Lord Hugo: “I marvel that you could
have been brought up at court and still understand it so poorly.”
Yes, that certainly is a recurring
theme. Neither Mary, who spent all her somewhat adult life in a convent, nor
Bash, who’s been at court yet barely paid any attention to anything that was
happening there, know what to do, how to rule the country and, most importantly,
how not to rule the country. So far those two have been making one bad decision
after another. All in all Mary and Bash seem to have bitten a lot more than
they can chew.
Whole plot with the little Charles and Henry
was like a headache that came, stayed for a very long time and then thankfully was gone. I knew they were never in any real
danger, unless the writers are planning on shaking the historical foundation
completely. Was it to create some sort of conflict between Mary and Bash to
show that they don’t always see eye to eye? If that was the
purpose then it wasn’t convincing, felt forced and most importantly failed.
Trouble in paradise came a
bit earlier than I expected, yet at the same time it was right on time. Bash
and Mary, they don’t really know one another. They are just getting to know each
other, and so far they have seen each other from a selfless and honorable side.
The two of them were never at odds. Until now and I wish the writers came up
with a better subject for them to fight over, because somehow, in the course of the last couple of episodes they turned into
a very boring couple and that is a disaster in terms of television.
When Mary first showed
up at French court I thought there was an instant chemistry between her and
Bash. I actually preferred this couple, and was a bit sorry when they went
strongly in the other direction. Then I quickly changed my mind. Whether it
takes two to tango or whatever, but there was an immense amount of sparks flying
between Mary and Francis. Then the writers turned it upside down, sent Francis away
and we got a chance to see the other couple. I was for it! Who doesn’t like
a good lovely mess? But... and it's a big BUT! While Mary and Francis are so hot
together I sometimes worry for my screen, Mary and Bash these days – not so
much. It’s like whatever chemistry was there between
the two just left the room. They are trying. It’s just isn’t there. In
my humble opinion. Is it on purpose because we know Mary loves Francis? Is it the actors? I don’t know… This episode was a perfect opportunity to spice
things up a bit, make them fight, make them argue, something... anything... no, this episode didn’t help bring it back. At the end of an episode we found ourselves right where we were at the beginning: Mary and Bash still together, children at the castle under
protection and Catherine back in her cell.
Speaking of Catherine, she
escaped from her cell with the help from Nostradamus, only to be back there by
the end of an episode. Again, what was the purpose of that plot? To show that
she is a monster when it comes to her daughter? We have seen it before. To show
that she can sacrifice her freedom and quite possibly her life to save her
children (every child of hers, except Clarissa)? We knew she is capable of that
too. When something is happening for the sake of just something happening it does not make for a good television.
Let’s move on to a quick
demise of our shadow girl. I’m not sure I like what they did with the
character. I liked her much more lurking in the tunnels and being
Mary’s secret ally. But I guess she always had that dark side. For someone who suffered so much
Clarissa never seemed to value human life. As much
as I wanted to believe that it was Catherine’s rejection that pushed her over
the edge, it wouldn’t be completely accurate. Clarissa went off the rails before that. She didn’t hesitate and sacrificed
a poor prisoner who was executed instead of Colin, she killed Aylee, she almost killed
Nostradamus, she killed
that poor servant in cold blood and she was ready to kill her little brothers just
to get back at her mother. Or did she think she was saving them from her? Do we care?
Although I was never for Catherine’s
idea of killing Clarissa off for her own good, I can’t quite see Mary’s plan of
bringing her to light working either. And now she’s dead. Or is she? I don’t
think she is. I have no idea what more could they do with a character, but
it just didn’t feel like the end for her.
Now, that all this is out of
the way, let me talk about my favorite part of the episode - [who would have
thought?] Lola’s adventures in Paris.
Run to save her brother she herself ended up being in serious need of saving. And I
couldn't believe it when I saw who came to the rescue. Yes, I heard Francis was
supposed to be back in this episode, but it still was a nice surprise... and then some! I saw the sparks before they locked lips, but I told
myself I had to be imagining things, and then it turned out I wasn’t. Who could
have guessed that turn of event? I didn’t! But I loved it. Maybe because it was
a nice distraction from the doom and gloom happening back at the castle, or maybe
because it was so unexpected and so unexpectedly hot! Either way I didn't mind.
Historical bits
The episode was so all over
the place that I couldn’t come up with any interesting historical parallel.
Some observations
Francis! Now, that's the way
to make an entrance!
Looks like I’ve been heard –
Lord Hugo is back and betting on the winning horse.
The idea to force the Vatican
into legitimizing Bash was a good one. Does Mary want to get married to Bash
before Francis returns so she’d have no way to back down?
Mary had good intention at
heart, no doubt, but that mask looked creepier than the bag.
Lola’s brother! What a douche! That what’s his face
was very clearly making an indecent proposal to his sister and he didn’t even blink! If I were Lola,
I’d leave him there to have his hand chopped.
Francis is
returning to court to save his mother. I think they found a believable way to
keep Catherine alive.
Memorable Quotes:
Nostradamus:
“If you're looking for a weapon, some say there's none greater than the
Scriptures themselves.”
Bash: “Marry
me, Mary Queen of Scots. And make me the luckiest bastard on Earth.”
What a
clever pun!
It felt
like there was no purpose of the episode, and it could have run for 10 minutes
and cover the same material. I don’t want to say lazy writing but definitely an
incoherent one.
Sol’s
rating: 2 for the episode, 4 for Francis.
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