Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
Family may be forever, but it can also be the death of some on The Serpent Queen.
In “Death of Prince,” viewers see that sentiment in action.
And with a new addition to Catherine’s family, the hands for holding daggers have grown.
However, with Queen Elizabeth entering the picture, it might be time to keep things close to home.
After only three episodes, the fire at the end of The Serpent Queen Season 2 Episode 1 is spreading.
The Serpent Queen And Her Children Were Born With Silver Spoons In Their Mouths And Daggers At Their Throats
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The one thing every period drama has in common, when it’s a show that focuses on royalty, is the focus on family.
After all, that’s how monarchs kept things in their bloodlines.
One royal family marries another royal family, so everyone gets what they want.
And more importantly, no one has to go to war.
However, things are much more different when it’s a royal family up against the church.
Even though The Serpent Queen is likely a few episodes away from full-blown mayhem, we can already hear the trumpets blowing.
The series has never been shy about showing any familial or court-related infighting.
But things have grown and changed exponentially since The Serpent Queen Season 1 Episode 1.
Now that the children are all grown up, the show’s writers have a chance to stir the pot.
Although, it seems more like they’re trying to pour the scolding hot contents over the plot.
Each episode was brought one gasp-worthy moment after another.
If this keeps up, viewers won’t have any more pearls to clutch.
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From burning down churches, murdering former lovers, and now drowning a random religious man, this series has no intention of slowing down.
Who knew being royal came with so many extracurricular activities and duties?
Charles And Francoise Are Blood Brothers With Bad Upbringings But Great Hair
To be fair, two out of three of those shocking moments mentioned above were at the Guise brothers’ hands.
First, there’s Cardinal Charles, who seems determined to find a way to dismantle the royal family.
As calculated as he and his family seem, his verbal attack on Anjou was clearly meant to fan the prince’s furious flames.
He is the personification of the hideous side of religion.
He cares nothing for the well-being of his parishioners and is wholly focused on the power he wields.
However, with a mother like Antionette, we can imagine that claiming and owning power was a constant topic of conversation at the breakfast table.
As bad as the cardinal is, he’s nothing compared to his brother, Francoise.
Played by Raza Jaffrey of Code Black, the duke uses few words and even fewer expressions despite his deplorable deeds.
With each horrible action he takes, Francoise doesn’t seem to be bothered in the slightest sense.
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Whether it’s cold calculation or years of keeping his secret preference for men, the duke has no problem doing what others would balk at.
For a minute, it seemed like he had set his eyes on the princess Margot.
While Charles wants to go through the family like a bulldozer, Francoise has a slyer strategy to slither through the court.
However, those dreams are all but dashed now that he’s basically been arrested.
The Serpent Queen Is Keeping Any Enemies Close, And There’s Nothing Closer Than Family
Speaking of brothers, how thrown were you when the writers just dropped Catherine’s brother into the mix?
While it’s always nice to have more family, in The Serpent Queen, that could mean an extra place at the dinner table and another knife to cut from the same cloth.
It’s possible the writers thought the best way to keep Catherine from court was to throw her a curveball.
And it worked.
The Queen Mother redirected her priorities to look into something she wouldn’t have paid mind to if she knew about what was happening back home.
When she steps foot back in France, she will have quite the list of people to slap around.
Adding to the growing grievances is Queen Elizabeth, who debuted in “Death of Prince.”
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Played by Minnie Driver of The Witcher: Blood Origin, Queen Elizabeth is bringing all the underhanded snark.
The last monarch of the House of Tudor is primped, powdered, and ready to play for power.
Where Catherine is cold and composed, Elizabeth is shrewd and strategic.
Seeing these two incredible historical figures go toe-to-toe in this fantastic series will be metal.
Blood Is Thicker Than Water, And Catherine Is Likely To Spill Buckets Of It When She Gets Home
However fun and fancy-free the writers like to play with the story, it wouldn’t be The Serpent Queen without something truly shocking happening.
And let’s be honest, there were quite a few in this episode.
Many moments felt like it was building to something epic.
Little did we know that was exactly what was happening.
Catherine’s children have caused her endless headaches, but she is due for a migraine of the century.
First, Charles decided it was time to put on his big boy pants and be king.
And while that is something to support, it’s just dumb as hell to do while his mother is away.
I don’t care how grown he is.
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Catherine is going to put him over her knee and spank the crap out of his royal majesty.
But it didn’t stop there because Starz wants subscribers to get their money’s worth.
Everyone just kept revving Anjou up from scene to scene.
I actually felt bad for the hot-headed prince and even partially understood why he reached his breaking point.
But there was no unseeing the way he drowned that innocent man.
Sure, the man could’ve chosen his words more carefully while talking to a prince and child of Catherine.
Still, Anjou didn’t need to kill the man.
A little waterboarding goes a long way in the 16th century.
The worst part about the entire situation is what possibly happened to Hercule.
I’m not going to say he’s dead because I already thought the people in the church died.
And I’m not making that mistake again.
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That being said, I did think halfway through the episode that Hercule felt like cannon fodder.
I also hate to say it, but the blowback and repercussions from Anjou’s actions will make for good TV.
It isn’t great to say that, but at least this is a wholly fictionalized historical depiction.
Especially since the real Hercules died at the age of twenty-nine, and it was not by blunt force trauma.
However, Anjou might be on the chopping block when Samantha Morton‘s Catherine comes back.
Mommy’s coming home, and she’s expecting her house to be in order when she returns.
What do you think will happen to the cardinal and duke now that Charles is acting as king?
Do you think Hercule is dead, or is this another misdirection like with the church?
Drop a comment below to let us know, and join me again when I review the next episode of The Serpent Queen!