Vengeance comes to Versailles as Oscar takes in the
beautiful Rosalie as her protegee, all to help her track down the woman in
court who killed her mother. Meanwhile
Marie Antoinette continues to be poisoned against herself by the scheming
Madame Polignac. But nothing can prepare
her or Oscar for the return of Hans Fersen, who brings new that will forever
alter their bonds. Knives are out. Loves are confessed. But who will ultimately pay the price for the
sins of Versailles past?
The chaos of this episode set was split between two
storylines. We’ll start with
Rosalie. I’d say she got put through the
ringer emotionally but let’s face it everyone was. Still, her little revenge arc had some of the
best moments of the show to date. Her
face off with Polignac had me locked in as you wondered if Rosalie was going to
go for the kill or if Polignac was going to out Rosalie to Marie in the middle
of a soiree (which would have been bad for her cause as Oscar pointed out, Polignac
would have to confess to her crimes too).
A close follow up to that was Rosalie holding Polignac at gunpoint after
learning Polignac is the “Martine Gabrielle” her foster mother mentioned, thus
making Polignac her actual mom. Rosalie
wants revenge but is a nice girl deep down and couldn’t follow through, which
hey good on her for not doing anything stupid.
That said, Rosalie just gets off scot-free for holding up a member of
court? I guess Polignac is keeping her
mouth shut after learning who Rosalie really is but wow, that is luck there for
Rosalie herself.
Speaking of luck, Polignac really pushed her selfish luck
and paid a steep price for it. From
trying to have Oscar and Rosalie killed to forcibly trying to marry her 11 year
old daughter Charlotte off to a far older man, the woman seemed to be willing
to do anything to remain the top of the court at Versailles next to Marie
Antoinette. Episode 19 masterfully built
up a sense of dread the show hasn’t had in a minute, constantly cutting back to
an ominous fish fountain. And the moment
came when Charlotte had her hand kissed by her 40 year old would be
husband…that’s the moment I mentioned in the intro. The transition of the look on her face from
shock, to horror and finally madness was so unsettling, it would shake even the
toughest of souls. Polignac deserves to
pay for all of her evil deeds but the loss of her daughter due to her
machinations, yeah wouldn’t wish that even on my own greatest enemy. Still, good on Rosalie for trying to act
tough but still needing to shed tears for the sister she never got to know, my
God the writing on this show is freaking solid.
While it didn’t hit the same emotional tolling highs of
Rosalie’s storyline, the mid series episodes marked a major turning point for
Marie and Hans, who returned after 4 years away. Much of me wants to remark on the fact that
we’re supposed to believe how in love they are when they’ve hardly spent any
time together. Then I have to remind
myself this is actual history and this is how it worked back then. Plus we know Marie has been missing Hans
something fierce hence all the parties and gambling and terrible spending
habits. At any rate, Marie and Hans
finally did the deed and commenced their infamous love affair that is anything
but secret, though they try to play it otherwise. Poor Oscar found herself as the go between
with the two forbidden lovers while also contending with her own growing
feelings for Fersen. What they’re doing
is wrong but Hans isn’t a terrible guy like most others in this show. He’s saved Oscar’s life a couple of times now
(including in this set when Oscar took a serious hit saving Rosalie). Hans respects the hell out of Oscar but his
heart belongs to Marie…which is why he’s trying to get away from those feelings
by going to fight in the American Revolution…that’s a healthy reaction right? Oh and cudos to the scene where Oscar dances
with Marie in her Formal Uniform. Long
before the days of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, this was the lesbian
romantic imagery that is the stuff dreams are made off, such a beautiful scene.
So Hans is off once again. Marie is in an even more precarious spot with
everyone around her for what she thinks is secret. And Oscar is fawning over a guy she can’t
hook up with cause he’s in love with the person she’s supposed to protect. Oh and Rosalie and Polignac just kind of
vanished after Episode 19 but they need some time off after what went down with
them. Think that about sums up the
situation report. But no time for
breathers. We kick off the second half
of The Rose of Versailles This Friday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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