The Seduction Episode 5 Recap: Is Valmont The Most Wonderful Of Lovers?

At the cusp of episode five, “The Seduction” has turned into a game of power and desire more than ever, with Isabelle planning for her own defeat in the bet she challenged Valmont with. While victory seems like the likelier outcome that the Marquise should want, she desperately wants to lose this bet and eventually lose herself to Valmont. In order to achieve this, she needs to break Tourvel’s defense and have her in the arms of Valmont. However, Tourvel is proving to hold her walls strong, guarding herself against all temptations. As Rosamonde informs Isabelle about this imminent defeat that Valmont is going to face, Isabelle gears up to make Valmont the winner of this game.

Spoilers Ahead

How Does Isabelle Seduce Madame de Tourvel?

Madame de Tourvel is a tough nut to crack; Valmont has been making quite a spectacle out of himself approaching her in public and getting visibly refused. Rumors have spread in the households that Valmont’s strategies are failing terribly with Tourvel. While this torments Valmont, it worries Isabelle more. In the last episode, she lost her mind over the possibility of a passionate reunion with Valmont as part of the bet. So when she receives the letter from Rosamonde, she tells Cecile that Tourvel definitely has a weak spot for men, and she is going to play it her way. Isabelle goes to the church that Tourvel goes to, and while Tourvel is surprised to see her there, she proclaims that she too has a religious past of being brought up in a convent. Later, Tourvel and Isabelle meet each other in the orangerie, where Tourvel asks if Valmont is a wonderful lover, as she has heard in a “girl-to-girl” conversation. Isabelle gives her an elaborate talk on how she deserves to be loved and if her husband is proving unworthy, that she should seek it from Valmont. She also brings up the fact that she thinks Tourvel’s saintly nature is just a mask and a weapon, to which Tourvel answers that wearing the crown of the libertine princess may just be the other side of the coin. Isabelle mentions that at least her position allows her pleasures, to which Tourvel seems to think that the pleasures are merely ephemeral, as is Isabelle’s beauty. This is when Isabelle speaks of love and how Madame de Tourvel deserves that love, catching her off-guard. She breaks her reverie soon after and tells her that she hopes that she answered Tourvel’s question with a smile. By that time, of course, Tourvel seems to have forgotten what she asked in the first place. The question was:

Is Valmont the Most Wonderful of Lovers?

While Tourvel has asked this question, it is Isabelle who believes in the answer which is a yes. After their conversation in the orangerie, she cracks what Tourvel’s weakness is—it is the desire to feel singled out and be loved. Isabelle tries to test the waters first by bringing in Danceny and asking him to seduce Tourvel, but Danceny refuses to betray Cecile, saying that losing her is better than betraying her. While Danceny will have to face the music of Isabelle’s refusal later, she is already on to her next step. This time, Isabelle uses the truth as deception. At the orangerie, she comes across as vulnerable as ever to Tourvel and tells her that she does not want to play any games and it is true that Valmont loves Tourvel. She adds that the bet was being played because Valmont was too shy to admit his love, and therefore he put Isabelle as a prize just to get together with Tourvel. This proves Tourvel’s need to feel singled out, loved, and special as compared to the libertine princess Isabelle. With an inflated sense of self, she goes and submits herself to Valmont. Valmont spends a passionate night with her, only to wake up and meet Isabelle in the woods. By this time, Isabelle has received quite bad news—her husband, the Marquis, has died. When she asks how the death happened, the messengers do not have a clear answer, but we see it play out that he merely died while fidgeting with his gun and shooting himself in the process. The death of the Marquis is the final seal on Isabelle’s liberation; the death of the “scoundrel” makes her happy, and it frees her. So when Valmont comes on to her, she is fully ready to claim her wonderful lover. However, Isabelle would not do it without fully securing him. She asks Valmont to write Tourvel a letter stating that he does not wish to continue this association since it is her purity that attracted him, which is now gone. Isabelle now has Valmont under her thumb, but perhaps she does not want to win Valmont’s love by trickery. After a moment’s thought, she tells Valmont to find Tourvel and apologize to her. With this moodiness of hers, it is difficult to locate her heart, even for a wonderful lover like Valmont, who obeys her and leaves.

What is Gercourt plotting?

Gercourt feels politically cornered and pays a visit to Rosamonde, asking her to become his ally again. He asks her to give up on Isabelle, to which Rosamonde says that Isabelle is now like a daughter to her. Gercourt lures her with ambitions of having the entirety of Paris by their feet as before, but when Rosamonde does not budge, Gercourt proceeds to assault her sexually. However, his carriage arrives just in time, and Rosamonde gains temporary freedom from Gercourt, which does not last very long. Rosamonde goes to Isabelle after this (this is before they learned about her husband’s death) and asks her to write to the Marquis to come back since both of them need protection from Gercourt’s evil schemes. Isabelle denies this proposal, saying that she cannot lose her freedom at the cost of protecting Rosamonde, and the matter lies unresolved. However, Gercourt has not forgotten about it. Rosamonde is summoned to his office as he introduces her to a new judge who is looking after the case of Valmont and Isabelle’s marriage. Gercourt also mentions that Valmont’s conquest of Tourvel has become public fodder, and this is attracting eyes on him. He adds that Valmont would have to be publicly sanctioned because of his unlawful activity, and Isabelle would also be accused of bigamy. Gercourt offers Rosamonde protection on the condition that she sides with him in this and goes against Isabelle. However, Rosamonde is scared at the fact that Isabelle is going to lose her titles and possessions, and her nephew will be in prison; besides, she feels morally incorrect on the verge of making this choice. As Rosamonde contemplates her options, episode five of “The Seduction” draws to a close. 

“The Seduction” episode 5 shows how quickly control can slip once true desire enters the game. Isabelle manages to outmaneuver everyone around her, yet her victory feels incomplete to her. Valmont’s success with Tourvel does not bring him peace, and Gercourt’s growing insecurity reminds him at every turn that power is always fragile and escaping from even the strongest hands. As the episode ends, no one seems truly safe, and every choice made now carries consequences that cannot be undone.

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