'The Serpent Queen' Episode 1 Recap: "Medici Bitch"
Starz once again delivers its fearlessly anachronistic brand of history in The Serpent Queen, directed by Stacie Passon (Dickinson) and written by Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road). Was Catherine of Medici a monster or a damaged child? Was she reviled for not conforming to gender norms of the 16th century, a notoriously brutal misogynistic time, and if so, why did this period produce other strong, if flawed, queens? Let's dig into the first episode!
France, 1560: The aging Catherine of Medici (Samantha Morton), Queen of France, is bored. She's supposed to be arranging the coronation of the future King of France, but she isn't interested in all the girly stuff such a task demands (think of being "mother of the bride"). So when a lowly servant arrives with a trayful of food, Catherine decides to entertain herself in the way she does best––lure in a victim with easy, vicious charm.
Rahima (Sennia Nanua) is the very lowest in the servants' pecking order, and she's been chosen by the kitchen staff to serve the Queen because they're all terrified of her. And so they should be, given her reputation. As if the kitchen staff aren't bad enough, she has to run a gauntlet of obscene comments and whistles from courtiers and guards as she makes her way to the Queen's apartment.
