Marie Antoinette season 2 episode 4 recap: the Queen struggles to restore her reputation

Marie Antoinette season 2 marks the return of the thrilling BBC historical drama telling the tale of the Queen and her life in the court of Versailles.

Focusing on the real-life events of the time, Marie Antoinette depicts the eponymous Queen as she navigates her life by the side of King Louis XVI.

In season 1, she moved from Austria to France as a young girl, meeting Louis for the first time. She birthed his children and, most importantly, a son and heir to the throne. And they took the throne themselves as King and Queen of France. But, there's plenty more of their historical tale left to tell in season 2.

Here's a recap of everything that happened in Marie Antoinette season 2 episode 4.

The episode begins in a dark woods. Cardinal Rohan believes he is meeting with the Queen and as she appears in front of him, she is hooded and her face is covered. She hands him a rose. To this, he visits the jeweller just in time to stop him breaking the diamond necklace and tells him he’s found a buyer.

Marie writes one of her secret letters to Fersen to tell him about the birth of her baby. In court, Louis and Marie gather round to see her official portrait, but the crowd are displeased with it, calling it an inappropriate picture with Marie in her underwear. Louis angrily demands that it’s taken down. Instead, he pulls her away and says they're going back to Versailles.

Orleans and Provence toast to the Queen’s mistake. They reveal in Orleans printing of the pictures of the Queen going to Saint-Cloud. Back at Versailles, Louis and Vergennes discuss upping security. Vergennes also informs him that the delegation from Parliament is there to discuss the new loan. As he leaves, Louis opens a book to read about tuberculosis of the spine.

Breteuil informs Marie that her portrait has been removed from public view. She arrives in front of the Household Committee to discuss it. They express their disgust at her posing in her underwear. They commission a replacement from a different artist and tell her they’ll have ideas. She says she’ll bring her own ideas and leaves. She then shares a meal with Louis who is angry at her for ruining their reputation. They discuss Orleans’ actions in Palais-Royal. He warns her it’s dangerous to be hated.

A group of men arrive to meet with Louis to discuss France’s finances and ask after the loans. Calonne assures them it is all part of the plan. He asks Parliament to approve his loan. At Jeanne’s, she continues dictating her letters from the Queen to Cardinal Rohan. She discusses further the plans to buy the necklace. That evening, Jeanne and her husband, Nicolas, celebrate with Villette. He tries to move towards her, but she pulls away. Nicolas sends Villette off to the bar and warns Jeanne that at some point, Villette will see her for who she really is.

Marie and Yolande arrive at Palais-Royal and she finally sees the pictures with “The vicious Queen clears off” written underneath. Covering her face, she goes to watch someone performing as her in their underwear, feeding her baby and singing a song about being promiscuous. She watches as the revellers laugh and applaud. Orleans notices the Queen in the crowd as she leaves.

Back at her bedroom, Marie breaks down in tears and curls up on her floor. Yolande kneels by her side and Marie asks if Louis confides in her and tells her he’s ashamed of her. She says never. She tells her not to worry what people think, but Marie is upset. Elsewhere, Cardinal Rohan reads his latest letter informing him of the next step in the purchase and Jeanne as the Queen tells him not to speak of it in public. If it happens, she tells him she will deny all knowledge of it.

Louis plays with his children and Yolande arrives. She sends the children away for their baths and Yolande mentions that Louis is going travelling to Cherbourg. He invites her to go with him. Marie enters and Louis informs her of the invitation. Yolande says that Marie can have some time to herself to make the changes she wants to make. She goes to pack.

Marie apologises to Louis and says she understands why he shouted at her. She says when Louis returns, she will have returned her image to the correct standing as the Queen of France. At Provence’s apartments, his wife Josephine is moving Marguerite in. He asks what about him and her, but she says they’ve never been a couple. Elsewhere, Cardinal Rohan signs as the purchaser of the jewels and tells the jeweller that the Queen is the real buyer. He says the Queen isn’t telling anyone because she would be put in an uncomfortable position with the people of France.

Louis and Yolande leave on their trip. They share a carriage and Louis speaks of his time as a child, about how he spent a lot of time inside. Back at Versailles, Josephine and Marguerite play in the gardens. They kiss publicly and chase each other around. Provence is watching and Adelaide approaches. She says his wife isn’t even trying to have children with him and he says that Marguerite has to go.

Again, Jeanne dictates another letter to Cardinal Rohan. She tells Villette to burn all the evidence of the drafts they wrote. But he pulls one out of the bin and looks at it with deep thought. Meanwhile, Fersen arrives at Versailles. He comes to see Marie and her baby. As he tries to hold her she tells him she went to the Palais-Royal and that they speak of her adultery. She says she has to make changes. Fersen realises that that means him. He says he’ll tell his father to find him a wife and leaves.

On their trip, Louis tries some local pate from the farmers. He thanks them and Louis realises they like him more than the Queen. Yolande says they usually aim their hate at the royal mistress, but since he doesn’t have one, they target the Queen instead. At Versailles, the Queen prepares for her new portrait and instructs the hairdresser to cut her hair as it’s falling out at the back.

That evening, Villette arrives to claim the necklace. When he goes to retrieve it, the jeweller says it will travel with his own guards. Cardinal Rohan refuses. He sends Villette away, but tells him to return with the first payment of 400,000 as soon as he gets back. Villette hands Cardinal Rohan a sealed letter. As Villette leaves though, Jeanne’s husband, Nicolas, steps out and beats him up, stealing the necklace.

When Villette returns to Jeanne, Nicolas is there and Jeanne says that he told her Villette bottled it and ran off. Villette says he attacked him, but Nicolas denies it. Jeanne demands that Nicolas leaves, but instead he strangles her. As Villette tries to stop him, he pushes him away and stabs Jeanne. With a dying breath, she tells Villette to run and he does. Once gone, Nicolas starts laughing and Jeanne picks herself up off the floor. They admire the diamond necklace that she's now wearing.

Marie shows off her new look at Versailles. The people are still displeased and she realises that it doesn’t matter what she does, she will always be wrong. At Jeanne’s apartment, Nicolas asks what to do with some leftover letter paper and Jeanne tells him to throw it into the fire. When it burns, he reads the Queen’s secret letters to Fersen. He folds it up and pockets it without her knowing.

He then chops the diamond necklace and tells her they need to go to the port, but Jeanne says she’s not running. She says there’s no evidence and that Cardinal Rohan would never admit he made a mistake because he will be too embarrassed. Nicolas wants them to go to London together, but Jeanne says she belongs at Versailles. He gives her a contact in Paris to sell her share of the jewels to and he leaves.

That evening, Lamballe finds Marie sitting alone on her floor. Lamballe says she’s knitting for the Poor Fallen Women, but Marie is upset. She’s worried her hair is ugly and Lamballe reassures her that she’d never be ugly. Marie is grateful for her friend. The next morning, Marie brings her three children for her official portrait. On Louis’s trip, he gets to see the sea for the first time. He surveys the harbour they’re building. Seeing it convinces him to extend the taxes to the clergy and nobility. Before they head back to Versailles, Louis stops on the beach and runs into the sea. Yolande watches him and smiles.

When he comes out, Yolande tells Louis there’s something they can do to help Marie’s unpopularity. She offers to be his mistress. She says he doesn’t even have to touch her, but she could take Marie’s blame. He says he needs to be a good King, so he won’t take a mistress.

At Versailles, Lamballe is playing a game and breaks a vase. Jeanne notices and walks in with a new gown and lots of shopping. She hands Lamballe a gift, a necklace. In response, she offers to find Jeanne an apartment near hers in Versailles. She's pleased, but says she has some business to attend to first.

Elsewhere, Cardinal Rohan is waiting for the Queen’s guard to bring the jeweller’s payment. He's growing fretful. Cogliostro is performing some work and the jeweller arrives, though he's not allowed in, but he threatens to go to the Queen himself tomorrow if he’s not paid.

The Queen has gathered the Household Committee, she tells them she only answers to Louis and God. She shows her new official portrait. They’re very pleased. Louis arrives back at Versailles and Adelaide and Provence hand him a document uncovering a spy, Marguerite. He thanks him and says he’ll take a look. He goes to see Marie and she shows him the portraits. But, as she tries to tell him about Fersen, he says he knows but she doesn’t need to say. He wants her to have happiness. He shares with her the gifts from his travels.

Cardinal Rohan is hiding from the jeweller and goes into the confessional. Jeanne steps in and speaks with him and the Cardinal admits he has been robbed by the Queen’s guard. She tells him he can’t tell the Queen. Instead, he should pay the jeweller the money. But, he says he can’t pay as he’s spent everything he has and is destitute. Jeanne is surprised to hear that and he says instead he’ll hire a spy to find the guard and necklace and when he finds the thief, he’ll have them hanged.

Breteuil meets with Fersen and congratulates him on his father finding him a wife. But whispers to him and hands him a note telling him: “Do not be seen”. Elsewhere, Josephine returns to find Marguerite is gone. She goes to Louis with the letter accusing her of spying, but he won’t tell her who told him. Josephine tells him he’s made a new enemy in her. That evening, the Queen lies with Fersen in bed and they speak of Louis’s blessing.

Provence tells Josephine that Louis is the reason for Marguerite leaving. Instead, they make a plot to spread rumours about him to get Provence control of the Throne. She says if they can do that, Provence can bring Marguerite back and he gives her his word. Meanwhile, Cogliostro and Cardinal Rohan look over the Queen’s letters and Cogliostro says they’re forgeries. At the same time, the jeweller arrives to speak to the Queen about the diamond necklace and insists he must see her.

All episodes of Marie Antoinette, seasons 1 and 2, are available on BBC iPlayer.