Hi, I'm normally on t'other threads esp politics but wanted to vent about that episode as saw your comments..
Not enjoying this series now at all.... Where's the friendship between the guys gone? Does my Porthos get any story at all this year other than the midwifery?! Please tell me there's more to come in Milady story than getting strangled by her psycho ex....
Sylvie's an awful character. Terrible casting - Did the middle aged male writers thought a butch 21 yr old was just what Athos needed 
terrible terrible costume and please someone put some concealer on that acne. With all the gorgeous 30-something WOC actresses out there who can't get a break it just feels like they shoved first actress they found (or who knew someone in production) into role. maybe it would have disguised the poor writing if it was a great actress. But such a drip of a character hanging round garrison waiting for Athos to decide if/when he wants her.
A couple of sword fights is not enough to make a female character interesting....Just the basic premise of the leader of revolution being at the garrison all the time and shagging the leader of kings bodyguards would be pretty unrealistic if Athos actually had any character this year.
As WOC myself, I particularly loved series 1 for its Porthos storyline and treatment of POC in 17c Paris rather than just pretending the audience is colour blind. I've bitten my tongue all series that no ones mentioned Sylvie is WOC and Athos in a interracial relationship like that was normal for a nobleman in 17c France. Some shows u can ignore colour, sure, but S1-2 always dealt with it. Yet last night the writers thought flogging scene was ok. Stealing bread - you get hanged for that but treason, oh that's flogging offence I thought it was very cynical writing based on colour of the character
For some of my friends who are WoC this series have been pissed as
a) the writers had Sylvie really free and easy which was weird when you have Constance worrying about babies
b) Athos in an out of character way using this young penniless woman with no family for sex / "wine and chill" when's he's always been respectful of women before... The awful unsexy shag on the dirty floor in the squat etc.
All playing to shitty stereotypes of WOC being "bit of a goer" or being used... There is lot of talk offline but people not wanting to make fuss about it but it makes me 
ApricotCrush twitters awash with folks brown-nosing the crew, there's lots of comments on blogs/forums/LJetc about the plot holes and the crap costumes from same people who are telling crew it's absolutely fabulous darling 
It doesn't help that some accounts on tumblr and Twitter are saying, everyone must support Sylvie because she's a WOC. To that I humbly say fuck off. we're in a bad place in 2016 if colour of skin (black/white/polka dotted) affects how you can talk about character or performance of an actor.