Néro the Assassin: The Princess

Prince of Ségur: The archbishop won't allow it.
Rochemort: Well, don't tell him then.

Episode description: “With Perla, the monk and the Consul's daughter captured by the Penitents, Néro makes a desperate ploy. Meanwhile, the Consul has an audience with the Prince and finds he is under the thumb of his nemesis, the archbishop.”

This episode ratchets up the tension, especially in the village taken over by the Penitents (but Néro brings some levity). We also start to appreciate Rochemort as the series finally gives us more developed scenes with him in Ségur.

The previous episode ended with the three most vulnerable members of the travelers – Hortense, Perla, and the monk Horace – being brought by the Penitents to what must be the main square of some village. It’s terrifying. They try to just leave when no one is paying attention; Perla actually manages to escape and hide in some house. Her being the fastest makes sense; also the Penitents are not specifically targeting her the way the one-eyed witch is. Hortense and Horace, however, are not so lucky.

Hortense, because of her rank, steps forward and tells them she is on her way to marry the prince of Ségur. That means she will be a princess, and should be treated as one already. Alas, this only impresses the Penitents in the worst way. The tall bald penitent chops off a lot of her hair and then takes here away in order to rape her. She, in a way that we can admire, fights back, joined eventually by Perla.

The Penitents believe the reason for the drought is insufficient submission to God, and that people must sacrifice in order to reverse it. Normally we would dismiss the Penitents’ attitude (and, in other scenes, the archbishop’s) as superstition. But, given how the witch’s sorcery seems to actually work, we can’t be sure exactly of the operational principles in this series. It seems premature to dismiss the power of God, although I’d hope not like the Penitents, who are so awful. They demand that Horace throw knucklebones to determine his sacrifice. He is very unlucky: the throw, four black, demands his life.

Most startling moment: Néro has to do something, quickly, to prevent Horace from losing his head He creates a distraction by acting like a fool in such a compelling manner that it allows Lothar to use his crossbow to remove the most dangerous. When enough are taken out, he grabs a knife that was left carelessly on the chopping block, and kills a Penitent. We admire Néro even more because he does all this while the witch’s necklace is killing him. He feels terrible.

Most emotional moment: When Hortense and Perla sit on the floor, clinging each other, after killing Hortense’s would-be rapist. They have shared one of the worst experiences possible and they do not want to let go. You can see how Néro discovering them sees the bond that has formed between them (he has not gotten this sort of hug from his daughter, which of course is his own fault, as he ignored her for her entire life).

So far, I have been no fan of Rochemort, as he arranged for the murders of Tancrède and the prior Consul, and sold Néro and Perla to the one-eyed witch. But, in a startling reversal, in this episode I liked him more than the archbishop. Now, we should have expected the archbishop to have a lot of influence, as we learned in an earlier episode that Ségur was a powerful seat of Christendom.

But back to Rochemort! His goal is to get the mines of Ségur. It’s true that mines can cause great environmental damage. But tin is useful for many things, and one way – the only way? I know nothing about tin – to get it is to mine it. Besides, people need employment. I have to imagine that Rochemort would be a terrible, corrupt boss, but perhaps he could be swayed by matters of practicality. Any excesses could be reined in by the prince, who seems young and naïve but not evil.

Anyway, the episode shows Rochemort’s ability to manipulate. When he discovers that the archbishop is essentially in charge, he turns first to the Lord Chancellor, who assures him that the nobility is completely on his side but won’t do anything about it. (Startingly, Rochemort promises to kill the Lord Chancellor at some point, which seems excessive, but maybe that’s how the powerful operate.) Anyway, Rochemort approaches Princess Joséphine, the older sister of the prince. She, despite or perhaps due to a strict religious upbringing, is susceptible to his charms. Rochemort takes the time to listen to her. This allows Rochemort to get access to the prince. He does well, getting the prince to visit the slums outside Ségur’s walls.

Title musings: The title of the episode is “The Princess” or “La princesse.” At first we think the episode refers to Hortense, who expects to be a princess after she marries the prince of Ségur. But, later the episode focuses on the real princess, Princess Joséphine of Ségur. I love the title, how it refers to both women.

Bits and pieces

Stuttering in a character is always annoying to watch and hear, but it’s a perfect choice for Princess Joséphine.

Could not locate the name of the actor or the character for the tall bald penitent. Hence, I am calling him Tall Bald Penitent.

As they leave the village, one of the villagers steps forward to return Hortense’s jewelry to her. I like how she takes only her signet ring and returns the rest to the young man.

In this episode, at great danger to himself, Néro rescues Horace (with the assistance of Lothar), and Perla rescues Hortense (with a lot of help from Hortense herself). Maybe the father and daughter have some things in common.

Assuming the knucklebones are fair, that is to say, equally likely to show white or black, the chance of a throw with four blacks is 1/16, or 6.25%.

Quotes

Hortense: Just the daughter of the Consul of Lamartine and the betrothed of your prince. I suggest you let us leave this place. Unless you and your cripples prefer to end up crushed by my father's and my husband's armies. Would you like that?
Tall bald penitent: I don't know if you've fully understood the meaning of the word submission. I'll have to teach you. By the time I've finished with you, I can assure you that no prince will be interested in you.

Archbishop: Dig mines? And make Ségur the new Babylon? By importing your drunkards and your pleasure houses with them all?
Rochemort: You'd rather have beggars outside your ramparts? I much prefer to have workers, even if they do go to brоthеls.

Rochemort: You gave me your word. You said the child was completely malleable.
Lord Chancellor: And he is. All of the nobility's on board. I simply underestimated how much influence the archbishop has gained since the prince's father died. Don't ask me why, he thinks you're like some plague.
Rochemort: I'll speak to the prince. One to one.
Lord Chancellor: No, that's impossible. The archbishop won't allow it.
Rochemort: My Lord Chancellor, I will have you killed one day.

Princess Joséphine: Th... The... the...
Rochemort: Take your time, Joséphine.
Princess Joséphine: The p... penitents...
Rochemort: The penitents, yes?
Princess Joséphine: S... sur... sur... sur... sur...
Rochemort: Survive on... Yes?
Princess Joséphine: S... s... s...
Rochemort: On the famine or...?
Princess Joséphine: On... on...
Rochemort: On the drought? The...?
Princess Joséphine: Our... inaction.

Perla: Are you dying then?
Néro: Of course. Like everyone.
Perla: No, I mean, die soon.
Néro: Mmm... is that what you want? Horace! When will the necklace kill me?
Horace: I don't know.
Néro: Well, then.

Overall rating

An extremely entertaining episode. Four out of four knucklebones.

Victoria Grossack loves math, birds, Greek mythology, Jane Austen and great storytelling in many forms.