We start however, with quite a radical change compared to the first series; the dramatic lack of Peter Capaldi's villainous Cardinal. I praised Capaldi as being one of the few stand out stars of the show, and I said that they would need him to progress with series two. Whilst I stand by my praise of his performance, it turns out I was wrong; they did not need him to make series two a hit. Of course, Whovians amongst you will know that Capaldi has left the Musketeers to achieve interstellar praise and fame in a certain blue box (and long may his tenure there continue!) and whilst his Cardinal's presence and lasting impression is a low key but constant theme of the second Musketeer outing, his loss seems to have galvanized them for the better.
Indeed, in having to drastically alter proceedings due to the lack of the Cardinal, the minds behind The Musketeers seem to have sharpened, honed and focused a lot of other show elements just a tiny bit, resulting in a show which is that much more concise, and slick and confident in what it delivers.
Naturally, first thing being first, with one major casting change in the lack of cardinal, another was needed in finding a new villain of the piece. Enter Marc Warren, an acting quality staple and reputed talent in his own right, as Rochefort. A big change maybe, but one that soon paid off fantastically in my view. From the off, Warren's natural chilling charisma vaulted him into proceedings in the Musketeer world. He simply grew from strength to obsessive villainous strength before our eyes, simmering and smoldering into a superb arc from beginning to end.
In terms of new casting - big plus then, but in terms of old casting, again like series one - I feel this was a mixed bag. In many ways, the aforementioned small adjustments paid off in terms of characterization we were familiar with. The continuing arcs of Athos and Aramis, whilst perhaps a tad predictable, were acted solidly and were able to carry both the characters and the series strongly. Tamla Kari as Constance was again deliciously watchable, and even her on screen other half Luke Pasqualino was a little dialed down and slightly more tolerable to watch (though marginal, this is a big improvement from last year!). Porthos is still the Musketeer character with the weakest link I feel. Yes, again his character has been honed and focused, and the actor's delivery has improved, I just feel that there is not much room for maneuver or development here, or at least his is the character with the least amount of potential. That may not necessarily be a bad thing, as a little stability did not hurt anyone, and if there was a musketeer who was predictably stable in story line - it is Porthos. Hugo Speer as Treville again just about delivers, Alexandra Dowling's Queen Anne of France is still captivating, but again sadly Ryan Gage's King Louis is just as foppish and dull as in series one (though frankly and thankfully he gets a bit more caught up in proceedings this time so we don't notice as much).
The score is still superb, the locations still great, and Dumas' original novel still generally done relative justice. I do feel that inch by inch, The Musketeers is steadily improving, and much to the delight of everyone involved and everyone watching I'm sure. Last year I watched week on week with a slight half-reluctance; as if dreading it may fall apart any minute. That did not happen this time, and the fact that each episode could instill confidence can only be seen as a good sign of blossoming consistency and an increase in quality. Series three has been announced, and I for one will welcome it with open arms.
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