Critics Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
There are time projects, and then there are shows like The Serpent Queen, which serves up drama on a silver platter with one hand while holding a dagger in the other.
After a nearly two-year hiatus, the series returns with a ten-year jump after Catherine gains regency over France through somewhat underhanded means.
Time jumps are an excellent way for many shows with longer running times to move beyond boring stories and inject new life and characters into the series.
But in the case of The Serpent Queen, the writers may have seen an opportunity to give returning audiences a fresh start while giving new viewers an easy introduction to the series.
The Queen of Serpents presents scandals, satire and satire.
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Since Sofia Coppola’s 2006 classic historical drama Marie Antoinette, starring Kirsten Dunst, we’ve seen a flurry of similar fusions of historical drama and modern satire.
“The Serpent Queen” doesn’t try to be subtle in its approach, and as a result, it reaps the rewards of a show with clear themes and influences.
It has caught the attention of critics everywhere, as the series is one of the few shows that can claim absolute freshness on Rotten Tomatoes.
As with the original series The Great, which follows Catherine’s other historical story, there are subtle references to the reimagining that will appeal to a wider audience.
However, while Hulu’s offering favored the hardcore side, The Serpent Queen maintains a firm grip of control throughout.
If you’re not sure you’re watching a reimagining, look at the male character’s haircuts and styling.
I don’t care what animal by-products they were working with at the time.
There is no way to get the kind of hold these guys have without a quality mousse and hair gel.
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However, the craziest and wildest aspects of historical drama are usually the events recorded in history, because sometimes you can’t make up such things.
Catherine is a bad mother, but she’s in good company.
Of course, we wouldn’t have a show without the Serpent Queen working front and backstage with her ever-expanding agendas.
From her first line in the first episode of Season 2 of The Serpent Queen, Katherine has proven herself to be the evil mother she’s always presented as.
At the end of the first season of The Serpent Queen, it seemed like she had gotten everything she wanted, and the writers wasted no time in showing the audience exactly what she did to him.
With years of royal experience, she stood calm and collected during the first episode, titled “The Grand Tour,” while her pampered and spoiled children trembled in fear in the face of the peasants. With years of royal experience, she stood calm and collected during the first episode, titled “The Grand Tour,” while her pampered and spoiled children trembled in fear in the face of the peasants.
It’s been a long journey of fighting for the life I felt I deserved since the first episode of season one of The Serpent Queen, “The Medici Bitch.”
She knew what the job was and how to do it well, as the role of a woman of high status in that era was much like any game of chess.
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The king may be the most important piece, but the queen has the most power thanks to the deadly blow she can deliver to any pawn, bishop, or rook.
Women have always played a pivotal role in the rise and fall of any empires, dynasties or kingdoms, which is why it’s no surprise that the women of the series are the most terrifying.
Among these lavish ladies is a strong presence of Antoinette, the mother of Françoise de Guise, who has no problem blackmailing her son as a means to an end.
There is also Antoine de Bourbon, who said he was afraid of his wife, and with good reason, because her gaze contained nothing but daggers.
So, wherever the road leads, it will be paved with women who use words as weapons just as soldiers use swords.
You can’t stop a good or even bad court from continuing.
One of the most exciting and anticipated aspects of a time jump in a series, especially one that spans ten years, is the characters, both old and new.
Children become adults overnight, adult characters often have lives that are completely different from what they had before, and the world as viewers have known it may have gone through a series of upheavals.
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If there’s one thing Starz isn’t afraid to do, it’s shake up the series in any way possible to keep up with other premium TV and streaming services.
The first thing we see is Catherine’s children growing up and living as pampered a life as possible from their elevated homes.
Except perhaps for one or two who have relatively good hearts, it is clear that the children are not as well as the Queen would like.
Then there’s her son, Charles, who is finally old enough to rule, but seems to have no idea how to begin his royal reign.
As her brothers emphasized, Catherine maintained a firm grip on her power over the kingdom while keeping Charles at a distance.
Of course, there is the classic image of the younger brother who feels he is supposed to rule, and if it weren’t for this cursed arrangement, the kingdom would be in his rightful hands.
Whatever the case, neither Charles nor Anjou were qualified to rule.
Catherine probably knew this, but throughout her reign, I don’t think she could find the time to teach her children the ropes.
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However, the angry prince who wants to become king over his older brother is a stereotype that can be seen everywhere, from The Lion King to Pete’s Dragon.
Atheists really rule God’s country.
The presence of the church is inevitable in historical dramas, whether dramatic or comic.
Although the church is a cliched and overused narrative device, its prevalence in the series is also historically accurate.
Religion has been the guide of kings for centuries, and although many countries have loosened their ties between church and state, this combination will never truly end.
However, The Serpent Queen relies heavily on its plot surrounding the split between Catholics and Protestants.
Without offence, it should be noted that this is not a battle between different religions.
It’s more than just a battle between two flavors of the same religion, but during the 16th century, religion was all most people had.
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Hope was in desperate need, and the church knew how to finance its operations, just as it does in the series, with phrases like “peasants are like cattle.”
Although Catholicism is nowhere near as extreme as it was on Game of Thrones, the Serpent Queen is set to stir up some religious controversy.
I mean, they burned that church down with everyone in it.
Did you see how that fire ceiling finally collapsed?
It would be a shock if anyone made it out alive.
Either way, we’ll be on the edge of our seats to see where this historical series filled with additional characters takes audiences after a two-year hiatus.
We have a feeling Catherine isn’t ready to be bad.
What do you think of the time jump and new cast?
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Will Charles have to fight tooth and nail to get the throne now that he is old enough to rule?
Leave a comment below to let us know, and join us again when we review the next episode of The Serpent Queen!
