The Exiles

The Musketeers is a show with potential. The story is known, but open to re-imagining, and as Merlin showed that a weekly show about a story known to everyone could be fun, The Musketeers should be able to pull that feat too.

Sadly, till now, the first season had been underwhelming. This sixth episode, "The Exiles", is probably the first that shows how this show could become with time and effort.

The mother of King Louis, who had been banished after trying to steal his throne, reappears with some story that she is in danger, and asks for her son's help. At the same time the musketeers go in search of some baby, not knowing that this baby is a very special one.

The story is simple enough and you will see everything (almost) that is coming your way. The show follows the book, so don't expect many surprises. On the other hand, this episode is very competently filmed, and the actors do a nice job on bringing the dialogue to life, something I felt they hadn't been able to do till now, as they seemed a little bit lost all the time. The set-pieces are nice, and the action offers some thrills, enough that you will keep your eyes on the screen. The pace keeps high all the 55 minutes that it lasts, and even if some trimming wouldn't be out of place (a 45 minutes episode would be more than enough) it never gets boring.

Let's hope the show starts to show more life from here on, and that the plots become more and more interesting. This episode, for one, bucks up the trend that was bringing The Musketeers into becoming a little bit mushy.