A Royal Treasure Gets Even Better

Summary

• Samantha Morton continues to shine as the calculating Catherine de Medici, facing new challenges and power struggles.
• Newcomers Minnie Driver and Isobel Jesper Jones add refreshing dynamics to the royal drama, which manages to handle its many new characters with finesse.
• Season 2 is a thrilling rollercoaster of power plays and personal conflicts, leaving us wanting more.

The serpent still bites. And the sting feels so good. Season 2 of Starz’s The Serpent Queen remains as entrancing as ever. We have series headliner Samantha Morton to thank for that. The Oscar nominee surpasses expectations here as her calculating Catherine de Medici went from becoming Queen of France last season to becoming Queen Regent of France now that her son, Charles IX (Bill Milner), has come of age. She still wields power, however, but she’s confronted with multiple challenges this season. All of it gives this second outing a powerful, sassy kick, with plenty of moving pieces in a creatively vigorous ride that leaves you wanting more.

Season 2 also benefits from the arrival of two prominent newcomers to the show. There’s Minnie Driver (The Riches, Good Will Hunting)as Elizabeth I of England. Offer the woman an Emmy nom, now, thank you. (More on Driver later.) Then there’s Isobel Jesper Jones (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), who enters the scene as a mysterious “prophet” known as Edith, a woman who’s gained a following and challenges the country’s religious establishment. Tensions rise across the country, but Catherine becomes more distracted by the ongoing personal conflicts of the Valois children.

Simply put, watching this new dramatic trifecta of three “queens” (Catherine, Elizabeth, Edith) asserting their power — or trying to — offers some of the finest episodic experiences we’d had this year.

More Drama, More Conflict, More Fun

The Serpent Queen

4.5/5

Based on the life of Queen Catherine de’ Medici of France, The Serpent Queen is a historical period drama created by Justin Haythe. The series follows Catherine’s rise into the monarchy, from her introduction into the French court as a young teenager to her eventual spot as the ruling Queen of France in the 16th century.

Release Date September 11, 2022

Seasons 2

Network Starz

Streaming Service(s) Starz

Showrunner Justin Haythe

Pros

• Samantha Morton remains a treasure, but the addition of Minnie Driver and Isobel Jesper Jones is perfect.
• The costumes, makeup, and production design is consistently phenomenal.
• There are a lot of historical subplots but creator Justin Haythe balances them with grace and finesse.

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Creator/showrunner Justin Haythe handles his sophomore outing with calculating finesse. Several story arcs live happily by themselves. Others crisscross, fueling the ongoing tensions in the story, and leading to a final two-part triumph.

Here’s the lowdown: Catherine feels threatened by the rising tensions and a divided court turn that has resorted to their own schemes for personal benefit. The Guises — Charles, François, and steely Antoinette (Ray Panthaki, Raza Jaffrey, Beth Goddard) — commit unholy acts while the Bourbons, Antoine and Louise (Nick Burns, Danny Kirrane) resort to their familiar foreign sovereign, Queen Elizabeth I, hoping to rise in power themselves. Between Edith, this frenetic court, and the eventual arrival of Elizabeth, who’s contemplating a potential suitor in Charles IX, Catherine is pushed to the brink.

Related: 10 Best Netflix TV Shows About Royalty

These new dilemmas allow Morton to show us (yet again) the master that she is. Few actresses can command the screen quite like Morton. Her ability to smoothly emanate a rare and grounded grace is fetching, to be sure. This becomes even more apparent upon the arrival of Alessandro de Medici (Ashley Thomas), who apparently is part of Catherine’s Italian roots. Can he be trusted?

Related The Serpent Queen Creators Discuss the Elizabethan History of Season 2

Creator Justin Haythe and producer Erwin Stoff spoke with MovieWeb about their hit Starz show with Samantha Morton & Minnie Driver.

It’s Samantha Morton vs. Minnie Driver

This season seems a bit over-packed with characters. There’s Antoine’s sketchy son (Angus Imrie), who’d become Henry IV, and his beleaguered wife, Queen of Navarre (Rosalie Craig), just two of many add-ons here. Meanwhile, Cosimo Ruggeri (Enzo Cilenti), Catherine’s go-to mystic, returns but isn’t given all that much to do. This doesn’t divert or weigh down the flow of Season 2, however, as it’s evident this show is dedicated to expanding the stories it can tell.

Related: Best Samantha Morton Performances, Ranked

Poison, a prominent thing in Season 1, takes somewhat of a backseat, too. However, when it does become a plot device in several scenes, we’re reminded that our “Serpent Queen” is historically known for her penchant for poison. That said, the true joy of Season 2 lies in watching Morton, Driver, and Jones duke it out, as it were. Sure, there’s wicked delight in watching the buffoonery of the Bourbons, and the seething dysfunction of the de Guise’s this season. There’s even a gay subplot, but that never amounts to much. It’s the queens we care about the most.

Morton remains sublime in a season that feels more virulent thanks to the delightful addition of Driver. She breathes a devilish sense of whimsy and naughtiness to Elizabeth I, and the scenes she shares with Morton are captivating, recalling the best female cat fights: Glenn Close/Rose Byrne (Damages); Jessica Lange/Sarah Paulson (AHS); Heather Locklear/Daphne Zuniga (Melrose Place). In watching this season, one thing immediately comes to mind: A spin-off featuring Driver as Queen Elizabeth. Like Catherine, Elizabeth was a prominent historical figure — the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. How fun would it be to explore that?

Related Minnie Driver on Becoming Elizabeth I in The Serpent Queen and Her Possible Spin-Off

The lovely Minnie Driver stuns in the second season of The Serpent Queen on Starz beginning July 12 and spoke with MovieWeb about the show.

We’re Ready for The Serpent Queen Season 3

Newcomer Isobel Jesper Jones holds her own alongside Morton, too, as Edith. The character becomes a formidable force, and showrunner Justin Haythe knows how to execute her scenes with finesse. It would have been so easy to play the character over the top. That doesn’t happen with Edith. Like Catherine, who herself was a commoner, she’s venomous, but in much quieter ways. If you think about how shrewd cult leaders can be, it’s like that here. By saying less, Edith accomplishes so much more.

These new faces, along with an uptick in the stakes all around, are refreshing. Wonderfully shot, superbly costumed, and cinematically delicious, Season 2 of The Serpent Queen slithers its way into you, enthralling you every step of the way. There’s room for more, of course, which the final scene hints at. That’s good. We may never tire of Samantha Morton in these royally fabulous endeavors. Season 2 of The Serpent Queen debuted July 12 on Starz with new episodes each Friday. You can stream the series through the link below:

Watch The Serpent Queen

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