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Critic’s Rating: 5 / 5.0
5
Someone really should have told Edith that when The Serpent Queen strikes, she goes for the jugular.
At the same time, everyone else should know that the Queen Mother’s venom is slow-acting but spreads far and wide.
As expected, The Serpent Queen delivered an epic ending to the second season with plenty to look forward to.
This series was the love child of brilliant storytelling, award-winning costuming, and a masterclass in acting.
The Serpent Queen knows how to sink its teeth into viewers with an intoxicating bite of drama, intrigue, and dialogue sharp enough to cut like a knife.
The Serpent Queen Has A Surplus Of Cleverly Crafted Villains
The Serpent Queen Season 2 gave audiences a heavy dose of quick wit and wildly entertaining sarcasm. But more than that, the show gave viewers the kind of villains you can see win.
I’m talking, of course, of Queen Elizabeth. While the character wasn’t expressly the season’s villain, she was still a foil for Catherine, and I loved every minute of the messy queen.
In each scene Queen Elizabeth was in, every line of dialogue she spoke was transcendent. As far as I am concerned, she was the real Queen Elizabeth. Historical accuracy be damned.
No, if there were a big bad of the season, it was clearly Edith and her zealots.
More specifically, religion was the core evil of the season, bringing out the worst in everyone.
Still, Edith (Isobel Jesper Jones) was the one giving orders and sitting down with royalty. Too bad for her, she flew too close to the sun before realizing her angel wings were papier-mâché, non?
I will say that I was genuinely shocked that Catherine slit Edith’s throat like that.
And while I love The Serpent Queen for its ingenuity in plotting and storytelling, the series borrows too many ideas from other popular period dramas. Namely, Game of Thrones.
There won’t be a single person who sees this episode and doesn’t immediately think of “The Red Wedding.”
The Guises Got What They Had Coming Despite Antoinette Getting On Her Hands And Knees
Speaking of red, the Guises are all but screwed now.
The rouge-wearing family is looking down the barrel at execution, exile, or permanent imprisonment.
The cardinal all but lost his mind, so it won’t matter what happens to him.
Especially since the order of long flowing robes has been hanged.
Don’t even get me started on the Duke! That guy is on another level of messed up.
From setting churches on fire, murdering former lovers, and deflowering a princess at his mother’s behest, the man is one bad hair day away from a murder-suicide.
It’s the family’s own fault for trying to go toe-to-toe with The Serpent Queen, but to be fair, Antoinette (Beth Goddard) is a force of nature herself.
Although she hasn’t been as firm or manipulative as Catherine, the Guise matriarch has undoubtedly proven her mettle.
While her sons may finally be done with their mother’s machinations, that doesn’t mean the older woman is hanging up her wily ways.
If there is one thing Antoinette knows how to do, it’s wrap men around her finger.
Specifically, Antoine Bourbon.
It’s About Time The Bourbons Got The Hell Out Of Dodge
However, it may be a while before Antoinette and Antoine get another chance to canoodle in the kitchen.
My god, the Bourbons survived the finale by the skin of their teeth. Well, almost all of the Bourbons.
I actually hate that The Serpent Queen killed off Jeanne. She was my favorite character.
She was smart and fashionable and knew how to weave words to work her ways on everyone around her. The best part of the character was her cluelessness.
For a character that always acted like she had everyone figured out, Jeanne rarely knew what was going on.
Now, Louis (Danny Kirrane)and Antoine (Nicholas Burns) will likely go on the run.
For two complete idiots, the Bourbon brothers manage to get out of some pretty tight scrapes.
So, as far as Henry knows, he became an orphan and a husband at the same time.
The question is how these circumstances will affect his and Margot’s marriage.
The princess is all he has now and as we learned from Henry’s father in this episode, the boy is a bit of a psychopath.
However, if I’m being honest, Margot could use a little struggle.
Now Fance Knows That The Rivers And Streets Will Run Red With Blood If You Mess With The Serpent Queen
Granted, Charles took things way too far, but Catherine was on the money when she called out her daughter.
Margot is a spoiled, whiney brat who never had to work or want for anything in her life. Her sense of entitlement is at the max.
Has she not been paying attention to what is happening to her siblings? Did she really think she was going to have a happy life free of royal obligations?
I want to sympathize with the girl, but her loyalties are as stained as the streets of France were at the end of “All Saints Day.”
One second, she’s madly in love with the Duke (Raza Jaffrey), and the next, she’s all about supporting her new husband.
She is absolutely unloyal to her family, and I can’t even discuss how she manipulates Charles’ feelings for her every chance she gets.
Again, Charles was wrong for hitting and roughing her up a little, but Margot does need to grow up and take her mother’s advice.
Speaking of The Serpent Queen, I knew she wouldn’t wave a white flag.
Still, I could not have anticipated that there would be as much carnage as there was.
Granted, I am the same person who kept saying the season finale would likely be a bloody one. And, oh, how right I was.
The rivers and streets literally ran red with blood. It was disturbing and incredible at the same time.
Whatever happens next, the series has already set itself up for an exciting third season if it is renewed.
The Serpent Queen is a series that doesn’t hold back.
It gives audiences everything they ask for and more.
Hopefully, this Starz series will continue for many more seasons because it is television gold!
The writers, creators, showrunners, and everyone involved in production created a show that stays with the viewers long after it’s turned off.
Full disclosure, I am not someone who usually seeks out or enjoys period projects.
However, with one hundred percent enthusiasm, I loved this show!
There was so much fantastic dialogue, costuming, and storytelling. The Serpent Queen is the kind of series that every person should get the chance to enjoy. Just bring your armor.
What did you think of the finale?
Will The Serpent Queen do another time jump for the third season or pick up right after the second?
Drop a comment below to let us know, and join me again when I review your next favorite new or returning show!
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