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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:00 |
 Le Chevalier d'Eon continues its Russian excursion, with the net closing on Vorontsov while the life of the Empress becomes ever more in danger. Can d'Eon and his colleagues complete their mission, or will the users of the Royal Psalms get their way..?
9 - The Lovers
d'Eon is granted a private audience with the Empress - his first question to her is about his sister, and what she was like during her time in Russia. With a portrait of Lia hanging on the wall of the audience room, it's clear that Elizaveta held er in high regard, but all she'll say is that d'Eon will see the results of Lia's actions soon - in the meantime, she has some questions of her own about what d'Eon and the others are doing in St Petersburg, and about Vorontsov, the man who she believes was responsible for Lia's death. Meanwhile, the gang uncover evidence of another plot to assassinate the Empress, and decide to do what they can to thwart the plan...
10 - The Royal Psalms
The actions of d'Eon and the others in saving Elizaveta's life have seen them awarded the Order of Merit - a rare honour for foreigners to receive - and have made them well-known faces at the royal court. It's also made her doubly keen to secure the capture of Vorontsov, a task that she's decided should be entrusted to her her French visitors. That's a decision that not everyone in the court is pleased about. Meanwhile, the Empresses enemies have not yet given up, and plans are already underway for another attempt to depose her. To help them achieve that aim, they're planning on stealing the soul of Lia from d'Eon...
11 - The Rain on St Petersburg
While d'Eon faces Vorontsov, Elizaveta's enemies make their move and she is killed - no deception this time. On learning of this from Ekterina d'Eon and the others are devastated, seeing this as a personal failure. It also means that Elizaveta's plans for reforming Russia now seem to be in ruins, with Pyotr - a man with the mind of a child, at best, and under the influence of Vorontsov's group - heir to the throne. But Pyotr's wife, Ekaterina, was a close friend of the Empress and is determined to make sure her dream don't die with her...
12 - Rest in Peace in Your Motherland
d'Eon once again faces Vorontsov, and while he's like to keep him alive, it seems that Lia has other ideas - although in the end its other forces that prove Vorontsov's downfall. Durand, meanwhile, is having an unexpected reunion with an old acquaintance - Maximilian, the one behind the plotters in St Petersburg and who has his sights on gaining the throne of Russia for himself. To help him achieve that aim, he has control of the Royal Psalms, and no qualms about killing anyone who would stand in his way. Back in Paris, meanwhile, Madame Pompadour is growing ever more frustrated with how d'Eon and the others are impeding her own plans, and orders them killed...
Elizaveta is very accepting of the knights of a foreign power operating in her country - a side-effect of Lia's influence on her, if you like (Lia appears to have been quite the republican, in her own way), but it's also one of the main gripes that the group conspiring against her have: should the leader of the great nation of Russia really be relying on foreign help? The power behind the conspirators - one Maximilian Robespierre, who Duras is acquainted with - is well aware of that feeling, and he's using it to drive his own aims forward.
With the real bad guy uncovered, the Vorontsov issue is tied up by way of some decent fight scenes, but a lot of this volume depends on political machinations, and you need to have your wits about you, and have the urge to follow than manoeuverings, to get the most out of the story. It's not a disc you can just throw on for some easy enjoyment, and in a way that's a shame - the first volume raised the prospect of a good, violent series with plenty of man versus gargoyle action, but that's already been left behind us. I've got no problem with the more thoughtful series we've got now, I just wish that expectations of something else hadn't been raised first.
As the volume ends, so does the Russian arc, with the gang now headed for England for the next stage of their search. Maximilian is still on the scene and must still be stopped, while his supporters back in France are also beginning to take an interest in the actions of d'Eon and the others - and they're not liking what they're seeing, so our heroes are likely to face problems on two fronts from here. The only problem is that I have visions of Maximilian being one of those villains who is almost impossible to deal with, appearing here and there to taunt his pursuers before disappearing again, and I don't know that I could be bothered with that. It's just a hunch at the moment, though, so onwards to the next volume and let's see what happens. As for this volume, it's another solid contribution that does what it does very well.
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