20 thoughts on “The Serpent Queen (2022) – Recap Episodes 1 & 2

  1. The guy in the animal print vest isn’t the fortune teller. That’s Adam Garcia who plays Sebastio who gave Catherine the make-over and comes with her to the French court to continue to be her personal designer/hairdresser.

    1. Ruggieri is an historical figure, though most of the stories about him are fantasy. He was supposedly Catherine’s pet sorcerer and poisoner. He seems to have been an astrologer but Catherine probably never poisoned anybody considering her known murder attempts were all with dagger ot arabesque.

  2. Of course Rehima is black. All servants are black, right? In fact black slaves were fashionable in Italy as decorative accessories. They could have made a good story by having such an enslaves woman come to France with Catherine, which could easily have happened, and do well in France rising to a high position in Catherine’s household and an informal role as her confidant.

  3. This is yet again (big sigh) a series on a source I can’t get, though I’ve been seeing promos elsewhere, so very grateful that you’re recapping this!

    And besides, your recaps are frequently more entertaining than the shows themselves, and are always great from the standpoint of focusing in on the costumes.

    I’m impressed with the casting on Catherine– both actresses seem reasonably close to the period portraits, much more so than usual. And while I’ve never seen the younger actress in anything, I know Samantha Morton delivers excellent performances.

    Getting to shoot in actual locations is a plus, and even if the costumes, acessories and hairstyles seem to be hitting WTF at times, I’ve got to give them props for including chopines and a vizard– something I don’t think I’ve ever seen afilm do.

    Looking forward to the next set of recaps! GREAT job!!

  4. The only reason I can think of that Mathilde is pursuing the Dauphin is that she has a secret assignment to get close enough to poison him. The Pope instructed her to do this, but Catherine wasn’t informed so she would have deniability. Mathilda will apply some absorbent poison onto his model sailboats, and voila Dauphine Catherine. I don’t understand, however, why Mathilda was off the chateau grounds to burn rags and able to be tracked down by Diane de Poitiers in the first place. If you want to burn something discreetly, Catherine’s bedroom has a fireplace!

  5. I look forward to your headdress commentary.
    (Those attifets look as flat as Mickey Mouse ears, which, well, its not my era, so I shall wait to read further.)

    1. “Vizard” (or “visard” sometimes) was one of those odd historic clothing things I ran across when I was young, and it later became a Scrabble word.

      One thing that’s very odd about a vizard is they were usually held in place by a button on the inside that the wearer held between her teeth, though sometimes they were just held in place by some sort of tie around the head. Really strange feature, because with that button in your mouth you were not only faceless but unable to speak while you were wearing one– but this was sometimes said to make a woman alluringly “mysterious.”

  6. Looking over the photos, one of the things I really like about this production is that they haven’t done eye makeup on Catherine (both actresses, but particularly Liv Hill) or Diane, just natural lashes and eyebrows. This gives them way more of a “period” look and a better match to portraits. All three actresses look quite a bit different when made up normally. Samantha morton is definitely no stranger to being “deglamourized” for a role, given the way she was presented as Alpha in THE WALKING DEAD– no makeup, clothes that emphasized a stocky body, and a nearly shaved head. She was so intimidating when she topped all of this with a sweet, whispery voice. Brrrr..

  7. This really makes me wish someone would adapt Judith Merkle Riley’s The Master of All Desires, in which Catherine de’Medici is a deeply sympathetic villain.

    Honestly, I just wish someone would adapt ANY of her books. They’re so good.

  8. I do like the attempt at Suleiman’s onion turban! I also adore the look of actress playing young Catherine. Regardless of whether she is spot on for the actual woman, her facial structure and eyes are to me, marvelous! I don’t know much about the fashion history of the Venetian courtesan clodhoppers but I enjoyed their appearance. I thought the arrival costume in the sedan chair looked very Chinese Empress… which may have been au courant et haute. However, love me some Caterina. So glad she’s getting her film dues even if with sartorial faux pas… loathed the No natural fiber Tigre fabric et al, but I like overall!

    1. Re the very elegant in life , Diane de P. Gad, cannot folks just do away with ‘80’s non sexy frizz!? She was too sophisticated and old for it ala
      the ‘1980’s That is my time warp. Ugly then, ugly now.

  9. further, this show was a bit of fun in an awful day of storm as I live in Pawleys Island SC. Mind you, I am sending positives to the people of Fla, but as fortunate aswehave been, this has been no fun day

  10. The black and white hat worn by Diane looks to based on the portrait of Christina von Sachsen 1530s ish

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