The Revolution Lands at ‘Marie Antoinette’s Feet in the Season 2 Finale

Violence has always been a breath away, and Marie Antoinette’s Season 2 finale brings the danger home to Versailles. “The End of the Beginning” (alternately “The Winds of Change,” due to the recurring theme of windows blowing open) hails the end of an era, namely the monarchy. The revolution is about to break, and there will be casualties. The show secures sympathy for the one-percenters by giving Antoinette and Louis pathos and depth, while the commoners’ plight is largely unexplored. Antoinette is repeatedly shown as an empathetic ruler, caring about her people’s welfare and wishing to help in whatever capacity she can (without a mention of cake).

While the royals are our main characters, it still feels odd to root against people whose motivations are starvation and inequality. That said, there’s a definite condemnation of mob mentality and the manipulations Orléans perpetrated to make things worse. To keep the country from going broke, Louis convenes the Estates General to try one more time to pass his tax reforms. He’s barely recovered from depression, and both he and Antoinette are anxious about how he’ll present himself. Perhaps to stave off opposition and shore up their nerve, they arrive wearing their absolute finest, looking more glorious and regal than they have in the whole series.

Louis gives a convincing speech, and it seems the representatives of France’s three estates might just grant the king’s proposal. The Third Estate, however, representing the commoner against the political powerhouses of the nobility and clergy, is upset by how their votes are counted. They vow not to vote until it’s addressed, or the king intervenes. Necker advises Louis to stay neutral.