The penultimate episode of The Serpent Queen – which has not yet officially announced a third season – made me feel a pang in my heart for possibly saying goodbye to one of the best series of recent years. Alongside The Great, which was interrupted in its fourth season, the series mixes history and humor with perfect rhythm and cast chemistry. The quality is so significant that it is regrettable to see that the production value – in the costumes, sets, etc. – can weigh down its short duration. And with the promised twist in episode 7, this becomes even clearer.

As always, the soundtrack stands out once again. Composed only of female rockers, the choice of songs always has a double meaning. In this case, the classic Down the Water by PJ Harvey is the frightening veiled threat of Catherine (Samantha Morton) to those who consider her defeated.

The song is about a woman who drowns her daughter and returns to the scene of the crime, whispering, “Little fish, big fish swimming in the water, come back here, man, give me my daughter.” Catherine, aware of the short life of another son, in this case Charles IX (Bill Milner), sacrifices him in secret to regain control of France. We know that what follows is the tragic Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, where at least 5,000 Protestants were killed in a single night (the final count is impossible to estimate because many bodies were thrown into the Seine and carried downstream), triggering a persecution that would kill an additional 20,000 people across the country. The second season, therefore, very cleverly contextualizes the increasing pressure, even using fictional characters and facts such as Edith (Isobel Jesper Jones).

Throughout the season we saw Catherine, who we learned was shrewd and practical, genuinely trying to bring about religious balance in France, with the firm hand of a Regent who displeases the other two strong houses of the Court: the Bourbons and the Guises. As an Italian and a commoner, Catherine is a survivor and therefore knows how to be strategic, but we see her suffer defeat after defeat and precisely when she tries to be empathetic or emotional. Virtually EVERYONE betrays her, unsurprisingly she is so ruthless when she loses her commitment to love someone, even her own children.

Catherine and Elizabeth I (Minnie Driver) never met, but Justin Haythe‘s imagination gave us a Virgin Queen who was fun, (passive) aggressive, and way ahead of the Serpent Queen in the game. The two would have so much to be friends with if it weren’t for their faith that put them in opposite corners. The British monarch managed to fool everyone and, by securing a good deal for England, she also gave the Protestants the means to instigate civil war.

The truth is that Catherine was unusually inattentive: Charles’s health (who has tuberculosis) was the last straw for her to focus on what she always knew how to do best: manipulating people and facts to stay in power.

The mystical side of the serpent queen is as historical and correct as her reputation for cruelty and witchcraft. In the series, her visions are not easily deciphered and with that, she knows that she will lose all her children, except one, and that another will be King in place of the Valois. But who?

For now, she deduces that it is the Guises who are plotting to act, marrying the rebellious and innocent Margot (Philippine Velge) to the Duke (Raza Jaffrey), but we, history fans, know that she is underestimating Henry (Angus Imrie), son of Antoine de Bourbon (Nicholas Burns), who is literally playing dumb and is just learning from the antagonisms around him so that one day he can be, as he was, King of France. This is a spoiler of reality, in the series, Catherine doesn’t even suspect the future. She promises Edith that she will marry Margot to Henry (which happens) and that she will hand over the regency to the Protestants (which doesn’t happen). The drama is so well underway that it gave me goosebumps!

I have to highlight all the great performances in The Serpent Queen, especially Samantha Morton, of course, and Minnie Driver. I could never fail to mention the opposing brothers/cousins: both Nicholas Burns and Danny Kirrane as the Bourbons and Raza Jaffrey and Ray Panthaki as the Guises. The theatrical technique, the timing for comedy and drama, the details of the looks and pauses, everything has been a masterclass in acting that only highlights the Valois brothers as well, with Bill Milner perfectly capturing the insecurities of a weak king like Charles IX and even better, Stanley Morgan flying as Anjou, the repressed and complex prince who has moved us as much as he has irritated us.

With all this, I’m rooting for AT LEAST one more season, so we can have the conclusion of Catherine de Medici’s rise and fall told in full. For me, The Serpent Queen is simply unmissable.

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