The Musketeers S1E7 - "A Rebellious Woman" Recap

The royal coach is riding through the city and the people are all gathered round to watch. A young girl runs up to the coach and tries to speak with the Queen (while it is still in motion) but she ends up falling and being run over by it. When Porthos examines the body, he finds that she has a small scroll in her hand. Constance comes forward and identifies her as Therese Du Bois.

The royal family learns that Therese had hoped to deliver a petition to the Queen pleaing for womyn's education. We're then introduced to Contessa Ninon De De Larroque, an independently wealthy woman who knew Therese, as she was a daughter to one of her servants. De Larroque is an intelligent, forward-thinking woman who supports freedom of thought and the right for womyn to be educated. She had also been educating Therese. The King doesn't understand why she would educate a servant. De Larroque tells them that she was the one who wrote the petition and told Therese that the Queen was a woman of wisdom and kindness, who might sympathise with their cause. The Queen promises to read the petition and De Larroque turns down an offer to go for a walk with the King, as she is too distressed.

The Cardinal tasks Milady de Winter with finding something to use against De Larroque, as her manner of thinking and living threaten to undermine the sexist religious teachings of the time. He also wants to get her money to fund a new army.

A friend of Therese's, Fleur, has gone missing as well. The Musketeers visit De Larroque to ask after her and they learn her parents wanted to marry her off into a life of domestic servitude. Milady is there too but she hides from being seen by the Musketeers. De Larroque brings Athos through her place of residence and they engage in some intellectual conversation that builds up to her kissing him and inviting him to return for dinner.

The Cardinal is visited by a higher ranking religious figure that has relayed a message from the Pope, saying that the alliance with Sweden is unholy, as they are a Protestant nation. The Cardinal does not care for their displeasure, as he sees Sweden as an important strategic ally. The Cardinal is then told to "deal" with De Larroque's "heresy," in exchange for an elevation from the Catholic Church.

Athos returns and brings De Larroque to see Therese's body. He asks her if she hates men and she replies that she doesn't, but says that she sees marriage as a curse. He tells her he agrees but asks why she believes so. She says that her wealth would be lost upon marriage, as it would all become property of her husband's, as would her body. She refuses to be owned by anyone. He calls her a rebellious woman, nicely, and tells her his marriage ended badly. They are interrupted by a raid taking place on De Larroque's house. They are tearing up her books and attacking the womyn in her home. The Musketeers fight the soldiers off and eventually discover Fleur hidden in a secret room and De Larroque is arrested.

The Cardinal and the other religious men say that De Larroque is guilty of practicing witchcraft and the King pokes fun at this, asking if she can fly on a broomstick or concoct love potions. Later when De Larroque is put on trial, they do everything in their power to make her seem guilty. They try to have Fleur testify against her but they twist every supportive thing she says against her. The Cardinal has Milady come forward under a false identity and testify against her but Athos throws a fit upon seeing Milady out and wreaking such havoc. The Cardinal declares De Larroque guilty, though she says that witchcraft does not exist, leading the other religious figure to call her blasphemous (really?). The proceeding is interrupted when the Queen comes in and says that the King has insisted that unless she confesses to practicing witchcraft without being tortured, she must be spared from the death penalty. The Cardinal begins throwing a fit, having been poisoned, but the Musketeers are able to get some castor oil in him and keep him from dying.

The Musketeers visit Fleur and ask her if she poisoned the Cardinal. She says she did not and she is down-trodden over the fact that she is set to be married to a 40-year-old man. Yuck. Milady visits De Larroque and tells her that if she doesn't (falsely) confess to being a witch and poisoning the Cardinal, then all of her girls will suffer the consequences for it. The Musketeers are able to realise that the same poison used to kill a thief from earlier on in the episode was also used to poison the Cardinal. The Father visiting from the Pope was responsible for both poisonings. The Musketeers are able to get to the Cardinal right as the Father tries to kill him. De Larroque is about to be killed but in the face of his own mortality, they're able to convince him to permit them to stop her from burning. The catch is that her land and property must be turned over to the Cardinal, save for a small amount to allow her to live quietly elsewhere.

The episode ends with De Larroque making plans to become a teacher in the countryside for daughters of the poor and bidding Athos goodbye. Constance is able to convince Fleur's father to hold off on marrying her off and continuing her education, though Fleur doesn't know that Constance was the one to convince him. D'Artagnan has a Freudian slip and confesses his love to Constance, after which they snog and hook up.

The Musketeers airs on Sundays on BBC One at 9PM.