The Musketeers
Feb. 21st, 2015 09:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessThe Musketeers 2.5 The Return (cught up on this yesterday afternoon)
In which Athos’s self-centred boozing and misery came back to bite him and the rest of the Musketeers had to have his back until his conscience kicked in. Personally, I feel sad for the villagers that they didn’t have the option of the A-team’s help, because it took our lads – including Treville! – far too long to come up with a plan.
Fortunately, in the other corner were rapey rapists who thought it would be easy to keep their power. I for one heard the farmers’ daughters sighs of relief that ‘my poor son’ wouldn’t be around to hunt them down and rape them in future.
And for what it’s worth, I thought that Thomas had put the moves on Milady and she was acting in self-defence. So, I don’t even know what to make of that theme, which was there, but the text was all about bringing forward the French Revolution and having barricades. While channelling Westerns.
Back to Athos – I was amused that even though his house was burned to a crisp, he still had to do his dramatic pushing the door open business. Wouldn’t be an entrance if he didn’t. He really had gone into a downward spiral of self-pity, loathing and guilt and when he did peek out, he was still so selfish, so I had little patience with him.
Catherine was both a retcon and a perfectly credible one. Athos, being an idiot, failed to recognise quite how furious she was and why. Because of the aristos = bad mentality (what would the King and his court truly make of his Musketeers siding with commoners against a Baron and his son?) she couldn’t see that she had learned new skills and would be far more bored if she did marry a (rapist) man of her own class who could keep her as she was accustomed to. Of course – and thus the question of whether Thomas had gone after Milady fell by the wayside because of it – she wanted Athos, not any man. And he didn’t want her. Because Milady.
Oh, Catherine was angry all right, and then Athos presented his ‘give you the land’ proposition in such a blundering way that he really didn’t make it clear to her that he meant along with the villagers she thought she was better than. Wonder by when he’ll think he should warn Milady about Catherine, about as far into an episode as he thought to tell Catherine that Milady was alive? Idiot.
I could see what they were doing in the paralleling of Athos, good master, renouncing his title and responsibilities for soldiering and drinking far away from the seat of his bad memories, with Treville, natural captain/leader, with his position taken away from him. Good on Porthos for standing up to Treville, with his ‘don’t call me captain except when I refuse to answer your questions about your personal business’ unreason.
Aramis had fun out of the city. So did many of the female extras who totally went for it in the battle scenes. I just suspect I wasn’t supposed to roll my eyes as hard as I did at Athos throughout the episode...
The Musketeers 2.6 Through a Glass Darkly
There was a lot that was good about this ep, although there were a couple of things that were definitely not as well done as they could have been. Mainly the baddie.
First, I was impressed by the gorgeousness, nearly everyone dressed up/in costumes, and the camera obscura and the (CGI, surely) model of the planets. And the location. This show is so easy on the eye.
Darling Treville, you were an afterthought, if that, for Athos. He just wanted to avoid Milady and drink. (Has the Queen reinstated him? In as much as that means anything.)
So, the stakes were marvellously high, with everyone in danger, atomised into interesting groups. There was some anti-1% rage driving this, as ever.
It was just obvious from the first coin flip that our baddie was Two Face and crazy. He was deranged because of his Tragic Past, but until D’Artagnan turned the game on him, there wasn’t much he was going to do to dissuade the Baddie, though their pleading clearly influenced Robert, and I should have seen his sacrificial death coming, but it made me gasp.
Also, for all that they’d planned this and seemed to tie up the right people – who all made themselves known as dangerous – the fact that the baddie didn’t, er, check Aramis’s body after the defenestration (DEFENESTRATION! Well done, show.) and let someone bold enough to gamble with her life go made him much less of a worthy opponent. I know that, unlike the audience, they didn’t know Aramis and Milady, but a check instead of arrogance would be the sign of a villain to respect.
On the other hand, Milady was the boss. I mean, it was horrible to watch her lord it over Anne – although the eclipse foreshadowing was present and correct. But then her survivor’s instinct kicked in – the King forbade about four things in this episode and was totally ignored, because he was being silly. I loved her focused practicality and attitude. We’ve had glimmerings of her being able to see the greater good before. The byplay with Athos was tasty. Obviously, she was having a ball and in her metier – no way was she going to stay behind. She cut such a figure, but looked so sassy that it was a total turn off for the King :). Well, obviously, he fancied a fantasy figure. Athos idiotically said that at least she’d gained his respect. Feh. More to the point, she was still alive.
Second best thing was all the angsty faces. Gage was great – he’s fearless about Louis’s weaknesses in his stupid red boots. And then D’Artagnan and Constance. Really well written Constance, she got to fight – LOVED the wordless communication about the rope – believably, but her perspective as a commoner, the Queen’s friend and a woman in love got heard. I may have uttered ‘oh your stupid CUTE FACES’ several times at them. Although I really didn’t think that their big moment would have held up the King and party’s return to Paris, and it is in no way going to work for her and D’Artagnan to be together the way things are, the build up to it, what they’d been through and what they’d said and done made her turnaround and decision make sense. In another world, I would want nothing more than for them to be happy and adorable together and able to rub noses for the rest of their lives. But in this world, the King gets to be all judgy that Constance is married just after turfing his mistress out of her chambers.
Speaking of other doomed couples – nope, I’ll get to Rochefort and Porthos in a mo. Aramis’s pining face over Anne is a bit much. I buy D’Artagnan and Constance’s need to be together more. Obviously, he desperately didn’t want her and little Nameless not to be dead (likewise. And all Anne’s bravery over her worry for him, Louis and Constance and how she tried to do her best was really endearing. You only saw how worried she’d been in her relief). And Marguerite has to know that now, because they were pretty obviously beyond ‘my champion’ territory, both of them. Oh, I suppose the baby has escalated things for Aramis, and Anne was suffering because of Louis’s rejection.
Still, limping!Aramis had a lot of cool moments. And he did go and check Room Number 1. The slaughter of those people in the room was pretty horrible – great use of suggestion and the ‘safe’ room. It was fairly obvious from the geography where the executioner was headed, and although the courtier was a fathead, it was a horrible thing to do. As was starving out the plague village.
Porthos and Rochefort being allied prisoners almost lived up to its set-up. I liked that they had to co-operate and one of them had to be badly hurt to get out. Hopefully, Porthos will recall Rochefort’s blather about Anne later. They totally dropped the fact that Porthos threatened to kill the baddie first, although I suppose it makes more sense that Rochefort ‘dealt with him’ than one of our heroes.
As for the ending, despite the hooded crows cutting through the red guard like a knife through butter, the Musketeers got unfairly blamed for everything that had gone wrong. Again. And Milady got to join them. Louis was looking to lash out, after being brought to his knees, whimpering. Milady and D’Artagnan had ignored his orders (rightly). After all, in this episode, we saw how Louis couldn’t even fake considering clemency for the Baddie. Cn you tell that I didn't take in either of his names, because I was thinking you might as well call him Harvey Dent?
In which Athos’s self-centred boozing and misery came back to bite him and the rest of the Musketeers had to have his back until his conscience kicked in. Personally, I feel sad for the villagers that they didn’t have the option of the A-team’s help, because it took our lads – including Treville! – far too long to come up with a plan.
Fortunately, in the other corner were rapey rapists who thought it would be easy to keep their power. I for one heard the farmers’ daughters sighs of relief that ‘my poor son’ wouldn’t be around to hunt them down and rape them in future.
And for what it’s worth, I thought that Thomas had put the moves on Milady and she was acting in self-defence. So, I don’t even know what to make of that theme, which was there, but the text was all about bringing forward the French Revolution and having barricades. While channelling Westerns.
Back to Athos – I was amused that even though his house was burned to a crisp, he still had to do his dramatic pushing the door open business. Wouldn’t be an entrance if he didn’t. He really had gone into a downward spiral of self-pity, loathing and guilt and when he did peek out, he was still so selfish, so I had little patience with him.
Catherine was both a retcon and a perfectly credible one. Athos, being an idiot, failed to recognise quite how furious she was and why. Because of the aristos = bad mentality (what would the King and his court truly make of his Musketeers siding with commoners against a Baron and his son?) she couldn’t see that she had learned new skills and would be far more bored if she did marry a (rapist) man of her own class who could keep her as she was accustomed to. Of course – and thus the question of whether Thomas had gone after Milady fell by the wayside because of it – she wanted Athos, not any man. And he didn’t want her. Because Milady.
Oh, Catherine was angry all right, and then Athos presented his ‘give you the land’ proposition in such a blundering way that he really didn’t make it clear to her that he meant along with the villagers she thought she was better than. Wonder by when he’ll think he should warn Milady about Catherine, about as far into an episode as he thought to tell Catherine that Milady was alive? Idiot.
I could see what they were doing in the paralleling of Athos, good master, renouncing his title and responsibilities for soldiering and drinking far away from the seat of his bad memories, with Treville, natural captain/leader, with his position taken away from him. Good on Porthos for standing up to Treville, with his ‘don’t call me captain except when I refuse to answer your questions about your personal business’ unreason.
Aramis had fun out of the city. So did many of the female extras who totally went for it in the battle scenes. I just suspect I wasn’t supposed to roll my eyes as hard as I did at Athos throughout the episode...
The Musketeers 2.6 Through a Glass Darkly
There was a lot that was good about this ep, although there were a couple of things that were definitely not as well done as they could have been. Mainly the baddie.
First, I was impressed by the gorgeousness, nearly everyone dressed up/in costumes, and the camera obscura and the (CGI, surely) model of the planets. And the location. This show is so easy on the eye.
Darling Treville, you were an afterthought, if that, for Athos. He just wanted to avoid Milady and drink. (Has the Queen reinstated him? In as much as that means anything.)
So, the stakes were marvellously high, with everyone in danger, atomised into interesting groups. There was some anti-1% rage driving this, as ever.
It was just obvious from the first coin flip that our baddie was Two Face and crazy. He was deranged because of his Tragic Past, but until D’Artagnan turned the game on him, there wasn’t much he was going to do to dissuade the Baddie, though their pleading clearly influenced Robert, and I should have seen his sacrificial death coming, but it made me gasp.
Also, for all that they’d planned this and seemed to tie up the right people – who all made themselves known as dangerous – the fact that the baddie didn’t, er, check Aramis’s body after the defenestration (DEFENESTRATION! Well done, show.) and let someone bold enough to gamble with her life go made him much less of a worthy opponent. I know that, unlike the audience, they didn’t know Aramis and Milady, but a check instead of arrogance would be the sign of a villain to respect.
On the other hand, Milady was the boss. I mean, it was horrible to watch her lord it over Anne – although the eclipse foreshadowing was present and correct. But then her survivor’s instinct kicked in – the King forbade about four things in this episode and was totally ignored, because he was being silly. I loved her focused practicality and attitude. We’ve had glimmerings of her being able to see the greater good before. The byplay with Athos was tasty. Obviously, she was having a ball and in her metier – no way was she going to stay behind. She cut such a figure, but looked so sassy that it was a total turn off for the King :). Well, obviously, he fancied a fantasy figure. Athos idiotically said that at least she’d gained his respect. Feh. More to the point, she was still alive.
Second best thing was all the angsty faces. Gage was great – he’s fearless about Louis’s weaknesses in his stupid red boots. And then D’Artagnan and Constance. Really well written Constance, she got to fight – LOVED the wordless communication about the rope – believably, but her perspective as a commoner, the Queen’s friend and a woman in love got heard. I may have uttered ‘oh your stupid CUTE FACES’ several times at them. Although I really didn’t think that their big moment would have held up the King and party’s return to Paris, and it is in no way going to work for her and D’Artagnan to be together the way things are, the build up to it, what they’d been through and what they’d said and done made her turnaround and decision make sense. In another world, I would want nothing more than for them to be happy and adorable together and able to rub noses for the rest of their lives. But in this world, the King gets to be all judgy that Constance is married just after turfing his mistress out of her chambers.
Speaking of other doomed couples – nope, I’ll get to Rochefort and Porthos in a mo. Aramis’s pining face over Anne is a bit much. I buy D’Artagnan and Constance’s need to be together more. Obviously, he desperately didn’t want her and little Nameless not to be dead (likewise. And all Anne’s bravery over her worry for him, Louis and Constance and how she tried to do her best was really endearing. You only saw how worried she’d been in her relief). And Marguerite has to know that now, because they were pretty obviously beyond ‘my champion’ territory, both of them. Oh, I suppose the baby has escalated things for Aramis, and Anne was suffering because of Louis’s rejection.
Still, limping!Aramis had a lot of cool moments. And he did go and check Room Number 1. The slaughter of those people in the room was pretty horrible – great use of suggestion and the ‘safe’ room. It was fairly obvious from the geography where the executioner was headed, and although the courtier was a fathead, it was a horrible thing to do. As was starving out the plague village.
Porthos and Rochefort being allied prisoners almost lived up to its set-up. I liked that they had to co-operate and one of them had to be badly hurt to get out. Hopefully, Porthos will recall Rochefort’s blather about Anne later. They totally dropped the fact that Porthos threatened to kill the baddie first, although I suppose it makes more sense that Rochefort ‘dealt with him’ than one of our heroes.
As for the ending, despite the hooded crows cutting through the red guard like a knife through butter, the Musketeers got unfairly blamed for everything that had gone wrong. Again. And Milady got to join them. Louis was looking to lash out, after being brought to his knees, whimpering. Milady and D’Artagnan had ignored his orders (rightly). After all, in this episode, we saw how Louis couldn’t even fake considering clemency for the Baddie. Cn you tell that I didn't take in either of his names, because I was thinking you might as well call him Harvey Dent?
