With Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan, the first part of Martin Bourboulon’s adaptation of Alexander Dumas’ classic novel, hitting all the right notes, it was expected that the second half of the epic saga was going to be as exciting as the first one. And Bourboulon’s film turns out to be exactly how you thought it would be—chaotic, exhilarating, and entertaining. Like the first part, this one also keeps the main essence of the novel intact while making some significant changes. I assume you must be surprised to see how certain things have turned out here. In this article, we’re going to dissect Three Musketeers: Milady and will also address the possibility of this turning into a trilogy.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens in the Movie?
Picking up exactly where the first part ended, Three Musketeers: Milady kicks off with D’Artagnan’s search for his lady love, Constance, who has been kidnapped, presumably by Team Conspiracy. It doesn’t take long for D’Artagnan to find out it’s Count de Chalais, one of King’s Louise’s trusted aides, who’s the mastermind behind the conspiracy. That’s not surprising considering we were already aware of some evil people cooking up something to overthrow the king. What is surprising here (for both D’Artagnan and the audience) is finding Milady as de Chalais’ prisoner. That’s obviously confusing, given they’re supposed to be on the same team, along with Cardinal Richelieu. D’Artagnan, however, helps Milady escape despite their differences. Soon the two of them find themselves in an erotic “will they won’t they” situation, but D’Artagnan refuses Milady’s advances, given that his heart is bound to Constance only.
Who is Milady, really?
It’s a given that the makers wouldn’t cast someone as big as Eva Green in a mere supporting role. Milady is an important character in Dumas’ book, and in the second part of this cinematic adaptation, she becomes the focal point. While Milady appeared as a one-dimensional antagonist who’s batting for the Protestant side in the last part, this one reveals that it’s not that simple. What further changes the game is her being Athos’ wife. Remember Athos talking about how he lost the love of his life to D’Artagnan in the first part? Milady turning out to be that “lost love” is certainly not something D’Artagnan had imagined, especially when he and Milady are about to get all hot and heavy. D’Artagnan immediately runs to Athos and gives him the news. Athos is understandably stunned after the revelation. Soon we see Milady secretly talking to Cardinal Richelieu, and Athos is spying on them from afar. Once the Cardinal is gone, Athos has his confrontation with Milady. It is evident that he’s still in love with her (as she is with him), but the relationship is destroyed beyond repair.
Does D’Artagnan find Constance?
The thing about Three Musketeers: Milady is, unlike the first part, where everyone found themselves in the middle of all the scheming, conspiracy, and politics associated with the war between the Catholics v and Protestants; the agenda for the characters is pretty much set and way more personal. There might be a war going on between the Catholics and Protestants, but despite being a part of that, D’Artagnan’s main concern is finding Constance. He’s still a faithful soldier to the crown, nonetheless. Anyway, despite all his effort, D’Artagnan fails to find where Constance is from de Chalais. Even after apprehending the man and taking him into custody, D’Artagnan misses the chance, thanks to Gaston, who, by now, has made it abundantly clear that he is seeking the downfall of his brother. He’s not exactly helping the Protestants, though, as he doesn’t at all mind taking Benjamin and other Protestant hostages and treating them barbarically by not giving them food and water. Naturally, keeping Chalais alive, too, with D’Artagnan around, is a big risk for Gaston, so he takes care of that.
Not getting anything from Chalais, D’Artagnan now directly approaches the Cardinal and threatens him with a gun pointed at his head. All the Cardinal has to do is give away Constance’s location, and D’Artagnan is going to spare him. But the Cardinal calmly reveals that he indeed took Constance once she accidentally heard about the plotting. But the Cardinal only did that to protect her from Chalais. Constance is, in fact, safe and sound, all thanks to Queen Anne. The Cardinal explains to D’Artagnan that he’s actually trying to protect the King from the Protestants, despite how it might seem. He asks D’Artagnan to verify this with the queen herself. From Anne, D’Artagnan gets to know that Constance is actually in London, at the palace of the Duke of Buckingham. D’Artagnan has no reason not to go there right away, but before that, he needs to help Athos save his Protestant brother, Benjamin.
What Happens to Milady?
As the Duke of Buckingham is clearly favoring the Protestants and even helping them attack France, the Cardinal asks Milady to go to England and take care of him. If the Duke does, the Protestants will be on the backfoot, and the war will potentially be over. The Cardinal doesn’t support unnecessary bloodshed, but he clearly doesn’t mind taking a life, especially if it saves thousands. Unfortunately, the plan doesn’t work out. The Duke is both smart and strong enough to prevent his death at the hands of Milady and put her behind bars. And he doesn’t hesitate to order her death.
Meanwhile, D’Artagnan and Aramis help out Athos, saving a dying Benjamin, but their action lands Captain De Treville into trouble as he gets arrested on charges of treason. Obviously, this is Gaston’s doing, as he would grab every opportunity that served the purpose of weakening Louise. The captain of the Musketeers is a big fish, and why wouldn’t Gaston take the win when he didn’t even have to work for it?
Coming back to Milady (and the main plot), just when she is about to give up on surviving, Constance appears to her as a beacon of hope. Even though all Milady asks from Constance is a knife to end her life in a dignified manner, Constance helps her escape and puts herself in an unimaginably problematic situation. As the Duke’s guards come to take her, Constance tells them that she’s not Milady, but the guards pay no attention as the Duke has ordered them to do so. He doesn’t want to talk to Milady and get deceived by her again. Sadly, the most innocent person in this universe has to pay for that. Despite all the screaming and pleading, Constance is hanged and dies soon. D’Artagnan arrives just to have one last moment with her, after which she dies in her arms. Angry and confused, D’Artagnan goes after Milady, and the two engage in a battle inside a burning house. But Milady escapes, and the duel ends in a draw.
In Three Musketeers: Milady‘s ending, Aramis finds a suitor for his pregnant sister, and it is none other than Porthos. You have to pardon me for not saying anything about the whole Porthos trying to get his sister hitched to the man who impregnated her, but it is really irrelevant and quite unnecessary for the main narrative. The musketeers stormed into the court just in time to save De Treville. Aramis also hands over documents to the court judges, which eventually reveal that it was Gaston all along. De Treville requests that Athos take over the baton, but Athos has had enough already. So he leaves, while giving D’Artagnan probably the most important advice in his life: to grieve and then start over. It is an implication of Athos having so much regret about his own sorry life. As if things couldn’t get any worse for him, upon reaching home, he’s unable to find his son, Joseph. Three Musketeers: Milady doesn’t forget to clarify that it is Milady who has taken the boy, but are we going to see what happens next? I mean, we know for a fact that this is a two-part adaptation, but this is still a cliffhanger and a kind of ending that neither the audience nor Athos deserve. But for the time being, there’s no other option but to accept it.
