The Musketeers S2E3 - "The Good Traitor" Recap

Rochefort is revealed to have developed quite the uncomfortable-to-watch infatuation with the Queen, as he hires a prostitute to don a fancy gown and pretend to be the Queen, profess her love for Rochefort and her disdain for the King, and plead with him to make love to her. Apparently The Musketeers writers wanted to up Rochefort's 'creep' factor. Job well done on that front.

Enter one General Tariq Alaman, a Moor exiled from Spain who is offering to sell the king the formula for a powerful gunpowder. He only wants the Musketeers to help rescue his daughter Samara who is being held captive by the evil General Baltasar. Tariq and Samara had fled to Paris but his enemies came and kidnapped her, but Tariq believes it's himself Baltasar wants. In actuality, Baltasar plans to kill both of them just as soon as Tariq come for her. There's some very powerful themes here about racism.

The king summons General Baltasar to the palace; he denies having kidnapped Samara but he was previously shown to be determined to get his hands on Alaman's gunpowder.

The royal baby is sick with a fever. The King is furious and determined to make him better. The Musketeers learn of the sickness and Aramis must be discrete about his extra concern regarding the matter. Meanwhile, Milady is shown to be bribing her way into the palace. She is able to get to the King and introduce herself but though he's happy to see her, he won't grant her a private audience because of the commotion regarding "his" baby. She is supposed to be escorted out but manages to stay hidden within the palace.

The baby isn't responding to whatever backward archaic medicine they're using and the "doctor" says that if these don't work they'll have to use leeches. To bleed the baby. Go ahead and process that. Rochefort is also planning to use this time of crisis to manipulate the Queen into getting more attached to him because this whole plot line wasn't full of enough 'ice' already.

The Musketeers try to help Tariq with the pretend-exchange so he can get Samara back but it all goes wrong. At least it leads to some terrific action with a dramatic score to go right along with it. Our team of good guys is still alive but Samara is still in the hands of the enemy. There's also plenty of destruction and a few dead and injured civilians on top of all that. Aramis was distracted during the fight because of a crying baby, reminding him of his ailing son. The Musketeers are furious with Tariq for not giving over the cypher as he was supposed to, especially since Porthos has also been taken captive. Tariq if forced to admit that he doesn't have the cypher; Samara does.

The King warns the physician that his son must be saved or else he will lose his head. He tries to claim that bleeding is the only option left. Constance tries to object, saying it may only weaken him further, but quickly back-peddles when she receives an icy glare from Rochefort. Speaking of the blonde creep, he follows the crying Queen out to get all creepy and "concerned" while giving her a pep talk. He confesses his love but quickly covers by saying his love is like that of any subject towards their Queen.

An injured Porthos wakes in captivity with an arrow in his leg and ends up speaking with Samara. The two talk about issues of race and being in a country other than their roots. Samara warns him that France will turn on him for being an outsider, just as Spain turned on her. She eventually reads him some poetry from a book that is revealed to hold the cypher. Porthos implores Samara to pull the arrow out of his leg, which he does, to which Porthos proudly proclaims that they now have a weapon.

The King returns to one of his private apartments and finds Milady waiting in there for him. He rewards her persistence by telling her to return later that night and to wear that same dress, which he finds "pleasing to the eye." *gags* They meet for dinner and she returns the ring which she had kept safe on a ribbon tucked into her cleavage. She keeps working him and the two eventually kiss and hook up under the dinner table. He also gives back the ring that she had returned as a token of his good favour.

The Musketeers agree to hand over Tariq in exchange for Samara and Porthos. In private, the King tells Captain Treville to get the cypher and in exchange, he'll never say a harsh word about the Musketeers again. Meanwhile, Constance sneaks out with the baby to try to help him. Her husband discovers her but he agrees to keep it secret. When Rochefort discovers the baby is missing, he has the other hand maidens arrested and demands that Constance be found and arrested.

The Queen and other royal attendants go into the room where the King and Milady are still romping under the table and the King crawls out and orders everyone but the Queen out. She is further devastated to see Milady also crawl out but relays the news that the Dauphin (royal baby) has been kidnapped.

Tariq is being beaten but he won't give up any answers to his captors until they bring Samara to him and threaten to cut off her fingers (as a start). He relents and admits that the cypher is in Samara's book. The Musketeers break in, and Porthos had also gotten free using the arrow from his leg. They must bargain the circumstances of their exchange. Samar will go free. Tariq volunteers to go peacefully with the Spanish and help them decode the cypher. Athos warns that they are only relenting for now.

Rochefort tracks down Constance who has been keeping the Dauphin near some steam (formed by laundry being done). Rochefort says he will have Constance executed. He then heads off to apprehend the Spanish and retrieve Tariq or something but Tariq tricks Alaman by throwing the cypher into the fire. Alaman shoots Tariq and pulls it out of the fire but Tariq had only done all of this so he could retrieve his remaining gunpowder, toss it into the fire, and destroy them both. Outside, Samara is devastated.

Constance is reprimanded by the King and Queen and she implores them to see that she was just trying to save the baby since the doctor's treatments weren't working and that the steam is a remedy used amongst the common people. The King gets all snobby about "common people" being riddled with disease, orders her to be hanged, and she is escorted from the room. Later, the "doctor" brings the Dauphin back into the room and says that the baby's lungs are clearing and concludes that the steam indeed saved the baby and that Constance should receive the credit. The King then says that perhaps they shouldn't hang her. Gee, you think? Of course this quack doctor still needs to get the last word in and tell Constance that generally, leeches are an infallible cure. Please cease this fool's chatter before I knock him upside the head.

The King isn't happy about losing the gunpowder. Captain Treville notes that at least the Spanish don't have it. The King admits this is true but notes how the Musketeers have once again let him down just as they have been continually doing. He leaves the room with Rochefort and intends to discuss affairs of the state with him.

Samara stops by to visit Porthos and shares that she is leaving to go home to Morocco that evening. She advises him to search for his own home (in Africa) one day. He says that he is home, with the Musketeers. She gives him the book of poems and thanks him for trying to save her father. He says that he never knew his father and tells her to cherish the memory, which she will at least have to keep once the grief has faded.

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