French Expert Reviews The Serpent Queen (STARZ)
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- Hi, I'm Dr Estelle Paranque and I'm an expert on Tudor and Valois history. I have worked on Catherine de Medici's letters for the last ten years so I decided to review the TV show The Serpent Queen.
Here is my interview with the Smithsonian
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and my BBC History Extra article on Catherine de Medici:
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Also please check my video on the REAL Catherine de Medici where I bust her dark legend:
• The REAL Catherine de ...
My book on Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici:
Blood, Fire, & Gold (affiliate link):
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Thank you so much for watching, it means a lot!
WHERE TO FIND ME?
🐦 / drestelleprnq
📸 / estelleprnq
🎵 tiktok.com/elle...
Thank you so much for watching. Please don't forget to subscribe and leave a comment. I will reply to you :)
The way you explained why “freedom” doesn’t work as an answer was very well done. Catherine’s power was derived from her position relative to the men in her life (her son, her husband). Killing Francis doesn’t make her “free” it just makes Catherine’s position more vulnerable
Thank you😊😊🙏🏻
What I like is that this series does well here is portrayal of Catherine as less the historical villain and more of a survivor whose enemies made sure that people remembered her more as a villain. This series is during a time where women were not supposed to have a big part of society beyond their traditional roles and the fact that she was an Italian in a court that had discriminations against her right off set her up immediately to be a fighter
There has never been a time when women weren’t a big part. THAT is the myth.
I agree, the depiction of Mary Stuart was wack. And rather than scaring Philipa off, Diane actually fostered her and helped raise the baby.
In the show it never says that she poisoned her son. When he got sick in the carriage it was his illness he was borne with. His lungs not being healthy. And at the end she gives him and opioid that literally just puts him to sleep until he dies. She never poisoned him.
The whole scene with the carriage was supposed to get his son kidnapped and all and she was doubting her decision.
I do agree, a lot of it was less accuracy and most creative. With movies and shows like this is good to know the accurate history then also enjoy the entertainment. That why I love to watch these movies as entertainment. And hopefully for people to get interested enough to go and research these amazing historical figures.
Thank you for debunking the show! I was so excited to have a series about Catherine of Medicis, especially with Samantha Morton, and got disappointed by what they ended up doing. Learnt about her through Simone Berthière's book a few years ago and I thought she was so complex and fascinating. Hope this will at least inspire more producers to look into the period for show material!
Thanks so much for watching and commenting. I thought Morton was excellent. It’s just the show is based on the myths and dark legend and there’s already a good drama by just looking at primary sources without going down that road. I hope we have a better show on her soon. It would be lovely!
It was awful....acting was good but the entire premise of the show is absurd and horrible...Thank you for setting this straight.
So excited to see discover your channel. Have always loved your commentary on docs.
Would love have a video on Catherine from an expert.
I could listen to you talk about this for years! Lol thank you for giving me something to do ❤
A lot of it has to do with writers not liking the idea of people being mothers they like the idea of girl bosses still.. When was the last time you watched a movie or something with someone who is just a strong mother and who loved being a mother?
It does seem they are determined to make any STRONG woman be a replica of a strong, totalitarian, evil man. That isn't how women rulers are.
Funny you should say that.
The first tv show that comes into my mind, is game of thrones with catelyn stark.
A lot of people have issues with feminine women, that's true, but the same happens with people who hate girl bosses, those people follow a "women are not complete unless they have children" way of thinking...
Francis was never a healthy boy so you didn't need to poison him. The Guises were an overly strong influence on Francis through Mary. Catherine didn't want conflict between Catholics and Protestants - I agree it was the Guises that pushed people into war.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Just found you and I’m loving your content!
Thanks so much for being here!
Love your highly detailed videos!❤
Thank you! ❤️
That that flew by! Fascinating insight into the drama. Thank you Elle 😊
Thanks so much for always championing me and my channel. It means a great deal, Jon!
Thank you for the amazing review :D I haven't watched the show myself but I could feel how frustrated you were by everything they did and the way they butchered Catherine's story. It's really beyond me why writers keep on dismissing real history as 'dry & dull' when it was soooo fascinating and instead go for cheap over-the-top plots 😤
Yes and the frustration was for once we had a show on Catherine and they still went with the dark legend :(
I definitely understand this sentiment but at the end of the day this is a fictional entertainment. Never in any part of the production do they say this is supposed to be a complete accurate show of historical events.
That’s why when people watch shows like this they get encouraged to go and research about these historical events and figures.
Allow yourself to enjoy the entertainment however hard it may be. Because compare to many other shows at least the sequence of events makes sense. The movies plays on the rumors a lot but still it’s not as outrageous as you think well compared to other ‘historical’ shows
This time I couldn't guess WHAT you might say first, but I knew the myths would be the biggest issue. Your Reign review set the standard-and it was hilarious! 😉
Thank you so much! Really appreciate that you’re watching my videos and all your support
Excellent, thank you!
I didn’t know about this show - I don’t have a television - but the title told me who it was about. It seems from the video and comments that you feel Catherine has never been portrayed accurately on screen. Unfortunately, once one has seen La Reine Margot it is difficult, if not impossible, not to have one’s view of Catherine defined by Virna Lisi’s portrayal, in which, aside from the lack of an incest angle, she seems a kind of prototype of Cersei Lannister, though I think Margaret of Anjou was the main model for that character. (I’m reasonably sure the incest was GRRM’s invention).
In fact the only other portrayal of Catherine I can recall is in an old film called simply Diane (1956) in which she shows Diane how to poison someone when cutting an apple (presumably with the intention of suggesting how easily she could have done it to her). I don’t recall whether Catherine appears in any other scenes as the film centres on the relationship between Diane, played by Lana Turner, and Henry (Roger Moore). As the casting may suggest, it is something of a soap opera, in spite of Christopher Isherwood’s involvement in the script. However it’s possible I’m being a little unkind. Have you seen this film?
Yes i agree. They took a lot of freedom AND license in changing the facts. Making Mary, Queen of Scott as this scheming ruthless teenager was unrealistic. Too much dramatizing it.
Mary was the Queen of bad decisions, which is why she ended up imprisoned by Elizabeth and executed.
This series is fiction, not a documentary. It takes a skeleton of historic fact and fleshes it out with drama. I'm sure that most of the people who have just watched this series now know more about French history of that time than they did before, which would have been nothing.
Still it’s called historical fiction… where’s the history?? Haha
@ElleHistory the basic points in tbe timeline are historically accurate. A lot of stuff in-between is fiction.
I went into this show really wanting to enjoy it, hoping for a more accurate portrayal of Catherine de Medici than we've seen before (looking at you Reign). I at first, perhaps naively, believed that the title and opening of the show were to be more a cheeky way to lampshade the dubious legends surrounding Catherine, but like you was very disappointed with the tired narrative they ultimately went with. While the show as fiction isn't terrible, it's left a bad taste in my mouth and I admittedly stopped watching after the jousting episode. I'm not certain if I'm going to continue.
I think there would be something magical here had they not gone with the sensationalist and tired "wicked witch" narrative. Samantha Morton is an absolute powerhouse of an actress and I really enjoy her portrayal of Catherine. The show provides nuance and layers to her relationship with Henry that hit all of the right notes, and I like that the show captured her and Diane's shared journey to have Catherine conceive for both of their sakes (as well as their general dynamic). It's just incredibly unfortunate that it's all soured by the same disrespectful narrative that's been haunting Catherine for centuries. Holding onto hope that we'll get a show about Catherine someday that does this incredible woman's memory justice.
Thanks for another great video Dr. Paranque. I found this one very validating!
Sidenote (because I clearly didn't write enough lol) I wanted to say how much I *loved* Ludivine Sagnier's portrayal of Diane. She gave Diane this histrionic, campy flair without cheapening her portrayal/character, and as an avid, unabashed lover of all things camp I relished every scene she was in, even that over-the-top one where she killed that merchant for very heavy-handedly foreshadowing the French Revolution. 😆
I couldn’t agree with you more! Apparently there’s gonna be a second series so I’ll be reviewing that as well. Thank you so much for your kind words and for watching!
Great video! Are you familiar with Delcourt bande dessinne Les Reines de Sang:Catherine De Medici -La Reine Maudite? and if so,how accurate is that series in portraying Catherine de Medici life? Thank you for your great videos.
I am yes. I need to somehow review them as it was a long time ago. Thank you for being here.
I found it very interesting that in reign the bourbons were tan and sexy while Mary’s family were white, plain looking men. In serpent queen it’s very much reversed.
Good point haha
is it really like that????
@@altinaykor364 omg yes google it you have to see the actors for yourself
Thank you for your reviews, and for the links.. It is flabberghasting how the writers & producers of these series deliberately present things all wrong.... why? In the BBC series "Versailles" they pretty much _erased_ Madame DeMontespan's role in Louis XIV Court. I could only gawk in amazement at their diminishment of her. And in the Elizabeth I movie, played by Cate Blanchette... Oh. My. God. The first 2 movies were so awful, so wrong, and in such a lame-ass way! I hate to imagine what they'll do with the 3rd movie, how they'll present her relationship with Essex. I watched the early episodes of Serpent Queen (already unhappy at the title) and I thought they were fairly good. But then... I just don't understand why they ignore the fascinating and thrilling real events that Catherine was involved in, and replace them with stupid things like cutting fingers off (probably borrowed from the HBO series "Rome", another butchery of history) and then have her _poison her son_ ! Sigh. I wish I understood why! Why do they do this? The obvious reply: Misogyny.
Because it is historical fiction.
This Series is a Satire. Some of the dates are wrong. The dates of the death's of some of the characters have been changed and artistic license given for the series climax. Perhaps a message saying based around historical characters and events at the beginning might have been helpful.
This 🙌🏻
The show is brilliant. And the myth makes it interesting and fun. She does make mistakes in the show and critiques like this are slightly precious. We don’t want to see historical fact. We want a show. Videos like your other one give important context to what is fun.
I understand your pov but I wish I could write a show historically accurate that would still be entertaining and blow your mind 😊
Can you do Queen Margot next? Would love to hear your thoughts!
The show wants to portray strong women and I think it failed, bc whenever they try, they show women acting worse than men. The portrayal of the Guises standing naked in front of their mother, acting a tad "incesty" or all other men as idiots also does nothing for the show. I really like Samantha Morton but she's been given a weird script.
And I agree, as always, that actual history is dramatic and interesting enough, one doesn't have to add or change stuff.
I have nothing against historical fiction but it should make sense and not ending up being a mess of alternate history.
Did your books get translated? I don't mind reading a book in english, but I'd prefer german and would accept french.
I totally agree with you. My book is being translated in French and will be out in March next year (Sang, Feu et Or). Im still hoping that Germany will buy the rights too! 😊🙏🏻
@@ElleHistory I hope so. Sounds very interesting. The title reminds me a bit of Maurice Druon's books. I'll definately read it.
The Catherin you portray is almost the same as I see in the series. I don't get what's so different. She is not portrayed in the series as an evil person just a victim and a survivor in a very hostile environment. So besides the satirized characters and the necessary artistic licenses to make the show palatable to a wide audience, it seems rather accurate. I don´t see your point. Besides, your interpretation of Catherin is yours and not necessarily the pure truth.
Thanks for the video but I saw this as written from her perspective. It may not have been from other’s perspective but maybe from hers?
I watched the 1994 french film La Reine Margot. They portraits Catherine. Not much different to this series. I don´t agree with the idea that she didn´t kill relatives or poisoned just because it was never found in a letter or writen statement, altough both series and film are not telling the historical truth. And the humanisation you do about this character has nothing to do when you say " Catherine was not able to loose a son" after a letter to her daughter sent to Spain for a political marriage!!! Anyway, there´s a french series from 2023 called Diane de Poitiers, la presque reine, starring the fabulous Isabelle Adjani (who impersonated Medici´s daughter Marguerite de Valois in La reine Margot) let´s see what they did.
I understand where you come from, as history is your thing, but this is a series (like, art) not a historical documentary. Thus people who are actually interested in who and what kind of person this queen was, will probably, or should at least, watch a documentary. Or even better read a book with historical research. Art does not work that way, nor should it and an artist has no obligation to portray with accuracy their subject matter. If that was so, Picasso's paintings would be cr*p for portraying, for example, Marie-Therese with green hair and her facial features all over the place. However the painting does not imply that she actually looked like that, for that is not its intent or purpose. People who do art usually use the subject matter as a medium to say what they want to say, engulfing it in their own aesthetics and imaginings. Only naive people would get their historical facts and impressions purely from art, an idea quite surreally ridiculous. But as there is also art that intends to depict reality as it is/was as much as possible , this show is obviously, like super obviously, not in that category , or else all that metaphysical staff would not be there. And it is obviously very stylized visually and story-wise in order to serve a certain aesthetic and concept far from historical accuracy, as it does, and does well in my opinion but that is what is actually up for debate. (reviews of art should be better left to people who understand art and how it works. well structured facts vs artistic fabrication videos on such topics , however, by people who done the historical research, would be actually useful )
The film's title is pretty darn accurate as far as I'm concerned. Horrible person, she was.