Starz’s “The Serpent Queen The Serpent Queen’ is a follow-up to how the story unfolds of Catherine de Medici in the French court. The show follows her journey starting from the beginning, following the tragic loss of her family, to the moment she gets married to the son of King France.
Many things are at odds with Catherine; however, despite this, she rises to her standing to become the most powerful individual in France. What made a shrewd teenager into a powerful and cunning queen? In each episode, the show peels back off the layers of Catherine’s tale to bring us one step closer to the answer. The events in the second episode go an additional step in making her an opponent to be reckoned with. What does this mean for Catherine? SPOILERS AHEAD
The Serpent Queen Episode 2 Recap
After discovering Henry and Diane’s relationship, Catherine tries to get Henry to come to visit the couple and stay longer with them. She is less likely to become pregnant if he doesn’t spend time away from her. Catherine must have the baby as soon as possible since her uncle, Cardinal Clement VII, has passed away, and nobody will afford her dowry. As the King begins to think about a new wife in place of Henry, Diane tries to change the situation to her advantage. She attempts to convince Henry to accept her marriage. However, Catherine’s quick thinking will stop her plans. But Diane continues to be Catherine’s main challenge.
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As Henry is warming up to the young lady, Catherine feels constant opposition from Diane, who has also snatched a spy from her circle of friends. Diane knows everything about Catherine, making it harder for the young Medici to make her husband fall in love with her. An appearance by the Prussian princesses that is believed to be a good ideal match for Henry and his brother causes anxiety for Catherine and Diane. If a nice evening with the princesses turns into a bloody saga, Catherine discovers how much influence Diane really has on Henry. In the final, Catherine comes up with her own plan to ensure that the situation is favorable for herself.
The Serpent Queen Episode 2 Ending: What Does Henry Going to War Mean for Catherine?
When Catherine arrived in France in the year 1790, she was the subject of a trade-off through her father. The dowry was the sole thing that kept her in France; however, with that gone, Catherine had to devise strategies to keep her place within France’s French court. She is charged with the enormous job of convincing everybody, including the King, that she isn’t just substituted by a different, more promising possibility for Henry. She is advantaged in this scenario because the King seems fond of her. After the show, she makes it clear no one should fear her.
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The process of getting pregnant is the most secure and most effective way to solve Catherine’s troubles. She has convinced Henry to fulfil his husband’s duties despite Diane’s attempts to keep the couple separate. But the threat of Henry’s second marriage hangs over her until she finally makes Henry an inheritor. As this plan is being worked out, Catherine looks for other ways to charm Henry and convince him not to search for another daughter-in-law to replace him.
Given that her dowry caused this issue for her family, she searches for ways to avoid it. The things given in exchange for the promise of Pope Clement VII as a dowry for marriage Catherine to Henry remain in Italy and with whom France is currently in a very unfriendly situation. Alongside the internal court politics, lots of conflicts were happening out there between France and Italy, and to change the situation in favor of France, France needed an ally that could assist them in winning the war, regardless of whether it was brought to their doorsteps or they decide to take it to Italians. Catherine can find a solution to her question in the Ottomans.
She meets with the Ottomans undercover and concludes an agreement that facilitates the partnership with France. It’s unclear what she is willing to offer in exchange and if it’s something she does not consider to be too costly to ease her burden. When the deal is done, Catherine convinces Henry to fight against Italy and get what was owed to him rather than waiting for it to be handed to Henry. This will demonstrate to his father that he’s not a smug person and will certainly improve his standing before the whole court. Making his father feel happier about him is Henry’s weak spot, and Catherine wisely uses this. The advice, if it works for Henry, will also show Henry that Catherine could be more beneficial to him than having children. Catherine needs this trust with Henry, particularly when she hopes to take over Diane away from the heart of Henry.
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Although it appears that Catherine was going through all the trouble to help Henry, she is driven by her own life. She is under the enormous stress of having a baby. If her husband isn’t in the house, nobody will be able to scold her for the time it takes to have an infant. Instead, everyone will be sympathetic to her because her husband is away fighting a conflict. While Henry is gone, Catherine is safe, particularly now that the King has promised her to be well taken care of. If Henry is victorious in his return and wins, it would also boost Catherine tremendously. If he does die in battle, it will be a victory. She’ll be a young widow free of the burden of children, with no fear of being sold or sent back to Italy, which is haunting her as Diane has explained that she will be freer than she’s ever been before. Overall this is an ideal situation for the Medici girl.
