Episode three of The Musketeers followed a number of explosive plotlines (both literally and figuratively) as both Rochefort and Milady de Winter used the art of seduction to further their personal agendas at the expense of Treville’s Musketeers and their allies.

A gunpowder plot



This week’s main story centred around the Spanish general Tariq Alaman. He persuades King Louis to assign the Musketeers to help him recover his daughter Samara, who is being held captive in Paris by Spanish agents led by General Baltasar.


In return he promises a new potent form of gunpowder, the formula for which can only be unlocked via a cipher hidden in her poetry book.



After an initial exchange goes wrong, an injured Porthos is captured and he bonds with Samara over their African origins. The other Musketeers arrive to effect a rescue but Alaman blows up himself and Baltasar along with the cipher to ensure her safety.

The power of love

Rochefort continues his Machiavellian game-playing as he again furthers his power base within the royal court and reveals his obsession with Queen Anne, even saying ‘I love you’ to her directly before hastily covering his tracks.

With the Dauphin seriously ill, he nearly succeeds in having Constance executed when she takes the infant out of the palace to treat him with steam from a laundry, with only a sudden upturn in his condition saving her from a death sentence.

Nonetheless, the Musketeers’ failure to recover the cipher again strengthens his position.

The love of power

Despite his initial reluctance to engage with her any further, Milady forces her way into the king’s affections.

She secures an invitation to dine with him and then seduces him, only for Anne to discover them in a compromising position. But what is her ultimate agenda, and how will both Anne and Rochefort respond to the presence of a new power player?

As episodes go, this was pretty standard fare that didn’t make the most of guest star Colin Salmon’s appearance. The central storyline was less interesting than the two subplots, achieving little more than to set up the requisite action sequences and tee up Porthos’s search for his father.

However, it was more promising in terms of revealing the writers’ plans for the season as a whole. With Constance now serving as more than D’Artagnan’s love interest, Rochefort becoming more powerful and Milady now able to focus on her own interests with Richelieu gone, it throws events at the palace into sharper focus and brings the wider ensemble into play beyond our four dashing heroes.

With Ambassador Perales also talking about the ‘coming war’ between France and Spain, the stakes have risen significantly as the series looks to more heavyweight storytelling.

If it can achieve this without sacrificing the lighter elements that make the show a fun watch, the groundwork has been laid for a strong run.



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