Spoiler warning: As always there are teasers and hints ahead in my preview. However there was a rather large spoiler released by an Australian magazine a few months ago about the twist in this episode. I haven’t made any mentioned to it in my preview, but please be aware that it is likely to come up in the comment section below.
Like most titles, this one alludes to much more than the simple recount outlined in the promotional material. Last week saw some of the characters making decisions to change things in their lives. Yet as Marmion very shrewdly pointed out, choices can create a ripple effect that touches others who may not be quite so happy with the reversal in fortune that it brings them. He called this fate, though there other names for it too – envy, pride, revenge or spite all spring to mind - as we saw with Catherine in
The Return, a spurned love can become all consuming.
The central plot is that the Louis’ cousin, Princess Louise (Perdita Weeks), is spending a night in Paris before heading on to Sweden and an arranged marriage that will be very politically advantageous to France. It soon becomes obvious that there is someone out there that is plotting against the union however after a number of attempts on her life are made. These failed attacks happen right under the noses of the Musketeers of course, and when the Archbishop gets caught in the line of fire Rochefort is quick to blame them for their ineptitude. They must find out who is behind the plot before they strike again. But with their personal lives becoming ever more entangled, and the assassin’s eye fixed on their former Captain, will they catch the killer before it’s too late?
Around this we have the fallout from the attack on the fort starting to hit home for some of the characters. Aramis may describe the Louvre “the safest building in all of France” to Louise this week, but I think that’s him being a tad naïve, or he could just be trying to reassure a frightened girl. Either way, I feel that comment will be back to haunt him later on in the season. As we know, it’s seen more than its fair share of murders, plotting and kidnaps this season alone, now it also contains a heartbroken Marguerite, who is about to be manipulated by Rochefort. The Comte wants a closer look at the crucifix Aramis wears, which forces her to confront him about his true feelings.
Someone the palace is not going to be containing for very much longer is Milady de Winter, who is unceremoniously turfed out on to the streets of Paris with just her wits and cunning sense of survival to keep her alive. Of course Athos is present to witness her fall from grace, which she only finds even more galling, so it’s no wonder that she is unable to accept his offer of charity and prefers to go it alone. As luck would have it, she’s barely out of the gates when she immediately recognises someone‘s suspicious behaviour...well, they say like attracts like after all. It’s anyone’s guess what she will do with this valuable information at the end of the day though. Like all morally grey character’s she could side with anyone at this point.
Now that Constance has declared her love for d’Artagnan, she must now meet with her husband and inform him that she is going leave him. This sounds simple enough, but we know that Bonacieux is unlikely to take it well as he is paranoid about the two of them already after their affair last year. We find out that the only reason he let his wife take the job at the palace was so that she could promote his name and business at court. The discovery that she hasn’t done this, on top of the news that she now is planning to leave him for another, infuriates him beyond measure and he gives her an ultimatum. She must leave the palace and return home, or there will be consequences.
This week's hangman has been solved, well done all! The additional teaser has been added underneath the hangman.
The second photo clue has been solved
Steve Martin + Felicity Huffman both stared in The Spanish Prisoner = Rochefort
The photo clue has been solved
Trip Ace Pedal + Anagram = Peter Capadli AKA The Cardinal
We finally learn who is responsible for Rochefort’s extended stay in the Spanish prison. There is a scene between him and Duc de Barville, who is a member of the council, where it is revealed that it was Cardinal Richelieu who instructed that the ransom money was not to be paid. It appears even he knew that the Comte was a bit of a crazy nutter after all.
Y won the first poll and has been added
P won the second poll and has been added
U won the third poll and has been added
K won the fourth poll and has been added
F won the fifth poll and has been added
M won the sixth poll and has been added
L won the seventh poll and has been added
Additional Teaser
The five Musketeers all come into contact with a present of some kind this week. One of them loses one, while another gains one. The most senior one has to fetch a gift for someone, and yet another tries to give one away. The last Musketeer will finally receive something he has been longing to hear.
A Marriage of Inconvenience airs on Friday 27th February at 9pm on BBC 1 in the UK, and on February 28 at 9pm on BBC America. Below are a few dialogue teasers to see you through until then, I will fill in any correct guesses on who said what later in the week. Don't forget to come back to vote in our poll after the episode and let us know what you thought.
“In the meantime, I am going to bed. I am very tired!” Louis to Rochefort
“Doctor Lemay asked me to assist him” Constance to Aramis
“I realised I didn’t want to leave this world with any secrets on my conscience” Treville to Porthos
“You and Constance, you’ll never be happy together” Bonacieux to d'Artagnan
“You have too much to lose and I’m not the man to make you happy” Aramis to Marguerite
“This marriage is my death sentence” Louise to d'Artagnan
“It was a team effort, but yes, I believe we did” Lemay to Constance
“From this distance it’s more accurate than a musket, and it’s easy to conceal” Aramis to the rest of the Musketeers
“You’d be wise not to make an enemy of me” Milady to Rochefort
“The regiment will need a new Captain soon, I could recommend you” Treville to Athos
Trailer Teaser
“Porthos needs your loyalty now, more than ever” Treville to the rest of the Musketeers
About the Author - Sandi
Sandi is part of the Senior Staff at SpoilerTV having been a contributor from back in the Lost days of DarkUFO, and who now writes previews for Banshee, The Musketeers, Atlantis, and other BBC shows. She also enjoys watching and commenting on other shows such as Sons of Anarchy, Hannibal, Game of Thrones and Elementary.
