Hot Off The Press - The Musketeers episode 9

The penultimate episode! It's here, and wow was it a good one.

So following last week's entertaining yet not entirely great episode, this time around things are picking up in Paris. While the Queen enjoys the countryside, back in the capitol the King lets slip to the Cardinal how he favours another woman who has recently paid him a visit. Seeing how this might work out in his favour, the Cardinal, along with Milady, hire a mercenary to assassinate the Queen. However, it is unsuccessful and the musketeers flee away with her in search of safety. Finding solace in a convent, Athos and Aramis prepare for a siege while looking after the Queen, trusting Porthos and d'Artagnan to return in time with reinforcements.

Avoiding the pitfalls of previous episodes, the story is kept simple but develops nicely allowing for a well-rounded experience. Constance remains absent, allowing for more time to be spent with Athos and Aramis as they fend off waves of attackers and it works well. Where we had grown use to other episodes focusing around a single character, here the focus is more balanced, but it eventually falls on Athos and Aramis which is no bad thing thanks to their charisma and easy banter. While there was one overly convenient moment, it didn't feel as forced as others that had come before and it worked well as we learnt more about Aramis, even at this late stage.

With an ongoing siege, the show also found time for more drama between the Cardinal and Milady which also worked well and was another highpoint as they plotted their way out of being discovered. The relationship between the two has certainly been interesting, but here I thought it was at its most engaging as they start to turn on one another as the musketeers start to connect the dots. This episode also had Capaldi at his most ruthless and coldblooded, which was brilliant to finally see having waited so long as he starred through the bars of a prison cell towards an innocent man facing death. Despite having had his mistress executed in the first episode, it seems only recently where we have finally seen the Cardinal the way he should be, and Capaldi is fantastic, making the role his own.

Despite Porthos and d'Artagnan being put on detective duty, their scenes remained entertaining, allowing for the story to develop and build towards a great final. Other notable moments included a standoff between Athos and their hunter, and the Cardinal receiving applause at the end when his original plans had failed. There were so many great moments and neat touches this time around that I could go but to do so would just be me telling the story all over again.

Packing plenty of entertaining action (nuns using beehives to fend off mercenaries felt like something out of an old Robin Hood film) and a sense of build-up as the musketeers learn of the Cardinal's plans, but having to chose the right moment when to act, episode nine has to be my favourite of the series so far. Some parts did feel silly at times (Aramis bedding the Queen) and the mercenary leader lacked a sense of threat we had been led to expect with a disappointing face-off at the end (just like poor Vinnie Jones last week) but looking towards the big picture, I am certainly excited to see how it will conclude next week.