The season is not flawless. The episodic “case of the week” structure can feel clunky (Episode 5, “The Homecoming,” drags). The fight choreography, while brutal and balletic, occasionally relies too heavily on the “Corkscrew Parry” (a move where a hero spins to block three opponents at once—thrilling the first time, a gimmick the sixth). Furthermore, the show’s insistence on modern social commentary (slavery, religious persecution, PTSD) is noble but sometimes anachronistic; characters speak like 21st-century therapists rather than 17th-century soldiers.

Then there is Milady de Winter. Maimie McCoy steals the show by refusing to be a victim. This Milady is not a femme fatale seduced into wickedness; she is a survivor who weaponized her trauma. Her chemistry with Burke is electric because it feels real—two people who loved each other and now hate each other with equal, exhausting passion.

When the four stand together on the battlements at the end of Episode 10, battered, betrayed, but unbowed, they aren’t just heroes. They are a family. And in an age of gritty anti-heroes and grimdark fantasy, watching four men try so hard to be good—and frequently fail—is the most thrilling adventure of all.

In the crowded graveyard of swashbuckling adaptations, the BBC’s 2014 series The Musketeers could have easily been a handsome corpse. The source material—Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers —has been blunted by parody ( The Mickey Mouse Club ), exhausted by excess (the 2011 3D film), and ossified by reverence (countless stuffy TV movies). To draw fresh blood in 2014, a new adaptation needed more than just witty banter and clanging rapiers. It needed a heart.

Final Grade: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

The Musketeers - Season 1 May 2026

The season is not flawless. The episodic “case of the week” structure can feel clunky (Episode 5, “The Homecoming,” drags). The fight choreography, while brutal and balletic, occasionally relies too heavily on the “Corkscrew Parry” (a move where a hero spins to block three opponents at once—thrilling the first time, a gimmick the sixth). Furthermore, the show’s insistence on modern social commentary (slavery, religious persecution, PTSD) is noble but sometimes anachronistic; characters speak like 21st-century therapists rather than 17th-century soldiers.

Then there is Milady de Winter. Maimie McCoy steals the show by refusing to be a victim. This Milady is not a femme fatale seduced into wickedness; she is a survivor who weaponized her trauma. Her chemistry with Burke is electric because it feels real—two people who loved each other and now hate each other with equal, exhausting passion. The Musketeers - Season 1

When the four stand together on the battlements at the end of Episode 10, battered, betrayed, but unbowed, they aren’t just heroes. They are a family. And in an age of gritty anti-heroes and grimdark fantasy, watching four men try so hard to be good—and frequently fail—is the most thrilling adventure of all. The season is not flawless

In the crowded graveyard of swashbuckling adaptations, the BBC’s 2014 series The Musketeers could have easily been a handsome corpse. The source material—Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers —has been blunted by parody ( The Mickey Mouse Club ), exhausted by excess (the 2011 3D film), and ossified by reverence (countless stuffy TV movies). To draw fresh blood in 2014, a new adaptation needed more than just witty banter and clanging rapiers. It needed a heart. This Milady is not a femme fatale seduced

Final Grade: ★★★★☆ (4/5)