Four years have passed since the last season, and the war between France and Spain isn't going well. With the deaths of Cardinal Richelieu and the Comte de Rochefort, we have two new antagonists for this season: Rupert Everett as the Marquis de Ferron, an illegitimate half-brother of King Louis who serves as the Governor of Paris and has the Red Guards at his beck and call; and Matthew McNulty as Lucien Grimaud, a compassionless mercenary and usurer. We also have Matt Stokoe as Captain Georges Marcheaux, the captain of the Red Guards and Ferron's henchman. It's a shame they got rid of Vargas, the Spanish spymaster. The last episode involved him swearing to kill Porthos, but that doesn't really go anywhere. Anyway, let's look at the story.
Athos, Porthos, and d'Artagnan are fighting the Spanish on the front lines. After a costly assault, the Musketeers learn that their general has disappeared, apparently to meet with a supply wagon that was due to arrive with fresh munitions. The general owes a substantial debt to Grimaud, who takes the munitions and plans to sell them to the Spanish. Meanwhile, Aramis is serving as a monk at a nearby monastery, but is struggling to adapt to a life of contemplation. He frequently butts heads with an orphan under his care named Luc, who aspires to be a soldier. When Grimaud invades the monastery, Luc escapes and finds the Musketeers, who re-unite with their old comrade. They must then help the monks and the other children escape, and prevent the Spanish from obtaining the munitions.
Back in Paris, things are no better. King Louis is obsessed with spending every waking hour with the Dauphin, preventing council decisions from being ratified. Many parts of Paris have become lawless. The Red Guards, under the command of Marcheaux, are oppressing the populace and beating up anybody Ferron takes a dislike to. Constance has been overseeing Musketeer cadets at the Garrison, and devises a plan to humiliate the Red Guards with the aid of War Minister Treville and Cadet Brujon.
This season has a strong issue of "remember the new guy", and Ferron is the first example of that; a new character being brought in without warning, and everyone acting as if they know him. At least with Rochefort, it's established that he was imprisoned in Spain during the events of the first season. Kinda like that episode of Rick and Morty with the parasites, but this time you know he's not one of those parasites.
Lucien Grimaud is pretty menacing, and gives this season a much darker tone. He seems to have the ability to appear anywhere, and you have to wonder what happened in his past which made him that way. One big thing is that he hates it when people look down on him. When Luc witnesses his men massacre the soldiers escorting the munitions, it becomes tense as Aramis tries to convince them that they're not a threat. At least we get some laughs from Constance's subplot.
Speaking of which, there's some tension between Porthos and Aramis, as Porthos is bitter over Aramis leaving. Thankfully, that gets resolved during the episode's climax. I like how it shows Aramis' caring side, and even Porthos gets a "gentle giant" moment. I hope to incorporate that into my own work at some point.
The episode ends with the Musketeers being recalled to Paris, and Ferron being dismissive of them. It makes me excited to see what's in store for our heroes in a Paris that might feel alien to them.
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