S01.E07: An Attack on the King

[Pop Tart]

Quote

Mary visits Rahima and recounts her side of the story of life at the Royal Court. Catherine and Mary have conflicting views when it comes to freedom of religion in France.

Air date: 10.23.22

[greekmom]

Disappointed in the ousting of Diana. I was hoping for more drama and Catherine getting revenge.
Yeah, I don't like this version of Mary Queen of Scots. She's absolutely wackos.
Not one of their better episode.

[brisbydog]

Goodness that was a lot of blood and gore to digest with my breakfast

Unfortunately that is pretty much how it went down with Diane. Left with a whimper 

[PinkRibbons]

I guess my theory about Catherine's flashbacks being the result of unreliable narration was wrong, because Mary's version does Mary no favors and shows stuff she probably wouldn't have seen or even known about. On the other hand, the actress is playing Mary completely loony-tunes and I am here for it. If that's the path you want to take, go all-in, I say.

Alas, Diane left with so little delicious revenge. Were we supposed to feel bad for her when she basically killed Henri by having the splinter removed? Was it supposed to be tragic when he died in her arms?

I will say, Sam Morton's blocking Diane from going in to see Henri was some magnificent acting. She just went icy and terrifying, I loved it.

That aside, I really felt the wrongness of the time-skip here. How come Catherine's already being called The Serpent Queen? Why weren't we shown how Diane alienated Catherine's children from her? Why was all this an afterthought? We needed an entire series of Liv Hill, then maybe a second season with Sam Morton. The latter being awesome still can't make up for losing so much plot for an excuse to put her on screen sooner.

Rahima...I don't think I like you. You're so clearly trying to emulate Catherine with your insanely obvious lies, but it's way too soon for the student to teach the master anything. Someone running a con is really only interesting if they're good at it.

[Spartan Girl]

Catherine finally got to have power over Diane, barring her from Henri’s side, watching her go full on mad and hasten Henri’s death by pretending he was “cured” and, once Henri was gone, got to exile her in disgrace, making her give back everything Henri ever gave her, including Chenonceu. Not as satisfying as pushing her out the window, butIf that isn’t good revenge, I don’t know what is.

Drinking Henri’s heart, though? Ewwww.

Edited October 23, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[greekmom]

5 hours ago, PinkRibbons said:

I guess my theory about Catherine's flashbacks being the result of unreliable narration was wrong, because Mary's version does Mary no favors and shows stuff she probably wouldn't have seen or even known about. On the other hand, the actress is playing Mary completely loony-tunes and I am here for it. If that's the path you want to take, go all-in, I say.

Alas, Diane left with so little delicious revenge. Were we supposed to feel bad for her when she basically killed Henri by having the splinter removed? Was it supposed to be tragic when he died in her arms?

I will say, Sam Morton's blocking Diane from going in to see Henri was some magnificent acting. She just went icy and terrifying, I loved it.

That aside, I really felt the wrongness of the time-skip here. How come Catherine's already being called The Serpent Queen? Why weren't we shown how Diane alienated Catherine's children from her? Why was all this an afterthought? We needed an entire series of Liv Hill, then maybe a second season with Sam Morton. The latter being awesome still can't make up for losing so much plot for an excuse to put her on screen sooner.

I was hoping for a bit more like a speech from Catherine when Diane finally left.  I'm guessing they are speeding up alot of the timeline since the finale is next week. Guessing we are getting a season 2 - hopefully soon.  

We did get a glimpse of Diane monopolizing the kids when Catherine was going through her depression from losing the last ones. 

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Catherine finally got to have power over Diane, barring her from Henri’s side, watching her go full on mad and hasten Henri’s death by pretending he was “cured” and, once Henri was gone, got to exile her in disgrace, making her give back everything Henri ever gave her, including Chenonceu. Not as satisfying as pushing her out the window, butIf that isn’t good revenge, I don’t know what is.

Drinking Henri’s heart, though? Ewwww.

She drank Henri's heart? I must have missed that one. 

[Constantinople]

I know they take historical liberties, for example, combining Francis's marriage to Mary and the death of Henri into one contemporaneous event, but for reason the visit by Charles V really bugged me this week though I didn't think about it last week. Among other things, Charles had abdicated all of his titles a couple of years before the marriage.

And for a little humor

Mary: I believe I see the light of Lord, our savior, in you.

Mathilde: Mm?

Mary: He is known to be close to the afflicted.

Mathilde: Really? That's not been my experience.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Constantinople

[anoninrva]

I found the framing here really hard to follow.  It seemed to segue from Mary's perspective to actual events (per the show, at least) to Catherine's without any real transition.  I had to stop several times to think "how would this character know this?"

[Haleth]

18 hours ago, PinkRibbons said:

Why weren't we shown how Diane alienated Catherine's children from her?

They did show this many episodes ago.  It was a quick scene of Diane playing with the children in the garden and when Catherine showed up she seemed like an intruder.

12 hours ago, greekmom said:

She drank Henri's heart?

The magician in the woods said he stole Henri's heart and mixed the ashes in wine for Catherine to drink, so she would be his living tomb.  Um, ok.  

I too was disappointed there weren't more fireworks when Catherine kicked Diane to the curb.  Shutting her out when Henri was injured was satisfying though.

I can't believe Mary was allowed anywhere near the privy council.

[brisbydog]

I've just realized that Antoine is married to Jeanne of Navarre and is the father of the future Henri IV. Still better than whatever the heck they did with that branch of the family on Reign but still this show is wild lol

[andromeda331]

Well, that was a disappointing end to Diane. I hoped for more revenge. Diane certainly deserved it. Mary was an idiot I can't believe anyone let her make any decisions.

[Scarlett45]

This series is falling flat for me. This court was filled with so many intriguing people and they feel like shadow characters. Mathilde is the only supporting character that seems to have any real personality!

On 10/23/2022 at 11:46 AM, PinkRibbons said:

On the other hand, the actress is playing Mary completely loony-tunes and I am here for it. If that's the path you want to take, go all-in, I say.

It’s an interesting take and she’s doing a good job. I’m loving all of her clothes though! She does look very much a queen.