‘The Serpent Queen’ Recap: ‘The Last Joust’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Six of ‘The Serpent Queen’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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We like to believe that the human spirit is something that is unbreakable, and it makes sense as to why. For time and time again, we’ve heard stories about people that suffer through great hardships and never break and never falter. They simply forge ahead and come out of the other side stronger and wiser. Which inspires us and propagates a belief that really is quite wrong. Because whether we like to admit it or not, every single person out there has a breaking point, and while one tough situation might not have broken that person in that moment… make no mistake about it, the right circumstances can and will do so. For we are creatures that have limitations to the amount of emotional distress we can receive and when we reach that breaking point… we will act accordingly.
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For some, that involves making some major changes to their life since they realize the path, they are currently on is unsustainable and unhealthy, but for others… that means ugly moments will arrive in spades. For they have been wronged and require revenge and a sense of agency, and they will stop at nothing to reclaim control and it is that uglier side to the breaking point that is of note today, simply because Queen Catherine de’ Medici reached her breaking point in the next episode of The Serpent Queen on STARZ. Which made ‘The Last Joust’ quite the pivotal tale, one that truly saw the queen make an ugly decision to reclaim a sense of power, all of which came about by way of a troubling dream for Catherine. 

For she saw her beloved husband die in a joust, but not before she took out the royal pain in the rear that is her cousin and well… that informed her that she wasn’t well and teetering and the only way to control that was to forge ahead and not try to manifest such dark energies, something that Ruggieri reinforced. So, she went back to her usual daily routine and did her best to be a good queen and wife and felt rewarded for doing so. After all, the king was struggling in this tale, and he asked to have his queen at his side. Simply because… it was obvious now that despite a win against France’s enemies, the king’s power and stature had been diminished by Diane. For everyone saw him as nothing more than a man being controlled by his mistress and she was of course, pushing for more control.

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Which to some, such as the Guise family, presented an opportunity to gain power in the French Court. Which in turn, prompted them to align with Diane to push for the royal wedding, so that a list of demands could be granted following the union of the Dauphin and Mary. Thankfully though, such a union didn’t quite go as planned since the king didn’t like the idea of his son marrying before he deemed it time and well… that immediately led to a power struggle, one that Catherine was quick to get involved in. Since she maneuvered to stop the wedding and to embarrass Diane and hopefully remove her lust for power in the process. But alas, as is oft the case with weak willed men that are head over heels in love with an individual as toxic as they are… the right moment will always bring them round to their lover’s way of thinking.
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That of course meant the wedding was back on and that was of course, the breaking point for the queen. Because Diane’s desire to somehow fill the queen’s role… removed Catherine’s sense of safety and of course… any power she did have in court, and that was unacceptable. Not after everything she’d been through and earned and well… that pushed her to work with Ruggieri to use the dark arts to manifest that dream and on her son’s wedding day, that dream came to life. For during the joust, wherein King Henri demanded a proper challenge, he was badly wounded in the fight, despite Catherine’s attempt to try and stop this madness at the final second. But while it was nice to see her hesitate and be reminded that she does still have a choice despite how close she was skirting the edge here… we know how the story ends, and that the darkness will indeed win.

Which makes the final moments of this episode, something of a bittersweet tragedy since that dark choice here started the process of sealing Catherine’s fate. One that will see her do anything to rule, as evidenced by what we came to learn about why she befriended Rahima in the first place and well, that means it is best we buckle up and brace ourselves. For with only two episodes left in this limited series, we can expect nothing short of a devastating ride. One that will see a lifetime of trauma and fear come together to unleash hell upon Catherine’s enemies now that she has reached her breaking point, and that is going to make for some bleak storytelling, the kind that will at last help us to truly understand what makes a person evil and why they called Catherine de’ Medici… the Serpent Queen. Until next time.

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