[6.0/10] This one was a definite step down from the first episode. There’s still elements worth enjoying here. Mademoiselle Guillotine chews scenery like nobody’s business, and is a ton of fun as villains go, right down to her on-the-nose guillotine earring. Chauvelin gets the better end of some of the bon mots here, particularly needling his captor with the idea that if God is on her side, why is it losing, and scoffing at “God will forgive me” as an excuse for bad actions.
In a slightly lighter vein, the farce of the Pimpernel and his second pretending to be Chauvelin and Fumier to get in good with Mademoiselle Guillotine, only to then point the finger at the real Chauvelin and Fumier as the Pimpernel and his goon, is a ton of fun. The game of mistaken identity, the seduction-turned-tie-up, and Madame Blakeney catching on and playing along are all a good time.
But the bulk of this episode just doesn’t do much for me. Again, the pro-royalist armies in the vendee fighting against an at least more democratic government isn’t exactly the most sympathetic cause in my book. Even setting that aside, the search for the young Mademoiselle de Rouchambeau gets tiresome quickly, and her soppy romance with the vendee army leader (a pre-BSG James Callis!) isn’t any better. The initial intriguing structure of the Pimpernel wanting to rescue her, Mademoiselle Guillotine wanting to kill her, and Chauvelin wanting to kidnap her for Robespierre to use as leverage is good, but goes to waste quickly. The ensuing squabbles and skirmishes never feel like they have much in the way of stakes.
That stinks, since the one intriguing element to the whole thing is the heavy allusion to Chauvlin being the girl’s long lost father. But it’s barely developed (despite some good acting from Martin Shaw), and the battle at the end is a cheesy way to dramatize his feelings about a child he never knew.
Overall, there’s still some high points and entertaining interludes here, but it’s not nearly as enjoyable or fun as the first entry in the series.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-12-27T07:44:53Z
[6.0/10] This one was a definite step down from the first episode. There’s still elements worth enjoying here. Mademoiselle Guillotine chews scenery like nobody’s business, and is a ton of fun as villains go, right down to her on-the-nose guillotine earring. Chauvelin gets the better end of some of the bon mots here, particularly needling his captor with the idea that if God is on her side, why is it losing, and scoffing at “God will forgive me” as an excuse for bad actions.
In a slightly lighter vein, the farce of the Pimpernel and his second pretending to be Chauvelin and Fumier to get in good with Mademoiselle Guillotine, only to then point the finger at the real Chauvelin and Fumier as the Pimpernel and his goon, is a ton of fun. The game of mistaken identity, the seduction-turned-tie-up, and Madame Blakeney catching on and playing along are all a good time.
But the bulk of this episode just doesn’t do much for me. Again, the pro-royalist armies in the vendee fighting against an at least more democratic government isn’t exactly the most sympathetic cause in my book. Even setting that aside, the search for the young Mademoiselle de Rouchambeau gets tiresome quickly, and her soppy romance with the vendee army leader (a pre-BSG James Callis!) isn’t any better. The initial intriguing structure of the Pimpernel wanting to rescue her, Mademoiselle Guillotine wanting to kill her, and Chauvelin wanting to kidnap her for Robespierre to use as leverage is good, but goes to waste quickly. The ensuing squabbles and skirmishes never feel like they have much in the way of stakes.
That stinks, since the one intriguing element to the whole thing is the heavy allusion to Chauvlin being the girl’s long lost father. But it’s barely developed (despite some good acting from Martin Shaw), and the battle at the end is a cheesy way to dramatize his feelings about a child he never knew.
Overall, there’s still some high points and entertaining interludes here, but it’s not nearly as enjoyable or fun as the first entry in the series.