'Marie Antoinette' Season 2's "The Worst Winter" Sets the Tone for the Monarchy’s Fate

When we last left Versailles in Season 1 of Marie Antoinette, the king and queen were on top of the world, with Antoinette (Emilia Schüle) finally giving birth to the dauphin. Sadly, that pinnacle will pretty much be their last. This season will be all about the different forces and factions closing in on Antoinette and Louis (Louis Cunningham) and eventually turning public opinion fully against them to deadly consequences.

“The Worst Winter” starts bleakly, in the grips of one of the coldest winters France has ever seen. Despite people freezing to death in the streets, the villages sport kings and queens made of snow to honor the monarchy’s “charity.” (Frustratingly, it’s unclear who benefited or what the crown paid for.)  By the end of this episode we’ll learn of France’s secret financial crisis, and Antoinette will have lost her next pregnancy. 

Despite being in America for three years, Axel von Fersen (Martijn Lakemeier) is apparently still at the forefront of Antoinette’s mind. In her private moments, the pregnant queen writes him letters in lemon juice, full of her forbidden desires. The letters are blank stationery to the naked eye, their words revealed only by fire. Antoinette keeps this one-sided correspondence hidden in her desk.

Louis’ scheming brother Provence (Jack Archer) insults the king with one breath and demands the financial controller position with the next, which Louis denies him.  Provence licks his wounds and gossips about Louis over at the Palais Royal, home to their cousin Chartres (Oscar Lesage).

Chartres is not taking his banishment from Versailles well – though you’d never know it with the explosion of guests and constant revelry. He blames Louis for his lost reputation and keeps company with open critics of the monarchy, such as his lover Félicité (Jessica Clark) and Beaumarchais (Philippe Tlokinski), once the personal spy for both Louis XV and XVI. Beaumarchais’ new play, The Marriage of Figaro, which he hopes to stage at Versailles, contains anti-monarchy and revolutionary sentiment.

Now that Maurepas (Paul Bandey) is dead, Yolande (Liah O'Prey) is a free agent, no longer being paid to spy on the queen. But her loyalties are plain: she is beholden to her husband Jules (Thomas Alden) and her lover Vaudreuil (Paul Spera), their desires for a lavish lifestyle, and Vaudreuil’s mounting gambling debts.

Much to Yolande’s delight and the court’s horror, Antoinette bestows dukedom upon Jules, thereby making her a duchess. This is part of the crown’s new philosophy of modern government, whereby titles can be earned through loyalty and service, not just station. Yolande also becomes a permanent member of the royal household when she’s appointed governess to Antoinette’s children. But this new status brings unwanted attention. Vaudreuil gets beaten up by a loan shark demanding three million livres. Realizing the debt will get both her men killed, Yolande sends them away to safety. She plots to influence the king so their friend Calonne (James Northcote) can become financial controller, where he can pay off their debts from the public purse.

The sleazy Cardinal de Rohan (Maximilien Seweryn), ambassador to Austria last season, is desperate to win the queen’s favor. But Antoinette won’t forgive him for calling her mother a hag and blocks Louis from appointing him to his council. Antoinette then asks Louis for and is granted more money for the people of France; she references the economic surplus since they’re no longer at war.

Meanwhile, we meet a fresh face who will become quite important: Jeanne de Valois (Freya Mavor), who arrives at Versailles hanging off the back of a carriage. At the time, any appropriately dressed citizen, not just the nobility, could enter the castle. Jeanne attends mass and uses her proximity to the aristocrats to bump into Yolande and Lamballe (Jasmine Blackborow), stealing items from each of them.

While examining her loot, Jeanne notices the court jeweler with a massive chest. She correctly supposes that it contains an opulent diamond necklace, the most expensive in the land, initially commissioned for King Louis XV’s favorite but never paid for. It is presented to Antoinette, but she says she’d be hung if she spent two million livres on a necklace. When Jeanne is nearly caught stealing by Victoire (Caroline Piette) and Adelaide (Crystal Shepherd-Cross), the king’s aunts, she quickly throws them off her scent by pretending she’s collecting for a charity on behalf of “poor fallen women.” Later, Victoire advises Jeanne to get the queen to be a patron for her charity, to motivate donations out of sycophantic courtiers.

Jeanne hits Versailles again with her friend and fellow con artist Villette (Alexander Bhat). This time, it’s a planned caper where Villette fakes a seizure, and Jeanne, dressed as a servant, is sent to get help. She easily slips into the queen’s private apartments, steals a few small trinkets, and takes the “blank” stationery in Antoinette’s desk – the secret letters to von Fersen. Now in possession of royal letterhead, Jeanne tells Villette she plans to steal the diamond necklace.  

Antoinette is frantic when she discovers the letters have been stolen. Only Yolande knew of their existence, but the queen couldn’t fathom that betrayal. Antoinette charges her advisor, Breteuil (Patrick Albenque), to find the thief. Antoinette sends for Yolande but receives a message – on a platter, no less – that she’s unavailable. In a state of panic, Antoinette begins to search the castle for Yolande. She’s alone in a corridor when she suddenly has horrible pains and discovers she’s bleeding profusely between her legs. She falls to the ground and weakly cries out for help.

Yolande is busy carrying out her plan for the king to meet Calonne, which is quite successful. As the three walk the castle halls, she only notices Antoinette on the ground. Instead of rushing to her lady’s aid, Yolande coldly opts to carry on with her plan, going so far as to close the corridor door so neither Louis nor Calonne becomes distracted.

Luckily for the queen, the loyal Lamballe notices Yolande’s suspicious behavior. Lamballe discovers Antoinette and immediately calls for help. Later, when the queen is unconscious but attended to, Lamballe confronts Yolande, charging her with the blame should the queen die. Lamballe promises to tell Antoinette the truth, but Yolande deflects her, confident the queen won’t believe it.

Louis appoints Calonne as the new financial controller. Calonne is thrilled until Louis’ closest advisor Vergennes (Guy Henry) lets him in on the secret: France is broke. They owe over a hundred million livres in loans. The former controller falsified the economic situation and lied about a post-war surplus.

While Antoinette recuperates, she demands to know why Yolande didn’t come to her when she was bleeding. Yolande tries to protest, but the queen says Yolande’s place is always at her side. She reveals her secret letters were stolen, and Yolande swears she would never take them. The queen mourns her lost child, and Yolande somewhat callously reasons that at least it was a girl, not an heir. Yolande tries to cheer her up by mentioning von Fersen’s imminent return, but Antoinette now seems cautious of her favorite.

Marie Antoinette Season 2 airs Sundays on most local PBS stations, the PBS App, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel at 10 p.m. ET. All eight episodes of the new series are available on PBS Passport for members to stream starting on premiere day. Season 1 is available to stream for members on PBS Passport and on the Prime Video Masterpiece Channel.