The Musketeers has officially finished an arc of episodes that focused on the histories of Athos, Porthos, D’Artagnan, and Aramis. All four episodes were slightly more serious in tone, but they brought up important aspects of each character. This latest episode, The Homecoming, is centered on Porthos and some troubles that he encounters while celebrating his birthday.
The Homecoming starts with Porthos celebrating his birthday in true Musketeer style, by drinking heavily and shooting melons off of Aramis’ head. Unfortunately, he drinks too much and blacks out during the celebration, only to wake up in the street next to a dead body. Porthos is immediately arrested and placed on trial for murder, but he is kidnapped by residents of the Court of Miracles, the dirty area of Paris where he grew up.
Aramis is pretty excited that only the melon was blown away.
While former friends are holding Porthos, the other Musketeers are investigating the so-called murder that occurred in the Court of Miracles. The victim, Jean De Mauvoisin, is the son of a prominent Catholic leader, but he is also the person who purchased multiple barrels of gunpowder for an unknown purpose. While the Musketeers are investigating the murder, they also discover that Jean was murdered somewhere away from where the body was found, but it was placed by Porthos in order to frame him for the crime. In addition, they discovered many other sensitive facts that required bringing in Captain Treville as another investigator.
This latest episode may not have been as strong as the rest of the season, but it was still pretty great. The mix of a serious plot and goofy moments that the show incorporates constantly intrigues me. The moment where Porthos was shooting melons off of Aramis’ head wasn’t super important to the plot, but it was a fun way to start the episode. Mixing in some humor to lighten the tone helps keep the show from becoming mundane or depressing.
The Homecoming was an essential episode for The Musketeers because it filled in important information about Porthos; we knew some of Porthos’ history, but The Homecoming explained who he was before joining the Musketeers. The episode also introduced some of Porthos’ former friends while shedding light on some of the more depressing aspects of his life. Apparently, Porthos didn’t have the best childhood ever, which was referenced at smaller moments during the episode.
The other main reason why The Homecoming is important is that it follows three other episodes—Friends and Enemies, Commodities, and the Good Soldier—that all provided information about the different Musketeers. Friends and Enemies was focused on D’Artagnan, Commodities was focused on Athos and Milady, and The Good Soldier was focused on Aramis and Captain Treville. Now that The Homecoming has covered Porthos’ history, The Musketeers can start following the villainous plans of Cardinal Richelieu and Milady DeWinter. At some point, these plans will surface as the pair tries to destroy the Musketeers from within.
Captain Treville may be a smaller character, but he has some pretty good moments.
I consistently enjoy The Musketeers, even when the episode is not as strong as others. Plus, I really enjoy when some of the side characters, like Captain Treville, are incorporated to help drive the plot. Treville is a strange character at times because he is driven by duty and honor, but he breaks the rules for very interesting reasons. I do hope that he is more prevalent in the latter half of the season.
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