Catherine gets ready for Henri’s funeral in this EXCLUSIVE preview of the October 23 episode of The Serpent Queen, and she surprises her crew with her choice of attire. “I should remind you that white is the traditional color for mourning,” Aabis tells Catherine.
Catherine replies, “I prefer black. Reminds people of their loss.” She is dressed in head-to-toe black as she prepares to mourn her husband.
Mathilde wonders if Ruggeri told Catherine that. “He did,” Catherine confirms. Mathilde tells Catherine, “I think it’s time you sent Ruggeri back to where he came from, don’t you?”
Catherine turns to Mathilde and says, “He makes you nervous.” Mathilde doesn’t deny that whatsoever, but she’s more than just nervous about Ruggeri. “He makes me nervous because he appeals to the darker parts of your nature, which frighten me far more than he does,” Mathilde says.
For Catherine, she needs to embrace those darker parts of herself. “The darker parts of my nature will always ensure my survival,” she says.
Samantha Morton spoke with HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that she found Catherine’s story “compelling and shocking. This idea that everything she went through, and then she still carried on ruling but not for ego or narcissism. There’s a huge amount of just trying to keep world peace in effect and managing the world stage. I mean, sadly, it’s all too often that it’s men that are those people, but actually, historically, women were in charge of that as well.”
Liv Hill, who played the younger version of Catherine, stressed that Catherine’s “biggest challenge is survival.” Initially, Catherine’s main goal was to produce an heir. As the years went on, she continued to encounter more obstacles.
The synopsis for the October 23 episode reads: “Mary visits Rahima and recounts her side of the story of life at the Royal Court; Catherine and Mary have conflicting views when it comes to freedom of religion in France.” The Serpent Queen airs Sunday on STARZ.