Episode four of The Serpent Queen ended with Aabis poisoning Sister Edith’s drink, and she was caught doing it. Sister Edith announces Aabis was sent by the French Queen to kill her, which was witnessed by Montmorency. Aabis was forced to drink one half of the poisoned drink along with Sister Edith, and as it turns out, nothing happened to her, and Aabis was sent off for rebaptizing.
Spoilers Ahead
What was Queen Catherine accused of?
Queen Catherine and her half brother Alessandro, the Duke of Florence, were back at the palace after inspecting the land for construction of the new one. In no time at all, everyone, including her son, got to speculating about the identity of the man who Catherine was with. However, Montmorency walked in and spilled the beans about Queen Catherine’s role in an attempt to assassinate Sister Edith without the permission of the King. Her son Charles was upset and made his feelings clear during the council. Angelica was brought in as a witness to corner the Queen, and Montmorency was having quite the time hoping he could finally exert some control over the king.
Queen Catherine was sure the English Queen would be on their shores in no time, but no one paid any heed to her concerns in that regard. It was her brief meeting with the Roman Emperor that made her raise concerns about Elizabeth’s bigger plans, which included not adhering to the trade deals anymore. The Bourbon brothers, who were not allies of Queen Elizabeth of England, also made sure the accusation against Catherine for carrying out extrajudicial killing should be given more importance.
Why did she leave the king’s council?
As Catherine was contemplating how to play her part now that her plan to kill Edith was out in the open, she immediately resigned from her council post, which shocked the King. Charles clearly needed her by his side, but his show of authority had cost him a sensible member of the council who never catered to any of the extreme factions sitting in the council. The Queen offered her seat to Anjou, as she knew he was desperate to get into the administration. She asked him to consider the confession of his best friend Lemur, which could lead to Anjou’s release from house arrest. Queen Catherine planned to use her son to play her cards in the council, as she was aware he was gullible.
Was Cardinal Charles having a crisis of faith?
Cardinal Charles was going through a difficult time learning Sister Edith had survived the assassination attempt as the poison had had no effect on her. This made him question his faith and the robes that were given to him to serve God, and he wondered if Sister Edith was the real deal. Charles was having sleepless nights, spending hours in the church, and his conversation with Francoise also bore no fruit. The first time Sister Edith escaped death, which could have been a fluke, but the second time over made him wonder if whatever the Church had told him was a lie.
Was Francoise De Guise in love with Margot?
Francoise De Guise and Princess Margot had begun to spend a lot of time together. This was witnessed by his mother, who was busy getting physically intimate with one of the Bourbon brothers. She was happy to converse with her son about the possible alliance between him and Princess Margot, as she was happy her son was not behind other men anymore. However, Francoise was indeed fond of Margot, which was why he asked his mother to not put any schemes in motion that would jeopardize his relations with Margot, as he was beginning to like her as well.
Did Princess Elisabeth have a soft corner for the Roman Emperor’s son?
Princess Elisabeth had learned that Philip, son of the Roman Emperor, was a widower, and she had formed an attraction towards him. As she was visiting him, she learned he was partially paralyzed because of an unknown condition, and his father spent most of his time taking care of him. Elisabeth was upset to see Philip’s condition and offered to come by to meet him and give him company so she could read out bible verses. The Roman Emperor considered this move to be heartfelt and believed her to be a sweet and compassionate woman.
What did Anjou decide about his fate?
Prince Anjou, who wanted power, chose to execute his best friend on account of his forced confession. Lemur was beaten to pulp to get him confess to his role in Price Hercule’s death, and he was beheaded as a result. Anjou, as a result, was released and joined the council on his mother’s advice. Anjou, on joining the council, brought up the subject of Queen Elizabeth’s aggressive expansion plans on the continent, which could mean war, and could subsequently anger the Protestants of France, who won’t hesitate to join the English monarch.
Did the Bourbons meet Sister Edith?
The Bourbons had a meeting with Queen Catherine on Louis’ arrival from England; the monarch sensed the brothers were lying to her about the Queen of England and her plans for making the trade deal a success. The Bourbons, however, were riding on the support of Queen Elizabeth, who made some towering promises about making Antoine the Protestant King of France. They approached Sister Edith to put Queen Elizabeth’s plan in motion.
Sister Edith was the one who informed them of Queen Elizabeth landing in the Netherlands with many weapons, which was shocking news to the brothers as they had not anticipated the situation to escalate this quickly. On putting forward Queen Elizabeth’s terms on the floor for Edith to consider, the priestess approached Antoine and began to question his faith. She sensed he was keeping a secret and began to use fire as a way to purify him of his sins. She started slowly burning a part of the skin of his arm. Out of sheer pain, Antoine revealed he was sleeping with Antoinette Guise, but since she was a Catholic, it was considered a sin.
What was the news that shocked all of France?
Since the news of the English queen landing in the Netherlands had sent shockwaves around France, the council had to come up with a plan to make sure things did not escalate into a warlike situation between the two kingdoms, and eventually into a war of two faiths. Catherine was avoiding war, and as it turns out, the country could be on the brink of it, and there was a possibility of their Protestant population supporting Queen Elizabeth. To bring peace, the king would have to come up with a solid plan that would not divide the nation. As the Roman Emperor stated he was not keen on another war, and a solution had to be devised.
Queen Catherine had a heart-to-heart talk with her oldest daughter, Princess Elisabeth, about her duty as a woman and her using her power to her benefit. As the Princess was spending more time with Prince Philip of the Holy Roman Empire, the mother suggested to her that the only way to stop the war was to marry into a powerful family that would safeguard hers, as the country was on the brink of a war. Elisabeth was offered the choice to marry Prince Philip, and the young girl was given time to make this decision as her future husband was ill.
Did Cardinal Charles rebaptize himself?
Cardinal Charles, whose crisis of faith was driving him mad, chose to join Sister Edith’s group as he quickly began to believe she was indeed the chosen one by God, as a result of which she’d survived two attempts on her life. Charles joined her and offered to be converted into one of the followers of her faith, and hoped she would guide him to reach him out to God. Charles, all his life, was made to believe the robes given to him would bring him closer to God, and that would help him bring in more followers into their sect.
The Catholic faith had a monopoly all over Europe in that era, and they used that power to enter every European palace as a stronghold for the people they ruled were religious. The emergence of the new sect demolished the monopoly of the Catholic faith and their power in the Palace as well. Queen Elizabeth, being the first Protestant Queen, proved that the Catholic faith itself could be done away with, and that made them react violently, as seen in the first episode, Francoise de Guise burning down the Protestant church with the aim of killing the followers inside. What Cardinal Charles never saw coming was Edith surviving twice, which made him believe that everything that was told to him about his robes and his faith was a lie. This led to him surrendering himself to Sister Edith, although his move would have strong political repercussions, especially in the French palace.
Who did Catherine marry her children off to?
Catherine had to come up with a quick plan, that too without making any noise or entertaining a debate over her plans, especially with her son King Charles. On the suggestion of the Roman Emperor, she had approached her oldest daughter, Princess Elisabeth, with the proposal of marrying his son, Prince Philip. Elisabeth had agreed to it, because she realized this could be her way to prove she was important, and her marriage could save the kingdom. Since she was born a princess, she was brainwashed to believe her only job was to agree to matches chosen for her and eventually secure her post by giving her husband heirs that would sustain the legacy of her family.
Queen Catherine was aware that if she put forward the suggestion of this alliance, there would be a thousand questions and endless debate carried out by the men in the council since this was a political marriage. The Queen and the Emperor wanted to avoid that as time was slipping away. On the night of the nuptials between Prince Philip and Princess Elisabeth, all the men from the council, including the King, were sent prostitutes who came bearing drinks that would put all of them to deep sleep. Queen Catherine was aware those men were gullible, including Francoise de Guise. Margot, however, was witness to a man walking into the room of someone she admires, and she was disgusted by it. She was falling for Francoise, and watching him go after men was the last straw, it made her abhor relationships from that point on. She had hoped for a non-political marriage with Francoise, but watching a man entertain him broke her heart.
The Serpent Queen episode 5 ended with Princess Elisabeth being sent off to Rome with her new family and the mother congratulating her for making the right choice. Queen Catherine and the Roman Emperor were proud of what they pulled off. As Elisabeth’s siblings walked out to offer her farewell, they were also astonished at the feat their mother was capable of. The king was livid at his mother for planning and executing a nuptial without his permission, which proved that Catherine was still the decision-maker and the Roman Emperor was considered to be the key person rather than King Charles of France.
Anjou raised a concern about Protestants going against them, as their sibling was married off to a Catholic King, to which Queen Catherine had an apt response. Anjou’s concerns were genuine, and by the looks of it, he was also vouching for secularism in the council just like his mother. To their shock, Queen Elizabeth of England showed up as a prospective bride for King Charles of France. This was an outlandish strategic move to keep the war between Protestants and Catholics at bay. The Queen’s oldest daughter was married off to a Catholic, while the King of France will be married to Queen Elizabeth, the Protestant monarch. By securing these alliances, she would make sure there would be peace across the continent between the two sects of one faith, essentially making her one of the strong players in the game of thrones happening. This move will also weaken the Bourbons’ plan, and their lives could be in danger going forward as Queen Elizabeth was no longer their ally. King Charles may not like it, but he might have to agree to it just to save his kingdom, indicating that he needs his mother by his side to help him make better decisions for the country and his seat.
