The Serpent Queen (TV Series) To War Rather Than to Bed (2022) User Reviews

"To War Rather Than to Bed"

[allmoviesfan · 7/10 · 23 March 2024]

"To War Rather Than to Bed" is a strong second episode, continuing the flashbacks to Catherine de Medici's formative years, as told to the servant girl, Rahima (Sennia Nanua) who appears to have received a promotion from the last episode. The queen clearly sees something in her.

There is a lot of alliances and political manoeuvring in The Serpent Queen, as there is in these kinds of period dramas. Catherine has to learn quickly, following the death of her uncle the pope (under suspicious circumstances, to say the least...) makes her position somewhat tenuous. As the episode goes, she begins to get the hang of it. Samantha Morton is great.

The final scene where Rahima exacts revenge on her tormentor is great. Can't wait to see where that character goes.

Finally great actors get great writing!

[bejohny-17277 · 5/10 · 19 September 2022]

Great acting, pretty good writing, but as I feared with a director and camera work like this, all that other hard work is just going to look and come off as weird. The director has never come across to me as using her craft to further the story telling process. It's always off in that way you can't quit put your finger on, but something prevents you from being fully drawn in. This second episode, that Camera work was just hilariously. Shot like it was a telenovela. Wide angle, hold for dramatic effect, camera quickly draws close and the most profound thing you have ever heard is just then uttered. It made the great writing and award winning level acting come off as sophomoric, and it absolutely distracts from the story instead of pulling you in further. The editing did not seam very in tune this episode either, however it's hard to know given ep 2 was a different editor than Ep1. To the writers, Bravo, it's hard to find good writing these days. To the actresses, your performances should gain you an amazing amount of positive attention and rightfully so, clearly you all worked extremely hard for it. To the director, cinematographer, and editor, you do these people a great injustice by not following their example. If everyone is not on the same page in terms of storytelling, the story will suffer.