The Musketeers Marathon - S3E2: The Hunger

 

Something tells me this episode was influenced by the Syrian Refugee Crisis.

With the Musketeers now stationed in Paris, d'Artagnan is looking forward to spending time with Constance. Unfortunately, their shopping trip is interrupted: A harvest has been stolen from the Duke of Beaufort's granary, his granary keeper is found murdered, and the blame is pinned on a refugee settlement in the area. As d'Artagnan and the Musketeer cadets hold the rioters at bay, the Red Guards arrive and arrest several prominent refugees. When d'Artagnan attempts to intervene, he's arrested too. The theft is part of a scheme cooked up by Ferron and Grimaud to drive up the price of grain so Beaufort can settle his debts. It's up to the Musketeers to find the missing grain before the refugees are sentenced to hang.

This episode has a sinister plot, involving unscrupulous nobles seeking to profit from misery and scapegoating innocent people. To be honest, that hits close to home these days. Anyway, their teamwork is definitely with clenched teeth; Beaufort is incredibly pompous and looks down on Grimaud, and Ferron is just barely able to talk Grimaud out of killing Beaufort outright. When Treville is able to convince the magistrate to grant a stay of executions over a lack of evidence, they hatch a plan to fabricate such evidence.

This episode sees the introduction of Sylvie Baudet, a refugee and political radical played by Thalissa Teixeira. One of the residents of the settlement, she is caught by Athos trying to hide a set of pamphlets from an old rebel group dating back to the reign of Henry IV. She later spots planted evidence and helps Athos fight off a bunch of Red Guards who have been dispatched to seize it.

There is one particularly funny moment which I might adapt for a Kestrel and Scar story at some point. One of the Musketeer cadets discovers somebody selling some of the stolen grain. Porthos and Aramis question the vendor using their "special brand of tact and diplomacy": Aramis smashes up the vendor's stall while the much larger Porthos tries to exhibit restraint until the vendor confesses to buying the grain from somebody else.

All in all, it's a pretty good episode.

The Musketeers Marathon - S3E1: Spoils of War

 

Time for the third season. As the show received higher ratings overseas, it premiered on Showcase Canada in April 2016, and was later released on Netflix Latin America and Hulu before its UK premiere at the end of May that year.

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.

The Musketeers Marathon - S2E10: Trial and Punishment

 

It's the second season finale, and boy is it action-packed. Once again, I'll be discussing major spoilers that will get carried over into the next season.

Aramis is languishing in prison, while Constance is led to the chopping block. Treville joins Athos and d'Artagnan as they pull off a daring rescue, and the four then head off to aid Porthos in bringing in Vargas. Meanwhile, Aramis stands trial and openly accuses Rochefort of being a Spanish agent. After being condemned by a testimony from Marguerite, he's sprung from jail by Milady and re-unites with his friends. But they must infiltrate the palace and get Vargas into an audience with King Louis before he signs Queen Anne's death warrant.

All the action scenes are brilliant. You've got the classic "Big Damn Heroes" moment as the Musketeers save Constance from execution. The build-up to that is great as she is led to the block, clearly scared but refusing a blindfold. Once again, knowing that Constance dies in the original story makes these moments genuinely tense. She later joins the Musketeers in the fights that follow. We also have Porthos going to meet with Vargas in an obvious trap. He escapes Vargas' bodyguards, in a scene which has brief lulls as he hides and ambushes them until he's relieved by his friends. It culminates in a skirmish with the Red Guards at the Louvre, and a final confrontation with Rochefort.

Action aside, there's still room for dramatic moments. King Louis has been an ungrateful shit throughout the whole series, but here he becomes sympathetic. He's devastated as he watches the trial and learns that Aramis is the Dauphin's real father, and can't even bring himself to sign the queen's death warrant. We also have Athos and Milady's tense relationship as they work together, but she realises that he'll never trust her and makes an ultimatum: She will leave for England, but will wait at the crossroads until a set time. If Athos joins her, they'll leave together.

While the last season ended on kind of a bittersweet note, this one is a little more positive but still sets up a third season. With Rochefort's death and Vargas' confession, Aramis is pardoned when it's implied King Louis now believes the allegations against him and the queen were fabricated. Nonetheless, Aramis decides to resign his commission in the Musketeers and become a monk to fulfil a promise he made to God. Meanwhile, d'Artagnan marries Constance and Athos decides that he wants to go to England with Milady (despite being disdainful of the food and the rain).

But something wicked this way comes. King Louis has decided that Spain must be brought to account for their complicity in Rochefort's scheme. He appoints Treville as the new Minister for War, a position that he gladly accepts. With his new authority, Treville promotes Athos as the new captain of the Musketeers, and gives Porthos his sword. Athos still goes to meet Milady, but finds that she has already left. The episode ends with d'Artagnan, Porthos, and Athos riding to meet Aramis.

All in all, it's a great conclusion which left me excited for the next episode.

The Musketeers Marathon - S2E9: The Accused

 

It's the penultimate episode of Season 2, and things are about to kick off.

Picking up immediately after the end of the previous episode, the Musketeers have been summoned to the palace by Constance. They go to report the incident to King Louis, but find that Rochefort - now sporting the eyepatch Christopher Lee made iconic for the character - is already there, along with the letter Queen Anne wrote to King Philip of Spain at the beginning of the season. Having forbade her to write to her brother, King Louis has her placed under house arrest. As the Musketeers are forced to leave the palace, they all learn that Aramis had slept with the queen. Athos decides to take up Milady's previous offer for information. She reveals that Rochefort is in the service of Vargas, the Spanish spymaster, and helps them sneak the queen out of the Louvre. But Rochefort then poisons King Louis, framing Constance and Lemay for it. The Musketeers and the Queen are forced to return to Paris upon learning this.

If there's one scene I have to dedicate time to, it's when the Musketeers and Treville learn of the liaison between Aramis and the queen. It's supposed to be dramatic, considering the magnitude of the situation, but it's also kind of hilarious. Aramis doesn't admit to sleeping with the queen; Athos tells the others he did. Porthos asks Aramis why he didn't say something sooner (prompting a funny comment from d'Artagnan to show his idealistic nature), while Treville is dumbstruck and asks why Athos didn't do anything (who nonchalantly states he would have shot him if he'd known what he was going to do). When Aramis confesses to the Dauphin being his son, Porthos gets ready to strangle him until he realises the burden he's been carrying and goes to hug him. Treville has to physically separate them, going from disbelief to fury as he shouts at Aramis for endangering the entire country. Athos - who has been almost gleeful through all this, like a kid telling on a sibling to their parents -  then reveals that Rochefort knows, and Treville is despairing over it.

That scene aside, this episode is a tense one. There isn't much action, but that's because it's building up to the finale. Rochefort is basically playing his endgame by driving the queen away. He uses Marguerite to falsely accuse Constance and Lemay, and enlists Milady to work for him to implicate Aramis. But when he chokes her for making a snide remark, she ultimately sides with the Musketeers. There's plenty of teeth-clenched teamwork moments between her and Athos, with a brief diversion as Katherine de Garreville attempts to exact revenge on her. Personally, I feel that particular part doesn't add much, since Katherine doesn't appear again at any point in the story.

Ultimately, very little is resolved this episode. Porthos rides out to deliver a forged letter from Rochefort to Vargas. The Musketeers return to the Louvre with the Queen, but Rochefort is waiting for them. Aramis is arrested for treason, while the others are escorted out of the grounds. It ends with d'Artagnan trying to see an imprisoned Constance until he's beaten and dragged away by the Red Guards.

But it doesn't matter that nothing gets resolved, because it makes me excited for the next episode.

The Musketeers Marathon - S2E8: The Prodigal Father

 

This is the calm before the storm.

Treville has revealed to Porthos that his biological father is the Marquis de Belgarde, so he and Aramis travel to his crumbling estate to meet him. They're invited to dine with the reclusive Marquis and his family: Eleanor, the Marquis' daughter from another marriage; and her husband, Antoine Levesque. While Belgarde is proud to see his son's return, his daughter and son-in-law take an immediate dislike to him. Meanwhile, Aramis discovers that Eleanor and Levesque are running an exclusive brothel, and have been kidnapping young girls from the provinces to work there. He shares this revelation with the other Musketeers, and they strive to shut the business down.

These two plots are at the forefront of the episode, which largely serves as a breather episode of sorts. That said, it does try and tie in the main story as well. King Louis has become even more paranoid since last episode, cancelling his public appearances and ceding more power to Rochefort. He hires Milady to investigate Queen Anne's connection to Aramis, and she offers to sell Athos information about Rochefort. Meanwhile, Constance puts her relationship with d'Artagnan on hold after her husband's death, but finds herself being courted by Dr Lemay. It's during this time that Queen Anne confides to her that Aramis is the Dauphin's biological father.

Liam Cunningham is great as the Marquis de Belgarde. He presents himself as a cynical recluse who nonetheless overjoyed to have a son, but it soon becomes clear that he's manipulating everybody around him. Porthos learns that his mother, Marie Suzette, was a servant in Belgarde's household whom the Marquis secretly married. Not long after he was born, he and his mother were kidnapped by Treville and General De Foix - at the behest of Belgarde's father - and left in the Court of Miracles. The revelation causes Porthos to doubt Treville, and he even begins to suspect that his commission in the Musketeers wasn't earned entirely on merit.

There's still some action as Porthos gets into a fistfight with Levesque when he's insulted. We also have a brawl as the other Musketeers shut down Levesque's brothel, preceded by Athos' tranquil fury as he sees the girls being paraded in front of the wealthy clientele. But they have to keep the matter a secret from Porthos, as Treville believes he'll think they're poisoning him against his father. Not much really comes of that, but I guess the risk was still there. Ultimately, it wraps up that plot thread nicely.

The episode ends on a shocking cliffhanger, as Rochefort attempts to force himself on Queen Anne for her apparent affair with Aramis. Constance intervenes, and the queen is able to stab Rochefort in the eye with a hairpin.

The Musketeers Marathon - S2E7: A Marriage of Inconvenience

 

Things are definitely heating up (heatwave notwithstanding).

King Louis' cousin, Princess Louise of Mantua, is engaged to marry a Swedish crown prince in an alliance that would be to Spain's detriment. While the Musketeers escort her to Paris from Italy, they're ambushed on the road by masked brigands carrying Spanish gold. A subsequent attempt on her life results in the death of the Archbishop of Paris, resulting in her being sequestered at the Louvre. But when Treville is shot while retrieving a wedding present, the Musketeers begin to suspect that something is amiss.

Meanwhile, King Louis has become increasingly paranoid after his ordeal with Marmion. He hides in his bedroom and refuses to speak to anybody but Rochefort. At the same time, Rochefort has learned that he was betrayed by the King's Council five years earlier; they refused to pay the ransom demanded by Spain for his release, at the Cardinal's instruction. Yep, even the Cardinal thought he was too unstable.

I can't really talk about this episode too much, because the twists are too good for me to spoil. There's a strong element of paranoia and intrigue as the Musketeers guard the princess. She strikes up a particular rapport with d'Artagnan as she sees his relationship with Constance, especially as she prepares to leave her husband. Speaking of which, Monsieur Bonacieux has become more and more unlikable as the series has gone on, and crosses a line this episode.

Something else lurks in the dark though; Rochefort notices Aramis' prized crucifix - which Queen Anne had given him at the beginning of the first season - and begins to suspect he's having an affair with her (as he'd originally given the crucifix to her). He instructs Lady Marguerite, who is now in his pocket, to investigate further.

One odd thing I'd raise: When Treville is shot, Aramis recruits Dr Lemay to help him treat the wound. The good doctor's first appearance involve a reliance on leeches in his treatments (even after Constance proved him wrong). As he treats the captain, he asks for boiling water to clean his instruments, claiming that doing so reduces the chance of infection but is clueless as to why. Nevertheless, he has grown to trust Constance and invites her to help him with the operation.

Anyway, I won't spoil the twists of the episode itself, but I will spoil the elements that will be carried over:

• D'Artagnan learns that Monsieur Bonacieux was caught in the crossfire of another assassination attempt. He actually panics when he finds out, and hesitates trying to stabilise him. We don't actually see him break the news to Constance, just as he's about to. When Constance sees he has blood on his hands, she realises.
• Milady de Winter learns that Rochefort is a Spanish spy.
• As Treville recuperates, he confesses a secret to Porthos.
• The final scene has King Louis offer Rochefort the Cardinal's old post as First Minister of France. The glare he exchanges with the Musketeers when they refuse to bow to him says it all.

The Musketeers Marathon - S2E6: Through a Glass Darkly

 

Damn, that was intense. This might be one of my favourite episodes.

The astronomer Marmion has invited King Louis to view a solar eclipse. The Musketeers accompany his procession to Marmion's observatory, converted from an old fort, while Athos - who can't bear to see King Louis parading Milady in front of the royal court - stays at the Garrison to watch the eclipse with Treville. At the observatory, Marmion's men kill Rochefort's contingent of Red Guards and take the royal procession hostage. Aramis gets thrown out of a window, Rochefort and Porthos are chained up in the cellar, while d'Artagnan and Constance are tethered together and forced to watch the king partake in a deadly game based on the laws of fate.

I find Marmion to be reminiscent of Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men, with his nihilistic view and his tendency to utilise a coin toss to determine someone's fate. The plague doctor masks his minions wear gives off the vibe of some cult. But there aren't any occult elements involved in the plot, other than the eclipse being used as a means to lure the procession in. Unlike Anton, Marmion does actually have a backstory. I won't go into it here, but it's actually quite tragic and invokes a strong feeling of "sympathy for the devil".

It's a genuinely tense situation as Marmion asks King Louis to make the call. When he refuses, Milady makes the call instead and guesses correctly. After she's allowed to leave, she alerts Treville and Athos. One of the king's redshirts courtiers also tries to make a call, but loses and is promptly executed. Marmion then spirits the rest of the procession away for the next part of the game. Queen Anne is locked in one room with Lady Marguerite and the Dauphin, while the three other courtiers are locked in another. The king is told to choose one room to send one of Marmion's men into, blindly condemning the occupants. It takes its time, and wracks up the tension. 

By the end of episode, King Louis is a quivering wreck. I almost feel sorry for him. Until the formula is adhered to, that is. Rochefort is once again credited for saving the day, while the Musketeers are blamed for the whole ordeal. Even Milady, despite using her release to get help, is accused of abandoning the king and loses her position in court (although Athos begins to respect her). Meanwhile, d'Artagnan re-kindles his affair with Constance.

The Musketeers Marathon - S2E5: The Return

 

Maybe this one should be called "The Magnificent Musketeers".

Athos is torn over the facts that he promised to kill Milady if she ever returned to Paris, but her affair with King Louis makes her untouchable. Being Athos, he deals with that by...drinking himself under the table, where he is promptly kidnapped by his former tenants in the village of Pinon. His greedy neighbour, Baron Renard, has been raiding the village and covets Athos' land for himself. Athos refuses to help them, having renounced his title after ordering Milady's execution. The other Musketeers, plus Treville, arrive in Pinon in search of Athos. Seeing the havoc Renard is causing, they decide to stay and help the villagers protect their home from the Baron. Meanwhile, Athos has chance encounter with his late brother's fiancé, Katherine de Garreville, and decides to help as well.

Yeah, this is basically The Seven Samurai in 17th Century France. Familiar, yet fresh. Although Baron Renard is probably one of the least subtle villains of the week. He's a pompous aristocrat who is little more than a bully. When Athos first tries to negotiate with him, he agrees to treat the tenants "as they deserve". He then reneges, claiming that he doesn't make deals with peasants, and Athos would be one since he's renounced his title. His retinue also kidnap the local innkeeper's daughter at his son Edmond's behest. Katherine isn't the nicest character around either, but she's a little more sympathetic; she was originally engaged to marry Athos, until he married Milady. She was then betrothed to his brother Thomas, only for him to be murdered by Milady.

Nevertheless, it's still a good episode with some great action as the villagers fight Renard's men. There's also one moment near the beginning that's quite sweet: Treville - no longer the captain of the Musketeers - has resigned himself to work detail. When the Musketeers ask him to help look for Athos when he disappears, he agrees to ride with them, but insists that he will not act as their captain. Without skipping a beat, d'Artagnan responds with "Whatever you say, captain." Treville doesn't respond or correct him, but gives a proud smile. It's only a brief moment, but it shows how much respect the Musketeers have for him; he is their captain, and they refuse to see him as anything less. However, tensions are arising between him and Porthos over General De Foix, whom Porthos suspects was his father.

Overall, this episode could be considered filler. With the action taking place away from Paris, Rochefort doesn't appear at all. However, there is one new thread which starts; when Katherine learns that Milady is alive and is the king's mistress, she rides to Paris to seek revenge.

The Musketeers Marathon - S2E4: Emilie

 

Today's episode provides a look at the dangers of religious extremism. And once again, I'm going to have to discuss spoilers that will come into play during later episodes.

Young Emilie of Durras is being hailed as a prophet when she claims to have visions from God. In her visions - which occur when she has fainting spells - she claims to have seen that King Phillip of Spain is the Antichrist. Her sermons have attracted a following, which has led to mob violence against Spaniards living in Paris. The Musketeers are tasked with ensuring that she doesn't march on Spain, as doing so would provoke a war. Aramis is sent to infiltrate the camp as a spy, where he begins to suspect that Emilie's mother is manipulating her. Things get complicated when Queen Anne visits the camp with Constance in a bid to parley with Emilie. Meanwhile, Rochefort and Perales are at each other's throats, and Perales believes that Rochefort has become a liability to Spanish interests. He hires a sex worker whom Rochefort frequents to kill him when he next visits. When the attempt fails, Rochefort learns of Milady's past and blackmails her into carrying out an assassination.

It's a pretty good episode. The Musketeers have to tread lightly when dealing with Emilie, who is being compared to Joan of Arc, not wanting to cause a riot. There's not as much action, but there's plenty of tension. When Perales is forced to shelter from Emilie's supporters at the Garrison, and receives a severed ear in the post before later arranging to be recalled to Spain. Treville and the Musketeers are tasked with escorting him through a marketplace to a carriage, only for d'Artagnan to learn it's a trap.

Meanwhile, this episode also serves to set up many later plot threads:

• Porthos learns that General De Foix - who was mortally wounded during their escape - has left him a legacy. He begins to suspect that Treville is hiding something from him, but is stonewalled.
• Aramis and Queen Anne are revealed to still be intimate, which Constance promptly discovers and is sworn to secrecy.
• Rochefort learns that Lady Marguerite is having an affair with Aramis, and uses this to blackmail her into spying on Queen Anne

The episode has a truly poignant ending. I won't go into details regarding the story of the week, but I will give away what happens afterwards: When the Musketeers return to the Garrison, they learn that Treville has been scapegoated for the death of Perales and is being relieved of command. It's a great scene, with Treville standing in the courtyard with the letter in hand. He assures the Musketeers that they're not in trouble, but he's trying not to cry as he explains the situation.

The Musketeers Marathon - S2E3: The Good Traitor

 

King Louis complaining about the morning is such a mood.

General Tariq Alamand, a Moorish officer in the Spanish army, visits Captain Treville and expresses an intention to defect to France. He demonstrates a highly potent form of gunpowder which he has developed, and presents King Louis with a coded formula to develop more of it. In exchange for the cipher to decode it, he asks the Musketeers to help him rescue his daughter Samara. She had been kidnapped by Spanish agents in Paris led by Tariq's protégé, General Balthasar, who is demanding the cipher in exchange for her life.

Meanwhile, the Dauphin falls ill and is placed in the care of Dr Lemay. But Constance expresses a concern that his treatments aren't working. And yes, they involve leeches. Lemay must have been a student of Dr Hoffman of Stuttgart (owner of the largest leech farm in Europe). Anyway, Aramis learns of the Dauphin's fever before the Musketeers head to a busy market to make the exchange with Balthasar. His fears distract him, and the exchange goes south. A fight ensues in which several bystanders are killed, while Porthos is wounded and captured by Balthasar's men along with Samara. And while all that's going on, Milady seduces King Louis, and becomes his mistress.

I must admit that I wasn't keen on the ill Dauphin sub-plot. I reckon it could have been handled a little better. When Lemay's treatments prove ineffective, Constance tries to point this out and is reprimanded by King Louis. In response, she abducts the Dauphin and takes him to a laundrette, hoping that the steam would decongest him. She's found by Rochefort after her husband rats her out, and narrowly escapes being executed when Lemay admits her remedy had worked. Which leads me to wonder why she didn't consult with Queen Anne first. While Louis was dismissive, she's still the queen's confidante and could have suggested it to her. I suppose it gave Rochefort something to do, since he's not really involved with the main plot. It's a means for him to curry favour with Queen Anne, whom he is besotted with. To the point of paying sex workers to roleplay as her. Creepy.

B-plot aside, this episode still has some good moments. The exchange scene at the market is tense. Aramis takes up a sniper position to shoot Balthasar once the cipher is handed over. As a woman walks past with a crying baby, he begins to think about the Dauphin and loses his clear shot. And when Porthos is captured, we get some great snarky dialogue between him and Samara. The climax of the episode is both awesome and poignant, but I won't go into details here.

And need I mention that Balthasar is a racist prick? It's great to see him get his just desserts.

The Musketeers Marathon - S2E2: An Ordinary Man

 

This is a good episode, but I think I'm beginning to see a formula for this season.

King Louis decides that he wants to experience the life of an ordinary Parisian for one night. Said experience involves going to a disreputable tavern incognito with the Musketeers. But when he accuses a man of cheating at cards and provokes a brawl, he and d'Artagnan are promptly kidnapped. With the Dauphin's christening due to take place the next day, the Musketeers are charged with finding him before a scandal spreads across Europe. They soon learn that the culprit is Sebastian le Matre, who sells his victims to the Spanish to serve as galley slaves. Meanwhile, Rochefort - who is now the captain of the Red Guards - uses the disappearance as an opportunity to grow closer to Queen Anne. He eventually persuades her to write to her brother, King Phillip of Spain, asking him to support her regency if King Louis dies.

This is a tense episode. While the Musketeers are carrying out their investigation, d'Artagnan and Louis are forced to march through the woods to the slavers' camp. Since d'Artagnan believes they'll be killed if Louis reveals his true identity, they have to remain anonymous. They befriend another captive named Pepin, and learn how much contempt a lot of people have for the king. But things get complicated when it turns out that Milady de Winter is part of the gang, and she recognises them.

I don't want to spoil too much, but I'd like to talk about the ending. After Louis is rescued, he orders d'Artagnan to execute one of the slavers who had switched sides in exchange for clemency. After he refuses, Rochefort carries out the execution himself. I mention this because it's something that gets very formulaic in this season; Louis blames the Musketeers for the episode's events, while Rochefort earns the king's praise.

Despite that issue, it's still a great episode. The final action sequence is great, especially when d'Artagnan gets a particularly badass moment by taking out a mounted swordsman with only a scarf. There's also a moment during their captivity in which Louis talks about his fears that his son will grow up without his father in the same way that he did. It's quite sad, especially considering the real world history: King Louis XIV was only four years old when he ascended to the throne, so there's a foregone conclusion. The final scene is also very poignant.

Meanwhile, Aramis is beginning to get romantically involved with Lady Marguerite, the Royal Governess. Although it's clear that it's so he can spend time with the Dauphin.