Summary
“Second Coming” builds well from the premiere’s cliffhanger ending, with plenty of catty political toing and froing to enjoy.
Season 2 of The Serpent Queen got off to a wild start by burning down a Protestant church that may or may not have contained the King of France, so Episode 2, “Second Coming”, has a solid foundation to build on. As it turns out, Charles wasn’t in the church, but the political ramifications are nonetheless profound, and cause lots of issues for everyone – which is all the better for the audience, of course.
A direct Catholic attack on the crown is how things will be interpreted, and in this world, interpretation is all that matters.
France Is In Tumult
Catherine knows immediately that the Guises are responsible, but knowing something isn’t the same as proving it, and avenging speculation isn’t the way to a unified and religiously tolerant France. That’s why Catherine stops Montmorency from going postal, even if she finds it refreshing that he’s exhibiting some actual passion and emotion.
We’re reminded a few times of the tentative political balance that governing France was at this time, as we were in the premiere. People are starving, Protestantism is on the rise, and while faith in the crown is at an all-time low, bad actors like François are protected by the majority.
And the people who’re capable of effecting some actual change – namely, the royals – either aren’t interested in doing so like Elisabeth or have adopted idealistic but hopelessly naïve stances like Margot. There’s no wonder Catherine is worried about leaving these idiots on their own. Their bickering leads to Jeanne, the Queen of Navarre, coming in while Alex is wearing Elisabeth’s dress. It’s a clown car, politically speaking.
Catherine Devises A Solution For The Church Fire Problem
Catherine has a lot of plates spinning, meanwhile, and she needs a convenient explanation for the church sabotage that won’t result in a messy religious war. So, the general idea is to frame some innocent peasants, claim they did it, and keep everything else quiet.
Doing this requires getting both the Bourbons and Guises on side and keeping them there, which is easier said than done. Louis and Antoine are easy enough since Catherine can just authorize the trade deal with England that they were pursuing in the premiere. The Guises are a little trickier since Catherine doesn’t have actual proof of what François did, but since she knows that they know she knows, she threatens to have François arrested and beheaded. She can come up with a justification for it later.
François is kind of off the hook in this case, since he gets back the homosexually incriminating correspondence he was being blackmailed with, but then he rather stupidly strangles his boyfriend to death for selling them in the first place, which will surely open him up to further problems down the line. But who am I to judge?
The Serpent Queen | Image via STARZ
The Church Fire Has Survivors
To enact her new plan of building a grand Parisian palace, Catherine needs additional funding. After strongarming the Guises she reluctantly turns to Diane de Poitiers, who agrees to help with the dough and look after Catherine’s kids while she’s away in Italy soliciting more money in exchange for a minor favor – her daughters being able to inherit her estate.
But even though it seems like Catherine might have the situation well in hand in the space of a single episode, this might not be the case, since when Montmorency visits the charred remnants of the church, he discovers no evidence of the dead among the wreckage.
Needless to say, if there are survivors, Catherine’s entire plan falls apart. And there are indeed survivors, who are amassing in secret and planning to rise up in God’s name.
Looks like averting religious war might not be so easy after all.
RELATED:
