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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Thursday, 17 July 2008 16:00 |
 A change of scenery for d'Eon and his companions as the show shifts its focus to England, home of the Revolutionary Brethren and a veritable hotbed of Poet activity. But while the Poets are the main threat, there's another threat emerging to d'Eon's survival - and it's a lot closer to him that you'd expect...
13 - The Sign
d'Eon and the others have arrived in England, where Durand is hoping that a contact of his, the Comte de Guercy, will be able to help them track down the remaining Poets. Unknown to him, though, the Comte has already received instructions from the faction within the French royal court who would like to see them stopped. It also seems as though Maximilien has reached England ahead of them, and made his presence felt within the English royal court. He's also been in contact with the man who controls the Psalms, and believes that d'Eon has what they need to be able to release their full power: Lia's soul...
14 - Robert Wood's Briefcase
Lia's soul seems to be asserting itself more and more over d'Eon's body - there are periods where Lia has clearly been in control that d'Eon can't recall, and he's finding that he can no longer tell the difference between her memories and his own. When those memories include meetings with Maximilien, it's particularly disconcerting - but for as long as being able to impersonate Lia is useful to them, there's nothing that can be done. Especially as Lia seems to have the power to cast Psalms herself...
15 - The Final Secret Order
d'Eon seems to be more himself again, after Lia's most recent emergence - it's amazing what a letter from Anna seems to accomplish. His lack of control, however, means that the others are now a little more wary of him appearing in public - and rightly so, as he keeps having disturbing 'visions' of being with Maximilien. Durand, meanwhile, has received a letter from the King. A strange letter, in that it's a single, blank page - but that page has enormous implications...
16 - Where the Soul Goes
All d'Eon and the others find of Durand is his blood-covered sword - uncertain of his fate, and knowing that if he's still alive he'll be in need of their help, they decide to do what they can to track him down. The problem is, how? d'Eon believes that Queen Mary may be able to provide the information they need, but first he has to somehow arrange an audience. Meanwhile, with Maximilien's help, England is beginning to prepare for war with France...
I hope you don't mind the intricacies of politics and diplomacy, as there's a lot of that with this volume - not exactly the most exciting of subjects, but it can still be intriguing if it's done right, and fortunately it is here. It does seem a little bit strange after the more action-oriented first volume of the series - I remember putting a Living Dead reference into the review for that one which now looks to be clearly not quite right - but you certainly can't accuse Le Chevalier d'Eon of being uninteresting.
It's just that the interest now comes from different things - Lia's control over d'Eon (he's not the only one in the position of being possessed), the internal wranglings in the Revolutionary Brethren as Maximilien tries to assert some control over them, and the various manoueverings in the French royal court, and the King proves himself to be just as unworthy of loyalty as some of his scheming underlings. All this produces some potential conflict within d'Eon's group, and sows the seeds for some of them to begin doubting their loyalty to the King.
Also of interest are the revelations about Lia's past, particularly her involvement with Maximilien and the Revolutionary Brethren. While that can mostly be explained by her membership of Le Secret du Roi, her own ability to cast Psalms - which d'Eon has now "inherited" through her possession of him - does seem to go a little further than strictly necessary and, for me at least, puts a question mark over her on action. Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice often said.
The episodes are paced quite slowly, but they're still thoroughly engrossing and entertaining. There are a few action scenes, of both the swordplay and Psalm-casting types, that will keep more action-oriented viewers entertained, but the political goings-on in these episodes are what really makes them. With the head of the Revolutionary Brethren now having been identified and located, events are nicely poised for the next volume, too. I'm definitely looking forward to it, and this volume is an easy recommendation.
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