Diksha Sundriyal
Starz’s ‘The Serpent Queen’ reimagines the story of Catherine de Medici, her rise to power, and her struggle to maintain that power for the entirety of her life. Starring Samantha Morton, the series presents an irreverent take on the life of one of the most influential figures in France, especially focusing on her shrewd maneuvering of the French court. Despite her power and position, Catherine remained a controversial figure even beyond her lifetime, and the Starz series focuses on all the reasons that make her a compelling figure. Meanwhile, we also follow the story of a servant girl, Rahima, whose existence is borne of the show’s need to push the narrative in a particular direction. SPOILERS AHEAD
The Fictional Rahima Serves a Greater Purpose
Being a historical drama series, ‘The Serpent Queen’ relies heavily on the presence of historical figures and their choices that set the course of history. However, the show also takes creative license several times, and Rahima’s presence in the story is a testament to that. Played by Sennia Nanua in Season 1 and Emma McDonald from Season 2, the character becomes an important tool for the audience to forge a connection with Catherine and for the unpredictable queen to forward her plans.
One of the primary reasons behind concocting the character of Rahima was to give someone to Catherine as a listener to her story. While she could easily have broken the fourth wall, which she does on several occasions, her directly talking to the audience would have made her more dependable than the show’s writers wanted. The audience being privy to her thoughts without a buffer would have added to her reliability as a narrator and made her a clear-cut hero. This would have trumped the entire intention of the writers choosing Catherine as the protagonist. They wanted her to be presented as the anti-hero she was, and this could only be done by putting someone between her and the audience.
As a queen who cannot trust anyone, Catherine couldn’t relate her story to anybody. The character in question had to be someone removed from the court politics but also someone Catherine could relate to. Making Rahima a servant girl whose shrewdness is immediately noticed by Catherine gives her the unique element that would attract the queen towards her. Her being a commoner and being ambitious despite her circumstances is another thing that Catherine sees in Rahima as a reflection of her own journey. Moreover, Rahima’s status contrasts her with the queen’s, allowing the servant girl to chart her own path and adding more value to the narrative.
Another thing to remember is that Catherine doesn’t do anything without purpose. So, her choosing to tell her story to Rahima is more than just a pastime, which makes it even more interesting to see how things unfold for her. The actresses playing Rahima brought this awareness to the character. Sennia Nanua, who plays young Rahima in Season 1, researched French history at the time and drew upon real-life locations where they got to film the series to present Rahima as period-accurate as possible.
Emma McDonald, who plays older Rahima, brought her own sensibility to the role, keeping the character’s soul as Nanua plays while exhibiting the changes Rahima has been through while working for and learning from Catherine. Both actresses, aided by the impeccable writing to give a proper structure to the character, bring Rahima alive on the screen in a fiery contrast to Catherine, establishing her as one of the more favored characters in the show.
Read More: Why was Catherine de Medici Called The Serpent Queen? Explained
