The second season of The Musketeers continued on Saturday night with a new episode about an unlikely character. While the previous episodes had focused on the core Musketeers or their allies, “An Ordinary Man” revolved around King Louis and his wish to live one night as a commoner. This episode brought back an older character while incorporating more action, intrigue, and bad attitudes.
“An Ordinary Man” started in an unexpected way with King Louis and the Musketeers carousing at a local tavern. Apparently, Louis wanted to experience the life of a commoner, which only involved getting drunk and playing cards. Unfortunately, Louis created a bit of a ruckus by accusing some local hoodlums of cheating at cards, which sparked a massive brawl. Wishing to avoid unnecessary injury, D’Artagnan and Louis ducked out the pub’s rear entrance, only to be kidnapped by some terrible villains. This kidnapping turned the night into a terrible mystery to solve.
While D’Artagnan and Louis were being marched across France by a vicious slave trader, the other Musketeers were attempting to solve the mystery and mount a rescue before the newborn king’s coronation. The queen, desperate for any resolution, was also attempting to enlist help from Captain Treville, Rochefort, and possibly her family in Spain. This desperate attempt led to Queen Anne writing a letter to her brother in Spain requesting help, which ended up in Rochefort’s possession. While nothing came from this letter during “An Ordinary Man”, the story will figure to be a pivotal part of season two.
“An Ordinary Man” was definitely a very interesting episode of The Musketeers, for many reasons, including the variety of villains. At multiple points throughout the episode, four different villains appeared to be in charge of a Spanish slavery ring. This factor made the episode very intriguing because you didn’t know who was actually leading the kidnapping attempts until the episode’s end. Another reason for the interesting episode was the reappearance of Milady de Winter, Richelieu’s villainous sidekick from season one. If you remember, Milady barely survived execution at the end of season one, only to disappear for parts unknown. Thankfully, she reappeared during season two, providing an extra villain for the Musketeers to worry about.
King Louis and D’Artganan received some beatings.
Finally, “An Ordinary Man” was an interesting episode because it showed the different personalities of King Louis. During season one, Louis was more of a side character who only showed up to complain about events. During this episode, King Louis was constantly under duress, dealing with beatings and other forms of abuse. His responses to both the beatings and D’Artagnan’s assistance were very interesting because they showed how his character changed when needed. During certain portions of the episode, Louis was a strong-willed man who found strength when needed, but he quickly became a petulant child who held grudges against the wrong people and committed unspeakable acts. Ryan Gage did a great job navigating Louis’ various mood changes, and he convincingly made Louis out to be a horrible person at times and a sweetheart at others.
The second season of The Musketeers is rolling along with some interesting, new storylines and new characters. So far, both episodes have been very entertaining, and certain parts of the show are coming into focus after time. Adrian Hodges and the writing staff laid the foundation for certain storylines, and they are finally starting to make sense. Plus, D’Artagnan is becoming more awesome as the show progresses. He even showed off an insane finishing move during a big battle.
The Musketeers is was a fun show during season one, and season two has been even better. I can’t wait to keep following the show as it progresses.
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