‘The Serpent Queen’ Recap: ‘Second Coming’

7/20/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Samantha Morton as Catherine de Medici in Episode 202 of ‘The Serpent Queen’ – ‘Second Coming’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 202 of ‘The Serpent Queen’. To revisit the Season Two Premiere, click here.

It likely safe to say, that every single world leader out there is eager to avoid a major crisis during their tenure, and understandably so. After all, a big crisis or major crises are scary and unnerving and it does fall to that leader to get their people out of the quagmire and that’s a lot to ask, and while yes… they are where the buck stops… they are still people. And they still feel pressure and worry and concern and have anxieties like the rest of us. They do, however, know how to put them aside, and that’s why we turn to them, and most rise to the occasion and that is what is truly interesting about crisis. In that, it tends to define what a leader is made of and well, both of those elements of leadership are top of mind of today, because they popped up in this week’s episode of The Serpent Queen on STARZ.

Because Catherine de Medici, the Regent of France, was facing quite the crisis, thanks to the Guise family, in ‘Second Coming’. For all of France was abuzz about the blaze that happened at the church. One that put the royal family on worrisome notice since the King was almost caught in its flames and well, the immediate aftermath of this mess was a need for revenge. For the Bourbons wanted someone, (well… Charles…) to pay for the fire that was set. To give the protestant side of the country some measure of peace and of course… the catholic side simply saw that as a declaration of war. One that both sides began to march toward and therein was the crisis at hand. Because just like that, the delicate peace that Catherine put together was threatened by boisterous bravado and that meant… she had to respond and respond right.

Thankfully, she was in indeed… the leader that France needed in that moment. Because she approached this with a cool head and understood that the only way to make peace here was to appease both sides and that prompted her, to get creative to get the Bourbons to stand down and to get the Guises to stand pat and know their role in this country. Which brought forth some surprises. Such as giving the Bourbons what they wanted in regard to trade negotiations. That way, Catherine could maintain control over that backwater deal, that she was of course, aware of, while making it seem as though the Bourbons could do as they please. The only price… was that they had to stand down from the march to war and they were happy to do so in place in cold, hard cash that would keep them well fed.

Danny Kirrane, Nick Burns, Raza Jaffrey, and Ray Panthaki as Louise de Bourson, Antoine de Bourbon, François de Guise, and Charles Guise in Episode 202 of ‘The Serpent Queen’ – ‘Second Coming’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

As for the Guises, well… they simply received the threat of punishment, and rightfully so. For they were truly the ones responsible for screwing with the peace by flexing an agenda, so Catherine quickly put them in their place and told them what the plan would be going forward. Lest they pay the piper. Which of course, they fell in line with because everyone knew that the Regent would not be toyed with, and as part of the plan to bring peace back to the streets and to further embarrass the Guise family, she planned to build a grandiose palace to honor the King and honor the people. Which brought an old frenemy into the fold, maybe, since Catherine did reach out to her cousin Diane about aiding in the building of this. Which she quasi-agreed to in principle, in exchange for more agency in a world where she was forgotten. Which Catherine agreed to… because great leadership flowed through her veins.

Because just like that, she quickly stepped in and quelled a major crisis and worked to further her agenda as Regent and that is… what we expect of great leaders, and her ability to do so, definitely brought peace to the land, and put some arrogant little goofballs into their place for the time being. But alas, while it was nice to see Catherine stand tall and lead and truly smooth out things at the top, a new crisis will soon challenge her further. Simply because we came to learn that all the souls that should have perished in that fire… did not. No instead, Edith figured out how help her flock escape and being under fire in such a manner, seemingly from the crown, prompted her to speak upon war. War against the crown in the name of the lord. Which will be an ugly crisis for certain, but one that clearly Catherine can handle. The only question is… if this is what makes the Serpent Queen strike hard enough to earn that moniker.

But while we wait to see how that plays out, we can celebrate a magnificent episode filled with growth. For truly, Catherine was indeed a grand leader in this tale, and this is the first time we’ve seen such focus and such direction from her, and it was amazing to see play out, and that journey was anchored by another amazing performance from Samantha Morton. And this story also spoke once again, to what Catherine wanted to accomplish as Regent and what she wanted to France to be and that will make things interesting down the line, when she must make the harder choices in the name of her vision for the nation, since that’s another challenge great leaders run into. Specifically, how the brutality of some decisions are viewed differently by history, regardless of intention. Until next time.

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