Milady as Anne's secret hitwoman right until Anne's death.
The ravages of war, the increasing poverty of the population while the court lives in its own luxurious world (with btw costumes distinctly modelled on the pre revolutionary Louis XVI, not Louis XIII era) - all these are red threads through the season, and fittingly, Porthos is the one most relating to this and furious about it. However, new character Sylvie, while getting a good introduction in 3.02., never truly came alive for me, which is regrettable, because she's supposed to be the voice of the people crying for justice. One of the problems with Sylvie for me was that we never see how she supports herself through the season when not holding speeches among the other refugees. I get that The Musketeers was never hardcore historical realism, but even so, two minutes or so establishing Sylvia makes a living, say, as a scribe (enough people who can't read or write are around), or working in a tavern, or assisting Constance at the garrison - anything - would not have been wasted. It would also have ensured we see her building relationships with people not Athos. As it is, the romance with Athos is the only meaningful relationship we see her develop, and it's both eminently predictable (the one crisis is about whether he should prioritize her or his job - you don't say!) and lacks the spark his scenes with, say, that other idealistic woman, the salon leader from s1, did have. (To avoid the obvious comparison.) All of this being said, Sylvie being pregnant at the end reminded me that the way Dumas handled Raoul's mother was far worse - he had the whole thing happening off page so Athos could have a son but wouldn't have to be depicted in a post Milady romantic relationship first. And I was okay with them walking into the sunset, so to speak.
I already talked about Anne; Louis in this season did better than I feared at the start. He was given a motive beyond "inexplicably trusts bad guy again for flattery"; knowing that you're dying not often brings out the best in people, and the show's version of Louis XIII wasn't a good ruler at the best of times. That, faced with a death sentence, he would shut down and solely focus on "must make sure my little son remembers me by spending all my time with him, so he won't be just like I was after my own father's early death" and freeze out nearly all other concerns makes as much sense for his character as the renewed focus on his surviving family members does, which applies both to Philippe Freron and to Gaston. Also, Ryan Gage managed to make Louis both selfish and with genuine pathos throughout, so you both wanted to slap him and felt sorry for him.
Incidentally, since in one episode we meet Henrietta Maria (whose young self is as arrogant as history, though I wonder how many watchers are aware she's the same person whom Diana Rigg plays in Charles II?), it occured to me that The Musketeers is the first version of the tale where not one but four of the five children Henri IV. had with Maria de' Medici show up (Louis, Gaston, Christine de Lorraine, Henrietta Maria). The Henrietta Maria episode also brought backGaius Baltar James Callis' character Emile Bonneur from one of the best s1 episodes, and while I first wondered whether they'd made a mistake there as his reappearance seemed to be solely for comic relief, which the original appearance was not, what with the slave trade reveal, it then turned out this one wasn't, either, and I liked how he ended up as well.
In conclusion: I liked this final season, and it reconciled me with my s2 issues with the show. Plus now I'm actually seeking out fanfic; surely, SOMEONE must have written Queen's Assassin?
jesuswasbatman convinced me there was more to the last season than this, and as Netflix put the third season up in my region, I have now watched the remainder. All in all, I'm good (and in one case amused) with where everyone in this particular incarnation of the tale ended up, and it definitely made for a better ending than the second season would have. Aside from endings, another thing that amused me was that a soon as I had growled "I don't understand why they had to invent a scheming half brother for Louis XIII when he historically had a perfectly bad scheming full brother whom no version ever uses" and quit watching, when lo and behold, Gaston actually shows up, as one of the season's minor supporting villains. It also becomes clear when the point of the fictional Philippe de Freron was, who was sharing Big Bad duties with Grimaud through half the season until getting an unexpected (until that episode, the opening monologue kind of gave it away) ending; he had the honor of being the sole more dimensional arc villain since Richelieu left us, and ended up with family feeling for brother Louis winning over ambition and resentment, in the knowledge that this would cost him his life. (At the same time, with zero feeling for anyone not family, which means there was no unrealistic redemption arc.) Meanwhile, Gaston was one dimensionally vile, which I didn't have a problem with because aside from good looks, I'm not familiar with any virtue Gaston ever possessed. (He did marry into lots of money and land which made his daughter, the Grande Mademoiselle, the biggest heiress of her time. She remained unmarried, which meant cousin Philippe d'Orleans got the goods after her death. Since neither the Grande Mademoiselle nor Monsieur exist in this 'verse, the point is academic, though.) As for the ultimate Big Bad of the season, Grimaud, he was also one dimensionally evil, and nihilistic, but the show did give him background to show he's (one) consequence of the devastation warfare wreaks on the population, which was one of the season's big themes. More in a moment. Note: neither Freron, nor Grimaud, nor Gaston rapes anyone. (The writers did learn from Rochefort.) Though rape is thematized, but not by depicting the event itself on screen but by showing the long term consequence to the woman who went through it. Who happened to be Grimaud's biological mother (in the episode in question, we find out she was gang raped by soldiers as a girl), but what makes the episode is that the character (and her refusal to engage with her son) isn't presented as responsible for what he became, nor is her story in the episode about reconciling with him or dying sacrificially. She's a scarred survivor decades later, but ultimately focused on defending her people, not on going on nihilistic rampages.
So much for the villains. But of course they, not even in the great first season Richelieu & Milady combination, aren't what makes or breaks the show (to me). The third season featured our heroes as a great team, without trying for artificial crisis; and btw, that was refreshingly true as well for Constance and D'Artagnan as husband and wife. Constance as garrison boss throughout with the cadets doing her bidding and looking to her for guidance was great. The one genuine reason for interpersonal resentment, Aramis' s2 behaviour, was, I felt, fairly dealt with by, a) the first episode of the season thematizing it, and b) occasional echoes like Athos keeping Dauphin-related intel from Aramis or him and Porthos ruefully observing "Aramis is my penance"/"Yes, mine, too". As for Aramis himself, he, too, struck a balance between on the one hand still having strong feelings about Anne and the kid but on the other, as opposed to s2, not doing stupid things endangering other people (and them) because of that. Those four years as a humble monk in the monastery taking care of kids and learning medicine definitely were good for him. Which is why his ending is the one which cracked me up in a good way, as it's perfectly fitting for the character in this particular 'verse, and the 'verse itself. My occasional "but where is Mazarin?" nitpick was answered by the finale reveal that Aramis IS Mazarin. No, really. He ends up as First Minister to Anne's Regent.
Not as the new Richelieu, though he has his job now; that would be Anne herself, which is the cream on the cake in regards to another character, too. Milady is in two episodes this season, to wrap up the character. In the first episode she's in, we wrap up the relationship with Athos as in "well, it would never work, because he instinctively distrusts her - which isn't unearned by past history -, and also, he's with new character Sylvie now". Which on the one hand wasn't wrong or ooc - Milady/Athos were a fascinating trainwreck, but given their past history and both characters, a happily after was never in the cards. Plus the show thankfully avoided having Milady go after Sylvie (been there, done that). But as a pay off/exit for the entire character, it would have been really lame. And that Treville, in the same episode, hires her in her old capacity as spy/assassin for France was but meager consolation, since no actual Milady mission and no Milary appearance in the next few eps followed, and I was all set to growl "they brought her back for this?" when lo and behold, the show finale offered the second appearance by Milady de Winter, and this one truly was a good ending, as the finally confirmed as Regent Anne calls her and gives her first mission. The scene between the two women is great, tense, and makes me long for a "Queen Anne and her Assassin" spin-off. And then we see Milady accomplish the deed (since the person Anne wants dead makes sense, it's a perfect choice, btw), exiting the show both as she began it - skillful spy/assassin working for the true ruler of France -, and yet not, because she's no longer haunted by her own past and free of revenge plot. And like I said: that dynamic with Anne is fascinating even in two minutes. If I were to look for fanfiction, that's what I'd want to read, Milady as Anne's secret hitwoman right until Anne's death.
The ravages of war, the increasing poverty of the population while the court lives in its own luxurious world (with btw costumes distinctly modelled on the pre revolutionary Louis XVI, not Louis XIII era) - all these are red threads through the season, and fittingly, Porthos is the one most relating to this and furious about it. However, new character Sylvie, while getting a good introduction in 3.02., never truly came alive for me, which is regrettable, because she's supposed to be the voice of the people crying for justice. One of the problems with Sylvie for me was that we never see how she supports herself through the season when not holding speeches among the other refugees. I get that The Musketeers was never hardcore historical realism, but even so, two minutes or so establishing Sylvia makes a living, say, as a scribe (enough people who can't read or write are around), or working in a tavern, or assisting Constance at the garrison - anything - would not have been wasted. It would also have ensured we see her building relationships with people not Athos. As it is, the romance with Athos is the only meaningful relationship we see her develop, and it's both eminently predictable (the one crisis is about whether he should prioritize her or his job - you don't say!) and lacks the spark his scenes with, say, that other idealistic woman, the salon leader from s1, did have. (To avoid the obvious comparison.) All of this being said, Sylvie being pregnant at the end reminded me that the way Dumas handled Raoul's mother was far worse - he had the whole thing happening off page so Athos could have a son but wouldn't have to be depicted in a post Milady romantic relationship first. And I was okay with them walking into the sunset, so to speak.
I already talked about Anne; Louis in this season did better than I feared at the start. He was given a motive beyond "inexplicably trusts bad guy again for flattery"; knowing that you're dying not often brings out the best in people, and the show's version of Louis XIII wasn't a good ruler at the best of times. That, faced with a death sentence, he would shut down and solely focus on "must make sure my little son remembers me by spending all my time with him, so he won't be just like I was after my own father's early death" and freeze out nearly all other concerns makes as much sense for his character as the renewed focus on his surviving family members does, which applies both to Philippe Freron and to Gaston. Also, Ryan Gage managed to make Louis both selfish and with genuine pathos throughout, so you both wanted to slap him and felt sorry for him.
Incidentally, since in one episode we meet Henrietta Maria (whose young self is as arrogant as history, though I wonder how many watchers are aware she's the same person whom Diana Rigg plays in Charles II?), it occured to me that The Musketeers is the first version of the tale where not one but four of the five children Henri IV. had with Maria de' Medici show up (Louis, Gaston, Christine de Lorraine, Henrietta Maria). The Henrietta Maria episode also brought back
In conclusion: I liked this final season, and it reconciled me with my s2 issues with the show. Plus now I'm actually seeking out fanfic; surely, SOMEONE must have written Queen's Assassin?
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