It's baaaaaack!
The Musketeers is back tomorrow in a slightly weird Friday night slot, and I've been celebrating by spending the last couple of days rewatching season one.
The best episode is still hands-down the one with Comtesse de Larroque, her salon of women, and the Cardinal's brush with death. Watching it this time around I appreciate more how compelling Capaldi's performance is. He makes the Cardinal intensely watchable, and much more than just a Cancel Christmas type of character. He'll be missed in season two (where it sounds like he'll just have ...died off-screen), but I'm also intrigued to see what Rochefort is going to be like and what relationship, if any he'll have with Milady.
I also still love the episode with the plot to kill the Queen and the bomb-throwing nuns. There is one massive plot flaw in this one though, and it's the decision to have Aramis' lost love in the convent. It's immensely improbable, and makes his relationship with the Queen feel less heart-felt because he jumps into bed with her as soon as Slightly Tragic Nun is dead. I get that the writers needed a catalyst for him and the Queen to abandon all decorum and bonk (and Athos' reaction to finding them in bed together is still the BEST), but I'm disappointed that a female character had to be sacrificed for that purpose. The threat of death could have been enough. Also, the Queen is smart and knows she needs to get pregnant and she's got a handsome Musketeer right there... so it definitely could have been well-calculated on her part.
It's a shame, because I'm a sucker for pining and Anne/Aramis provides excellent amounts of it. And the Mother Superior is AWESOME. Her line, 'We have have one musket. It's for shooting rabbits... and Protestants' is a delight.
I'm a massive nerd for costumes, and I proper love the costuming in this show. (With one exception: the terrible stripey prom dress thing Milady wears on far too many occasions.) I love how much weight the Musketeers' costumes have, and the way they're visibly encumbered by their swords and layers of clothing when they're running around. I love that a Musketeer throwing his hat to the ground before he jumps into a brawl is the equivalent of Lafayette getting someone to hold his earrings.
A few things I want for season two:
The best episode is still hands-down the one with Comtesse de Larroque, her salon of women, and the Cardinal's brush with death. Watching it this time around I appreciate more how compelling Capaldi's performance is. He makes the Cardinal intensely watchable, and much more than just a Cancel Christmas type of character. He'll be missed in season two (where it sounds like he'll just have ...died off-screen), but I'm also intrigued to see what Rochefort is going to be like and what relationship, if any he'll have with Milady.
I also still love the episode with the plot to kill the Queen and the bomb-throwing nuns. There is one massive plot flaw in this one though, and it's the decision to have Aramis' lost love in the convent. It's immensely improbable, and makes his relationship with the Queen feel less heart-felt because he jumps into bed with her as soon as Slightly Tragic Nun is dead. I get that the writers needed a catalyst for him and the Queen to abandon all decorum and bonk (and Athos' reaction to finding them in bed together is still the BEST), but I'm disappointed that a female character had to be sacrificed for that purpose. The threat of death could have been enough. Also, the Queen is smart and knows she needs to get pregnant and she's got a handsome Musketeer right there... so it definitely could have been well-calculated on her part.
It's a shame, because I'm a sucker for pining and Anne/Aramis provides excellent amounts of it. And the Mother Superior is AWESOME. Her line, 'We have have one musket. It's for shooting rabbits... and Protestants' is a delight.
I'm a massive nerd for costumes, and I proper love the costuming in this show. (With one exception: the terrible stripey prom dress thing Milady wears on far too many occasions.) I love how much weight the Musketeers' costumes have, and the way they're visibly encumbered by their swords and layers of clothing when they're running around. I love that a Musketeer throwing his hat to the ground before he jumps into a brawl is the equivalent of Lafayette getting someone to hold his earrings.
A few things I want for season two:
- More of the Queen. Anne is a million times cleverer than her husband. I'd love to see her getting more involved in state affairs and perhaps she'll have chance to do this now that Richelieu is no more.
- A role for Constance that involves less pining over D'Artagnan. Of all the canon ships Constance/D'Artagnan is the one I find least interesting, and I'd love for Constance to have more of an independent role of her own. If she's going to end up as the Queen's ladies maid as it seems from the trailer, this could really help - I'd love for her to be a real confidante and ally of the Queen.
- More of Porthos' back story - and it looks like we might be getting it!
- Porthos/Aramis makeouts. (Oops, how did that get in here?)
- Milady and Athos having to team up. Because I love me some angst, and the two of them are excellently angsty together.