Versailles Season 3 (2018)

The nickname Sun King leaves out, of all things, the hour when the sun sinks. Season 3, the final act of the series, captures exactly that missing hour — the twilight when the light slowly begins to fade. The palace is complete and Louis XIV has become the most powerful monarch in Europe, yet the weight of that throne presses on him ever harder. As war drags on beyond the walls and questions of faith and morality shake the court within, the king who once tried to control everything finally stands face to face with the things he cannot control: time, death, and the human heart. ★4.5 sits naturally with this final act, which answers the series’ questions faithfully and draws the curtain with dignity.

What it’s about — Illuminating Twilight and the People Instead of Intrigue

The final season focuses on the inner lives of its characters and the change of an age rather than on lavish intrigue. Louis leans ever more toward religious austerity, and the mood of the court shifts from its former dissipation toward something heavier. His long conflict with his brother Philippe enters a new phase, and the fortunes of the women around the king undergo great change. At the same time, the world outside the palace — the ordinary people and those who labour — appears on screen more often, quietly illuminating the foundation on which this glittering world of power stands. As befits a story heading toward its close, every conflict converges on a conclusion.

Direction — The Solitude of the Summit Drawn in Empty Galleries

The directing team led by Richard Clark and Edward Bazalgette keeps the lavish mise-en-scène of the earlier seasons while settling the palette a shade further and adding weight to the frame. The light is still beautiful, yet a cold, lonesome air drifts through it somewhere. The way the psychology of an ageing monarch is expressed through the emptiness of space is striking. The vacant galleries of the vast palace reflect the solitude of a figure standing at the summit of power. That said, perhaps under the burden of having to wrap the season up, some story threads feel a little hurriedly tidied away. Even so, the dignity of the direction closing out the whole series holds to the end.

Acting and characters — The Sun King Aging Into Regret and Faith

George Blagden’s Louis XIV shows his deepest change this season. The vigour and arrogance of his youth are gone, and in their place enter regret, solitude, and a human wavering that leans toward faith. He completes, through restrained performance, the complicated interior of a monarch growing old at the peak of power. Alexander Vlahos’s Philippe, as throughout the series, radiates a powerful presence to the very end, leaving a deep resonance in the scenes that put a full stop to his relationship with his brother. The sight of actors who have shared so much time finally sending off their characters is moving in itself.

What the series says — The Emptiness Met at the End of Power

The question Season 3 poses is what remains at the end of power. Having pursued absolute power all his life, Louis finally stands at its summit, yet what he finds there is not fullness but a deep emptiness. Before uncontrollable death, every monarch becomes an ordinary human being. The work folds this universal truth into the skin of a lavish period drama. By also illuminating the poor outside the palace, it does not forget to note that one man’s glory was built upon the toil of countless others. The theme of power’s light and shadow that has run through the series finally reaches completion here.

Ratings & reception

The Versailles series holds an IMDb rating of 7. Season 3, as the final season tying off the series, won praise for calmly resolving its characters’ arcs and pushing its thematic awareness through to the end. Some voiced regret that the conclusion felt a little rushed, but many valued the matured performances of the cast and the consistent aesthetics. Sustaining the ambition of a French-Canadian period drama to the last and closing the whole series with dignity remains a clear achievement.

Verdict

Season 3 is the calm, contemplative terminus reached by a series that has passed through a lavish beginning and a darkened middle. Focusing on the inner lives of its characters and the twilight of an age rather than on explosive events, it brings a story of power to rest as a story of human beings. The reason I gave it ★4.5 is that this final season answers faithfully the questions the series posed from the very start, and renders the Sun King’s twilight with dignity. The resonance of parting with characters who have been there since the first season leaves a special feeling for anyone who watched all three seasons through.

Recommended for

• Those who, having seen Seasons 1 and 2, want to confirm the series’ conclusion
• Those who love a period drama that paints the summit and twilight of power contemplatively
• Those who want to follow one figure’s life and inner change to the very end