France in the late 18th century and a woman on horseback beheads a noble who bleeds blue blood. Some time earlier, a girl wakes in an underground passageway, and is dragged to her death…

It’s very clear from early on in this new Netflix show that the socio-economic issues surrounding the actual French revolution are going to be the backdrop to this story which suggests a very different reason for why the peasants end up revolting against the nobility. In that respect, it’s probably not that different from a lot of recent historical dramas, which have used the period setting as an excuse for rampant debauchery etc.

There’s a lot set up in the first episode, with a huge former slave (think Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile) accused of the cannibalistic murder of the young girl, but who’s clearly not responsible, and a doctor by the name of Guillotin (yes, the inventor of the extreme haircut) who’s not convinced by his guilt. There’s a young noblewoman who was in love with Guillotin’s brother, who’s witness to him being murdered… yet, there he is at the end of the episode being taken off to some lush paradise island. There’s very obviously a conspiracy going on among the nobles who don’t care that their people are starving…

It’s beautifully shot – some of the cinematography is painting quality – and full marks to those responsible for the British dub. Big Finish listeners will recognise a couple of voices (Miranda Raison and Anthony Howell turn up), and for once the subtitles are actually tied to the dubbed script rather than being a fresh translation. There’s enough gore to satiate those after that side of things, although the sex promised in the warning is very definitely of the softcore shot through gauze variety.

Verdict: This episode is definitely focused primarily on worldbuilding, and is a slow burn; it may well be enough for many to invest a further seven hours. 7/10

Paul Simpson