The Serpent Queen, the STARZ original series, is back for season 2. This historical fiction show covers the life of the real-life Queen Catherine de Medici of France, who rose to power in the palace of France after being married to King Henry II. She gave birth to ten children and, many years later, became a widow. She was a victim of infidelity because her husband had a long-standing affair with Diane de Poitiers. It was after the death of her husband that Catherine was able to take full control of the palace and make some necessary changes as regent, which her husband couldn’t do as king of the country.
Spoilers Ahead
What was Catherine’s plan of action?
Queen Catherine became the regent of the Kingdom of France after her son King Charles IX took over as monarch right after his father’s death. As his guardian as well, she made many important decisions regarding her son and the kingdom, which also included sending away Mary of Scott, who was now a prisoner in Queen Elizabeth’s England. However, 10 years had passed, and there was genuine dissent in the palace, especially amongst the conservative Guise brothers, who were trying to sideline Queen Catherine and let Charles take control. Queen Catherine, under the guise of making Charles a popular face, took her family from village to village, speaking to people. The main purpose was to create a narrative about Catherine, who wanted to be regent for a longer time.
What were Franciose and Charles Guise worried about?
Francoise and his brother Charles were more worried about Catherine’s plans to make the Kingdom a secular one since they did not believe in keeping religious harmony, especially between the Catholics and the Protestants. There was animosity brewing between the two Christian factions. Antoinette Guise, the mother of the Guise brothers, reached the palace and proposed a plan to start a war between the Catholics and the Protestants. She was under the belief that the imminent war would force Catherine to lean on the Catholic faith. Both brothers, who served the Catholic faith diligently, were horrified by this plan. Francoise Guise chose to walk out because he was not interested in starting a war that would ravage them and the local populace.
Was Lady Rahima gathering information about Catherine’s children?
Lady Rahima, ten years later, was still working under Queen Catherine, and right now she oversaw many things for the Queen and the workforce in the palace. Lady Rahima, just like Queen Catherine, was a strong person, and she slowly grew wise to what was happening in the court and learned of the Catholic plot. Lady Rahima sent women to hang around Charles, his brothers, and their friends to find out if anyone was spying against the King.
Why were Charles and his brothers fighting?
Charles was the insecure young king, who had so far not made any decisions without the help of his mother. He was being mocked by his brother Anjou, which led to a silly fight between the boys. Queen Catherine had to be stern with them about their responsibilities towards each other instead of having a public spat with each other. Anjou, however, spoke to Catherine, his mother, in private and revealed he wanted a place in the Privy Council, which Catherine denied him as the young boy had never had any experience. His only job right now was to support Charles in court instead of publicly dissing him.
Was Edith not happy with the Queen?
Edith was a local Protestant preacher who ran a church not far from the palace. She believed in serving the poor. She served them food at her place of faith, which was frequented by Montmorency, who was attracted to Edith. Edith, however, was not happy about Catherine putting on a show as someone who was the savior of the poor by traveling across the kingdom. According to Edith, people needed clothes, food, and shelter, and did not sympathize with the Queen, who lived in a large castle behind the giant walls.
What is the plan of action for the Bourbon brothers?
The Bourbon brothers were the Protestants who wanted to make sure Queen Catherine adapted a secularist attitude for the Protestants to thrive and prosper. They were glad their father, who was a noble who had become a Protestant, would help them be in touch with the real people and not the rich aristocrats. They were businessmen as well, and in pursuit of the expansion of their portfolio for the palace, they wanted a certain Lord Throckmorton to consider them as business partners. However, the Queen of Navarre, who was presented with the request, was a Protestant and she requested King Charles IX attend the mass of their community as a sign of support. Antoine Bourbon did propose this idea to Charles the IX, and the King was quick to decide upon it. King Charles IX probably wanted to make one decision on his own, as his mother was on her way out as the regent. This decision came at a time when his sibling also asked him to remember how their father ruled and made decisions without overthinking things.
Was Francoise Guise gay?
Antoinette Guise went out of her way to locate Thomas, who had received many intimate love letters from her son, Francoise. She purchased those letters in exchange for the money Thomas wanted for a family emergency. She confronted Francoise about his secret life as a gay man in court. As a mother, she forced him to work for her and start fomenting tensions between Catholics and the Protestants. Antoinette Guise was a selfish woman, as she did not think twice before blackmailing her son with a life-threatening secret. Since Francoise was a Catholic as well, this information of him being in love with a man would only further cause animosity towards him from his and the opposite faction. With her son back on her side, Antoinette Guise’s agenda was set in motion.
Who set the protestant church on fire?
As Charles agreed to attend the mass carried out by Sister Edith at her Protestant church, not many in the palace were aware of this move, including his mother, Queen Catherine. As the mass began, it was assumed that Charles and his band of men would be inside the church, coming forward as a show of support to the poor populace that believed in Protestantism. As Edith began her sermon, she was shocked to find Francoise and a group of Catholic supporters just outside the church. Francoise and the group he had brought along showed their power as Catholics. The plot hole lies in the fact that Antoinette Guise was not afraid of being caught for attacking those of another faith without any provocation. Her plan to become powerful might not last long if Charles was killed in the arson.
Edith, seeing all the Catholics on the doorstep of her church, closed the door from the inside. This move didn’t make any sense either, as she should have asked people to flee different directions as soon as possible to inform someone from the palace about it. All of them were stuck in the church when it was set on fire. Episode one of the second season ended with Queen Catherine being informed of the arson, and she planned to head towards the site of the crime. It was not made clear if the king was a part of the congregation, and the Catholics were also not aware of the presence of Charles as well. If Charles was charred to death, there would be serious repercussions, especially for Antoinette Guise, and her sons would be in trouble.
