Summary
“Chapter Five — The Blue Blood” prepares for a coming storm as the origins of the virus become a little clearer.
This recap of La Revolution season 1, episode 5, “Chapter Five — The Blue Blood”, contains spoilers. You can check out our thoughts on the previous episode by clicking these words.
In many ways, La Revolution episode 5 belongs to Donatien, both for better and worse. Now the head of the family and Montagris itself, he is being positioned as the classic debonair and faintly camp vampiric baddie with insatiable appetites – chewed-up naked women covered in blood festoon his personal quarters. It’s a bit on the nose and a bit daft, really, especially since the first half of the season created a more believable – if, again, rather silly – political conspiracy framework that was a bit easier to swallow.
But making the villain public and personal to the protagonists serves a purpose. As such, Elise won’t leave despite Ophelia’s protestations. As the Countess and thus the rightful heir to the mantle that Donatien has just stolen, she feels she has a duty to remain and fight him, even if she’ll allow Ophelia to take Madeleine elsewhere.
It isn’t just the Count’s death that ripples through “Chapter Five – The Blue Blood”, though. Father Maxence is also a loss felt particularly by Albert, whose relationship with Oka remains a compelling dynamic, and Joseph, who hides himself away in the church and loses himself in research, eventually with the help of Katell. It takes some convincing on her part, admittedly, but ultimately she had good intentions and a connection to Father Maxence herself. The blue blood virus is mutating and growing and running amok among the nobility, and finding a cure is paramount – it might have even wound its way to Versailles.
With Elise and Albert obviously busy being in love with each other, a romantic relationship between Joseph and Katell makes sense and is perhaps preferable to a love triangle. It also maintains a direct connection between Joseph and the Fraternity, who’re forced to take something of a back seat in La Revolution season 1, episode 5.
Eventually, even Albert and Oka distance themselves from the group, and we get a further glimpse of whatever power is allowing Oka to stave off Albert’s blue blood development, although it’s obvious that this is only a temporary measure. Their relationship is also a little fractious, with Oka not at all being convinced of the trustworthiness of Elise or indeed anyone in the French nobility.
Part of Donatien’s transition to proper, out-and-out villain, meanwhile, is his usurpation of Charles, who still believes he can control his son. Since we never really saw Donatien before he was bedbound with gangrene, it’s hard to really get a sense of what their relationship was like. Charles obviously belittled him regularly enough to cause some lingering issues, but Donatien’s transition from simpering weakling desperate for approval to bizarre, outlandish Dracula-lite really is odd, and often doesn’t work that well. There’s a bit here in “Chapter Five – The Blue Blood” when he antagonizes Edmond and bites the thumb off his severed hand which just feels a bit ridiculous.
With his own time swiftly running out, Albert finds his way back to Elise, who demands to know the truth of his resurrection – as an explanation, he reveals a letter from the Count with instructions to protect Madeleine and the family, which is going to mean a fight. Since some of the nobles are still sympathetic to Elise, Albert suggests she rounds them up and prepares them for a ruckus, which she agrees to do, knowing the coming conflict is inevitable.
Joseph and Katell, meanwhile, are able to trace the blue blood virus to a Patient Zero, the woman that Madeleine has been seeing in her nightmares and visions. This, at least for now, raises more questions than it answers, especially regarding Madeleine, whose connection to the virus and mysterious powers can be filed alongside Oka’s unusual and thus-far unexplained gifts. With this information uncovered, though, a problem emerges: Donatien is at the door.
What did you think of La Revolution season 1, episode 5, “Chapter Five — The Blue Blood”? Comment below.
