The Musketeers: Richelieu's downfall

[@shawntanui6822]

I love how Porthos and Aramis are constantly taking the letter before Richelieu can take it

[@mezzogal]

now i see it, i can't stop laughing.

[@thomasmccaghrey9888]

I love the way the paper falls out of his hands when he sees the queen. You can see that in his head he's saying oh fuuuu

[@raphaelemartinat1352]

This Richelieu was very good, such a shame the actor was cast to be the next Doctor and they had to kill his character (Rochefort and Feron weren't as great as he was)...

[@justinjohnson9617]

Real talk

[@TheUnseenPath]

Really? Rochefort was crafty as hell. He turned everyone one the Musketeers. I still don't know what the Cardinal's plan was even after watching the series.

[@raphaelemartinat1352]

@@TheUnseenPath Indeed, he was good and he quite succeeded to make us forget the cardinal but still... there was always something that made me think: "I miss Peter Capaldi". Maybe if they had introduced him when Capaldi was still there or they had kept him a little bit longer, I would have accepted him with all my heart. But, however good the actor, Rochefort never fully satisfied me. He was still better than Feron who was truly a disappointment, especially because he was played by Rupert fuckin' Everett !

[@TheUnseenPath]

@@raphaelemartinat1352 I can understand that. S3 felt like GoT s8 they were writing without material. I don't mean the actor necessarily I mean more so the character was a ruthless and cunning foe.

[@luckytri9716]

@@TheUnseenPath Oh come on . . . I cannot think of anything as catastrophically horrendous as s8 GoT 😟

[@pantherapardus1398]

"My influence with the King is stronger than you can possibly imagine." Anne gave me Obi-Wan vibes from that line.

[@charlottebuscher9382]

this scene will forever be my absolute favourite in the entire show it's just so satisfying

[@alyssahayes1716]

It was at that moment that Richelieu knew. He stuffed up

[@paulwartenberg8479]

I love that cape swirl Richelieu does as he bows, as though trying to hide under all of it as much as possible.

[@KK-rj7ij]

This show was ace. Those were the days when BBC was still making good shows.

[@RTaylor1505]

Yeah even Doctor Who has not been good since Seven Moffat and Pater left the show.

[@joshcain1032]

The Queen's advantage didn't last for long. By the end of the episode, Richelieu had found out about Aramis, and the scales were once again balanced.

[@swhite7929]

Hmm... I don't think that's quite true. The Cardinal had no reliable proof that confirmed his suspicions, while the Queen had his own confession and the testimony of several Musketeers and Treville himself. Plus Athos would have explained Milady's connection to both Richelieu and Gallagher. Trying to expose the Queen's infidelity would have just looked like a cheap attempt at discrediting her accusations, and it would have never worked.

[@TheUnseenPath]

Until he died then it wasn't.

[@aprilgosa5779]

and gross Aramis and the queen

[@luckytri9716]

@@aprilgosa5779 What do you mean "gross"? That's a major ship 🥰

[@raesmith2164]

I think he was more relieved that the queen wasn't barren than he was about having the upper hand. So long as the public believed the child is the rightful heir, France would be alright.

[@witchwitch4045]

It was at that moment that he knew He fucked up.

[@arthurdoe6956]

This scene foretells how Anne will rule. At the end of the series, we see her adopting the same Machiavellian methods of Richelieu. Methods that the Musketeers detest. In fact, we see her hiring Milady to do her dirty work, as did the cardinal. Maybe she spared his life because she admired his ability to make hard decisions, a “quality “ lacking with Louie. One wonders what would happen if Aramis discovers the truth. As Milady warned Anne: now you are alone. Anne can never tell Aramis.

[@alexiuscastrum]

The Musketeers are men of honor. They deceive only to force the truth from liars, or to turn an ambush on the ambushers. They fundamentally can't think like villains, or only can when pressed. All kingdoms needed those who could work in the shadows, if for no other reason than to counter their enemies efforts from those same shadows.

[@JainaSoloB312]

It's really a shame that after this wonderful setup for a new dynamic between the Cardinal and the Queen, he just dies off-screen. Would have been far better to have him slated to be executed in this episode to explain why he's not in season 2

[@atethr8327]

JainaSolo1994 Yeah, even though he went to a bigger pay check he still could’ve ended on something interesting, not just dead.

[@HenshinHeroesMedia]

They could have done a recast. Sometimes they work

[@einezcrespo2107]

@@HenshinHeroesMedia Yeah but in actual reality Richelieu died at the age of 57 so killing him off in the show does fit.

[@ayeshajogiyat]

They probs may not have even expected to have to kill him off until it was too laye

[@owenleal]

Yeah, but if Richelieu didnt die, we wouldnt have got the madlad that was Rochefort.

[@traintank1083]

When the 12th Doctor becomes Cardinal Richelieu

[@pjosepha]

the queen was thinking 'exterminate' then changed her mind

[@sabiyadusk7357]

I would have loved a crossover episode where 12 and Clara or Bill find themselves in France, and they have to avoid the Musketeers least he get recognised as Richelieu. Peter Capaldi is a brilliant actor, I love him in both series'!

[@rtaylor7384]

I laugh so hard at his face and the paper falls out of his hands when the queen arrives. He like oh shit. That when he knew he fuck up. 😂

[@hoodoo2001]

Love Richelieu in all his guises, fictional and historic.

[@francoisdebellefroid2268]

It would be great tgat some time, a film depicts Richelieu as he was: not that old (he was 42 in 1627 when the story is supposed to take place) and also not that powerfull... all his power was coming from the king's favour and, according to him, convincing Louis XIII was not an easy task ("les 4 pieds carrés du cabinet du Roi me sont plus difficile à conquérir que tous les champs de bataille d'Europe" - "It is harder for me to conquer the King's 4sqm office than all of Europe's battlefields". Richelieu had been during all his time in office the target of plots, political (like the "fools day" in 1630) or physical... that's why the king detached musketeers from his own army to protect the cardinal). And also a fine, even if rogue, stateman who was placing France's interest above any other. Tbt, until queen Anne had a son, she was far from perfectly loyal to her new country and was feeding her brothers in Madrid and Brussels with crucial intel. He thus had many reasons to be suspicious, but the king had an even worse relationship with her. Most of the time, it was Richelieu who was trying to calm down Louis XIII about what he should do with his wife, and not the opposite. At the end, it seems he really was the one behind the reconciliation between the spouses that led to the birth of Louis (XIV) and Philippe (of Orléans).

[@felixhazel7166]

you will find that its a very small universe when he's angry u know. ought to be careful

[@mezzogal]

I think Richelieu was the best villain of the Musketeers cos he truly believes he's doing it for France. He's pretty smart and cunning, and believes God and right are on his side, and that makes him utterly ruthless. If I remember right, the only time he plotted for his own gain was that witch hunt episode where he was hoping to be pope. Other than that... he's already the most powerful man in France, he doesn't need more power, his evil is for a "greater good", which is the most dangerous.

[@guharup]

Actually the king didn’t believe anyone’s word before richlieus; not his mother, not his brother, not high nobles and most certainly not his queen whose few borderline liaisons with Buckingham were known to him

[@Wenchework]

The Queen knew Richelieu was all about France hense she could forgive him as he stribed for the contry good or bad in some cases,if it had been for his owne gain I dubt she would let him off easely,killing him would saved her and Artamis neck

[@obi-wankenobi1233]

Richelieu always acted in the interests of France for his very survival, because he knew that if he failed it would spell an end to his ministry and quite possibly his life. On the other hand, if he succeeded he would rarely walk away without his slice of the cake. In short, he acted in France's interests, to preserve his own.

[@Wenchework]

@@obi-wankenobi1233 In one way thats tru however it is more complex then that as he was a french patriot in mind and he was working to inhanse his contrys power and to stabelise it agenst its enemys who were quite strong and was set to destroy france,Queen Anne knew this hense she never in series or in RL took any harsh actions agenst him and after his and her husbands death she did not put herself as ruler ect but instead appointed Mazarin who was close in the cardinals circle

[@priveprive6255]

I will never show him murcy after what hi did

[@Wenchework]

@@priveprive6255 The thing is the Queen knew the cardinal was only thinking of France and to keep her safe hense his intriges ect so it was never persenal and that is quite diffrence form being just doing bad stuff for getting rich ect and also she knew if cardinal wanted her out of way badly he would done it long time ago

[@priveprive6255]

@@Wenchework still i dont spare him i am a harder woman i understood wit she spare him i dont

[@darthlloyd3545]

1:44 Checkmate!

[@samuela9245]

damn i loved this show

[@عبدالرحمنالمهيني-ب4غ]

What is the name of this show ?

[@asherikamichaela8425]

@@عبدالرحمنالمهيني-ب4غ _The Musketeers._ 🙂 It's a BBC (British) show.

[@gerardjagroo]

Ugh!!! I so hate shity films and shows that portray Richelieu as the villain he wasn't. He was a brilliant pragmatic statesman that oversaw the rise of France as the predominant power in Europe. Yes he could be ruthless but he got the job done.

[@jooie444]

But that was why Peter Capaldi's portrayal was just that!

[@aprilgosa5779]

Gerard Jagroo then don'ty watch the disney version sheesh its entertainment cry baby LOL

[@asherikamichaela8425]

He's the "villain" merely because he's the antagonist of the Musketeers, the protagonists of the story. At least in this version, he's far more multifaceted than he is usually portrayed. And in a twisted way here, he's right. If a royal (usually a king, given the prevalence of patriarchal societies) died without an heir, there was a strong likelihood of civil war as the candidates fought for the throne. Dude just didn't know that she would soon have the healthy son he wished for. True, he probably would've preferred one of his favorites, but he would've known the stigma of a second marriage at that time. With Anne not as "barren" as he thought, he would've had no viable reason to want her dead.

[@MrAmauriz]

Get him girl

[@jeanettesmith2456]

I have all three DVDs, and I watch it on TV every week

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

"Today I find my vision clearer than ever.... No one shall stand in my way..." next episode, .....he ded!

[@anastasiaisabella7354]

He died ?

[@lynnehenderson4140]

OK, now I have to break out the box set and watch it again . . .

[@tuulinaaris398]

Cardinals face when queen arrives hahahahah

[@sareurtekin9095]

what's funny??

[@rtaylor7384]

It like oh shit. 😂

[@katymorland8592]

You. Understand. Nothing. *snatch

[@Gingybb]

I sell candy bars for my three musketeers. That is what I will call a trio of my wives.

[@lewisfowler5296]

1:44 The "Oh no...." moment

[@austinperry1671]

The Cardinal actor would make a great voice actor for the prophet of truth in the halo series

[@gaiuscaligula2229]

The Kings BDSM Gimpketeers

[@FS2K4Pilot]

When does the blue police box turn up?

[@hansmerker5611]

Game of Thrones if it was written by Alexander Dumas.

[@Xerxes2005]

This Richelieu doesn't look as bad as the other Richelieus... But why all these dreary, dark colours? Richelieu was a cardinal! He should be wearing scarlet!

[@jackieparfitt7925]

Brilliant video

[@dx7689]

They should've done a close up on his face when he heard her voice to show his shock

[@junkyardheaven]

Imagine the rest of the cast being even remotely close to Peter Capaldi's quality...

[@Blokewood3]

Why is the cardinal wearing black?

[@ladyvignette]

Black was the most expensive fabric to buy, due to the dyes. He no doubt wore it as a status symbol, whenever he was not on duty as the Cardinal.

[@dclark142002]

Ugh... Read the book, it's far better. The amusing thing to me as I read the book, and knowing the history of the King and Queen and Richelieu... ...is that I increasingly considered the King and Queen to be the villains, as they are acting like spoiled children throughout...while at least Richelieu is trying to do the best for France. The Three Musketeers (and D'Artagnan) basically start ending up merely being the villain's henchmen...while also being the main characters and whom you enjoy seeing succeed. It made the book quite interesting and amusing to me. I still consider myself a Cardinal's man, while also admiring the skills and abilities of the Musketeers. Down with the King! Up with France!

[@zxcvbnmAG99]

“I have studied policy thirty years; first, under the auspices of M. le Cardinal Richelieu; and then alone. This policy has not always been over-honest, it must be allowed, but it has never been unskilful." Mazarin from "vicomte de bragelonne" Musketeer trilogy do not have typical villains. (With the exception of milady and her son) because it set during difficult times (XVII century) There are many internal and external threats: Fronde, Habsburg Empire, England etc. And a lot of strong political figures: Queen, Richelieu, Mazarin, Gaston of Orlean, prince Buckingham, Grand Conde, Monck, Cromwell and many other. And bellow this Titans live people like Aramis, Atos, Porthos and d’Arthagan who has their ambitions, needs, political views, beliefs, and friendship Richelieu was a ruthless person that act like a villain, but this allowed him to rule during these times. I found a quote afore to be a perfect representation of this (even through is about Mazarin) (Sorry for my English but it is not my first language)

[@kristofantal8801]

My God!!! When the studios finish this approx. 3-4 decades of habit that in movies and TV series set in pre-20th century (and especially pre-18th century) times, almost every character wears only black, brown, gray clothes?!?! When??? Jesus Christ... Why do creators hate colors? Interestingly, you can see colorful clothes in all the contemporary image sources, museums, books, reenactors, etc. and the environment is also colorful! Sunlight was also an existing thing, darkness is also exaggerated in some films and series... Sure, the very deep and vibrant colors weren’t very cheap, and the colors that were hard to mix were worn primarily by the rich or influential people (like purple or black), but damn it, everyone was trying to wear colorful clothes, even the poor! This has long been a priority, whether for social, cultural or other reasons.

[@ladyvignette]

I agree with you, but... this show is so wildly inaccurate in every respect, not the least of which being women wearing corsets as their "top" and having weird fantasy hairdos, that the choice of brown cloth is just the beginning. (Have fun Google Imaging "The Musketeers BBC" hahaha). The Cardinal wearing black is appropriate, since he's the richest man in France behind the King. But you are right, the rest of them would not be wearing it.

[@Lionsheart_Liberty]

It was a big mistake not to cast another actor in the role of Cardinal Richelieu. The second season was good with Rochefort as the main villain, but it would have been much better if there had been Richelieu and Rochefort in the second season, and in the third the fatal downfall of the two. The third season, without villains as strong as the two of them, was very dull compared to the first two. PS: In the books, Grimaud is a loyal servant of Athos, so it didn't make sense to make him Athos' mortal enemy in the third season.

[@ladyvignette]

Yeah, the third season is awful. I never bother to rewatch it.

[@Lionsheart_Liberty]

​@@ladyvignetteme neither.

[@SunlessNick]

Richeleau is an enemy of the Musketeers, but absolute in his loyalty to France and Louis - even in this scene, he covers for Louis having basically told him to have Anne killed. Having him forced to work with the Musketeers against Rochefort could have been superb. (How I usually sell this series to people is how in episode 2, there's a possible threat to the king, and they don't even bother having a scene where Treville and Richleau agree to set their differences aside - it's just taken as read that *obviously* they would both do that)

[@muresanstefan22]

Richelieu the best prime minister of France!!111

[@plonkersbro]

Shame this side story didn't get to go anywhere

[@elijahstovall5440]

1:44 "Oh Crap"

[@angelicadeleon8517]

more like trichelieu. Get it trichelieu? Sounds like Richelieu but he's a traitor

[@harryturner8701]

Capaldi made this show

[@animeOfDarkness405]

the doctor who is under cover lol

[@sanguiniusi8187]

Isnt it bad enough if the villain explains his plans to the heroes for no reason other than to give information to the audience. How much worse if that monologue is actually essential to the plot. Its such a tired old trope.

[@MisterTutor2010]

Cardinal Who? :)

[@sareurtekin9095]

this loser queen is who??;))

[@mustacheglasses5765]

I am sorry twice. You did not provide any narrative (the best part of any of your videos) and there isn't any other video since this one was posted. I hope you are well.

[@ladyvignette]

I uploaded this as an example of how an INTJ reasons out a logical thought process, so it needed no narrative -- only his statements. :)

[@mustacheglasses5765]

@@ladyvignette I have a question: I've been listening to a lot of movie and comic reviews and a theme throughout is "relatable" villains. Well, relatable villains AND character development. I'm not arguing against either of these things but I've been noticing these two points listed as mandatory for good story telling so frequently that I almost feel as if all these reviewers are reading from the same textbook. I mean, who decided that these two factors are important to good story telling? I'm genuinely curious. Is there some written standard to which I can refer? Are there any well-articulated arguments against this standard? My gut wants to find the source of this criteria at the Frankfurt School. But maybe I'm just being paranoid.

[@ladyvignette]

I prefer realistic villains to relatable ones. Relatable generally means "understandable from where you come from," but not everyone has the same motivations and ambitions, so not everyone can "relate." I also enjoy a villain who is just... evil. As opposed to merely misunderstood or tortured. The Cardinal is a self-serving, ambitious villain who is unapologetic in his logical approaches. I don't have to relate to him to "like" him as a villain. He simply IS one.

[@mustacheglasses5765]

@@ladyvignette This is a help. Now that you articulate it that way, I think I agree with you. I too don't want villains with whom I am always able to relate. That, in and of itself, isn't terribly realistic. I'm not able to relate with every person I meet, much less the folks I meet who do evil things. Perhaps this view is so pervasive because folks today, without realizing it, are quite deterministic. They will argue nature vs. nurture but back of either of those ideas is the notion that who we are is largely out of our hands. Put another way; many folks think that they would be their favorite villain if they had been put into his or her circumstances. And while I certainly subscribe to the doctrine of total depravity, I do not believe for a moment that each one of us would do what the other would do in any given circumstance. We all might do any sin and to any degree, but we all would not do every sin and to every degree. Additionally, there is a strange phenomenon today in which folks are more free in their indulging of wicked fantasies. They want it to be okay to "root" for the bad guy, to identify with him, to enjoy the catharsis derived from pretending to have done what he did. It's a bit concerning to me. It may seem silly but I noticed it years ago when folks I knew all decided to play horde characters in World of Warcraft. They all insisted that the horde was better and that it wasn't actually evil. But, originally, the horde was indeed evil. I also used to play dungeons and dragons and wherever I went I encountered folks who wanted to play evil or neutral characters. The true hero character became rare.

[@ladyvignette]

I think the health levels of it depends on the person involved. I can see both sides to a moral argument. One, that intellectual / mental voyeurism is much better than actually “doing” something in the real world. It’s safer, and kept to a fantasy. But the other thing is, the more we think about something, the more inclined we are to do it. Most people deny their own capacity for evil. They assume they would be the Resistance and not the Nazi, when history has shown us the opposite, that most people are self-preserving and go along with things rather than take a stand and die in the process. I quite enjoy morally gray characters and yes, villains. I would not in real life, but in fiction they are engaging, often witty, and highly rational. The Cardinal may be “Evil,” but he is also often right in his rational conclusions. A lot of villains are wholly rational, whereas the hero is made out to be highly empathetic but short-sighted. It’s playing to archetypes. I think people enjoy villains, because they themselves are held in check through social moral conventions, and it’s fun to imagine letting go. Most of them could never “do it,” but you may notice that all the “liked” villains have positive attributes (wit, satire, sarcasm, extroversion, boldness). Very few people “like” reprehensible villains that do base things (rapists, for example). We like Loki, and Hannibal Lecter, not so much Ted Bundy-esque characters. So, even within fantasy, there’s still a line most moral people won’t cross.

[@DarthSyonFilms]

So…did he really think that he was acting on behalf of France?

[@elizabethlestrad5282]

He's not wearing red.

[@janibeg3247]

amusing - Richelieu never lot power until he died

[@occhio506]

Capaldi?

[@iztasticbachman9578]

Yes.

[@aristotelismakedonas7258]

doctor who (13), cris rios. where is the daleks and the borgs????

[@Jorn41]

A black dude as a Musketeer in the 16/17th century - hardly! Would be interesting to see the reactions to a tv show about Nelson Mandela, and fx. Stephen Fry playing NM .....

[@ladyvignette]

I imagine they included him because the author, Alexandre Dumas, was a black man...

[@pollywantsacracker9648]

​​@@ladyvignettehere's always one in every crowd! Just to bake his noodle, he should look up who the author's father was.

[@1963julien]

Fool

[@aronzimas5660]

Why are there back French musketeers? At that date and age. It makes no sense.

[@ladyvignette]

It's an homage to the author of the Three Musketeers, who was Black.

[@antoninacawley7949]

12th dr. Who. Cardinal

[@patmcbride9853]

Not exactly a downfall.

[@nataliamentadodiaz5069]

La serie en Español me gustaría verla gracias

[@pyromania1018]

Why is he dressed in black?

[@ladyvignette]

Because it was the most expensive color to wear at the time; lower classes could not afford it, and if you could, it indicated your wealth. Plus, he's a villain, and in entertainment, villains wear black. ;)

[@pyromania1018]

@@ladyvignette But he's supposed to be wearing red due to being, you know, a Cardinal. Black and red go together for typical "evil" colors, and Richelieu really did dress like that.

[@priveprive6255]

Queen showes murcy i do not i wil never showes him murcy if i was the Queen #netherlands sorry for my english

[@larsongramckow7495]

Isn't that peter capaldi playing the cardinal?

[@ladyvignette]

Yes. He quit The Musketeers because the BBC cast him as the Doctor.