Summary
The Serpent Queen delivers a very good episode in “A House Divided”, with stand-out moments for both Minnie Driver’s Elizabeth I and Samantha Morton’s titular queen.
It’s fair to say that Episode 7 of The Serpent Queen Season 2, “A House Divided”, is not a pleasant one for Catherine de’ Medici. Everything goes wrong – Charles has consumption, Anjou is a “deviant”, Rahima is no longer loyal, the Bourbons went behind her back, and according to Ruggieri’s sixteenth-century Ayahuasca equivalent, there’s still more betrayal to come.
So, what does Catherine do? She has no choice, really. She fully embraces the Serpent Queen moniker and starts plotting and scheming to get one over on all of her varied enemies, perhaps most especially Sister Edith and her Protestant clique.
Charles Has Consumption And Isn’t Long For The World
As mentioned, and as speculated in my recap of Episode 6, Charles does indeed have consumption, which is an old word for tuberculosis and is, unfortunately, fatal. Catherine rather irrationally blames Anjou for this, even though he did his best to throw the fencing match in the previous episode, but she’s clearly just taking her frustrations out on the nearest person. I’m not sure what Anjou’s “deviance” – he’s just queer, get over it – has to do with the state of Charles’s lungs, but I don’t think Catherine does either.
The sword of Damocles now hanging over Charles’s head radically shifts the political landscape in the Valois court. Elizabeth detects immediately that Charles isn’t long for the world, so she plays along with Catherine’s suggestion that she marry Anjou instead, since she clearly favors him after the fencing debacle. But this is coming right after Catherine insulted Anjou to his very core, so when Elizabeth insists on accompanying Catherine to his rooms to give him the good news in person, she walks right into a very drunk, not entirely heterosexual orgy.
With no viable suitors available, Elizabeth leaves pretty much immediately, but not before telling Catherine to get her own house in order, showing her the treaty already signed by Louis de Bourbon. This is easily the best scene these two women have shared and probably Minnie Driver’s stand-out moment in the whole season thus far. Catherine’s “ah, you’re not really a virgin!” arguments just make her look ridiculous. As Elizabeth reminds her, they’re both playing roles. Elizabeth just seems to be playing hers better.
A Bit About The Catholic League
If you’re keeping score, the Catholic League are the crazier hardline Catholics who are determined to oppose Protestantism at all costs. Their play in “A House Divided” is to push for François de Guise to marry Margot, which she isn’t keen on since he considers her “a little girl”, which is weird because she looks about 30.
But the Catholic League don’t care about such minor – oh, sorry – concerns. If François doesn’t play along and temporarily sit the throne until his hypothetical son with Margot comes of age, veins thick with thoroughly Catholic blood, then his brother will be skinned and burned alive.
When Margot asks Catherine for permission in this endeavor, she gives it, though clearly isn’t sure about the motive. She gets one of Rahima’s spies to figure out what the Catholic League are up to and then, clearly having thought of a plan, apologizes to Anjou, one assumes insincerely. What is she up to?
Charles Is Baptized
Minnie Driver as Elizabeth I in The Serpent Queen Season 2 Episode 7
Charles’s totally ill thought-out plan for peace is to be baptized by Sister Edith, the king converting to Protestantism being a pretty big gesture that the two sides can get along, although the Catholics aren’t going to see it that way.
Catherine knows that Sister Edith can’t be taken lightly, and she also knows that at the present moment she doesn’t really have anything to bargain with, so she freestyles a quick offer. Antoine’s son Henry will marry Margot – I’m sure she’ll be thrilled – and Catherine will install Edith as regent. For all her piety, Edith wants what everyone else in this show wants – power. Catherine can give it her, or at least pretend to, but at what cost?
I guess we’ll see. “A House Divided” ends with Edith dipping Charles into the mucky lake water, clearly quite satisfied with herself. We’ll have to wait and see how long she stays that way.
And Another Thing
Some more stray observations from The Serpent Queen Season 2, Episode 7:
- Rahima is now in a full-on sexual relationship with Alessandro and, when it comes to crunch time, lies to Catherine about the state of his financials, meaning she has officially chosen her side – and it’s not with Catherine.
- In a moment of crisis Catherine turns to Ruggieri. She can identify five of her six potential betrayers – including, sadly, Rahima – but needs some chemical assistance for the sixth. Ruggieri gives her French Ayahuasca and her subsequent vision implies the traitor is “a child”, though Ruggieri can’t confirm if it’s one of hers or not.
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