The Musketeers 1.07
Mar. 12th, 2014 02:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakMaybe it's because I was in a hurry when watching this and am on the road again, but it felt more uneven to me than the last couple of episodes. Well, you know. For a show that never claimed to be more than fun entertainment. However, it did have a few things I liked.
Among them not the Ninon/Athos not-quite-romance, because I've realised that this Athos, while motivational an improvement over his Dumans canon in terms of how his marriage ended, doesn't do much for me, and I don't know whether it's the actor or the writing, but he's the least interesting of the Musketeers in this series. So when Ninon went on about his melancholy attractions, I thought, well, that works if someone charismatic like Oliver Reed is playing him, but with this guy I'm not sold. Especially with Porthos and Aramis played and written so much more vividly.
But that wasn't actually my problem with the episode. I'm usually good at handwaving history (while tickled when there is the occasional historical nod) with this and similar shows, but when characters used phrases like "these are not the Dark Ages", "medieval" oder "does anyone really believe in witches anymore?", I could not stop my inner history lover crying out in pain. First of all, this is supposed to be set in 1630. Which was the very HEIGHT of the witch craze in continental Europe. That's right, witch persecution in truly horrible mass waves wasn't a phenomenon of the Middle Ages. It came later. My home town, Bamberg, has the sad fame of being a center of witch persecution between 1623 - 1630, and I once had to do a bit of research about a particular case, where the Mayor himself and his entire family (with two exceptions, one a nun and one married elsewhere, in Nuremberg) were wiped out. So this is a bit personal to me; I read some of the letters, diaries and protocols. Anyway: the answer to the question "does anyone still believe in witches?" would be: most people did. Yes, there were also courageous voices starting to argue that the witch trials were wrong, like Friedrich Spee, but those were the minority.
Secondly, the Comtesse Ninon as a pioneer of female education attacked by the patriarchy from both the the educational and the homophobic angle felt like something from fanfiction, and I don't mean that in a good way. Never mind she was invented; so was the French Gaius Baltar earlier this season, and I didn't object then because his character made a good point about slavery. But, again: part of why I think that episode was better was because he wasn't a mustache twirling villain. You don't need those to say that the slave trade was evil. And you don't need a witch trial against an feminist to show those were the days of the patriarchy. (By the way: re: female education - since a noble woman was expected to manage her husband's often considerable household and estates, very much a requirement. This was the age of the salons, often centered around a noble woman (Richelieu's favourite niece included). Doesn't mean poor women had any of those advantages, of course.) The slave trade equivalent would have been if instead of the French Baltar character, we'd have had an episode where Porthos gets kidnapped and brutally whipped to make the same point. You know what I mean?
Thirdly: there was no way Richelieu could have become Pope, partly for the reason he names at the end of the episode, i.e. "it's a club of Italians", but more importantly because Spain (as also mentioned in this episode) was still more influential with the Vatican, and there is no way any of the Spanish, Italian and or German cardinals would have voted for any French Cardinal, and most certainly not Richelieu, he of the practical alliances with the Protestant Swedes (ALSO mentioned in the episode itself) and regular winner of "most hated enemy of Spain" polls. So for him to even flirt with the idea, however, briefly, makes no sense whatsoever.
All this being said, here's what I liked about the episode:
- the Anne and Aramis conversation (also that Anne supporting the Comtesse was independent from whether or not she thought Aramis was interested)
- the Constance and D'Artagnan final scene. They have sold me both on mutual attraction and on genuine affection in this version
- Constance trying to prevent her friend getting married to a decades older man, while falling into the general anachronism any "but she doesn't love him" argument does in this period (middle class marriage: an economic question on both sides, not a romantic one), still works within the show for Constance because it's combined of how she feels about her own marriage (which is an arrangement, and she doesn't hate her husband, but it's still undertandable she would try to keep her friend free a while longer)
- the Milady and Ninon scene and the Milady and Richelieu scenes which were all golden, especially the last one. I think the show made the right choice when not letting Milady appear in every episode, not least because a constantly foiled villain becomes an ineffectual one, but to use her only in episodes where her presence is essential and works. That last conversation had a Marlowian "why this is hell, nor are we out of it" dimension to it and managed to make me curious about their relationship as that mutual ruthless honesty seems to hint at more than mutual usefulness.
Among them not the Ninon/Athos not-quite-romance, because I've realised that this Athos, while motivational an improvement over his Dumans canon in terms of how his marriage ended, doesn't do much for me, and I don't know whether it's the actor or the writing, but he's the least interesting of the Musketeers in this series. So when Ninon went on about his melancholy attractions, I thought, well, that works if someone charismatic like Oliver Reed is playing him, but with this guy I'm not sold. Especially with Porthos and Aramis played and written so much more vividly.
But that wasn't actually my problem with the episode. I'm usually good at handwaving history (while tickled when there is the occasional historical nod) with this and similar shows, but when characters used phrases like "these are not the Dark Ages", "medieval" oder "does anyone really believe in witches anymore?", I could not stop my inner history lover crying out in pain. First of all, this is supposed to be set in 1630. Which was the very HEIGHT of the witch craze in continental Europe. That's right, witch persecution in truly horrible mass waves wasn't a phenomenon of the Middle Ages. It came later. My home town, Bamberg, has the sad fame of being a center of witch persecution between 1623 - 1630, and I once had to do a bit of research about a particular case, where the Mayor himself and his entire family (with two exceptions, one a nun and one married elsewhere, in Nuremberg) were wiped out. So this is a bit personal to me; I read some of the letters, diaries and protocols. Anyway: the answer to the question "does anyone still believe in witches?" would be: most people did. Yes, there were also courageous voices starting to argue that the witch trials were wrong, like Friedrich Spee, but those were the minority.
Secondly, the Comtesse Ninon as a pioneer of female education attacked by the patriarchy from both the the educational and the homophobic angle felt like something from fanfiction, and I don't mean that in a good way. Never mind she was invented; so was the French Gaius Baltar earlier this season, and I didn't object then because his character made a good point about slavery. But, again: part of why I think that episode was better was because he wasn't a mustache twirling villain. You don't need those to say that the slave trade was evil. And you don't need a witch trial against an feminist to show those were the days of the patriarchy. (By the way: re: female education - since a noble woman was expected to manage her husband's often considerable household and estates, very much a requirement. This was the age of the salons, often centered around a noble woman (Richelieu's favourite niece included). Doesn't mean poor women had any of those advantages, of course.) The slave trade equivalent would have been if instead of the French Baltar character, we'd have had an episode where Porthos gets kidnapped and brutally whipped to make the same point. You know what I mean?
Thirdly: there was no way Richelieu could have become Pope, partly for the reason he names at the end of the episode, i.e. "it's a club of Italians", but more importantly because Spain (as also mentioned in this episode) was still more influential with the Vatican, and there is no way any of the Spanish, Italian and or German cardinals would have voted for any French Cardinal, and most certainly not Richelieu, he of the practical alliances with the Protestant Swedes (ALSO mentioned in the episode itself) and regular winner of "most hated enemy of Spain" polls. So for him to even flirt with the idea, however, briefly, makes no sense whatsoever.
All this being said, here's what I liked about the episode:
- the Anne and Aramis conversation (also that Anne supporting the Comtesse was independent from whether or not she thought Aramis was interested)
- the Constance and D'Artagnan final scene. They have sold me both on mutual attraction and on genuine affection in this version
- Constance trying to prevent her friend getting married to a decades older man, while falling into the general anachronism any "but she doesn't love him" argument does in this period (middle class marriage: an economic question on both sides, not a romantic one), still works within the show for Constance because it's combined of how she feels about her own marriage (which is an arrangement, and she doesn't hate her husband, but it's still undertandable she would try to keep her friend free a while longer)
- the Milady and Ninon scene and the Milady and Richelieu scenes which were all golden, especially the last one. I think the show made the right choice when not letting Milady appear in every episode, not least because a constantly foiled villain becomes an ineffectual one, but to use her only in episodes where her presence is essential and works. That last conversation had a Marlowian "why this is hell, nor are we out of it" dimension to it and managed to make me curious about their relationship as that mutual ruthless honesty seems to hint at more than mutual usefulness.
no subject
Date: 2014-03-12 03:15 pm (UTC)I said to Nenya as soon as the dude from Rome showed up, "Nothing good is going to come of him. People from Rome are always evil." Which he was. So that was predictable.
But like you, I felt the episode generally and the writing in particular pretty uneven. You just get random lines like Ninon monologuing about Athos and Richelieu's monologue about purpose at the end which are actually cringingly bad. This show probably isn't going to be up for any writing awards on a good day, but it usually hovers above mediocre.
I realise the concept of Dark Ages was invented in 13??, but the whole, Oh, we're not in the Dark Ages Now thing felt pretty glaring. You could sell me on Richelieu believing it because he's pretty pragmatic, but actually saying it? And of course the witch trial thing.
I'm not sure how common arranged middle-class marriages with that big an age gap actually were? That seemed more like Romance Novel History. I did like the character beats for Constance though. She and d'Artagnan are really cute. I hope she doesn't die.
Ninon went the other way for me. They're vaguely ripping off Ninon de Lenclos (VERY VAGUELY, but the first name plus feminist, plus general period makes me think they are). So having her lose at the end grated. It was pretty damn hard to keep actual Ninon down. Plus she wasn't 'safe' like an aristocrat. So I was kind of disappointed by that. I liked her for what she was, but she could have been way more awesome. Interesting that Porthos, who would have been the one to comment on education for working class, didn't interact with her at all (or seem to have an opinion on anything).
I, like you, don't understand why Richelieu was doing anything for the Rome Dude, though I guess he was mostly trying to get funds for the Navy (actual thing). So maybe he was more stringing everyone along? Liked sending Rome Dude back in a box. People who tried to kill Richelieu did tend to come to sticky ends.
I liked Louis this episode, mostly. He seemed less childish generally, and the scene with him freaking out over Richelieu was great. He knows how done he'd be without him. Though flirting with Ninon was an odd beat. Debates may be on about how gay he actually was, but he really was homosocial at the least. Scene with Anne was great (though Aramis' women are superior routine came off as pretty patronising, his gift to Ninon looked heartfelt, and the religion thing has finally sorta come in).
New writer on this episode, so maybe that was part of the problem. Oh well. Next week.
no subject
Date: 2014-03-13 07:39 am (UTC)re: sending the messenger back to Rome in a box, that made me wonder whether this scriptwriter is a fan of Neil Gaiman's 1602, because that's more or less what 1602!Magneto does. :) Though yes, as Cinq-Mars & Co. could testify, people who tried to kill Richelieu didn't survive that long.
re: Louis, I hear you. (Always thought that Louis dying eight months or so after Richelieu did said it all. Though by then Mazarin was in place; one thing I've always liked about Richelieu is that unless most powerful men, he was aware of his own mortality and the need for someone genuinely capable to replace him and trained a protegé in time. There are so many - Bismarck comes to mind - who were eminently capable themselves but eminently unable to allow anyone but incompetent sycophants around them.) I don't know why the scriptwriter had him flirting - or trying to - with Ninon, either, but other than that, he's growing up.
no subject
Date: 2014-03-13 03:07 pm (UTC)