‘The Serpent Queen’ Season 2, Episode 3: Recap: Did Anjou Go Against King Charles’ Orders?

Episode 2 of The Serpent Queen season 2 ended with Francoise Guise finding out Sister Edith was indeed alive and thriving in the deep forest away from the palace. There was a rumor long before his discovery that Sister Edith most likely saved all her followers from the fire, performing a miracle. Catherine was also worried about the change of political climate in France if Edith was found alive.

Spoilers Ahead

Did the Protestants retaliate for the attack on their church?

The episode began with the story of Protestants retaliating by attacking all the Catholic churches around France. This was revenge for the attempt to kill Sister Edith by burning down her church and the congregation. This was just the beginning of the civil war between the two Christian sects. Cardinal Guise was already losing his mind over the unexpected reaction. He and his family were worried that Queen Catherine might try to make an ever more England friendly trade deal to further pacify the Protestant crowd. They were worried the Catholic faith would lose power as a result of this and they would have to come up with a better plan to keep the King in their pockets. 

Why was Prince Anjou angry?

Prince Anjou, along with his brother Prince Hercule and other friends, were in the forest for a hunt. They were confronted by a group of Protestant peasants who ridiculed Anjou for his queer behavior inside the palace. Anjou was known to have been cross-dressing and sleeping with men. These peasants went ahead and attacked him with some soil, which enraged him. Anjou was livid at his brother King Charles, who chose to not overreact over this matter as it would unnecessarily escalate tensions, keeping in mind there was already unrest between the Catholics and the Protestants. Anjou tried to outmaneuver his brother, but King Charles for the first time was assertive about his decision and did not let his younger brother walk over him. 

Did the Italian nobles agree to Catherine’s offer?

Catherine’s mission to bring in the Catholics from Italy to help her build her grand palace was almost a success. The nobles agreed to offer the loan and with the Queen’s plan to repay it with the help of the trade deal with England. Since Queen Catherine was from Italy, convincing her kin was not very tough, and the said nobles were also pleased to help their family as well. They also proposed to assign the Duke of Florence, Alessandro de Medici, to oversee the finances and the construction of the palace in France. Catherine was surprised to know she and Alessandro were half siblings, as they shared the same father. Alessandro’s mother was their father’s mistress, and he had been kind enough to leave some money for them, and he rose up the ranks to now become the Duke of Florence. 

Queen Catherine was not sure if she was happy with his revelation, but she was keen to get to know her half brother. Since she was a family, the Duke wanted her to take a detour and head to his home and their old family residence before starting their journey back to France. Alessandro either wanted to get to know his family better or he had plans to undermine her. 

What did Queen Elizabeth want from her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots?

Mary, Queen of Scots, was married off to King Henry II, Catherine’s oldest child. Since Catherine wanted to stay in power after her son’s passing, she made sure her daughter in law was arrested by her own cousin Queen Elizabeth, a Protestant queen. Mary was held captive for five years before Elizabeth conversed with her for the first time. This was Elizabeth’s ruse to find out more about Queen Catherine and where she stood in terms of her power and influence on the current monarch of France and his council. Mary was quick to reveal Queen Catherine was a smart woman and would do anything to remain in power and control the council. Elizabeth, along with her advisor Lord Throckmorton, came up with the plan to fan the religious unrest in the hope Catherine would offer an even more lucrative trade deal. She planned to rope in Jeanne d’Albret, the Queen of Navarre, from the Protestant faith to put her plan in motion.

Was Lady Diane de Poitiers a good influence on Catherine’s children?

Lady Diane de Poitiers returned to the palace on the request of Queen Catherine to look after her children in case one of them made a mess in her absence. King Charles and his siblings were happy to have Lady Diane de Poitiers back in the palace. As mentioned in the previous episode, King Henry’s children were closer to Lady Diane de Poitiers and she played a crucial role in their upbringing. She was happy to be back and helping all of them with their issues and concerns regarding the matters of the court and their personal lives. 

Was Cardinal Charles Guise trying to manipulate Prince Anjou?

Cardinal Charles Guise was aware of the altercation that happened in the forest between Prince Anjou and the peasants of the Protestant faith. Cardinal Guise wanted Prince Anjou on his side and was willing to start a tiff between the two royal siblings. King Charles was under the influence of his mother Catherine, who was propagating secularism. Cardinal Guise knew Anjou was the temperamental one and his rash behavior could be used to his benefit, to fuel the Catholic agenda. Anjou was intrigued by the proposition put forward by Cardinal Guise, but he was pulled away from the conversation by Lady Diane de Poitiers, who asked him rather politely to behave properly in public as he was the brother of the King and they needed to present a united front. She requested that he restrict his real self to his bedroom and not be enraged by what people say of him. 

What did Montmorency want from Sister Edith?

Montmorency was happy to find Edith alive, and he hoped she would agree to offer testimony against Francoise Guise. She was the only witness to Francoise ordering his men to set the church on fire. Initially, Sister Edith was not keen, as she was keen on fueling the Protestants’ attacks on Catholic churches. Montmorency was disturbed by the events that were transpiring, but he would want his faith to be avenged. 

What did King Charles decide?

King Charles was in a dilemma as he was supposed to make two important decisions in the absence of his mother, Queen Catherine, since she had left strict instructions about not making any major decisions without her approval. Montmorency was back with news that Sister Edith was willing to testify against Francoise Guise about his role in the arson. The only concern was that the growing unrest would become worse if the arrest was made, and King Charles had to make a smart decision very quickly. Lord Bourbon also wanted to make a quick trade deal between England and France and accelerate the process. Charles was overwhelmed by the two men from the Protestant faith, and he made the decision in their favor in the hope it would sort the matters. Charles was an indecisive man who was used to his mother for making every political decision. 

Charles was not sure if Francoise’s arrest would cause any further unrest, but he had to make this decision to prove that he was not dependent on his mother. Surprisingly, he never bothered taking advice from Lady Diane de Poitiers either, and went ahead with the arrest as well as the trade deal. Francoise was soon arrested, and it would set things in motion that would decide the fate of King Charles and his mother, Queen Catherine. 

Did Anjou go against King Charles’ orders?

The episode ended with Prince Anjou having a confrontation with Protestant followers in the forest. As the Prince and his entourage were in the forest after a hunt, they came across a bunch of Protestants who knew of Anjou’s sexual identity, which many of them considered deviant. The protestant follower offered a second baptism in the hope he would be turned into a normal Protestant man who does not sleep with men. Anjou initially was interested in the conversation, but he grew more and more offended over the old man’s assumptions about him. Anjou was known for his temper, and he expected everyone to be accommodating of his likes and dislikes, just the people of the palace. He believed, since he was a royal, the subjects were supposed to respect him instead, and the old man just did that. Anjou, being true to himself, forgot the advice given by Lady Diane de Poitiers and did not follow the orders of his brother to not react impulsively out of rage. 

To everyone’s shock, Anjou killed the old man by drowning him, and in retaliation, Prince Hercule was knocked off of his horse. As Anjou murdering the man was a show of power, the follower injuring Hercule was also the Protestants showcasing their growing power and influence in the region. This would cause a lot of turmoil, which Charles would not be able to pacify. This event could catapult into a riot-like situation that would further enrage Sister Edith as well. Prince Anjou inadvertently snowballed an already existing unrest.