Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 71/2/10
Cast: Tom Burke, Santiago Cabrera, Peter Capaldi, Luke Pasqualino, Howard Charles, Ryan Gage, Maimie McCoy, Hugo Speer, Alexandra Dowling, Charlotte Hope, Roger Ringrose, Sarah Belcher, Alice Patten, Gabrielle Reidy, Peter-Hugo Daly, Robert Krejcik, Miroslav Navrati, Leigh Jones, Filip Nespor.
The question may well have been asked, “Who will rid me of this troublesome barren queen?” The penultimate episode of the B.B.C. Series, The Musketeers, sees the four heroic French swordsmen protect Queen Anne from the drunken amorous ravings of her husband who states that she must be murdered so that he is free to marry another woman.
Whilst not the finest episode of the entire series, a far too convenient plot device in the convent awaits Aramis and Queen Anne, (a very effective and gracious Santiago Cabrera alongside Alexandra Dowling who yet has to reach the brilliant heights that Maimie McCoy has attained in portrayal of strong women in the programme,) and too which other versions have alluded too but never quite having the spirit in which to capture the very obvious attraction. The episode was nonetheless an enjoyable romp and one that was able to spend a luxurious amount of time in the mind of Cardinal Richelieu.
Knight Takes Queen may have been too understandable a title to give the instalment but it also made viewers hopefully grasp the political games of chess that every politician seems to understand. Nothing has changed in over 2000 years on that score. The manoeuvring of one piece on the board, the subtle change in tactics to assure that a pawn can become Queen and just as easily sacrificing the Queen to win the ultimate game is nothing new but in the Royal families of Europe’s past these were taken to new and frightening levels when the future of the monarchy had to be upheld.
The confrontation between three opposing forces, MiLady De Winter, Maimie McCoy, Cardinal Richelieu, Peter Capaldi and Aramis, Tom Burke, has been nothing short of exemplary throughout the series, never mind the games that monarchs play, the competition and struggles between these three is a far more terrifying game. In a programme that has constantly delivered, even a slightly lacklustre affair such as Knight Takes Queen is far more entertaining prospect than sitting through any of the previous adaptions.
The Musketeers concludes next Sunday.
Ian D. Hall