Grimaud and Ferron, who have been at each other's throats since their last scheme failed, devise a plan to eliminate the Musketeers. Grimaud attempts to kill Athos while he's staying with Sylvie, while Ferron uses a forged letter from Treville to lure the others into a trap. As the Musketeers are travelling to rendezvous with a general's aide, Aramis is recalled to the palace. He's tasked with escorting King Louis as he goes on a pilgrimage to honour the anniversary of his father's death. Meanwhile, Porthos and d'Artagnan to continue to the rendezvous, where they're besieged in a ramshackle farmhouse by Grimaud's assassins. Athos survives the attempt on his life with Sylvie's help, and rides out with Treville and the Musketeer cadets to warn his friends of the danger they're in.
The opening is atmospheric. Ferron gives a monologue about the inevitability of death. His voice-over is interspersed with shots of Aramis stood blindfolded against a wall riddled with bullet holes, and Athos being disarmed at gunpoint by a hooded figure. We then see somebody holding a razor to d'Artagnan's throat as he dozes in the bath, before it pans out to reveal Constance shaving him. It's also revealed that Sylvie is playing a kinky game with Athos, while Aramis had been blindfolded for some trick-shooting.
The action gets intense as Grimaud actually gets the best of Athos until Sylvie shoots him. But he escapes, demonstrating a vanishing act in the process. Meanwhile, Porthos and d'Artagnan spend their predicament bickering because d'Artagnan had used a cask of wine they found in the farmhouse as a decoy. It gets poignant as they face what seems to be an inevitable death, while defiantly shouting "We refuse to die!"
Meanwhile, Aramis accompanies the king to the mausoleum of Henry IV. Ferron, who has been told by Grimaud to kill them both, is waiting in the crypt. But he has a change of heart when he learns that he's being asked to serve as the Dauphin's guardian when Louis dies, and is being legitimised in exchange for doing so. As he leaves, Louis then reveals he's figured out that Aramis had slept with the queen and confronts him over it. Aramis confesses, but then calls the king out for neglecting her.
Outside, Ferron tries to sever his ties with Grimaud, who mortally stabs him. In his final moments, he fires his pistol into the air, warning Aramis and the king of Grimaud's assassins. Thus, he gets seen as a hero in King Louis' eyes. It's during the fight that Louis reveals to Aramis that he's dying, and Aramis imparts this to the rest of the Musketeers and Queen Anne.
Good episode, that leaves me excited for the next one.
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