Carême season 1 episode 8 ending explained: Did Antonin Carême poison Talleyrand?

Carême season 1 released its eighth and final episode, titled The Coronation, on June 11, 2025. While the season ended on a cliffhanger, no official announcements have been made regarding the renewal of the show for a second season.

The series, which premiered on Apple TV+ on April 20, 2025, is based on Ian Kelly's book Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antonin Carême, The First Celebrity Chef. Ian Kelly and Davide Serino have written the script for the French period drama that is directed by Martin Bourboulon.

Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers for the Carême episode 8. Readers' discretion is advised.

Antonin initially planned to avenge his adoptive father, Sylvain Bailly's death, by murdering the Minister of Police, Fouché. However, in episode 6, Fouché told the chef that Talleyrand was involved in Bailly's arrest. Antonin also found out that Talleyrand might be his father.

After confessing to the Pope in episode 7, Antonin seemed to be planning to murder Talleyrand. In episode 8, Antonin gave Talleyrand a pastry that he had specially prepared for the diplomat. Upon eating it, Talleyrand began feeling uneasy and tried to vomit it out.

In the conversation that followed, Talleyrand revealed that he was not sure if he was Antonin's father. After Antonin's mother's death, Talleyrand gave Antonin away to Bailly and used to send him money for raising the boy. Before leaving, Antonin told Talleyrand that he had put ginger and chilli powder in the dessert and not poison.

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Did Talleyrand get what he wanted by helping Napoleon become France's emperor in Carême season 1?

Talleyrand in Carême episode 8 (Image via Apple TV+)

Talleyrand was trying to win over Napoleon by doing everything in his power to win his favor. The Minister felt that he would be able to stop Napoleon from attacking other countries, so that France could be at peace.

To that end, Talleyrand even assured English diplomat Lord Banks Jenkinson that Napoleon would not attack England. He said this was because he was only after his place in history, and he had gotten that with his position as the Emperor of France.

Talleyrand also convinced the Pope to officiate Napoleon and his wife Josephine's religious wedding because, without this formality, Napoleon wouldn't be able to become France's Emperor. This was not to say that the Minister was not looking for personal gains, he hoped that Napoleon would give him a higher position.

A still from the banquet in Carême episode 8 (Image via Apple TV+)

However, all of those hopes came crashing down in the finale. First, Talleyrand and his wife, Catherine, were told that they were not on the list of people who would get to sit at the imperial table during the banquet.

During the elaborate banquet that Napoleon had hosted, Lord Jenkinson learned something from the private services that disputed Talleyrand's claims about Napoleon's intentions. Lord Jenkinson showed Talleyrand a coin that was minted with the new Emperor's profile and the year 1805, the next year. This implied that Napoleon was planning to invade England.

Talleyrand finally understood that Napoleon had only used him to his advantage and did not actually plan to stop invading other European countries. This fact was also established when Josephine told Talleyrand's son Charles:

"Your father thought he could control my husband. No one can."

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Did Agathe tell Antonin about her pregnancy in Carême season 1 episode 8?

Liliane, Noel, and Agathe in Carême episode 8 (Image via Apple TV+)

At the beginning of the episode, Antonin was willing to leave Paris with Henriette under the guise of the architect Germain Ledoux. He even put a ring on Henriette's finger, and the latter told him that as long as he didn't fall in love with another woman, she did not care who he was sleeping with.

After seeing Henriette and Antonin together in episode 7, Agathe had decided to keep the news of her pregnancy to herself. However, her resolve did not last long. When Antonin asked her if something was wrong, she immediately came clean about it and even asked him to give her one of his herbs that would help her to abort the pregnancy.

Agathe said:

"I don’t want to, I can’t keep this child! Have you ever seen a single mother in the kitchen? I worked hard all these years to make people forget that I was a Black woman. A slave’s daughter without anyone to help me. [...] And now that I’m within reach of my goal, I’m losing everything."

Antonin hugged Agathe, and then they went back to work. After his conversation with Talleyrand, Antonin met Henriette, and they danced for a bit before the chef informed Henriette that he couldn't leave Paris with her because Agathe was pregnant. This broke Henriette's heart. She left the banquet in a rage and went back to Fouché to avenge Antonin's betrayal.

After a time jump at the end of the episode, a heavily pregnant Agathe, Liliane, and Noel joined Antonin as he opened a new patisserie. A messenger arrived to deliver a letter saying that Antonin had been drafted into the military. The envelope also had the ring he had given Henriette when they were planning to escape Paris.

Talleyrand also came to the new patisserie and asked Antonin what saddened him more: the fact that he was becoming Bailly or that he was drafted into the military. Then, Talleyrand revealed that he was also called to the front for protesting against Napoleon waging war.

He suggested that Antonin join him as a cook again because the other option was to fight on the battlefield. Antonin told him to go to hell, and Talleyrand responded:

"See you in hell."

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Carême season 1 is available to stream on Apple TV+.