Lola: “What is it about you and
baths?”
What is it, indeed?
This episode made want to talk about ulterior motives, since
almost every single character has them. I was so enchanted by Narcisse and
Lola dancing around, playing cat and mouse (to Lola’s credit she was not always
the mouse), that I never once stopped to think that there could be a motive behind it all. Of course Narcisse probably can’t get out of bed without an ulterior
motive, but I can’t really see Lola being able to give him any more advantage, or at least more than he has already.
Narcisse is holding Francis on such a tight and short leash that an affair with
the mother of Francis' child wouldn’t do any difference. So maybe he is courting
her because he is interested and like he said she’s a ‘worthy opponent’. And we got a first hot kiss. She
pushed him away but not before kissing him back. Hmmm... Whatever he’s doing, it’s
working and I'm totally loving it
Francis on the other hand was openly trying to use Lola to plant evidence, unaware of her new (shall we call it an affair or is it too soon?) thing with Narcisse. Even here, Narcisse won by simply
telling the truth. He didn’t loose anything by confiding in Lola, but gained a
point, Francis on the other hand lost tons.
I was also fascinated by how Narcisse is always ten steps ahead of
Francis in this game of blackmail and calling the bluff. Francis is loosing on
every front. Narcisse came very well prepared and very well acquainted with what exactly was happening at court. Considering he wasn’t there at a time, it
is outstanding.
Francis being literally backed into corner needed someone to confide in, still him confessing to Bash came as a bit of shock. Of course by that point Bash has pretty much figured almost everything out by himself. From “watching Narcisse’s estate”, “looking for Montgomery” and
“continuous search for nanny” Bash made straight to “Francis, did you hire Montgomery to kill our
father?”. It is not a straight line, however. Judging by the preceding events, his first question should probably have been: “Francis, do you think Narcisse hired Montgomery to kill our
father?” Yet somehow he went for the improbable.
What bothered me was Bash’s
reaction to the news that Francis killed their father. With all the
justification aside, it was still a murder of a king and a father. Yet, Bash
didn’t even blink. He was always father’s favorite, but considering Henry’s
behavior at end… no, still, even the mad decision to marry Bash and Kenna worked
out rather well for those two. I expected Bash to at least not take it so
lightly. His reaction: “Oh well, it’s not a big deal, let’s come up with a way to
cover it up” didn't feel like Bash.
I was somewhat right about
Mary putting on a mask. She pretended to let Francis handle things on his own and went straight to Conde to handle it on her own. They make for an interesting
couple those two - Mary and the Prince of Blood. He’s definitely smitten with her and she
trusts him a bit more than she should perhaps. Coming back to the ‘ulterior
motive’ thing, does Conde have one? Like Catherine said he was a direct
successor to the throne, but now even if Mary doesn’t produce an heir, there
are still two little boys between him and the throne. So is
he doing all this out of kindness of his heart? Confessing publicly to being a Protestant just to impress Mary and help her achieve her goal, that took guts. I like Conde. We'll see where they go with it.
Historical bits
Claude was the second
daughter of Henry and Catherine, though in this time line she would have been
10-11 years old. Also contrary to the series, Claude was Catherine’s favorite
daughter.
The two
girls that Catherine keeps seeing were revealed to be Joan and Victoria, the
twin sisters, last children of Henry and Catherine. Both of them died, one
before even being born, the other one month later. The girls here are much older, are we suppose to assume the ghosts do grow up? I wonder why they blame Catherine for their death? Catherine just can't catch a break with her daughters, both alive and dead.
Some observations
I sometimes have no clue as to what the title of an episode mean. It seems as if they pick the least relevant part of the episode and name it after it. Not to say that Conde's sacrifice didn't mean much, it did, though it was not what this episode was about. Then again, what do I know?
Princess Claude was like a breath of fresh air. I hope we're not going to loose her anytime soon. She's so much fun!
Wardrobe department
The “Best Dress of the week”
Award goes to
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Fabulous "Dangerous Liaisons" vibe!
The “Worst Dress of the
week” Award goes to….
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In theory it should have worked, but it didn't. The way it goes on her arms reminded me of spiders.
Memorable Quotes:
Claude: “And
you, a king. Ruler over all of us. Married and a baby. Or should I not mention
those in
the same sentence?”
Mary: “If
you treat people as your enemy, that is what they become.”
Narcisse: “I
promise you that if we go on, you will see me without defenses. The games I
like... they go beyond games. We will share things that strip us both bare in
every way possible. But none of this can happen without trust.”
Mary: “Oh,
spare me your lies and excuses. You are not the man I fell in love with. And
you are not the king I want to rule beside... you are a coward. Mary,
everything that I have done... Enough, enough. I gave you a chance. I waited
for the man I fell in love with to return. But that man is dead and I am
finished waiting for him.”
Well, there she said it!
Francis: “If
that is what you truly believe, then perhaps you should return to Scotland.”
He did not just say that?
Sol’s
rating: I know the real drama is what’s going on between Francis and Mary, but
I couldn’t care less. I might be unfair, because Francis is doing it to protect
Mary and Catherine, nevertheless I’m tired to see him being a pawn. Mary and Conde
watching fireworks, that was awesome. Narcisse and Lola playing literal chess
with each other that was fabulous. Loved this episode tremendously. I give
it a 5. You?
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