‘The Serpent Queen’ S2 Episode 4 Recap & Ending Explained: Did Aabis Poison Sister Edith?

Episode three of The Serpent Queen ended with Lord Francoise De Guise being arrested on the orders of King Charles. The trade deal with England was almost finalized on the King’s orders. Both major decisions were made in the absence of Queen Catherine, who had specifically asked Charles not to do that. Prince Anjou, in a fit of anger and rage, killed a Protestant follower. This was followed by one of the other followers knocking Prince Hercule out with a stone, rendering him hurt and unconscious.

Spoilers Ahead

Was Hercule dead or alive?

Queen Catherine returned from her extended trip to Italy in the wake of her son’s gruesome injury. Everyone was aware of what transpired that led to Prince Hercule’s injury. Anjou was feeling guilty as well, for his action led to the Protestants choosing to be violent against the prince. Prince Hercule was awake and conscious, but his injury was internal, and he soon succumbed to it. His death sent the entire palace into a mood of dismay, sadness, and doom, especially Anjou. This will set many things in motion, especially against the Protestant faith in the forest under the leadership of Sister Edith. 

What was Queen Catherine’s plan of action?

Queen Catherine was livid at the fact that major decisions were taken while she was away. There was also bickering between the Bourbons and the Guises in the council, as the latter claimed the Catholics were angry at the arrest of Francoise Guise and the death of Prince Hercule. The Bourbons and Montmorency were fighting to protect those of the Protestant faith and making sure no harsh decision was taken against Sister Edith, whose followers were technically responsible for Prince Hercule’s death as well. There were no major decisions taken, but the Queen suggested releasing Francoise Guise as his actions did not kill anyone, but King Charles refused to retract from his orders. He claimed the release would make him seem weak, especially after Anjou’s antics that caused humiliation to the crown. The Montmorency request was still there, but he also threatened dire consequences if Sister Edith was arrested. Charles and his mother, Queen Catherine, had their first fallout in the council regarding the burgeoning issues of two sects of one faith clashing. 

Did Cardinal Charles make plans with Prince Anjou?

Cardinal Charles was not happy with the turn of events in the council after the two major incidents that rocked the palace. Charles also hoped to further instigate Anjou to take up arms and head towards the forest to kill Sister Edith. Charles was aware Anjou was easy to manipulate because of his angsty nature. Charles was also aware the Holy Roman Emperor was on his way to France to pay his last respects to Prince Hercule as a funeral was being organized for the young boy. Anjou was convinced by Charles to raise up arms against the Protestants as an act of revenge. 

Adding fuel to the fire, Charles promised to get the approval of the Holy Roman Emperor, who surpasses his brother King Charles’ power currently. Cardinal Charles had hoped to manipulate the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor into starting the war by placing Anjou as the leader and using his rage as an excuse. Queen Catherine was not happy with the Holy Roman Emperor arriving, as this would further cause a divide between the Catholics and the Protestants.

Did Queen Elizabeth offer a better deal to Louis Bourbon?

Queen Elizabeth of England was having a time having to watch her neighboring Catholic country on fire as the war between the two sects of Christianity were to go at war. With Louis de Bourbon reaching the court of Elizabeth, she put forward the plan of luring Sister Edith in and using her to put his brother Antoine on the throne. The whole plan was to bring the Bourbon brothers to her side, as she wanted a better trade deal. If the religious clashes kept happening, it would benefit Queen Elizabeth the most. The Queen of England also used her body to seduce Louis Bourbon into signing the trade deal as they eventually slept with each other. 

Who did Queen Catherine meet at her summer palace?

The Château de Chenonceau was the only place that the Queen wanted to retire to in the wake of her tragedy. She was also visited by her newfound kin, the Duke of Florence, Alessandro de Medici. The two siblings had begun to enjoy each other’s company. Alessandro more than the Queen, as she was only getting to know him. He was trying to get into her good books and making sure she became his ally for when the time was right. However, Lady Rahima was not very trusting of Duke Alessandro, as she believed he had a game plan brewing for his benefit. 

Did the Holy Roman Emperor fall for Cardinal Charles’ plans?

The Holy Roman Emperor arrived for the funeral of Prince Hercule only to let Queen Catherine know of the plot of Cardinal Charles to use Prince Anjou to kill Sister Edith in the forest with the help of the King’s army. The man revealed this with a clear conscience, as he claimed to have given up on mean political games ever since his son, the heir apparent, turned out to be a psychotic maniac who enjoyed causing pain to others. The reason he had to be honest with Queen Catherine was because he saw the efforts she was putting in to keep peace in her country, with leadership quality that gleamed like a diamond. 

Why was Aabis in the palace?

Aabis had joined the Protestant force led by Sister Edith, but soon she learned the woman was becoming inflammatory with her speeches and encouraging people to take up arms in the name of their faith and God. Aabis’ assistant was sick, and Edith offered no help so that he could recover faster. This made her head to the palace of the French King in the hope of obtaining some medication. On her way back, she ran into Angelica and informed her about her tough times in the camp with Sister Edith.

What plans did Angelica have?

Angelica was an ex-helper of Queen Catherine. On learning about Sister Edith’s inflammatory speeches from Aabis, she approached Catherine in the hope of gaining her confidence. Angelica shared the distress Aabis was in because of her assistant’s spiraling health, speaking of how she would do anything to break him out of Sister Edith’s spell. Angelica also claimed she wanted to work with Catherine, as she’d shared this information with that intention, but since she had broken Aabis’ trust, the queen was not keen on keeping her around. 

Was Margot in love with Francoise de Guise?

Princess Margot, the youngest daughter of Queen Catherine, had begun to enjoy the company of Duke Francoise De Guise for a while until he was arrested in her presence on the orders of the King, her brother. She initially confessed to her mother about the feelings she harbored for Duke Francoise De Guise, but she treated it as a young girl’s digression, which she would learn from eventually. Queen Catherine was in no position to help her release Francoise, as she revealed King Charles had no intention of doing so. Queen Catherine, however, used her position to convince King Charles to arrest their brother Anjou in return for releasing Duke Francoise de Guise. She wanted Margot to present the matter in such a way that it should not seem her request came from her mother but from herself. 

Was Prince Anjou arrested?

Princess Margot, as instructed, reached her brother’s chambers to discuss the release of Francoise De Guise as she confessed to be in love with him. She also encouraged him to put Anjou under house arrest in return as he was involved in a crime that killed a Protestant follower. In regards to Guise, everyone was now aware no one had died because of the stunt Guise pulled on Sister Edith and her congregation when he set the church on fire. Since there had been no deaths, there was no case against Francoise de Guise. Francoise was eventually released on the King’s orders. However, the Holy Roman Emperor had mentioned Cardinal Charles asking for permission to march towards the forest to kill Sister Edith, to which Queen Catherine asked him to agree to the plans. She planned to put her plan into motion, which was to place Anjou under house arrest to stop him from inciting a war.

At nightfall, as Anjou was headed to lead the march in full gear, Montmorency, along with the other soldiers, arrested him as per the orders of the King. This was a big step for King Charles, as he was making a statement by arresting his brother for an actual crime, and this would surely have a ripple effect on the politics of the palace. The King had hoped matters would not come to this, but things were getting out of hand, and he had to find a way. Unbeknownst to him, he’d inadvertently made the decision based on the instructions of the Queen. Catherine made sure her name had never cropped up when Margot shared her concerns. The King fully trusted Margot, as she had no political inclinations as such. 

Was Aabis successful in poisoning Sister Edith?

Aabis’s description of Sister Edith’s camp reached the ears of Queen Catherine and the Holy Roman Emperor. The Queen’s only solution was to make Sister Edith’s death look accidental, which would break the illusion of her being powerful and immortal. Queen Catherine was looking for a way out of this warlike situation such that nobody on the council would gloat of victory or loss. She wanted to teach the Bourbons and Guises who were underestimating her because of her gender. Catherine had found fruitful allies so far in the Holy Roman Emperor and her half brother Alessandro, who were willing to help her get out of this tricky situation. There was also a possibility of them trying to gain some advantage out of her friendship, which would be revealed in the show later. However, neutralizing Sister Edith with the help of one of the members of the Protestant faith would be helpful for the entire country, especially the Catholic community. Aabis was convinced about how Sister Edith operated. Sister Edith wanted to make sure Aabis’s assistant stayed in the camp because if he recovered, she would be credited for it, and if he passed away, she would conveniently blame lack of faith. 

To end this cycle of torture, Aabis was given the task of poisoning Edith to prove she was no miracle maker. Aabis had to do this because she wanted to liberate her assistant from the spell of Edith, who was becoming vicious by the day. Aabis was a Protestant, but she could see what Edith had turned out to be. Angelica, however, went to Louis de Bourbon, and shared a plan to deal with the Sister Edith situation. This was presented so that the Bourbons trusted her. Since she was sidelined by the Queen herself, Angelica wanted to be in power by being useful to the Bourbon family. 

The Serpent Queen episode 4 ended with Aabis poisoning Edith’s drink, and the latter caught her doing so. Edith, who was quite literally high on power and the validation she was receiving from her followers, chose to act arrogantly. Edith suddenly had become a major player and, at the same time, an obstacle as well. She offered to drink the poison with Aabis as she wanted to show her power as a woman of God. As the poison had no effect on either of them, Edith claimed Aabis was sent by the palace to kill her. She wanted to imply that forces just like the King and the Queen sitting in the comfort of the palaces wanted to target a woman who’d uplifted herself from nothing to serve the people and had many who trusted her with the faith. Edith had become good at manipulating her followers, or perhaps she was completely delusional as she had become too powerful for her own good. The poison may not have had any effect on them; this could be because Angelica may have switched the vial of poison to get the friction running between the Catholics and the Protestants. 

Aabis was instructed to be taken to the river for a second baptism, as Edith claimed her follower would come out as a strong believer in her faith. Aabis was afraid for all the right reasons, as there was a possibility she could be killed by the congregation present on the instructions of Edith. Montmorency was also shocked to learn Aabis had been sent to kill Edith, as he was clear to Catherine that the priestess should not be touched. As the story progresses, a lot will be uncovered about the growing conflict.