A friend of Constance is killed after being knocked down by the royal carriage while trying to deliver a petition to Queen Anne. The petition turns out to have been written by the Comtesse Ninon de Larroque, pushing for greater access to education for women. When another one of Constance's friends goes missing, the Musketeers learn that they were both students of Ninon, who teaches natural philosophy and astronomy to women of all backgrounds. Richelieu believes that her cause undermines church authority, but is also aware that her immense wealth could be used to finance the construction of a new navy. He sends Milady - who has also been attending Ninon's classes - to find evidence to condemn her so he can seize her assets.
The Cardinal is also visited by Father Luca Sestini, an old friend from the seminary who is now a Papal envoy. Sestini tells the Cardinal that the Pope disapproves of an alliance between Catholic France and Protestant Sweden, and suggests that stamping out Ninon's "heresy" would give him prestige in a bid to become the next Pope. Ninon is subsequently arrested when several missing women are found being sheltered in a secret room in her home. She's put on trial for witchcraft, and condemned by a false testimony from Milady. But when the Cardinal is poisoned during the trial, the Musketeers must race to find the culprit before Ninon is burned at the stake.
Annabelle Wallis steals the show as Ninon. She's very enlightened for a woman of her time, and her philosophies are profound. She subtly insults the Cardinal in every scene they share, and even strikes up some interesting chemistry with Athos and Aramis. She and Athos almost see each other as kindred spirits, as both are dismissive of the concept of marriage. While this is only from a cursory reading, I believe that she's based on Mary Wollstonecraft, an English writer and advocate for women's rights (especially education) who wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792.
If there's anything I do have to criticise, it's the character of Luca Sestini. He's a dogmatic Catholic priest who's an inquisitor in all but name. Combined with his Irish accent, that could be invoking a stereotype that has unfortunate implications.
Nevertheless, there's still some great action, especially when Athos beats up a sword-wielding Red Guard with a tome. I also love the high stakes it presents, once again showing how far Richelieu is willing to go to serve his country's interests. Speaking of which, we also get a moment when he's poisoned in which King Louis is pleading for him to be okay. It just shows how much of a father figure King Louis sees the Cardinal as.
One last thing before I go. While I won't spoil the outcome of the episode's story, I will have to spoil elements which serve as later plot threads. In this case, the episode ends with d'Artagnan beginning an affair with Constance. It's an element of the original story which isn't always used.
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