Leith: “You'll never be more than what people say that you are. You can
pretend otherwise, but the world won't pretend with you.”
The romantic in me
absolutely loved this episode.
I was so happy for Mary, whose heart is starting to open up again. Not in
‘reality’, they were just pretending to fool Elizabeth’s spy, but they weren’t really
pretending. That kiss was a revelation for them both, at least it was real
enough for Gideon to try again, and for her to answer it even if she then said
‘no’.
I found myself routing for this couple, who aren’t even a couple yet.
Besides the mutual attraction, there is another human element that I liked –
they are starting to take care of each other. In last episode Gideon saved
Mary, here she helped him get his daughter back.
This might have been again a miscalculation of Elizabeth’s. What guarantee she has now, that
a man she treated so badly, who she was blackmailing all this time, threatening
the life of his daughter, will be willing to keep working for her, now that he
got his daughter back? I’d say none.
Elizabeth was depicted here as a Queen who doesn’t keep her word. Lots and tons of
promises extended over the longest period of time, never really carrying it
out. That is not a flattering picture for a monarch. Plus that doesn’t bode
well for Lola. Especially now, when Elizabeth
lost both her baby and Robert. I might be wrong, her first act was to send
Agatha back to Gideon, she showed compassion, but we’ll see if it lasts.
Narcisse was so angry at this world that hatred was in every word he
spoke. He was marrying off Claude, accusing Catherine, banishing Mary – he was
on fire. Still, like Mary said he was just doing his job, with ulterior
motives, of course (he is Narcisse!), but still he was trying to do what was
right for France.
I couldn’t help but feeling that both Narcisse and Charles were right and
made very good arguments. Claude is royalty; she shouldn’t expect a free pass,
especially when France
is in this situation. Despite her whining, she did the right thing at the end,
and I almost respected her for that. It broke my heart seeing her leave, mostly
because of Leith, who almost once again lost
the love of his life.
I did not see the twist coming. I should have known Catherine was pulling
the strings. I didn’t. Not even when Claude returned, and Charles enraged with
Narcisse stormed the meeting and showed them all who the King was. I was so
proud of him at this moment, standing up for his family. And then I felt sorry that
he was played like that by his own mother. Come to think of it, he didn’t stand
a chance. He wouldn’t see a real power with Narcisse as Regent, nor will he
ever see it with Catherine as one. She played this chess game brilliantly. Bravo!
She won once again - she is Regent, she got the power back, Mary can stay
in France, Claude can live
happily ‘until the day comes’ after with Leith.
It seemed like a victory, but a bittersweet one because of how Catherine played
them all.
With every episode that goes by, Greer surprises me more and more. Her
journey was the most painful and humiliating, yet she came out on the other
side stronger and, dare I say, wiser. The way she found the right words for
Claude and Leith, her constant assistance and
advices to Mary, she’s been a real friend albeit in the shadows. And today I
realized, she’s not a Madame. She’s like a Chief of secret police and her
agents are beautiful, sneaky and charming. Always ready to search the client,
spy on him or steal his correspondence. They were even able to break the cipher
Elizabeth used
in her letters. Well, color me impressed!
I don’t know how it happened exactly that she turned from so dull and
ordinary to so amazing, but I was hoping she would keep the baby, especially
now, that her pirate returned and promised to help and be there. This is more
than she could have expected from him.
Historical bits
In real life Claude’s husband was Duke of Lorraine, whom she married when
she was only 11 years old.
Some observations
Loved how
Claude was able to stand up to her abusive husband. He wasn’t abusive, he was
just playing his role written by Catherine, but when you get paid to hit a
woman it is only fitting you get bitten in return.
Who do you
think was behind ‘poisoning’ Elizabeth?
I bet, it was William, he is the only one smart enough to figure it out and
close enough to do it.
Wardrobe department
The “Best Dress of the week”
Award goes to Mary. Black suits her.
The “Worst Dress of the
week” Award goes to Lola. Very dull.
Memorable Quotes:
Catherine: “Is it so
unthinkable a crime might take place in this castle that I had no hand in?”
Martin: “The
child is mine? Were you planning to tell me this?”
Greer: “How?
By writing you a letter? What address would I use? "The middle of the Mediterranean"?”
Martin: “Choose
because of what you think, not what others might.”
Mary: “I
think I'm doing pretty well for a queen who used to rule two realms and is now
barely holding onto one. A queen who is reduced to playacting for someone
else's servant to convince him that she's lost her foolish heart to a spy and a
fraud.”
LOL
Mary: “We
have to get to a window. He'll be able to see us from there. We should get to
the kiss quickly before the building collapses under the weight of my
misfortune.”
Sol’s rating: I enjoyed this tremendously - 4
out of 5
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