The Serpent Queen season 2 episode 2 review: Catherine successfully leads us through the story

It's time to review a new episode of The Serpent Queen season 2 episode 2, "Second Coming" is an intriguing look at the delicate balance in court politics, and how Catherine is able to successfully weed her way through it all. Let's get into it! SPOILERS BELOW.

The slow growing tension hooks you in

I think one thing The Serpent Queen does well in general is slowly growing the tension when it comes to certain situations, and so far season 2 has been the same. Last week, Francois was forced to burn down Sister Edith's church with everyone in it. Going as far as to lock the doors on them. Of course in this week's episode, we see the aftermath of that.

The majority of season 2 episode 2 is us seeing Catherine weave her way through to play both sides basically into what she wants. Or at least, partially get what she wants. She's able to appease the Bourbons by looking into a trade deal with England as they wanted and forces the Guises and more Catholic nobility to fund the palace she wants to build in King Charles' name in Paris.

At the end after much smart and calculated maneuvering, Catherine gets everything she wants. And that's what I love about her. There's a new resolved strength to her this season as she's basically been ruler of France for the last 10 years. Where in season 1 we saw more of her growth, this time around she's cemented in her role and knows how to get what she wants. And this episode definitely proves that. I love it!

Now that's just the tension between the Guises and and Bourbons. Not to mention the home grown clear struggles between Charles and his brother Prince Anjou. We got a taste of this in the first episode, and it grows a bit more in the second. And Catherine is definitely not happy about it, and is nervous to leave her kids alone to go to Italy to get funds for the palace. And so, she calls in some surprising reinforcements.

Diane de Poitiers is as sly as ever

Put Catherine de' Medici and Diane de Poitiers in any scene, and you've got me hooked. Though King Henry's mistress is much more toned down now with age and being away from court for so long, she's still as sly as ever. Her "hello, cousin" and the way actress Isabelle Adjani delivers her lines is just so good. The two women are courteous, but you can see the obvious underlying tension between them as well. But, they both put it aside.

It's interesting how Diane mentions she perhaps loves and has given more attention to Catherine and Henry's children rather than her own daughters. Mother of the year. I don't know how long Diane is sticking around for, but as bad as this character is morally, it never fails to amuse me when she's there. So I really like that early on we see her once again.

The Serpent Queen is great at leaving us with exciting cliffhangers. In "Second Coming," Edith and many of her followers have survived the fire which they see as a miracle. And Edith is pissed at the royal family and is ready to rise up against them. Dun, dun, dun. I like that this season introduces a new element in these religious tensions, and Edith is already a compelling antagonist of sorts.

Grading The Serpent Queen season 2 episode 2

Overall I really enjoyed The Serpent Queen season 2 episode 2. I think that the pacing and transitions in the episode were done really well. It's interesting that it was sort of divided into sections lead by Catherine. And we don't see the next set of characters until she moves on to speak with them if that makes sense. She leads us through the episode, and I like that way of storytelling. I think it really works for the episode.

Again, the tensions between the privy council, the royal brothers, and now the Protestants vs the royal family are all coming together and beginning to intersect. There's no doubt all three will start to affect each other. We're already seeing hints of it. And I can't wait to see what happens next! Episode grade level: A. Be sure to come back next week as we recap and review episode 3, "Death of a Prince."

The Serpent Queen season 2 episode 2 airs/streams Friday, July 19, 2024 on Starz.