‘The Serpent Queen’ Season 2 Finale Recap And Ending Explained: Who Killed Sister Edith?

Episode seven of the second season of The Serpent Queen ended with King Charles IX converting to Protestantism. Besides that, Queen Catherine offered the regency to Sister Edith once Princess Margot gets married to her cousin Henri Bourbon to assure a child from the Protestant line will be the future monarch of the country. The story continues in episode 8 with a violent aftermath at the end of the series finale.

Spoilers Ahead

What did King Charles promise his sister, Princess Margot?

The Serpent Queen episode 8 began with a wailing Princess Margot who was in anger and agony as she was informed about her upcoming marriage to her cousin Henri Bourbon, as a result of which she wouldn’t be engaged to Francoise de Guise anymore. She approached her brother King Charles and informed him of their mother manipulating him so that she could get her way and stay in power. King Charles promised her she would still be married to Francoise de Guise. On confronting their mother, King Charles was informed about his failing health, and how he could end up on the deathbed sooner than he thought. Charles was in shock, but he soon understood what needed to be done for his family.

What rumor did the Queen of Navarre hear?

Jeanne d’Albret, Queen of Navarre, the mother of Henri, the one betrothed to Princess Margot on her walk with Queen Catherine and revealed she heard a rumor from Duchess Antoinette. The rumor stated that Margot was impure, which suggested she had had a physical relationship with someone before her marriage. Catherine was shocked that Duchess Antoinette would spread such a rumor, but she was also worried it could be true as she had come across letters exchanged between Francoise and her daughter. Catherine promised a full examination of Margot, saying she would let Jeanne know the results as well before the marriage. Catherine also suggested she was stressed about the upcoming marriage and asked Jeanne if she could join her on a shopping expedition in the city and stay over at a lodge to relax, to which she agreed immediately.

Did King Charles decide to end Princess Margot’s engagement?

King Charles was informed by his mother again about Princess Margot’s growing closeness to Francoise de Guise and how the man could be in her room now. King Charles barged in to see both consummating their love, which enraged him as she was a woman, and she was supposed to remain pure until her marriage. Margot pleaded for mercy, but King Charles decided to force Henri to marry her even though she was not a virgin anymore. 

Who killed the Queen of Navarre?

Jeanne d’Albret, Queen of Navarre, was waiting for Catherine at a lodge, as they had decided to go on a shopping trip discreetly. Angelica approached her as an errand girl and offered her some well-made gloves to wear. They were laced with poison that would immediately affect the wearer on skin contact. This led to Jeanne’s instant death, orchestrated by Queen Catherine, as the deceased knew of Margot’s situation and had the power to stop the impending wedding. 

Did Henri decide to marry Margot?

During Jeanne’s funeral, Rahima reached out to offer condolences from the Queen and her son, King Charles. Antoine and Louis were confident the Queen had a hand in murdering Jeanne and were not keen on getting Henri married to Margot anymore. Sister Edith left the decision-making to Henri, who agreed to the match despite warnings from his father and uncle. Antoine was concerned Catherine would kill his son as well, but Henri came clean about his hunger for power and desire to cause chaos in the court.

What was the last resort of Duchess Antoinette to ruin Margot’s wedding?

Duchess Antoinette had not given up, as her plan to chastise Princess Margot before her wedding did not work. She was desperate to have a win, which made her demand her son Francoise call out and question Margot’s virtue in the church during the ceremony, or she would surrender her younger son, Cardinal Charles, to the Catholic League, who would kill him. At the ceremony, Francoise refused to do as his mother demanded, and Princess Margot was forced to bow her head in accepting Henri as her lawfully wed husband. During the consummation ceremony, Henri could sense her fear and agony. He lied to the people watching about their marriage being consummated for the sake of Margot, which led to them being left alone for the rest of the night as the newlywed couple did not attend the banquet thrown to celebrate their wedding. 

Was the regency passed on to Sister Edith?

Sister Edith and her entourage of followers had arrived in the city for the marriage. Catherine and King Charles had promised them safe passage into the city for the big event. Sister Edith witnessed the consummation of the marriage and requested the papers with King Charles’ signature that would officially make her the regent. The regency papers were to be passed to her after the dinner, as promised by Catherine. Queen Catherine also requested all arms and ammunition to be surrendered, as this was a family banquet meant to be enjoyed by everyone, including the guests. 

What promise did Catherine make to Montmorency?

Catherine, one last time, had to be honest to Montmorency and said she was sure Sister Edith would plunge the country into chaos. The Queen’s plan to institute secularism in the nation would never be a success because of the Priestess. Catherine, however, let him know she planned to retire from the court and hinted at wanting to leave the city with him. She asked him to wait for her at the courtyard, implying she wanted to elope with him after passing on the regency. 

Did Rahima suspect foul play?

Queen Catherine asked her brother, Duke Alessandro of Florence, to join the wedding banquet at night. Duke Alessandro was set to sail for the New World for trade and business opportunities. He agreed to join for the dinner and asked Rahima to also join him at the table. Rahima had agreed to join him on his trip to explore the New World and eventually marry him. However, she suspected Catherine was up to something, and she didn’t want him to trust her. She warned Alessandro about Catherine, but he did not pay much heed to her concerns. Her fears came true when she was locked in her room by Angelica. Even though she knew Alessandro’s doom was near, she couldn’t do anything to save him. 

Who killed Sister Edith?

As the banquet began, everyone around them got into the mood of merriment. Duke Alessandro got angsty as he could not find Rahima anywhere. Angelica offered a note to Prince Anjou, and all it said was ‘ten at night’. Anjou informed his team to be ready by ten at night, which indicated something was about to take place. Sister Edith asked for the regency papers signed by King Charles. As Queen Catherine was heading out of the banquet hall to get the papers, she used a sharp table knife to slit open Edith’s throat, which led to her bleeding to death. This was only the beginning of the massacre plotted by Queen Catherine. 

In whose name did the massacre take place?

Montmorency, who was waiting in the courtyard, was killed by Angelica using the knife belonging to Francoise de Guise. She stated the murder was being carried out in the name of the House of Guise. In the dining hall as Sister Edith lay dead, Anjou walked in, covering his face with his assassins, killing everyone, including Duke Alessandro, in the name of the House of Guise. Francoise, his brother Cardinal Charles, King Charles, and his betrothed were spared. This was very evocative of the iconic Red Wedding in Game of Thrones season four, as all the key players of the show were killed. It was assumed Antoine and Louis of House Bourbon were also killed by Anjou and his men in the name of the House of Guise to spread hatred against them. The blame would befall the civil war that was about to begin between the Catholic and Protestant faiths. One of them put an end to it before it could start. 

Why did Princess Margot choose to keep her husband alive?

Prince Anjou was given the order to kill Henri as well, but Princess Margot stood in front of her new husband and refused to follow the orders of her mother, who wanted every Protestant follower of Sister Edith to be dead. Princess Margot admonished her mother and said she wanted to stay married to Henri just to make her mother miserable at the thought of her daughter not following her orders. Princess Margot despised her mother at this point, as the Queen knew what her daughter wanted from life. Catherine had chosen to use Margot as a pawn, and without taking consent of her daughter, she made a major life decision just to save herself and the family from doom. 

Catherine let Margot parade as a prized possession and let her son beat her as well. This does not make her a good mother, but a parent who had to do something to save her family from being taken over. King Charles was also ashamed of this point because he never realized his mother was evil enough to kill people in this fashion. Prince Anjou was also termed the assassin of his mother, as someone who did not think twice before carrying out these crimes. He probably wanted to stay in her good books, as he was quick to figure out his mother was powerful and manipulative, which Charles did not notice. Prince Anjou ordered the death of every follower of Sister Edith living in the city lodges, having them killed in their beds to make sure they do not erupt in revolt against the Valois family. 

Who was dead or alive by the end of the massacre?

The season finale of The Serpent Queen ended with Queen Catherine letting Rahima know that Duke Alessandro had to be killed for plotting against her with Queen Elizabeth. Catherine revealed the news as if it were her duty to kill Alessandro, and not out of spite for him taking Rahima away and making her betray her. Rahima knew Catherine well enough to figure out why she killed Alessandro; she hated the attention being taken away from her. Alessandro and Rahima had fallen in love and had decided to move away without informing her about it. Since Alessandro was the family she was introduced to, and Rahima was the family she chose for herself; it hurt her, so they decided to make life for themselves. Rahima revealed she was pregnant with Alessandro’s child and warned Catherine to kill her, or she would raise her child, letting it know how their father was killed mercilessly. Rahima was also probably plotting her revenge, as she knew what had transpired in the banquet. 

The dead bodies of all the followers were found in the river near the palace, but by the looks of it, Antoine and Louis Bourbon did not die during the massacre. They would probably assemble again to plot revenge against Catherine. They still had allies and the power to threaten Catherine and her family. However, since Henri is alive, it would change the dynamics. This was essentially the end of a portion of Protestant faith in France, and Queen Catherine went against her own values of secularism by killing them. The massacre was purely political and had nothing to do with religion, something only Catherine and her family knew. 

Queen Catherine’s narrative to the public stated that the Catholic League, along with the Guise family, orchestrated the massacre, which means the war was started by them by setting sister Edith’s church on fire and then killing her and her followers in the palace. This was done to put the blame on the ardent followers of the Catholic faith, and she persecuted all the perpetrators for committing a treasonous crime. This would end the power play between Catholics and Protestants in the council, as Catherine could keep people she trusted. Catherine was aware King Charles would not live long, and she had hoped to place Anjou on the throne instead, as he would listen to her counsel. However, Henri would also not give up on making Princess Margot the next monarch so that he would be an influential leader and have his revenge for the killing of his family.