The Musketeers have recently returned to Paris from Gascony with the disgraced intendant Martin Labarge, played by Vinnie Jones. Labarge kills a Red Guard captain during the prisoner transfer, which brings the rivalry between the two regiments to the boiling point. As Treville and Richelieu get into a heated debate about the incident, King Louis proposes a contest between two champions nominated from each regiment. D'Artagnan sees an opportunity to prove his worth as a Musketeer, but learns that Labarge razed his farm back in Gascony, leaving him without a source of income and putting a strain on his relationship with Constance.
As mentioned above, d'Artagnan basically serves as the underdog for this episode. He has to raise the entry fee for the contests, but also has to overcome his hot-headedness with Athos' tuition. Constance attempts to raise the money by selling some of her possessions, but d'Artagnan is gifted the money by Milady.
This episode also borrows a few elements from the original book. Porthos attempts to raise his entry fee by courting a wealthy widow but grows closer to her in the process after learning that her marriage was loveless. Another element involves the Cardinal asking Monsieur Bonacieux to spy on d'Artagnan. He learns of d'Artagnan's affair with Constance and demands she breaks up with him by threatening to frame d'Artagnan for treason.
To make matters worse, Treville decides to nominate himself as the champion when he learns that the Cardinal has nominated Labarge as his champion. I mean, you need to get some use out of Vinnie Jones. I still have no idea how he'd end up being appointed to a government post though.
There's definitely a greater focus on drama than action, with the exception of the obligatory training sequences. It all builds up to the contest itself, which is a great sequence. Treville gives the violent and uncontrollable Labarge a good fight, until the latter floors him and breaks his arm. When another brawl ensues, King Louis allows Treville to nominate a new champion. Naturally, he picks d'Artagnan, who ends up running Labarge through. All while the theme song blares in the background. It just shows how much d'Artagnan has grown over the series. At the beginning, he was barely able to hold his own against three Musketeers, but now he's able to take on a powerhouse like Labarge.
I'm excited to see the next episode, and what lingers in the shadows as Milady hints at a plan to use d'Artagnan to destroy the Musketeers.
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