'The Serpent Queen' Season 2 Premieres with a "Grand Tour"

Season 2 of The Serpent Queen opens in 1572  as Catherine (Samantha Morton) and her family take a Grand Tour, a gesture of reconciliation – or propaganda, depending on your level of cynicism – toward their subjects, starving, superstitious peasants disenchanted with the Catholic Church. She’s no longer Regent since her eldest son, King Charles IX (Bill Milner), has come of age. But do you think she will settle quietly and let him rule? 

Catherine: Life is about what you are willing to do to survive and I am willing to do anything.

United in their disdain for the ordinary people, Catherine’s privileged, bickering royal children lounge in their coach, and only Princess Margot (Philippine Velge) has any concept of the gulf between peasants and the palace. As soon as the coaches come into view, entertainers appear, and the crowd surges forward. The Guards quickly move in while the royal family backs away, alarmed that things may get out of control. But suddenly, the peasants sink to their knees as they see Catherine. “Never underestimate the power of presentation,” Catherine tells us.

The Privy Council meets to discuss the Grand Tour, and Montmorency (Alexandre Willaume replacing Barry Atsma) chuckles as he comments that their reception was “passionate.” Cardinal Guise (Ray Panthaki), who was knocked over by the surging crowd, is not amused, and he and his brother Francoise (Raza Jaffray) are united in their distaste for the whole concept of the royal tour. They think the royal family has been interfering in the relationship between the church and the people and are appalled by Catherine’s goal to create a peaceful, secular France. She argues it’s the only way the Catholic faith, rapidly losing its support, can survive in the country.

The pro-Protestant Bourbon Bros — Antoine (Nicholas Burns) and Louis (Danny Kirrane) — suggest that the country negotiate a trade agreement with Elizabeth I of England. With France’s arch-enemy? The Guises splutter. Catherine orders the Bourbons to delay their plans; maintaining peace first is the priority. But what does the King think? Put on the spot by the Privy Council, Charles admits that he intends to follow his mother’s advice, to the annoyance of everyone except Catherine (and possibly Montmorency). 

Catherine and Montmorency’s relationship has changed since the first season. After she tried to murder him (twice, ordering her Fool to stab him while he recovered from Catherine’s attack), and his Protestant sympathies are clear, they now have both a working and a personal relationship. In a brief scene with her servants, Catherine expresses her wish only to wear black to honor her late husband, having decided that a dignified persona as the Mother of the King may serve her well. But she and Montmorency are lovers, and at least one of her servants, dressmaker Aabis (Amrita Acharia), who came with Catherine from Italy decades ago, knows of their relationship.

King Charles IX, a sweet guy who is a bit of a wimp, is teased mercilessly by his younger brothers, the worst of whom is Francis/Anjou (Stanley Morgan). Peace-loving Margot (the only reasonable family member) joins in and advises her brother to rule and keep their mother out of matters of state. When Catherine discovers her sons fighting, she is furious and outraged when Anjou demands a seat on the Privy Council. His job, she tells him, is to support the King, nothing more, nothing less. 

Catherine then escapes to the woods and meets up with the man with whom she’s had a longtime association, magician Ruggieri (Enzo Cilenti). She’s had a troubling dream where a mirror in a tree becomes a nest with ten eggs, but only one bird hatches and flies away. Ruggieri tells her the eggs represent her children, six of whom have survived, and reminds her the four dead children represent the price to be paid. Catherine seems satisfied by this interpretation.

Montmorency openly supports the Protestant cause and is a member of a nearby church. The Protestant Church is run by a young woman named Edith (Isobel Jesper Jones) and attended mainly by the poor. Aabis and her apprentice, Thomas (Robin Greer), also worship at the church. What Edith’s congregation needs more than anything, and beyond statesmanship, she tells Montmorency, is food, shelter, and honest work. They know each other well. He rescued her from her abusive father in the first season and brought her to this Protestant community. He considers, however, that she rescued him from a life of despair, loneliness, and failure. 

Politically, he’s with the Bourbons, who try to impress upon him the need for King Charles to make a gesture of support to the Protestant cause by visiting the church. All they need otherwise is an “in” to the Queen of England, which they hope will be provided by Antoine’s wife, Jeanne d’Albret of Navarre (Rosalie Craig), who we meet for the first time, with their son Henri (Angus Imrie) She corresponds regularly with Lord Throckmorton at the English court and can float the idea of a trade partnership. Meanwhile, the Guise Bros socialize with King Charles and invite him to meet his subjects at the church.

The Guise family’s strategy is much more straightforward – burn down the church as a gesture of Catholic might, but there’s a problem in the person of Francoise, who refuses to have anything to do with the plan. He seems to have undergone a personality change; a former man of action and soldier, he now sits around reading poetry. Naturally, his mother, Antoinette of Guise (Beth Goddard), is furious and finds Francoise is in love with Thomas. She has their letters and threatens exposure, and the loss of his military career, unless he stays loyal to the Guise family and their cause. At this moment, she makes Catherine look almost likable.

As Edith preaches a radical sermon to her congregation, a pounding at the door announces the arrival of Francoise and his troops. He orders the door to be shut and the church set on fire. Amidst screams and smoke, Edith keeps the faith and continues to pray and preach. Catherine can see the fire from the palace and is told the King needs her. We’ll find out next week who has survived.

The Serpent Queen Season 2 will release a new episode weekly on Fridays through August 30, 2024.