The Musketeers - General Discussion

[ribboninthesky1]

I enjoyed the series for what it was, and certainly enjoyed seeing (most of) the Musketeers on my screen.  But I really don't know what else the show could have explored without being repetitive.  Plus, the show never did much with the women, and the semi-regular ones who didn't annoy me immensely (Sylvie, Milady) weren't given much to work with. 

[TaurusRose]

Just finished binge watching this on Hulu.  I really enjoyed the series with just a few nitpicks.  Santiago is eye candy, but I am so sick of him playing characters who zero in on women already involved in relationships.  I didn't like that the Dauphin was a total fraud and that he just had to be Aramis's child.  I really didn't like Queen Anne or the actress playing her; I found her unsympathetic and annoying.  The decision to have Aramis constantly sniffing around her bugged me, too.  What a tiresome trope.  I loved Athos, he was my favorite, and I enjoyed D'Artagnan and Porthos.  The remaining ladies were okay in order of likability...Milady, Constance, Sylvie, Elodie.  But I mainly watched for the men ("all for one and one for all!") the sword fighting action and the beautiful horses.  

[TaurusRose]

On 11/4/2016 at 10:58 PM, taurusrose said:

Just finished binge watching this on Hulu.  I really enjoyed the series with just a few nitpicks.  Santiago is eye candy, but I am so sick of him playing characters who zero in on women already involved in relationships  I didn't like that the Dauphin was a total fraud and that he just had to be Aramis's child.  I really didn't like Queen Anne or the actress playing her; I found her unsympathetic and annoying with her pinched face and simpering expression. The decision to have Aramis constantly sniffing around her bugged me, too.  All for the sake of a forbidden love. What a tiresome trope.  Factor in the fact that Aramis used Marguerite shamefully so that he could stay close to his bastard and it's pinch faced mother and I pretty much loathe the character.   I loved everything about Athos; he was my favorite.  I also enjoyed D'Artagnan and Porthos.  The remaining ladies were okay in order of likability...Milady, Constance, Sylvie, Elodie. But I mainly watched for the men ("all for one and one for all!") the sword fighting action and the beautiful horses.  

Edited December 3, 2016 by taurusrose

[TaurusRose]

Nothing to see here.

[ribboninthesky1]

I'm rewatching this series, and I forgot just how petulant, silly, and clueless Louis was.  Bless Ryan Gage - his performance was great.  But I found myself wishing Louis' mother had been successful in overthrowing him.  I know, it'd be a different show, but I would have been perfectly entertained with Peter Capaldi and Tara Fitzgerald trying to outwit each other, at least for the remainder of season one. I can't say I would have missed Louis or Anne. 

[Llywela]

9 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

I'm rewatching this series, and I forgot just how petulant, silly, and clueless Louis was.  Bless Ryan Gage - his performance was great.  But I found myself wishing Louis' mother had been successful in overthrowing him.  I know, it'd be a different show, but I would have been perfectly entertained with Peter Capaldi and Tara Fitzgerald trying to outwit each other, at least for the remainder of season one. I can't say I would have missed Louis or Anne. 

Aww, I'd have missed Ryan Gage's performance if he'd been overthrown so early! Louis is awful, but then you get these moments where you can see the spark of potential, overlaid by the weight of his position and his immaturity.

I've been rewatching as well, I'm halfway through season one and having so much fun!

[ribboninthesky1]

9 hours ago, Llywela said:

Louis is awful, but then you get these moments where you can see the spark of potential, overlaid by the weight of his position and his immaturity.

Agreed, I just finished S2E2, and there's some of that shown.  But then he regresses right back to petulance by the end, as if he's learned nothing.  I can't deny it would have been a different show without him, but I'd be okay with that.    

That said, watching the series again makes me appreciate the visuals even more - it's gorgeously shot.  I believe it was filmed in the Czech Republic, and bravo to the locations team.  Costume design as well.  

Also, I always adored Howard Charles in this, but watching it again, I really appreciate how funny he could be.  I need to check out more of Maimie McCoy's work, she's fantastic. 

[catrice2]

Still missing my show.  I love , love, the theme song!  It became a work out song for me.  If we could have had the season 3 Louis all along, he would have been o.k.  The Queen was a waste of time. Athos was my least favorite, but got the most screen time.  I need Luke on my screen asap in something!  

[ribboninthesky1]

The theme song was great.  @catrice2, looks like Luke is in a new series on Crackle - very different kind of show, and I've not watched it yet.  It's free to watch, so perhaps this will give you that Luke fix! 

[SnoGirl]

Im rewatching the series too....I was really missing a show where the main characters were all friends and not at each others throats constantly. I just got to season three. I really need to buy it so I dont have to keep watching the commericals on Hulu.

My hope is someday in the future, that all of them revisit the Musketeers when they're older. Maybe when the Baby Artemis is an adult King. I would love to see old men Musketeers :)

[ribboninthesky1]

Quote

But on the other hand, it was painful to see everyone so fragmented, so at odds, and can't help wondering if things might have been different if they'd all managed to trust one another from the start, if they'd all been in the loop, acting on a plan that was known by all. If Anne had known Treville's plan and consented to it, she wouldn't have felt she'd had her son stolen, wouldn't have been so desperate to find him, and he therefore wouldn't have been brought out of hiding, wouldn't have been captured - and Treville might not have died.

I've been rewatching the series, and I think Anne was really unfair to Treville in this episode.  The man has been nothing but loyal to the King and Queen, no matter how cruel Louis was to him and the rest of the Musketeers (sorry, I never did buy the "Louis considers Treville a friend" theme they tried to pass off this season).  I doubt Anne would have consented to having Louis taken away because she was too concerned with wanting him close. Anne and Aramis, though with good intention, had already demonstrated they couldn't be trusted to see the bigger picture with the Spanish negotiations and the fallout.  Treville didn't die because he spirited the boy King away - he died because Anne wouldn't trust him for, what, a few days?  After all he'd done to prove his devotion to them? Someone upthread called her a brat, and yeah, in this episode, she was. 

I will give credit to Louis - the one smart thing he did was make Treville Regent.  Of course, it didn't last long because somehow Louis' petulance posthumously transferred to Anne, and thus the domino effect ending in Treville's death. 

On a shallow note, there's a scene between Grimaud and Marcheaux that made me realize how short Matthew McNulty is.  Or perhaps how tall Matt Stokoe is? Granted, the latter is in heels, but it was amusing to watch Marcheaux being scolded by Grimaud.   

Edited April 22, 2017 by ribboninthesky1

[Llywela]

I don't actually think anyone comes off well in this episode. Because yeah, Anne should have trusted Treville, but then again she was very understandably in total turmoil - her husband died, and her son was whisked away into hiding, and no one would tell her where he was, which...why exactly? Why not tell her? What did they think she was going to do? Telling he wouldn't have endangered the boy in any way, she wasn't about to turn around and tell the enemy. So why not tell her who he was with, to put her mind at rest? More to the point, why not make the plan with her beforehand, so that she'd know what to expect and be prepared for it? I can honestly see no reason for all the secrecy, which ultimately does more harm than good - because yes, both Anne and Aramis react like parents. They react like parents whose child has been kidnapped - which, from their point of view, they are. No matter how much they trust the people involved, they'd still had their child stolen away in secret and didn't know where he was, and that then drove their reactions throughout. If they'd both been in on the plan from the start, if Treville, Anne and all four Musketeers had all been working together in this episode, instead of hiding things from each other and working at cross-purposes, everything would have run much more smoothly. And Treville wouldn't have died, at least not in the way he did. They are stronger when they work together. Dividing them in that way was a mistake, and served no purpose beyond generating Plot and Drama.

[ribboninthesky1]

I don't have a problem with Treville's actions, mostly because I think Treville was justifiably reacting to Anne and Aramis' recent actions (and in my mind, those are what set up this episode beyond adult Louis' death). I also don't think Treville planned it in advance - the way Louis died was unexpected, and thus he leapt into action.

For me, once Anne knew Constance had her son, that should have been sufficient for the moment - Constance was a trusted friend, so it's not like little Louis was with some stranger. She got her answer - she knew who he was with.  The demand to see him made little sense - at that point, it wasn't about his safety. The timeline isn't clear, but I can't imagine it was more than a couple of days. It's not like she had the ability to secure his safety anymore than Treville did.  So yeah, I'll always believe Anne's actions directly led to Treville's death.  

I didn't have a problem with Aramis, since he was in the dark for the most part.  Yes, he's a parent in the most base, biological sense, but he hadn't been in Paris for years and only recently returned. He's had nothing to do with little Louis' upbringing. So I don't think Treville or Athos owed him anything special in this context, particularly since he didn't see fit to let them in on his orders from Anne regarding Spain.        

As for Anne being in turmoil, eh. She and Louis hadn't been friends for years.  Not to say she didn't feel grief, but they both admitted to never loving each other, at least romantically. But even if I believe she was in turmoil, that just emphasizes that she wasn't in the frame of mind to make any big picture decisions about little Louis. She had few, if any, palace allies beyond Treville, and her actions regarding Spain inadvertently put her in an even more vulnerable position. So to secure her son should have been paramount, and I believe that Treville didn't tell her for good reason.  She'd already demonstrated that she couldn't be trusted with sensitive matters.  So yeah, for me, Anne was the only person who came off badly in this episode. 

I will concede the plot device nature of the events, but that's most of the season (in any other scenario, Grimaud would have been dead after Sylvie shot him at point blank range back in episode 6). And characters have been keeping secrets/withholding information in one way or another since season 1 - this episode wasn't exceptional in that regard.  

[Llywela]

I don't know how many people here know this, but Howard Charles, who played Porthos, was injured in a really bad car accident in January 2016, which is the reason that he - unlike most of his castmates - hasn't worked since filming wrapped on the show. He's spent the last 17 months recovering from his injuries. He has also, during that time, written a short film to raise awareness about mental illness, and is now trying to raise funds to produce this film. If anyone here is interested in learning more, he's got the link in his bio on Instagram.

[DCWash]

On 6/11/2017 at 2:23 AM, Llywela said:

I don't know how many people here know this, but Howard Charles, who played Porthos, was injured in a really bad car accident in January 2016, which is the reason that he - unlike most of his castmates - hasn't worked since filming wrapped on the show. He's spent the last 17 months recovering from his injuries. He has also, during that time, written a short film to raise awareness about mental illness, and is now trying to raise funds to produce this film. If anyone here is interested in learning more, he's got the link in his bio on Instagram.

I'm sorry to hear that. I really liked his work in Musketeers. I knew he came from the stage, as opposed to TV or film, and assumed that, since I hadn't heard anything from him, he had simply returned to the stage. Here's hoping he makes a full recovery and lands on his feet.

[DCWash]

I came here to let people know (though there's a good chance they already do) that Tom Burke (Athos in The Musketeers and a lot of other good parts in good productions previously) is going to be playing the detective Cormoran Strike in a BBC adaptation of J.K. Rowling's (aka Robert Galbraith) mystery novels. I'm not clear if the adaptation is of one book, or of all of them--all the more confusing because the press talks about four books, but I thought there were only three so far. At this point, it's scheduled to air on BBC1 in August. For a pictures, go here and scroll down: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jun/12/the-top-tv-shows-of-summer-2017-jk-rowling-glow-poldark

Now, I love Tom Burke. I've seen him in a number of quite different things and he was very good in every one. But I also love these books, and Cormoran Strike...and Tom Burke is not Cormoran Strike! For one thing, he's far too young--Strike is (or sounds to be) about 50, Burke is 36. Strike is described as kind of big, lumbering, bear-like man; Burke isn't. There's supposed to be a significant age difference between Strike and his secretary/partner (maybe in more ways than one) Robin, and the age difference between Holiday Grainger, who plays Robin, and Tom Burke really isn't enough to be obvious, at least when you consider the age differences that so often occurs between actors that's supposed to not be noticeable with regard to their characters. Etc. 

I really don't know what I'm going to do about this. I usually can let differences between books and movies/TV shows slide, but I have a feeling I'll be yelling at the screen the whole time with this one. 

[Athena]

@DCWash We have a Cormoran Strike forum and I can reply to your post about the casting too.

[writersblock51]

On 6/11/2017 at 2:23 AM, Llywela said:

I don't know how many people here know this, but Howard Charles, who played Porthos, was injured in a really bad car accident in January 2016, which is the reason that he - unlike most of his castmates - hasn't worked since filming wrapped on the show. He's spent the last 17 months recovering from his injuries. He has also, during that time, written a short film to raise awareness about mental illness, and is now trying to raise funds to produce this film. If anyone here is interested in learning more, he's got the link in his bio on Instagram.

I hadn't heard of this - thanks for sharing it here.  I thoroughly enjoyed his work on the show and hadn't heard him showing up on any other projects, so I also assumed he had stuck to stage productions.   

 

[Llywela]

5 minutes ago, writersblock51 said:

I hadn't heard of this - thanks for sharing it here.  I thoroughly enjoyed his work on the show and hadn't heard him showing up on any other projects, so I also assumed he had stuck to stage productions.  

Apparently he was in the running to play Shadow Moon in American Gods, but his accident put paid to that and Ricky Whittle was cast instead. He's just finished work on this indie production now, so I'm really hoping he manages to put his career back together going forward - he was so lovely as Porthos, I'd love to see him do well in new roles.

[writersblock51]

25 minutes ago, Llywela said:

Apparently he was in the running to play Shadow Moon in American Gods, but his accident put paid to that and Ricky Whittle was cast instead. He's just finished work on this indie production now, so I'm really hoping he manages to put his career back together going forward - he was so lovely as Porthos, I'd love to see him do well in new roles.

I would have LOVED him as Shadow in American Gods (I liked Ricky Whittle very well too, so a win-win for casting in that role, IMO).   I'm going to check out his IG bio and try to keep up with what he may be working on next.  Thanks.

[catrice2]

I hope he fully recovers. 

[ganesh]

There is the '20 Years Later' books, so it's a possibility.

I waited too long to watch S3. It started slow for me, but the last three episodes were really good. I was a mess when Athos busted out "the garrison is where we are" monologue, and then double when he told Aramis, "Was Treville merely our Captain?"

I thought the big bad for the season was more cartoonish than anything though. It was a good show. 

[Athena]

Watching Santiago Cabrera on Star Trek: Picard is a delight and only reminds me how much I enjoyed this show. I tend to think of Tom Burke as Athos: "You slept with the Queen!?" Ahh. Good times. 

[TaurusRose]

On 4/4/2014 at 1:51 PM, Athena said:

I'm enjoying the Queen Anne character, but they haven't focused on her Spanish lineage which was politicaly tenuous when France entered the Thirty Years War. Even in the novels, Anne was politically savy. I think they played that in the season finale as well. Though, I do admit to liking the Aramis/Anne subplot a lot. I don't care about Constance and D'Artagnan.

All of these men are very handsome, but Tom Burke as Athos is my favorite.  I can't stand  Anne, either.  She makes my friggin' teeth hurt.  There was no way people weren't going to find out about her affair with Aramis when they're forever staring at each other in crowded rooms all moony-eyed, and whispering in corners.  And then there's the stupidity of wearing the cross she gave him on top of his clothes instead of beneath them.  Let's flaunt he's the queen's favorite on top of the fact he's a womanizer. Roll. My. Eyes.

On 4/5/2014 at 4:12 AM, DCWash said:

Ah, but one thing to bear in mind in these days before DNA testing is the possibility that Louis really IS the father. Because this non-doltish Louis knows how to count backwards from nine and surely Anne has enough sense to let her husband near her for insurance sake, if nothing else. Given that Anne did get pregnant earlier, it's quite possible his little swimmers may have outraced Aramis'. Not saying it's likely or that it actually happened, just that ambiguity, not certainty, should be the order of the day with these things.

I'm inclined to give the whole baby thing the benefit of doubt.  Plus, I can't stand Aramis.  Yes, he's eye candy, but I really hate how he's always sniffing around a woman who is betrothed to a king (Merlin) or married to a king (here).  It makes him a lot less pretty in my eyes and it shows a serious lack of honor.  Sorry, "I love her," isn't an acceptable excuse.  Maybe if Santiago Cabrera took a part that didn't require him to be a cad, I'd be more susceptible to his handsomeness.

On 6/23/2014 at 9:16 AM, Athena said:

My favourite Musketeer version is actually "The Man in the Iron Mask". The 1993 one isn't too bad either.

Actually, mine, too.

[Llywela]

5 hours ago, taurusrose said:

I'm inclined to give the whole baby thing the benefit of doubt.  Plus, I can't stand Aramis.  Yes, he's eye candy, but I really hate how he's always sniffing around a woman who is betrothed to a king (Merlin) or married to a king (here).  It makes him a lot less pretty in my eyes and it shows a serious lack of honor.  Sorry, "I love her," isn't an acceptable excuse.  

In fairness to Lancelot, he fell in love with Gwen long before she became romantically involved with Arthur, when he was a wannabe knight and she was merely a lady's maid, so they were very evenly matched. Then he had to leave town, and when he came back she was betrothed to Arthur, and although it was clear that he still loved her, he never came between them, for the rest of his life. Lancelot is not responsible for what Morgana later used him for, having raised him from the dead as a shade with no self will.

Aramis is culpable for his affair with Anne, however. But so is she, and she is the one who makes the first move, every time. (I still love Aramis in spite of his faults)

[TaurusRose]

49 minutes ago, Llywela said:

In fairness to Lancelot, he fell in love with Gwen long before she became romantically involved with Arthur, when he was a wannabe knight and she was merely a lady's maid, so they were very evenly matched. Then he had to leave town, and when he came back she was betrothed to Arthur, and although it was clear that he still loved her, he never came between them, for the rest of his life. Lancelot is not responsible for what Morgana later used him for, having raised him from the dead as a shade with no self will.

Aramis is culpable for his affair with Anne, however. But so is she, and she is the one who makes the first move, every time. (I still love Aramis in spite of his faults)

I'm aware of the situation in Merlin; still doesn't change my opinion and I stand by it.  I would rather see SC in another type of role.   Talk about typecasting.  Ditto for the "relationship" with Ann.  It wasn't something I cared for.  In addition to my reaction to Aramis, I just really didn't like the character of Ann.  

Edited November 29, 2020 by taurusrose

[Llywela]

20 minutes ago, taurusrose said:

I'm aware of the situation in Merlin; still doesn't change my opinion and I stand by it.  I would rather see SC in another type of role.   Talk about typecasting.  Ditto for the "relationship" with Ann.  It wasn't something I cared for.  In addition to my reaction to Aramis, I just really didn't like the character of Ann.  

Right, so you are misrepresenting what happened in Merlin to reinforce your point? Because 'sniffing around a woman who is betrothed to a king' is very much not what happened there; Lancelot did no such thing, at any point. The Anne-Aramis disaster is also more complex than you imply here, but very much was treason, so more of a valid point.

If you explore Cabrera's filmography, you'll soon see that he has played many other types of character in his career, which shouldn't be defined by these two (very different characters) alone.

[TaurusRose]

11 hours ago, Llywela said:

Right, so you are misrepresenting what happened in Merlin to reinforce your point? Because 'sniffing around a woman who is betrothed to a king' is very much not what happened there; Lancelot did no such thing, at any point. The Anne-Aramis disaster is also more complex than you imply here, but very much was treason, so more of a valid point.

If you explore Cabrera's filmography, you'll soon see that he has played many other types of character in his career, which shouldn't be defined by these two (very different characters) alone.

My bottom line is I’ve seen Cabrera in 2  roles (almost back to back) where he’s the lover in the wrong place. I would like to see him in another type of role. If he happens to appear in something I’m drawn to, and his character is a completely different type, I’ll be glad to see it. But he is not on my list of “must see actors no matter what,” and I’m certainly not going to explore his filmography because it’s not that serious. I have too many titles to catch up on in the genres I do like with actors I do favor.

Edited November 29, 2020 by taurusrose

[Llywela]

45 minutes ago, taurusrose said:

My bottom line is I’ve seen Cabrera in 2  roles (almost back to back) where he’s the lover in the wrong place. I would like to see him in another type of role. If he happens to appear in something I’m drawn to, and his character is a completely different type, I’ll be glad to see it. But he is not on my list of “must see actors no matter what,” and I’m certainly not going to explore his filmography because it’s not that serious. I have too many titles to catch up on in the genres I do like with actors I do favor.

Okay, fine. I mean, if a treasonous love affair between a handsome, romantically-inclined soldier and a lonely queen trapped in a loveless marriage arranged for her at the age of 14 doesn't float your boat, fair enough. It just seems a bit excessive to claim that the actor is typecast as characters who fall in love with queens when that has literally only happened to one character he's played in a 20 year career (and no, Lancelot and Gwen's relationship in Merlin cannot be described in those terms, however you twist it, the show went out of its way to avoid an actual love triangle or adultery; Lancelot had to be dead and under the control of an evil sorceress to make a move on Gwen after she became involved with Arthur).

And you were the one who said you'd rather see Cabrera in a different type of role. 😉 I simply pointed out that it is perfectly possible to do so, because every other role he has played in his career has been very different than Aramis.

Edited November 29, 2020 by Llywela

[TaurusRose]

1 hour ago, Llywela said:

Okay, fine. I mean, if a treasonous love affair between a handsome, romantically-inclined soldier and a lonely queen trapped in a loveless marriage arranged for her at the age of 14 doesn't float your boat, fair enough. It just seems a bit excessive to claim that the actor is typecast as characters who fall in love with queens when that has literally only happened to one character he's played in a 20 year career (and no, Lancelot and Gwen's relationship in Merlin cannot be described in those terms, however you twist it, the show went out of its way to avoid an actual love triangle or adultery; Lancelot had to be dead and under the control of an evil sorceress to make a move on Gwen after she became involved with Arthur).

And you were the one who said you'd rather see Cabrera in a different type of role. 😉 I simply pointed out that it is perfectly possible to do so, because every other role he has played in his career has been very different than Aramis.

One more time...I’m not a SC fan. I’m not going out of my way to see him in anything. I will give you this though, it is quite possible that my lukewarm temperature when it comes to him colors my reaction to his characters.  Plus, I wasn’t watching The Musketeers for sappy romance in the first place.

[TaurusRose]

On 7/29/2014 at 8:00 PM, millennium said:

I'm not invested in any particular character, which makes the show easy to watch.    Unless you count the scenery as a character.   Such beautiful backdrops and interiors. 

And horses.  Beautiful, beautiful horses!

[Featherhat]

I've just found this on iPlayer and fallen down a rabbit hole. I mostly ignored it when it was first on because I read a couple of bad reviews and the actor I was most interested in (Peter Capaldi) was announced as the new Doctor after S1. 

I have actually been really enjoying it and have just started S2 today. It's a lot of fun and I generally like all four of the main characters and I'm very fond of this version of Treville so far even though he doesn't have much to do apart from be the stern yet mostly supportive commander. Marc Warren subbing in for PC, hmm but I generally do like him as an actor. 

I can to post because I needed to express my eye roll at Aramis (even though I do generally like him). "Oh, no how did the Cardinal find out about my affair with his mistress? Do you think he knows about my son?!!!" 

Firstly, none of you are very discreet AT ALL about your personal lives and there are probably a dozen people who could have told the Cardinal about you visiting Anette even if you hadn't left your pistol and secondly you've been publicly mooning over the Queen and the baby and before his death you basically dared the Cardinal to accuse you of anything at the end of S1. And D'Artagnan and married Constance are pretty openly doing their thing, the densest person could prepare an accurate report on you for whichever person wanted it. And Athos/Milady/D'Artagnan was all over Paris as well. 

[CAM]

3 of our favorite former Musketeers are in the new Netflix series "Shadow and Bone".

[Llywela]

4 hours ago, CAM said:

3 of our favorite former Musketeers are in the new Netflix series "Shadow and Bone".

And they don't interact with each other even once!

[norcalgal]

I would have totally watched this:

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a803187/the-musketeers-original-plan-for-maimie-mccoys-milady/

Alas, now too many years have passed….

 The Milady Missions seems like it would have been a kick-ass spinoff.  Although…what other characters would need to be added to play off of such a dynamic character as Milady?  

[Souris]

Doing a rewatch of "The Musketeers" (in need of comfort TV) and recently finished the episode that contains probably my favorite quote from the series: "Your visions are from soup!!!" 🤣🤣

Followed soon after in my binge by my favorite scene: when the rest of the Musketeers find out Aramis slept with the Queen AND fathered the Dauphin. Everyone's reactions -- from d'Artagnan's sighed "Aramis" to Porthos slamming him against the wall and then hugging him to Treville slapping the hat off the seat in disgust before sitting down -- was perfect. As well as Athos continually gritting out "There's more."

[Souris]

As I said above, I just did a rewatch. I loved the show when it first aired, but for some reason it basically TOOK OVER MY BRAIN this time to the point I’ve been writing Annamis fanfic, for God’s sake, and I haven’t even thought about writing fanfic since S3 of Once Upon a Time. The dynamic between the four guys was just SO good. The show ticked so many of my boxes. Hot men sword-fighting. Strong women. Angst AND humor. Costume porn. Location porn. Romance. Strong friendships.

So I am Filled With Thoughts and Emotions, and one of the major drawbacks of falling down an obsessive rabbit hole for a 10-year-old show is that nobody else is currently Filled With Thoughts and Emotions they want to share. So I’m just going to spew out some stuff and maybe somebody out there still has some residual Thoughts and Emotions to engage with LOL

I very much appreciated Santiago Cabrera the first go-round (I mean, I watched all of “Salvation” purely for him), but holy hell, for my money his Aramis is the hottest combination of actor and character ever. Pure molten fire alchemy. Perfect casting was perfect.

I remember being quite disappointed in S3 when I was watching it live, and it’s still definitely by far the weakest season. Too lacking in cheek and humor, too little “all for one and one for all” group dynamics and Musketeer mischief, too much time spent on the villains plotting, too many necessary scenes missed. Aramis was angsty and depressed the whole season, and people kept being mean to him. And how many freaking times did they blow up D’Artagnan??

That said, I actually enjoyed S3 more this time. I think it helped being part of a binge rather than waiting a week for each ep and being underwhelmed. For instance, I was able to appreciate how they developed Aramis and Anne’s relationship into a proto-First Minister/Regent partnership, probably because this time I knew how it ended up. They ultimately still couldn’t stay away from each other, even though everyone (including themselves) kept trying to keep them from even breathing near each other.

And I had a good laugh at Athos ultimately giving up and shipping them, providing them an avenue to the happiest ending they could manage under the circumstances, after “I cannot BELIEVE you slept with the QUEEN!” and all the years of hilarious death glares. Truly one of the best side effects of Annamis was how grumpily DONE Athos was with it every time he had to think about it. But impending fatherhood with Sylvie gave him a new understanding.

I liked that they bothered to show that Aramis was a bit rusty at first after four years at the monastery. They didn’t make a big deal out of it and nobody commented on it, but there were multiple scenes where he was sparring with the guys to practice. Just a small, thoughtful touch.

I may go to hell for this, but could they not have found a Dauphin who actually looked like the product of certified hotties Anne and Aramis?  

I was thrown originally by the lack of Milady in S3 and took time to warm to Sylvie. Even though I was never a Milathos shipper, I appreciated Milady’s character and the drama of it all. This time I liked Sylvie more, though they sure handwaved away her revolutionary, monarchy-hating ways to set up the happy ending with Athos.

It was a bittersweet ending, with all the brothers finding love but going their separate ways. At least Aramis, Anne, Constance and D’Artagnan are in the same city and can still see each other sometimes. Poor Porthos got the short end of the stick having to go back to war. (BTW, I quite liked Elodie and wish they had been able to flesh that relationship out more.)

I still want to disembowel Rochefort with a rusty spoon. I wonder how S2 would have played out with Richelieu instead. (Forever bitter at Dr. Who.) Obviously they would have ended up in the same place with the treason accusations, but I’m curious how they would have escaped the consequences without the “OMG the accuser is a Spanish spy!” angle.

Dr. Lemay! ::sobs::

How weird was it they kept making Anne’s hair blonder each season?

Frankly, I think everyone in-show who was irate about Aramis and the Queen sleeping together should have been sending them fruit baskets and mini muffins instead. I mean, if they hadn’t, freaking Gaston would have ended up as king, and then where would France and the Musketeers be, hmm? Hating life, that’s where.

[norcalgal]

45 minutes ago, Souris said:

So I am Filled With Thoughts and Emotions, and one of the major drawbacks of falling down an obsessive rabbit hole for a 10-year-old show is that nobody else is currently Filled With Thoughts and Emotions they want to share. So I’m just going to spew out some stuff and maybe somebody out there still has some residual Thoughts and Emotions to engage with LOL

I very much appreciated Santiago Cabrera the first go-round (I mean, I watched all of “Salvation” purely for him), but holy hell, for my money his Aramis is the hottest combination of actor and character ever. Pure molten fire alchemy. Perfect casting was perfect.

I found this series late so I too have a couple of thoughts about the show.

Ditto about Santiago as Aramis. I felt he was the best of all the actors inhabiting his role. The D'Artagnan actor was a miss for me. He improved as an actor, but I still never bought him as  D'Artagnan.

'ships:  I never really cared for any of them. The most mis matched to me was D'Artagnan and Constance. They seemed more like siblings than lovers, and she seemed too old for him.  Athos and Milady were my favorite ship but I felt way, way too much baggage allowed them to truly be a couple. Aramis and Anne?  Meh (sorry, since you seem to ship them)

Porthos was the least developed throughout the series so I felt he needed more story and was hard done by he didn't get more to do.

 

 

[Souris]

16 hours ago, norcalgal said:

I found this series late so I too have a couple of thoughts about the show.

Ditto about Santiago as Aramis. I felt he was the best of all the actors inhabiting his role. The D'Artagnan actor was a miss for me. He improved as an actor, but I still never bought him as  D'Artagnan.

'ships:  I never really cared for any of them. The most mis matched to me was D'Artagnan and Constance. They seemed more like siblings than lovers, and she seemed too old for him.  Athos and Milady were my favorite ship but I felt way, way too much baggage allowed them to truly be a couple. Aramis and Anne?  Meh (sorry, since you seem to ship them)

Porthos was the least developed throughout the series so I felt he needed more story and was hard done by he didn't get more to do.

I liked all the guys, but I agree that d'Artagnan was my least favorite. For me, it was mostly how he treated Constance at times. He didn't get why she wouldn't just leave her husband and become his mistress. And then after Bonacieux was murdered and she said, "Even though I didn't love him, he was my husband and I have feelings to deal with about his sudden death, please give me a minute," he got all pissy and said he just might not wait around for her. Dude, you're being a dick!

And he was a total hypocrite by telling Aramis he could have protected the Queen's reputation by not sleeping with her. Meanwhile, he had zero thoughts about protecting Constance's reputation when he wanted to set her up as his mistress. 

I honestly feel like d'Artagnan was the least developed. He had no real backstory beyond being a hot-headed farm boy who decided he wanted to be a Musketeer. Porthos had an interesting backstory and a truly shitty father/family. He was my second favorite and I agree he wasn't given enough to do. I enjoyed him as a one-man squad going after Vargas.