‘The Musketeers’ finale review: Athos pulls a Sherlock, Peter Capaldi questions, more

After what was a fun, if at times uneven, first season on BBC, we can now officially wave farewell to “The Musketeers.” This is a series that brought quite a bit to the table, in between action, drama, and some really awesome costumes. It also found a way to surprise us tonight, even if the show is based on source material that has been out there for many years.

Let us start off here with what was the biggest scare of the entire episode: Athos is actually alive! After pulling a Sherlock for most of the episode and faking his death, it turns out that he did in fact find a way to pull through.

What was also interesting about this story was seeing that thanks to filming schedules, Peter Capaldi’s Cardinal was not killed off at all! This means that the writers are going to have to come up with a different (but hopefully still clever) way to write off the character. While we are very happy for him to have found a great new gig on “Doctor Who,” there is no denying that he will be greatly missed here for his fine, devious performance.

When it comes to endings, season 1 did bring us to some sort of conclusion to the Musketeers, at least in that they are all still alive and reading to see what the future holds. Did it feel a little like not that much had changed for them? Sure, but we imagine you may not have minded so much as long as you enjoyed the journey that they were on.

While there were times when the series became a little plodding this season, we thoroughly enjoyed the finale and wish there were more shows out there like this that felt like you were going to the cinema every week rather than just watching a traditional show. We have great chemistry, solid writing, and still a commitment to fun. For a Sunday night series on the BBC, it is hard to ask for much more. Grade: B+.

What did you think about the end of “The Musketeers” season 1? Share your thoughts in the comment box below, and head over here to read some more news related to what could be coming up next season. You can also sign up if you want to get more updates via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: BBC One