The Serpent Queen Part 3 is the third instalment of an American historical period drama TV miniseries revolving around the life of Catherine de’ Medici. Created by Justin Haythe, the miniseries is based on the 2004 non-fiction book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda.
SP O I L E R S
Plot
Entitled “The Price”, The Serpent Queen Part 3 once more is mainly focused on Queen Catherine’s retelling of her past to a housemaid. Thus, most of the episode is spent again in flashback. The young princess Catherine desperately needs to get pregnant in order to secure her position (and life, to be honest) in the court of the French king. Bad enough that sex with her husband is less frequent than ideal but then Henri actually returns from war in Italy with a mistress and a daughter!
READ OUR ANALYSES OF THE SERPENT QUEEN.
The main twist in The Serpent Queen Part 3 is the transformation of cousin Diane from mortal enemy to stanch ally, as Diane realises that her fate is linked to Catherine and thus, agrees to help the latter to get pregnant. Sadly, all these efforts are in vain. To compound matters, conspiracies abound in the court to kill Catherine, she is attacked in the forest but survives and accusations against the Dauphin Francis fall on deaf ears.
Finally, Catherine resorts to the dark arts to fulfil her wish and engages fortune teller Cosimo Ruggeri to make it happen. But there is a “price” – which comes in the form of her dressmaker being accused of murder when the Dauphin dies due to a heart attack and Catherine points the finger at him – in order to save her own life – and he is executed accordingly. Soon after, Catherine’s dearest wish comes true – she is with child.
Characters
The Serpent Queen Part 3 is a critical chapter in Catherine’s development as she discovers an alternate means to her ends – by sacrificing those around her. Surely, this lesson will shape her future personality as her first major crisis is averted. Also, Catherine’s alliance with cousin Diane and the death of the Dauphin now place her with reach of becoming Queen of France!
The Final Analysis
The Serpent Queen Part 3 was quite eventful and compelling TV overall. Highly recommended.
Now streaming on Starz.
… still there’s more …