‘Marie Antoinette’ Sneak Peek: Louis Welcomes a ‘Traitor’ Back to Versailles (VIDEO)

The king is trying his best to make amends with the bitter aristocracy in Marie Antoinette Season 2, and the queen is rebelling against it. TV Insider is debuting an exclusive first look at Season 2 Episode 3 of the PBS drama, airing this Sunday, April 6. In it, Louis (Louis Cunningham) welcomes his cousin, Chartres (Oscar Lesage), back to Versailles, a controversial move in Marie Antoinette’s (Emilia Schüle) eyes. She sees Chartres as a traitor.

Chartres is a man scorned in Season 2 following his rejected romantic feelings for Marie Antoinette and his subsequent banishment from Versailles in Season 1. Now that his father has died, resulting in him inheriting “the largest fortune in France,” as Louis warns in the scene above, he has the power to elevate the “seditious Palais-Royal into a court to rival Versailles,” as Guy Henry‘s Vergennes says. Louis is keeping France’s dire financial situation secret this season. He literally can’t afford to allow his cousin to use his money against the crown.

In the clip above, Louis has decided to welcome his cousin back to his court as an olive branch. He uses the death of Chartres’ father, Louis’ uncle, as the reasoning, but it’s really so they can keep this enemy close and hopefully prevent the popularity of the Palais-Royal from growing. Salacious whispers fall upon the room as the French aristocracy reacts in surprise at Louis’ offer. What’s most telling is the empty throne to Louis’ left.

“The man is an animal and a traitor. You can’t just welcome him back,” Marie Antoinette declares to her husband moments before. The queen doesn’t understand how welcoming him back makes them safer.

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“He’s less likely to plot against an ally,” Vergennes explains. “Besides, the more time he spends here, the easier it will be to spy on him.”

“Hence why we lift his banishment,” Louis adds. When Marie Antoinette refuses to welcome him back, Louis shoots back, “I will tend to my business, madame. You tend to yours.” Clearly, he doesn’t need nor is he interested in his wife’s approval of this decision.

Provence (Jack Archer) and Josephine (Roxane Duran) stand by Louis’ side as he welcomes Chartres back. “Nothing would make me happier” than to return to Versailles’ court, Chartres says above. “I’m your majesty’s loyal servant.” Josephine holds back a laugh when Provence whispers to her, “And I’m Joan of Arc.”

This court isn’t going to be easy for Louis and Marie Antoinette to control. Elsewhere in the episode, Marie Antoinette takes steps to protect herself and her unborn child, which unwittingly fuels the perception of her as an extravagant tart while Paris starves. For the first time, the people openly protest against her.

Marie Antoinette, Sundays, 10/9c, PBS (Check your local listings at PBS.org)