Season Three

Four years have passed and we’re thrown straight into the war. Athos is leading a charge in Spoils of War. He’s knocked down and the Spanish begin their attack, but his brothers Porthos and D’Artagnan defend their commander until he is up. Frustratingly, the general insists that the field must be taken, even though the French have no artillery to support them (“Go out there and die for [the king]” is not the most sound military advice). D’Artagnan remains reckless and leads another charge. They blow up the Spanish’s powder and win the day. But the three intend to discover what happened to their promised re-supply.

During the course of their investigation, they come across Aramis, now a monk at a nearby monastery, watching over children. This season’s new villain, Grimaud brings the weapons (stolen from the French army) to the monastery. One of Aramis’s charges, Luc, is quite brave and helpful, eagerly soaking up any stories Aramis tells of his companions. Aramis works with his brothers again and discovers that God made him to be a Musketeer, not a monk. He joins them as they ride back to Paris.

Meanwhile, in Paris, things are not as they left. The only musketeers at the garrison are cadets and they have to put up with the Red Guard, under the leadership of Captain Marchaux and taking orders from Marquis Ferron, the Governor of Paris (why we’ve never seen him before if he’s the governor, and Louis’s bastard half-brother [same father, different mothers, thus does not show on official family trees], I’m not sure. ‘Tis a plot hole). Constance, known now as Madame D’Artagnan runs the garrison while Treville continues to advise the king. Louis and Anne have grown distant; Louis only cares for his son, who is now five years old. Marchaux despises Constance, calling her an unnatural woman. Treville does manage to punch the man in the face (to our cheers).

Grimaud works with Ferron and he’s content to stay in Paris now that the musketeers have returned. The three elder musketeers report to Treville, who has them reassigned to Paris to keep order; D’Artagnan has gone ahead to the garrison to surprise his wife.

He gets thrown in prison in The Hunger, defying Marchaux when the man accuses refugees of stealing grain. Hundreds have fled to Paris for protection when the war ravages their land. One of their leaders is Sylvie, who encounters Athos when he discovers her pamphlets on equality for all (which equals to sedition at that time). He ends up working with her as the musketeers attempt to discover what happened to the grain (she even gets a few fight scenes). Treville argues for justice; there has been no evidence found against the refugees; though it turns out that the villainous trio of Marchaux, Grimaud, and Ferron are working together to frame them. Our heroes win out the day; Athos and Sylvie even kiss, starting a new relationship.

Brothers in Arms brings Louis’s younger brother, Gaston, the Duke of Orleans (this is historically factual), into play. Treville and Anne notice that the king is not acting like himself. Louis wants to build bridges with another family member who wanted to overthrow him (remember how well that worked last time, trying to forgive his mother). Louis does reveal to Treville (with Ferron overhearing) that he has the white plague; this will be his last summer. That is why he is spending all the time he can with his son. He swears his Minister to secrecy; just after Treville has admonished Athos that they should tell each other everything. The Queen does not even know.

Constance maintains her friendship with Queen Anne, though when the queen asks when the garrison will be treated to a child now that D’Artagnan is home, Constance shares her worries about bringing a babe into this chaotic world. Athos has to learn his place as Captain of the Musketeers, according to Treville. He should not be riding out constantly with his friends: I argue that he’s more effective that way and Athos is not one to abandon his brothers. He’s a Captain just returned from war, where his position was at the head of the charge, not sitting back and devising strategy. D’Artagnan is coming along nicely, tutoring the cadets and passing on the wisdom of “head over heart.”

Gaston manages to insult a group of veterans. Due to being the king’s brother, Gaston faces no recriminations while Louis doesn’t mind arresting the veterans. Gaston was carrying letters between him and the Duke of Lorraine (a cousin), raising an army against Louis. Of course Gaston doesn’t want those lying about, but he’s not the loyal family member that Louis desires. Tensions rise between the veterans and the royal family, with the Musketeers stuck in the middle. Porthos and Treville attempt to talk peace, but are held hostage. Porthos is disgusted that “I left a good clean war for this,” meaning the machinations going on in Paris. The Red Guard are given permission to fire on the veterans, only after Athos has had a chance to rescue Treville and Porthos. Of course, thanks to Grimaud, the attempt fails and an all out battle ensues. The Musketeers and veterans join forces against the Red Guard, aided by Constance and the cadets, and Sylvie and the refugees arriving. Treville punches Marchaux again. In the end, Ferron throws Gaston in the Bastille once he reads the letters.

An old face, Emile Bonaire reappears in The Queen’s Diamonds [it’s been a while since I’ve watched season three and I forgot the plot line for this one when I saw the title and thought it was similar to 2011’s movie]. Louis’s sister, Henrietta Marie is married to King Charles I of England (I doubted this was true, but looked it up and yes, it is), and has traveled to France for help from her brother; Cromwell has taken over London [I can give you a rant on Cromwell, if you’d like]. She was to meet with a Dutch financier and use her crown jewels as collateral to raise an army against the uprising. But her diamonds are stolen. By Bonaire. When the Musketeers catch up to him, he’s already sold them, so now they must track down the buyers and get them back. D’Artagnan is instrumental in retrieving the first set of stones, using his knowledge as a farmer to approach a horse that’s causing the other men difficulty. There’s a firefight to retrieve the second batch.

There’s a small side story involving Aramis and an old friend, Pauline. Turns out, Aramis grew up in a brothel before his father retrieved him. Pauline grew up in the same brothel and they were childhood friends. Pauline is due to be married to a wealthy noble, but she’s being blackmailed about her past by a servant. She ultimately kills the servant because she will not tell her future husband the truth. She has a break down right before the wedding (and we’re not entirely sure what happens to her). The story crosses over with the main plot when the last diamond is to be used as her wedding ring. The gems are returned to their owner and Bonaire will double the English queen’s money, if she lets him remain with his new wife, her lady in waiting. They’re free, but they can never return to England.

A prison escape occurs the same day as the dauphin’s birthday in To Play the King. This is all Ferron’s planning; while the court is occupied with the birthday celebration, Grimaud will sneak in and rob the gold vault underneath the palace, accessed by the prison, hence why the prisoners needed to be out of their cells. The Musketeers are sent to round up the escapees. Grimaud blackmails one prisoner, a former locksmith, to get him to build a new key in order to get into the vault.

Unfortunately, one crazy prisoner was in the mix, who thinks he’s the actual king (played by Stephen Walters, who is Angus Mhor in Outlander). D’Artagnan takes pity on him when he discovers the man was a soldier, caught in a siege that addled his mind. The young Musketeer takes the man to a convent to heal. The king remains mercurial; he wants his subjects, starting with Ferron, to swear fealty to his son. But he’s embarrassed when Ferron’s weakness (his spine pains him and makes walking difficult) causes the older man to fall to the floor. His adversary, Treville and Athos help him up and even little Louis comes to his aid. Anne leaves when Louis makes his remark. At the same time, the prisoner D’Artagnan took pity on is very dangerous, killing the nuns, and continues to the palace, coming upon the queen. Anne plays along for a while, but just as the prisoner begins to suspect her, D’Artagnan and the others come to her rescue. Louis is pleased she’s not dead, but that’s as far as his grace extends.

Treville still suspects that Ferron wishes to overthrow Louis, but he cannot tell the king, or Ferron will spread word of Louis’s illness across the continent. The Minister does overhear Ferron and Grimaud plotting that they need Gaston and Grimaud will ensure that the Aramis, Porthos, Athos, and D’Artagnan will not stand in their way again.

Death of a Hero starts ominously, Ferron talking about the day you die, and you don’t see it coming, narrating over the opening shots. Aramis is blindfolded, Athos faces a pistol, and a knife is held to D’Artagnan’s throat. So we fear that at least one of our heroes will not survive. Yet, they are safe for the moment. The pistol held at Athos belongs to Sylvie and they spend a rather interesting morning together (who knew the former Comte could be kinky?) Aramis is doing trick shots with Porthos, and Constance is shaving D’Artagnan. Ferron forges Treville’s signature, telling Grimaud that this will the Musketeers’ day to die; he has issued orders for Aramis, Porthos, and D’Artagnan to meet a messenger from the front. Grimaud handles Athos, finding him at Sylvie’s and brutally attacks him (none of the other refugees can bother to help Athos). Sylvie fires two shots at Grimaud and thinks he’s dead. When she returns with Athos, he’s gone. Athos fears for his brothers and calls Treville to the garrison. They ride out after their friends.

Porthos and D’Artagnan are ambushed on their trip. Grimaud comes along to blow up the building they’re hiding in. The two musketeers discuss that they don’t want to die yet. D’Artagnan still wants children (um, you should really have a talk with your wife, get both of yourselves on the same page). Porthos still wants a wife and child. “We refuse to die!” they resolve. And the roof caves in, trapping them. That is the state that Athos and Treville and the cadets find them. Athos frantically searches, until he fears that his brothers are dead. Porthos manages to come to, grasping D’Artagnan’s hand, echoing their earlier statement, calling attention to them. They’re rescued and now must go for Aramis.

In the meantime, Louis has decided to go on a pilgrimage to his father’s grave on the anniversary of his death. He’ll go with one guard, Aramis. Grimaud, when he finds out that Aramis is not with Porthos and D’Artagnan, orders Ferron to kill him, and the king. Ferron has already helped Gaston escape the Bastille. Ferron lies in wait, but cannot bring himself to kill his younger brother, especially after Louis places his trust in him to look after the dauphin and shows Ferron that he will be buried next to their father and acknowledged as family. Later, Louis confronts Aramis about the truth of his affair with the queen. Louis knows. He threatens to hang the musketeer (not helped along by Aramis telling the king that his wife was lonely; Aramis darling, while that may be true, don’t say that to the king). Outside, Grimaud confronts Ferron. Ferron stands up to the villain and is rewarded with being stabbed. He fires a shot in the air to warn Louis and Aramis of danger. A fight breaks out, Louis even helping shoot one guy. When he discovers his brother, Louis declares him a hero, worthy of a full state funeral. It comes out to the musketeers that Louis is dying, and Aramis warns the queen.

Fool’s Gold has our heroes pursuing Grimaud for his crimes. They come across a camp of women, displaced by the war. The four men wrangle an agreement to use the camp as a base for their search Another man in currently staying there, Bastian (played by Harry Melling, Dudley Dursely from Harry Potter), claiming to be an injured solider. The four musketeers soon discover that he’s not a soldier, he’s a deserter and worse, a convict. He and his men are searching the camp for loot they had stolen. Athos doggedly continues on the search for Grimaud, locating a cabin in the woods. The leader of the camp locks him in; she had acted as a mother to Grimaud when the man’s own mother tried to drown him since he was the result of rape. The mother still lives and is in the camp, Juliette. Athos escapes, but the woman poisons him. He stumbles upon the search party and is plagued with horrible nightmares as he fights the effect of the poison, layered on top of the hideous wounds he received from Grimaud two days before.

Back at the palace, Anne tries to make inroads with Louis, now possessing the knowledge that he is dying. She asks to be named Regent. Louis refuses at first, keeping their son from her; he cannot forgive her for her adultery (double standard; what do you call Milady de Winter? Treville even points this out). Anne does persuade Louis to name her Regent; she wishes to still be friends with him. They accept they never truly loved each other, but their marriage was a political alliance.

Porthos meets a young, pregnant widow at the camp, Elodie. While his brothers face off against Bastian and his friends (bar one who agrees to defend the women; he never wanted hurt them and is repulsed by the others’ actions), Porthos helps Elodie deliver her daughter. He offers to stay at the camp for a while, to help, but Elodie insists that France needs him.

Sadly, all of the work Anne had been doing with Louis is undone in Prisoners of War. Anne had secretly been negotiating with Spain through Aramis; not even Treville nor Athos knew. Grimaud captures Aramis and his plan is to discredit Anne; turn the people against her. Anne firmly tells the musketeers “I have been a French queen longer than I was ever a Spanish princess.” “Spain” (actually Grimaud) has asked for the release of Spanish prisoners in exchange for Aramis. The Musketeers have the unhappy duty of getting the prisoners from Marchaux and the Red Guards just as Marchaux is ready to hang them in front of a crowd. D’Artagnan releases his cousin, at the young man’s pleading (I didn’t want to trust him, and it’s a bit out of place for him to show up out of the blue). Of course, the musketeers (assisted by D’Artagnan’s cousin) rescue their friend and Grimaud frustratingly escapes again.

Treville and Constance try to counteract the bad publicity by having the queen support Sylvie’s education of the poor. She can spread her message farther with the use of a printing press. But it’s turned against her when someone (Grimaud) uses her seal to print scandalous drawings of the queen. And, to make it even better, Milady is back in town. Treville wants to hire her services as an assassin for the crown. He warns her against seeing Athos. She doesn’t listen, visiting Athos’s Captain’s quarters. One of the naive cadets unfortunately reveals that Athos is involved with Sylvie. Athos is not pleased to see his former wife (I would think it’s safe to assume they could be regarded as separated by now), despite a kiss. He fears she’s moved against Sylvie. Marchaux in fact arrests Sylvie and plans to whip her for her transgressions, even trying to get the woman to turn on Constance. Milady is hidden in the crowd when Athos arrives and releases Sylvie, shouting “to hell with the law!” A turn on his reaction to Milady’s deception; it was his duty to execute her for killing his brother. Athos tends to Sylvie and Milady agrees to Treville’s offer. At the end, Louis is angry at Anne and Treville is furious at Aramis for his actions and secrecy in the negotiation process.

The Prize startlingly begins with Louis’s death. One moment, he’s recovering from a simple sparring match with Treville, the next he’s coughing blood and dying in Queen Anne’s arms. Treville puts a plan into immediate action; Athos is to hide the dauphin, now king, in Paris, and tell no one; not even his brothers, especially not Aramis. “Civil war is coming to Paris and that child is the prize.” Gaston and Lorraine have an army stationed outside the city. Anne is furious when she discovers her son missing, not helped when the council reveals that Louis named Treville Regent at the last minute. The excuse used it that with the country at war, it’s better to have a solider at the head.
Treville does have another plan; he needs to separate Gaston and Lorraine. Step one is to convince the queen to pardon Gaston so he can enter the city under the ruse of seeing his brother laid to rest. Treville offers Gaston money so he won’t try for the crown. While Gaston is at the palace, they stage the dauphin leaving and Treville rides with Porthos to visit Lorrain and work that angle.

Athos asks Constance and Sylvie for help. The women disguise the prince and hide out with him at the abandoned tavern the veterans had used [episode 3, Brothers in Arms]. Louis, not exactly understanding all that is happening; sneaks out. He’s quickly recovered, but now they must hide in Bonacieux’s old house. Anne approaches Constance, begging to see her son. Constance compromises, but Marchaux and Grimaud are notified that the dauphin is in Paris and suspect Constance. Marchaux tries to take the dauphin when Constance meets Anne at a chapel, but Aramis is luckily to the rescue. He’s unhappy that Athos kept the information from him and Athos begins to suspect that Aramis has a point; secrecy will destroy their brotherhood. D’Artagnan is eager to help his wife. He takes charge of the child, hiding at the laundry that Constance had used when the boy was an infant. They almost escape Grimaud, but the man is clever and stabs D’Artagnan through the floor, revealing the pair.

Everything comes to a head at Lorraine’s camp. Treville has managed to work out a treaty with the Duke, granting him the independence he wants and warning the man that Gaston cannot be trusted. Lorraine knows his cousin and knows that Treville is correct; he even tells Gaston when the young man shows up that he was “a tiresome and vindictive child,” and he “has not changed.” He does not stand for Grimaud abducting the dauphin and a fight breaks out. Grimaud stabs Lorraine several times. Gaston escapes. Treville grabs the boy and manages to pass him off to Porthos to escape, after taking one bullet. He turns, ready to face his last stand and is shot another time. Grimaud, in full view of Aramis and Athos, shoots their leader a final time. Grimaud escapes again and the musketeers are left to mourn their fallen leader. My tears echo theirs.

The show concludes with We Are the Garrison [and if you note, when a character dies, their actor’s name does not appear in the opening credits]. The Musketeers bury their leader, the four bearing his coffin, and mourn his death at a tavern. Athos is so grief-stricken that he cannot even drink. Constance suggests that Sylvie tell Athos some good news, but the woman says that the time is not right. Constance and Brujon return to the garrison for more wine. The rest of the musketeers toast their former captain. Bombs are thrown into the tavern. Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D’Artagnan are the only four to emerge a few minutes later, in time to see an explosion from the direction of the garrison. D’Artagnan heads their race back, worried for his wife. The garrison is on fire; Porthos tries to hold D’Artagnan back, but the younger man breaks free and rushes in to save his wife. Another explosion tosses the other three back. Porthos is ready to rush in and save their comrade, but Athos tells him D’Artagnan is gone. They start finding some survivors and Sylvie arrives with refugees. As Athos is about to start grieving for their loss, D’Artagnan emerges, carrying Constance. He tells his friends that Brujon is still inside. We fear Constance is dead for a few minutes, D’Artagnan begging Aramis to save her, sobbing “she’s a Musketeer” (I was crying; I still cry every time I see this episode, despite knowing how everything turns out), but she coughs and opens her eyes.

Grimaud reports to Marchaux that only D’Artagnan died in the explosion (he left before seeing the man reemerge). They take Sylvie and send a note to Athos. D’Artagnan is their advantage. When they arrive at the refugee camp, Grimaud sends Porthos and Aramis away to be executed and threatens Sylvie. Athos tells Grimaud that Sylvie does not fear death. Girmaud’s dagger moves lower, pointing to the woman’s belly. A nod confirms; Sylvie is pregnant. D’Artagnan jumps onto the guards just as they’re about to shoot Aramis and Porthos. Aramis sends two shots up, so the Grimaud will think they’re dead, but they come out swinging. D’Artagnan lands some hits on Grimaud, stabbing his shoulder and leg. Then D’Artagnan turns and fights Marchaux. He’s incredibly vicious, but the coward deserves it. Marchaux’s dead, but Grimaud slinks off (will that man die already!)

Athos is terrified and elated at the news that he is to be a father. The child will have the best uncles, who will teach a boy to fight. “And if it’s a girl?” “Then we’ll teach her to fight off the boys.” Good answer! Athos thanks Porthos for his plan; he saved both Sylvie and their child. Later, Athos recommends to Queen Anne that Porthos be promoted. Anne inquires whether Athos is willing to take Treville’s place as Minister. Athos instead suggests Aramis. Anne will consider it. She informs the musketeer captain that a celebration will be held the next day, and all citizens of Paris are invited.

Elodie has shown up; the war found the women’s camp. Porthos has her stay with Constance for the time being. Constance comes across Grimaud in the cellar of the old tavern, though she doesn’t realize who it is. She offers to help him, but he’s gone when she turns around. The next day at the ceremony, Elodie recognizes him in the crowd, entering Notre Dame. Aramis takes charge of the queen and dauphin. Porthos, Constance, and Sylvie get everyone out of the cathedral, and D’Artagnan and Athos go after Grimaud. They pull the fuses on the kegs of gunpowder and chase after the fugitive. He and D’Artagnan trade blows for a moment, Grimaud landing a cut on D’Artagnan’s face. Then Athos insists that he faces the villain alone. D’Artagnan orders his mentor, “I will not raise your child.” Athos and Grimaud each stab the other, and Grimaud doesn’t give up until Athos holds him under water. Their enemy is finally defeated.

The ceremony continues, Athos wrapped in his cloak so his wounds can’t be seen. Anne disbands the musketeers, and reforms them to be protectors of all Paris citizens. The depleted garrison will be recruited from the city. The crowd cheers. As they all leave, Anne promotes Porthos to general; he will return to the front to continue the war. Louis adorably asks Aramis if the man is his new servant (I think this is the only thing the boy says the entire series). Anne begs him to consider becoming her Minister. Athos advises Aramis later to take the position; he’ll be able to watch over his son. While he won’t be known as the boy’s father, wasn’t Treville a father to them all in a way? Anne secretly contracts Milady. Her first target: Gaston.

At the garrison, the Musketeers promote Brujon to a full musketeer and gift him his pauldron. he will accompany Porthos to the front. Porthos has married Elodie so she’ll be provided for in case he dies, and suggests Marie Cessette as a name for the baby (his mother’s name). (I cry this entire ending). Porthos instructs D’Artagnan to only take the best candidates. D’Artagnan is puzzled; that’s the captain’s duty. Athos is taking a leave of absence. “You will return?” the young man almost pleads with his mentor. “Then we will continue this later.” Athos leaves a hat for his pupil (the lad finally gets a hat! And it looks good!) In the end, Aramis does take the position as Minister. Anne is pleased, considering she sneaks a kiss with him in the garden. I adore Athos’s closing quote (I am going to make a pretty art piece to hang on my wall sometime soon).

“What lies ahead of us, I wonder?”

“Really doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t matter?”

“Not if we face every challenge the way we always have. With great passion, hearts that stay true to all they hold dear. Courage, no matter how many enemies lie in wait for us. Father, that daylight will always follow the dark.”

“And love?”

“Above all else.”

The costumes are great this season; they’ve evolved. The Musketeers’ are more militaristic; they have extra padding – you really see it with D’Artagnan. Athos in particular has longer hair (I like it). Constance’s new gowns are awesome, far more practical, bordering on masculine.

I still feel a bit jipped by this last season; there could have been so many more stories (and this is why fanfiction is wonderful!). We could have seen more of Constance and D’Artagnan together, D’Artagnan coming to grips with what his wife has been doing. There are some pleasant scenes, like the beginning of Death of Hero, when Constance brushes hay out of D’Artagnan’s hair. As for the other relationships: I like that everyone gets a happy ending, but I’m still not quite happy with the sudden pairings. It took two seasons for D’Artagnan and Constance to get together and Aramis and the Queen were in love with each other almost the entire show. Suddenly, Athos has a new girlfriend, with vastly different politics. She’s for equality and he serves the king. Yes, I am glad he is happy; he deserves it. But it still feels sudden. I can see how Porthos and Elodie work; but she was only in three episodes total. How coincidental that Porthos wishes for a wife and child and one appears for him. Again, I’m glad he’s happy and he deserves it, but I don’t see a relationship built. How well will it work out when he returns home?

As with Richelieu, I have a little bit of sympathy for Ferron (not much). In a way, he’s trying to do what’s best for France. He doesn’t want to kill Louis. He’ll certainly take advantage of his death. And he obviously dislikes the Musketeers, which does not endear him to me. Marchaux is a coward and a bully, content hiding behind stronger players (and as D’Artagnan points out; he’s an able-bodied solider who is not at the front). And being cruel to Constance makes me want to punch him, or have Treville punch him harder. And Grimaud is just evil. He delights in pain – and won’t freaking die!

So, what is your favorite version of The Three Musketeers? Do you like the 70’s version with Michael York and Christopher Lee? Who’s your favorite musketeer? [Mine is typically D’Artagnan, influence by Chris O’Donnell’s portrayal, but I adore Athos from The Musketeers]. Let me know!

Since I have spent the past watching various Three Musketeers and reading their fanfiction, my brain has been in Paris. I am still in a bit of shock that Notre Dame burned; it hits a little harder. I am fascinated by medieval architecture and the cathedral is a prime example of the Gothic style. The history of the building that may have been lost.  The citizens of Paris are in my thoughts.

Okay, happier thoughts:

Fanfic Recommendations:

Gaelicspirit, most notably The Details and Broken Places

Richefic, especially All for One which takes place over the entirety of season one

Tea, Coffee and Sibling Rivalry by Forest Archer; the kitten chapter had me laughing until I had to stop for air

Up Next: We move into Arthurian legend (a favorite of mine), starting with Tristan and Isolde