Dangerous Liaisons Season 1 Episode 6 Review: You Are Not My Equal
Mary Littlejohn
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The masks are off.
On Dangerous Liaisons Season 1 Episode 6, we finally got to the heart of Camille's obsession.
There were revelations, attempted murders, and words spoken that can never be taken back.
We must address the biggest reveal of the episode, which had been building for the entire season thus far. What happened to Camille before she landed at Madame Jericho's? Why does she hate the Montrachets?
The fact that Henri raped Camille is not surprising. What's interesting is how focused Camille is on Jacqueline. Henri has sometimes felt like an afterthought.
Perhaps it's because men are just expected to be evil, in Camille's eyes, but Jacqueline's betrayal -- a woman who should have protected her -- was just as bad.
Did Jacqueline truly believe that Camille had seduced her husband or that she intended to? Some pieces are still missing here, including what Jacqueline truly believed about Henri, Camille, and Camille's baby.
The saddest and most shocking part is that Camille had a baby, and the baby died, after which, Jacqueline immediately threw Camille out. Couldn't they have taken her back to the orphanage, at least, rather than leave her to freeze in the snow?
It seems a bit sloppy on Jacqueline's part, honestly, because if that story gets out -- Henri raped a maid, she had his baby, and Jacqueline left her to die -- that's a hell of a scandal.
It's a shame Camille has no proof because it's a truth that would ruin the Montrachets.
But what if the baby didn't die?
We didn't see her die. We only saw Camille fall asleep and then wake up, and her baby was gone. The Montrachets didn't let Camille bury her.
That feels like a hint. What if the baby got sent to an orphanage, and Jacqueline checks on her and supports her financially?
Speaking of Jacqueline, she is DTF! She's in danger of losing Lucien forever, so she goes for a Hail Mary and asks him to meet her at the masked ball.
Pascal seemed to be falling for Jacqueline, too, until he learned Camille's truth. We know he has a thing for pious, "pure" women (the original story/play/film is proof of that), and maybe because he knows she truly wants him, he will not have her.
Pascal has succeeded in awakening the lust of a woman willing to turn her back on God to sleep with him.
Jacqueline has given her life for her husband and God, even though she probably suspects that what Camille said about Henri was true. She wants to obey her "soul" and give Lucien her body.
Camille and Valmont's relationship had a wonderful progression on this episode.
Their first conversation was in a crypt (because, at that point, their love was dead). Near the end of the episode, the revelations and declarations of love renewed took place in a garden.
The symbolism here was subtle but beautiful -- their love has grown alive and lush again.
Secrets and sharing of trauma can be a turn-on -- at least for Pascal. Note how he began falling for her once he told Jacqueline the story of his mother's death. I'd be curious to know if Pascal has told Camille that story.
Camille: I require your advice.
Jean de Merteuil: Don’t you know everything already?
Damn, Camille's magic worked on Jean, and now she's in deep with him. How will she navigate this?
The Jean/Camille relationship is strange and unsettling. The power dynamic is all over the place. She's trying to seduce him, but she doesn't seem like she wants to. He seems to find her attractive, but it's a cold sort of attraction. There's no affection in it, not until the end.
His love for her blossoms when he realizes how smart and clever she is -- she will be an" equal" match for his secret-collecting life. But unfortunately, she doesn't have the letters anymore because…
Victoire took the letters! Again! She did steal them in the first place, so it's poetic that she stole them back. Poor Victoire -- she finally had enough. Good for her. If anything, holding out this long was a testament to her patience.
Destruction is power in the wrong hand. Control is power is the right one.
Camille
Camille nearly stabbed a man in the neck. Victoire has been trying to get her to see reason this whole time. She still cared enough for Camille to go to Valmont for help, but once Camille treated her like a servant, Victoire knew they were done.
Victoire was the one who rescued Camille in the first place. She knows how to survive on her own -- though, again, we know almost nothing about her life before Camille.
Where will she go now? Will Camille be able to find her and win her back? Victoire is not a fan of either Jean or Valmont, so Camille's got a lot of damage control to do there.
A masked ball is always a great place to play with animal metaphors -- Henri the wolf on the hunt, Jacqueline the innocent lamb, Camille the sly fox, Pascal the dog -- they all fit.
Perhaps the real crime is that men do not suffer for their own failings, only the failings of their wives.
Madame Berthe
Madame Berthe knows the score. There is so much gossip in her dress shop that Berthe and Leonard must know everyone's secrets. The difference is they have fun with it. They don't hope to gain anything from it -- they just delight in the knowledge.
Madame Berthe seems content with her own set of circumstances. She's everyone's friend, ever impartial, and enjoys being on the periphery of scandal but never a part of it. As long as she does that, she'll make money from all of them.
Maria Friedman takes her moments and savors them, but, like Berthe, she knows when to fade into the background gracefully as it suits her.
The costumes and masks of Andrea Flesch are next level. She tops herself with every episode. The opulence defies belief. It made sense to bring in the poor, protesting the shameless injustice of it all.
For all the gorgeous spectacle of aristocracy, we cannot forget the bodies these richly ornamented feet are stepping on.
Ondine is out for blood, particularly Camille's. Colette Dalal Tchantcho makes a meal out of every delicious line.
Paris is a lonely place without friends, but a lethal one with enemies.
Ondine de Valmont
Her bold play for Henri felt overt, what with the hand-kissing, but this masked ball was the place to do it.
Queen Marie Antoinette: Do you ever have this feeling as if you cannot seem to draw quite enough breath?
Camille: Often. I believe it is called a corset.
Camille's now got a friend in the Queen, herself. Camille may not have recognized her, and so spoke freely, which she might not have done had she known who the woman was.
If she'd known, she might have realized the friend the Queen spoke of was Christine.
Pascal says Camille doesn't care who she hurts, but most of the time Camille is very deliberate in who she decides to hurt. Emilie was collateral damage in Christine's downfall, and Emilie was never anything but kind to Camille.
Surely, Camille must feel some twinge of guilt about her friend's ruination. The Sevignys were only briefly mentioned during this episode, but it makes sense now, and Emilie's "future" as it is in the original seems more plausible now.
This was a tight, focused episode where all the major characters (except for Gabriel and Majordome, taking the week off) could be in the same place together and watch the fireworks go off -- literally and figuratively.
Will Valmont attempt to seduce Jacqueline in earnest now that he knows what she and Henri did to Camille?
Jacqueline is a hypocrite, but from a storytelling perspective, it was wise not to have us learn this information until Pascal had already "saved" her.
Will she see reason or give it all for the possibility of being with Lucien? Valmont can likely still manage it, and now that he knows what Jacqueline has done, he will do it to Camille.
Where do you think Camille will go from here?
If Pascal is offering her devotion, would she still move forward with marriage to Jean, even though she doesn't have the letters?
It's more likely than you'd think, but how do we get there? What path will Camille ultimately take, and who will she have by her side?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
Mary Littlejohn Mary Littlejohn was a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic.
