The third installment of the NBC miniseries  “Kings” is almost all about palace intrigue.  It also made me glad of my initial decision to view this series as taking place in another reality altogether.

In this installment, King Silas invites Captain Sheppard to accompany him and the Queen to the ballet.  Sheppard may or may not be a ballet fan, but he has a thing going with Princess Michelle and is looking forward to seeing her at the ballet.

On the way to prepare for the ballet, he is informed by the court concierge(my term) that his ticket was needed for a financially important person.  To skip ahead a bit, Silas openly wonders where Sheppard is and is disappointed at his absence.  So if we suspect something is rotten in the state of Gilboa, we are right.   During the ballet, we learn more about Silas’ questionable past, as he is informed that his illegitimate son is dying of an incurable disease and is asking for him.  He can’t just up and leave, though, without outing the situation.

During the ballet, Prince Jack encounters a despondent Sheppard and consoles him by inviting him for a night on the town, and has arranged for a few of Sheppard’s army buddies to join them.  Sheppard spends much of the evening being seduced by one of the women evidently in Jack’s employ.  This was apparently the point of the exercise, as Jack was clearly in on whatever intrigue caused the invited Sheppard to be uninvited.  We know from the first episode that Jack is Crossgen’s choice to replace Silas, sooner rather than later.  Of course the evening involves all sorts of sex clubs and Jack’s own playroom.

Meanwhile back at the Royal Household, Silas goes to the hospital to see his son, and then to the country to see his banished former spiritual advisor to ask his advice.  The response is that if Silas wants God to spare his son’s life, he must be willing to sacrifice another.  On the way back to Shiloh, Silas is involved in an isolated accident that kills an attractive young lady.  When he returns to the hospital, his son is conscious and apparently beginning to recover.  So either we are in the Old Testament or in Norse mythology or in another reality altogether.

I think Kings continues to be a smart looking well written and acted series with, as outlined above, enough plot elements to keep one’s interest.   Tune in next Sunday.