Versailles (2015) s01e01 Episode Script

1 Are you scared? Of course you are.
Your mother is dying, and the world is on fire.
If history teaches us one thing, it is this: terrible things happen to kings.
You were annointed by God, blessed by the sun, but you do not yet possess what really matters: the power! Without it, you will perish, and all of France along with you.
For a king without a castle is no king at all.
And now, you dream of paradise, but you must build it for yourself.
And let all the world know Louis the Great has arrived! I had a vision, about a palace.
Bring my architect, to Versailles.
Mr Le Van? To talk about mirrors.
How is my queen, Bontemps? Everyone says it shall be a boy.
- What is it? - An attempt on the king's life.
By whom? The Spanish, the Dutch? We do not know Fabien is moving to quell the threat.
Bontemps, explain! Sire, you must be escorted to the guard room immediately! Who says? Sire, away from the window! I do not know these men! I'm going nowhere, my second son will be born here! While I breathe I will not show fear! I will not leave! Philippe, where is he? Where is my brother? - Where is he? - Your majesty! You must come with us.
Oh God! You are good at that.
The king calls! We heard you the first time! - Is the baby born? - You are to come at once! - I'll send for a snack.
- Couldn't eat another thing.
- Have they caught the men? - Fabien Marchal is leading the search.
Tell me what is going on.
Brother, another plot uncovered, this time it was four men sent to kill you.
We must leave for Paris, this Lodge is not safe.
I decide where I go! I decide what to do.
Make them go away.
Leave us! You too, Montcourt.
You had that dream again.
You held her hand when she died.
You could have too.
They didn't permit me that honor.
Who permits the king? You'll never understand.
There's something bigger than you! The king has not given you leave.
My dear Bontemps, I know that look, someone's about to get hurl Won't be me.
They mean to kill me, let them try! You have the power.
Believe it.
The deer in those woods follow the same tracks at their ancestors.
Going back hundreds of years.
It's instinct, they simply follow.
Once in a while, one will turn.
But those who challenge never win, for one reason If you blindfolded me in that wood, and turned me around I'd find my way back.
No path I don't know No tree I haven't climbed.
It's where I hunt.
It's where we will stay.
We're not going anywhere.
You may leave now.
Fine day for a walk.
Have you lost your way gentlemen? I think Spain is in that direction.
Since you are clearly lost, perhaps you know not where you are.
My name is Fabien Marchal, my work protects the king.
Welcome to Versailles.
And now the taxes for Épernon.
The harvest was poor.
Secure the coffers and load the carriages, four men to each.
Deal with it later! What is this about? Fabien, who are they? Four Spanish mercenaries plotting an ambush.
They were prevented.
We really are out in the wilds.
Defences are porous, nonexistent.
We must return to Paris.
I do not believe the king, nor his valet, fully sense the danger.
In any case, it's not up to him.
The ministers and council, we all must guide the ship.
Is the country governed by one man? Bontemps, is the king informed? What does he say of this? Where is he? He said he would be here.
We must find him.
Calmly.
Search all the corridors, the kitchen, just find the king! You cannot find him.
You cannot find the king of France? While the king is lost you must remain in place.
He's not lost, I promise.
What are you doing? You could've been killed! - Perhaps.
- Perhaps? You surpass yourself.
We've never been more alone.
We need to go.
We'll never get this chance again.
The wolves will come back.
I am about to drag this country out of the darkness, into the light We must build our own destiny.
A new France will be born, this palace will be here mother.
- What palace? - That one.
The hunting lodge? Versailles.
Get back on the horse.
With great change enemies appear.
I need to know one thing in this moment, no matter what.
Are you with me brother? Do you have my back? Where am I now? The king! The king! It's the king! My queen, this is Masson, your new doctor.
He will attend to you and deliver the boy.
Your Majesty, I consider this appointment a great honor both to myself, and to my family.
I think he waits for you.
When do we go home? - Home? - To Paris.
The birthing bed is prepared.
We're not leaving.
- Wouldn't you agree doctor? - Oh yes, Sire.
I'm tired, my king.
You're keeping us in suspense.
I'm jealous you're going to mass without me.
It's for the child's welfare.
As well as your own.
Then let us go back to Paris.
At least make them change the tapestries as you promised.
I will.
I wish you kept more promises.
The bed is very big without you.
My proud Spanish queen.
Sire, important matters of state.
When the time comes, I don't want many people here.
Why on earth not? I don't feel the same as last time.
All will be well.
Fear not.
Tea, bring it now.
Yes, my queen.
- The baby is coming! - Stop! Nabo, you naughty thing.
Bed.
You'll have been given a name.
Only Calderon knows.
He said we'd receive word.
This? No! I've never seen it before! No! No! No please! Please! Please! Please! Please! When I return, the name.
You look frozen.
Quite warm, thank you.
Spring is sprung.
Apparently so.
How is your husband? Please, do not talk about him now.
You made me marry him.
To keep you here.
And about your husband, you're to tell me everything he says, and everything he does.
Thought I'd lost you.
- I was worried about you.
- No you weren't.
- What are you doing? - Packing.
You're not staying here are you? They just tried to kill the king.
Who's next? Now there's any idea.
You'd have me killed? You're so slow sometimes.
The prince, little Louis, he's always seemed a bit sickly.
Stop it! My point exactly.
Hardly anyone sees him, he's holed up in Paris, and everybody worries about his health.
How many children at court make it to the age of five? What chance does this latest one have of walking, let alone to his own coronation? That's why the king wants another boy.
It's why everyone is willing another male child into existence.
Don't you see? When it all falls down, it all comes to you.
And what would you do, on that day? With all that power? What would you do right now? Would you consign us to linger in the swamp? Heavens, no! You would make Paris the capital of the world, and we would dine and dance every night.
What kind of king goes off hunting alone, and then gets lost! He's lost all sense of himself.
He's even lost himself.
What a prize idiot! What's this now? You were trying to rule me? Don't talk about him like that.
You know me by now, Mignonette.
I talk in whatever way I choose.
Do not judge a man by his words, but by his actions.
And do not worry.
I will be a merciful king.
Sire, in my humble opinion information is power.
That is one of 948 journals gathered by our services detailing every single member of your court.
Their height, weight, hair and eye color, their daily movements, from your valet, to your cook's assistant, Madeleine Dubois.
You sire, are the sun, and around you circulate not just our celestial court but those who seek to harm you.
You have ministers who openly defy you, nobles who pay no tax, yet believe that France is theirs, not yours.
Then, beyond our borders, the Dutch, Spain, the English, and the Holy Roman Empire.
All who surround will smile, and they will kneel, but they'd all see you destroyed.
A strong France scares them, as well it should.
You'd wish a weak France? I wish for the power to protect his Majesty.
You have sufficient resources.
Give him what he needs.
At your discretion of course! A risk moving the queen now, isn't it? With any luck they'll leave her on the roof.
Anyway, they've requested a birthing bed so I doubt she's going anywhere.
Everyone's saying a boy.
She's carrying in the front.
I hope it is for her sake not to mention the child's.
Boys have all the fun.
Your husband is staring at you.
I must go down for Communion.
I shouldn't be here, it's wrong.
Piety becomes you, Mademoiselle.
I want you.
I serve your Majesty as I serve God.
With all my heart.
You're so dear.
I hope for a healthy child.
No matter what, he will be a child of France.
Of that you can be sure.
Chapel, the most pious day of the week.
The king and his mistress gazing down on us.
I can't stand it.
Do they realize who we're praying for? I would wager Fabien Marchal prays for peace, Louvois for war, and Philippe prays only to me.
All of them wondering why La Vallière is up there when we know she's finished.
I wonder what the king sees in her.
I suppose he sees poise.
Unlike some.
Stop slouching! I need new shoes, Mother.
It's not the shoes, it's the feet.
Slow down, eyes up, chin down.
You're either looking or being looked at.
Walking is a skill my dear like dancing.
Why does the king ignore her when she's the court's beauty.
The king cares more about character.
It's no surprise he does not look on her.
- Why thank you, Chevalier.
- Don't mention it.
That one's actually more interesting.
Young woman died of a stopping of the stomach.
Or perhaps a raising of the lights.
Or bloodletting.
The letting of blood purges the body of its ills.
It's a cornerstone of medicine.
It seems to me that doctors stand before corpses stating reasons of death yet I wonder if they omit the most obvious cause.
What would that be? Their incompetence.
Father! Strong and stubborn.
Please listen to me! Doesn't it demand a question? If the Lord himself ministered to these children, would he blood-let? Claudine, my dear girl, look, I know that you are clever and kind.
But people will see you a woman of knowledge who speaks her mind and they would use a different word - The word they would use - A witch! You'll be burned! So, we are being robbed.
- Sire? - The tax revenues you outlined.
Nantes down 7%, Limousin down 14%, Anjou down 21%, and Épernon down 25%.
Robbery! They do not fear the consequences.
What is worse, they steal from the people of France in my name.
A common thief in a silk shirt.
Sire, the expenses you requested, the Royal pension.
Sire, the taxation issue is a tedious mess and I would have your attention on other matters.
This administrative issue can be solved once we return to Paris.
To the archives.
Who's our tax man in Épernon.
Your Majesty! Who interrupts? Urgent from your wife, Mr Bontemps.
Read it.
- When we finish - Then I shall, give it to me.
Go back to your family at once take a Swiss with you, there are bandits.
- Fabien.
- Yes, sire.
Who's our exciseman of Épernon? Educate him.
Let me be clear.
The state of our finances will not pass through these doors.
As far as the world is concerned our cashflow is strong.
Is that understood? Was he short before? We'd need to consult our archives - In Paris.
- Good point, Louvois.
Bring them here.
Only four women have their cycle, Claremont, Montbéliard, Anjou and Poitiers.
Poitiers keeps saying she's pregnant, but, she's not.
I must do something for the king.
Bring me my book of names from Épernon and bordering parishes.
It's the red one.
What are you looking for? Looking for Mr Dupont.
I will return.
There, him.
- What would you like? - You to get your hands off me.
Hey! But sir Dupont! After what happened to Fouquet I'd have thought you learned Remind me, as a tax collector, you can count, can't you? Even in Épernon? For future reference, so can we.
Compliments of the King.
Moncourt, you seem pensive.
The king ordered the archives from Paris? He's not a boy anymore, the king's become a man.
He has big ideas.
And this I fear, is as big as they come.
As I said before the envelope should be completed around the entire lodge.
Along the terrace, inside, a great hall of mirrors reflected in the symmetry.
We'll need to buy in most of Venice for the glass.
Now the gardens will extend from here to here.
Very good Sire.
What is this? A lake.
You wish to put a lake here? The area is the lake.
That is a big lake.
Sire, a lake that size would dwarf any structure near it.
That depends on the structure, does it not? But to feed such a lake, your majesty there aren't enough rivers nearby.
Bring the rivers here.
Sir, you are my gardener.
Your majesty.
How long have you worked here? Six months, Sire.
- And before that? - War.
- What happened to your arm? - I left it on a field.
How forgetful of you.
What qualifies a soldier for gardening? - I'm very skilled at digging, Sire.
- Trenches, yes.
Graves.
Also the planning for a garden is not so different than planning for war.
A war fought for beauty against chaos.
Dig me a lake.
- How big? - Half a league.
That would take me some time, Sire.
Might need a hand.
- How many men? - An army? - Good day to you.
- Good day, Sire.
May it be a healthy birth may your dreams be full of wonder.
Dreams? My mother told me that before a man become a father he relives his own childhood.
There are members of this court who are willing to sell details of your life to the highest bidder giving no thought to the implications for your safety.
The Spaniards in your dungeon were sure that their money would grant them access to your court.
One of them gave me the name of Mr Moncourt.
These people you mention would report our business to others.
Undoubtedly.
Regarding Moncourt, do you wish me to act? No.
Sire, they came knowing there would be a friendly face, confident they'd meet someone There will come a moment tonight when Moncourt will wish to leave let him do so.
People think us weak.
Show them we're strong.
Say it once, and all shall hear.
The Greeks knew what glory was their buildings were temples for their gods.
We will build a new temple.
A royal tabernacle of the Sun.
A dwelling place of the divine and of the people.
With a great hall of light that will follow the sunrise and shine to all corners of the globe so they might all see the glory of France.
A place of true wonder.
To remind us of the great and ancient past under our feet and from whose roots we all now grow.
As a land and as a people, we know that true power comes not only from our army but from the inner beauty of our immortal soul.
She will cherish us and as her children we will always know her as our home.
From all around the earth men will venture here to look at her, those that do Will never leave.
Will never forget.
Fuck me! Father, please tell me a story.
About the King.
Which king would that be? You know which one.
I will tell you a story of the king and his palace.
Once upon a time, there was a great and glorious King, who lived in a beautiful palace, in the middle of a forest.
His first valet was an honest man, and he served the king with all his heart.
The position came to him by his father.
Just as he will one day pass it on to you.
I will work for the King? You will be the first man the king sees in the morning, and the lest he will see before bed.
You will anticipate his every need, so he may continue on his course of greatness.
To see things no other man can see, and move towards them with singular courage and purpose.
You will meet no other man so wise, so kind.
Nabo.
So generous.
You always cheer me up.
You will be the luckiest man in the world.
One of the few to truly know his most secret mind.
You will live a life you can only dream of.
And be part of the most important family in the history of the world.
And one day you will tell your own son your journey and pass these blessings on to him.
Can I come and help you? I could use a midwife.
And then one day, I hope to be just like you.
A woman doctor! There's an idea.
Mother would be proud.
Come and eat.
Father! What good are you to the queen if you collapse from hunger during the birth.
You need your strength.
Respect your body.
I respect the wishes of the king, and he wishes me there.
His power doesn't lie with the crown it lies with the one who holds royal life in his hands, you father.
The sooner you realize it, the better.
- You think I was wrong? - Don't.
We pack our bags and leave now.
Stop it father, you're delivering a child.
Not just any child.
Sire, considering the surroundings, the best course of action is to lay siege to it.
If we are to be victorious in the Spanish Netherlands we must claim our prize with both hands, North and East.
Two fronts working together, here and here.
Two fronts? We said the single column.
Sire, you being so preoccupied with other affairs we thought it best to To what? Leave me.
- So good of you to come.
- Pleasure.
You spent 50,000 on shoes.
Well, you haven't seen the shoes.
When I asked if you had my back I meant that you would guard it, not remove it.
You build your palace, I wear my clothes.
As you say, perception is everything.
But I tell you this, if you'd only let me go to war, I would have your back and more.
Besides my brother, I would bring you such glory.
What do you know of war? Exposing your flanks, very dangerous given the terrain I'd be careful about thinning out the supply line.
Take if from me, a well-timed thrust might just split you in two.
- Look, here.
- Stay your hand.
I just want to show you.
Put the piece back.
It's so obvious.
Give it to me.
Come and get it.
- Put it down.
- Too slow, mister.
- Hand it over.
- I have your back.
But what do I get? Respect? No.
Power? No.
You get money, to throw away.
Now give it to me.
You belittle me again! - Brother.
- The magic word, what is it? Do not forget who addresses you.
Brother? We will not ask you again.
You never were good at sharing.
There she is.
My beautiful wife.
Do you think your brother will like these? Bontemps asked me to watch the details.
What do you want? I think I want a son, like my brother! You can say what you like.
It won't to help you.
Sire, the queen is at work.
The moment is upon us so should events overtake us, when the child is born, you will ask me the sex, as you recall, if it is a male child I will say "I do not yet know, sire" if it is a girl child I will say "I do not know, sire" this will give you a moment to compose yourself.
Should you wish.
Breathe.
Good! Keep breathing! Keep breathing.
Your plans for war are not good.
We cannot expose our flanks.
There's too many people! Too many people! Calm yourself, Majesty! Encircle them all, make for the Rhine, then to the sea.
- Bring me all of it.
- Sire, we cannot afford it.
We cannot afford not to.
- He's coming! - Push now! Breathe! Push majesty, push! - Don't forget to breathe! - I see the head! Push now! Yes, your Majesty! Sire, please! Everyone must leave! At once! Everyone must leave, at once! It's the king's word.
Well, what is the meaning of this? Doctor, what is the sex? Come man, speak! The problem is not the sex, it's her color!