Photo Courtesy Of BBCA
Warning: Spoiler Alert
It’s not very often that a secondary character can alter the trajectory of a TV series, make that character a villain and the odds decrease even more, and bringing that character in during the second season of a series, the chances become wafer slim. Despite those overwhelming odds, Marc Warren’s come into the second season of the BBCA series “The Musketeers,” and his character, Rochefort’s become a major focal point in almost every episode of the second season. Although, he wants to see the French King Louis dead, Rochefort’s made himself indispensable to the Monarch and his most trusted adviser.
There were times watching the most recent episode “An Inconvenient Marriage,” that reminded me of watching professional wrestling when I about ten or eleven-years-old in the mid-sixties (Sorry, if they wrestled after Gorilla Monsoon, I don’t know them.) As a child I got outraged that some of the bad-guy wrestlers, took a blackjack out of their shorts and hit their opponents in the head with it, with the referee allegedly unaware, what took place.
I almost found myself screaming at the French King while watching this episode, out of frustration, as Rochefort got rid of two of Louis’ closest advisers and walked away at the end of the episode, with a promotion. Of course it helps to have an overgrown spoiled-brat, who only becomes involved in things that interest him as a boss. However Rochefort still has two mighty obstacles to overcome, the distrust of the Musketeers and the knowledge of his deepest secrets, by Milady De Winter, an opponent not to trifle with.
The show doesn’t tip it’s hand often, but something felt hinky about this episode from the opening scene, as if something was amiss. I couldn’t put my finger on it at first, but things started to fall together far too conveniently, for fate to be it’s only guide. A woman seemingly averting danger at every turn for most of the evening, seemed a little too lucky, to keep avoiding death.
Although I’m not a psychiatrist, or play one on the Internet, I think it’s a safe assumption to make that Rochefort’s certifiably insane. He truly believes that he’ll have the King of France killed, marry Queen Ann and rule the country of his birth. Even if he were to kill Louis and somehow, convince Ann to marry him, the people of France would never allow him to ascend to the throne. Perhaps because he’s loony-tunes, he’s able to walk through mine-fields without getting harmed, so far anyways. Rochefort’s comeuppance awaits and I look forward to watching him squirm like the rat that he is.
The Captain of the Red Guard and now First Minister to King Louis, set a plan into action that allowed him to kill two of Louis’ inner-circle and he nearly succeeded with taking out two more, as Captain Treville, nearly died from a gunshot wound, while Chancellor Dupre, barely survived an attack on his life. Rochefort hired a male and female assassin team to portray Louis’ cousin, Princess Louise of Mantua, scheduled to wed the King of Sweden, thus ensuring a treaty between Sweden and France.
The fake Princess rides in a carriage, with her partner and lover Francesco playing her bodyguard. Something felt wrong, when a few minutes after the Princess asks them to pull over so she can get some fresh air and stretch her legs, the party gets ambushed. Of course the Musketeers, although outnumbered, barely broke a sweat before killing all their opponents.
The Princess gets blessed by the Archbishop of Paris and we see someone seemingly have Louise in their sights, but at the last second she trips and the Archbishop’s killed when the arrow strikes him in the Adam’s Apple. A bit later Rochefort walks in berating the Musketeers and chiding them, he then says he hopes they’re up to the task of guarding the Princess, before she embarks to Sweden.
Queen Ann tries to see her husband, but when she knocks on his bedroom door, he tells her to go away. Rochefort, says the King’s not receiving visitors, but Ann beseeches Rochefort to try to talk with him. He knocks on the door announces himself and Louis lets him in.
The King says I want Milady out of the castle and I don’t want to deal with my cousin Louise, Rochefort says it’ll appear that Louis is against the marriage but the King tells him that’s nonsense. Rochefort tells him that Dupre’s arriving that afternoon and Louis really should meet with him. The King says fine but until then he’s going to bed as he’s exhausted.
Porthos and Athos recover the crossbow and the arrow that killed the Archbishop and admire the craftsmanship. Treville says there’s just one man capable of this work, it’s Boucher, a Huguenot, that despises the Catholic Church and the French Monarchy. They have Boucher come in and he immediately recognizes the work as his own, then tells them the weapon and arrow got seized by the Red Guard and they keep all his stuff in their armory.
Athos questions Rochefort about the crossbow and arrow and the Red Guard Captain, says perhaps it got stolen from the armory. He then says he’s got 500 soldiers, how’s he to know if one went rogue? He then sees Milady leaving the Palace and he takes back the necklace Louis gave her as a present, then tells her if he sees her in the Palace again, he’ll arrest her for stealing. De Winter says you don’t want to make me your enemy.
Rochefort suggested to Queen Ann that Treville pick up the wedding present for Louise, one of the reasons why, giving Francesco a chance to kill him. Milady recognizes Francesco when she leaves the Palace, follows him and watches him shoot Treville. The Musketeers hear about it quickly and are able to save their former Captain’s life, with help from Aramis, Constance and the Royal Court physician Dr. Lemay.
Constance sent a message to her husband Bonacieux, that she needed to talk to him and he shows up at the Palace. She tells him that she and D’Artagnan are in love and he backhands her in the face, splitting her lip. He tells her she’s coming home and he’ll be back later that day to collect her.
The present that Treville rode over to get was a painting of Princess Louise by an artist, Athos and Porthos head over there, they find the artist’s murdered and the portrait stolen. However they see by the artist’s sketches of Louise, that the woman under their protection’s not the princess.
Rochefort tells D’Artagnan to go to the courtyard and greet Chancellor Dupree, he’ll guard Princess Louise in his place. When the Musketeer leaves, Rochefort brings in a crossbow and arrow for the fake Princess to take out Dupre upon his arrival. However, Athos and Porthos arrive at the same time as the carriage and scream for the Chancellor to get back in his carriage, the arrow ends up dead center of the doors. They see the shot was taken from the Palace and D’Artagnan runs in to catch the archer.
He finds it’s the fake Princess, she tells him to drop his weapons, while having a gun aimed at his heart. She says she did him a favor and he’s welcome, but Porthos and Athos capture as she attempts to escape. She’s thrown in a cell, shackled when Milady walks in and says if she tells her who hired her, she’ll free the trained killer. The woman tells De Winter that Rochefort’s a Spanish spy, that’s why they allowed him to escape. Milady says until she heard that she was going to free the woman, then sticks a blade in her heart.
Rochefort tells Louis everything and of course the King’s so proud of the way the Captain of the Red Guard handled things, he names him First Minister. Rochefort’s gaining power on a weekly basis, who’ll be the one to stop him in his tracks?
The Story Continues Next Saturday Night at 9:00pm on BBCA.
