Carême season 1 episode 7 ending explained: Why did Talleyrand arrange Josephine's religious wedding to Napoleon Bonaparte? 

Carême, which premiered on Apple TV+ on April 30, 2025, is a French period drama series inspired by the world's first celebrity chef, Antonin Carême. The show follows Antonin's rise from poverty to wealth as he gets entangled in the web of lies and deceit of the French aristocracy in the early nineteenth century.

Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers for Carême episode 7. Readers' discretion is advised.

Carême episode 7, titled Confession, came with a lot of twists and turns. Toward the end, Antonin broke his verbal deal with Charles by revealing to his father, Talleyrand, that Charles was the father of Hortense's child and not Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother. Charles and Hortense were having an illicit affair, but Antonin was the only one who knew it for the longest time.

Talleyrand scolded Charles for being so careless because if anyone from the Bonaparte family were to find out about the affair, things could take a turn for the worse. Antonin advised Talleyrand to bury the hatchet with Josephine Bonaparte because one day, his blood would ascend the throne when the time came for Hortense's child to succeed Napoleon.

Talleyrand took Antonin's advice and convinced the Pope to officiate Napoleon and Josephine's religious wedding. Although the Pope was surprised by the change in Talleyrand's behavior towards Josephine, he decided to humor him.

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Why did Antonin confess to the Pope in Carême season 1 episode 7?

While reading his birth certificate, Antonin discovered that he was born in Hotel de Gallifet, Talleyrand's house. This raised many questions that he wanted answers to. He eventually demanded that Lilian, one of the oldest workers at Talleyrand's house, tell him the truth about his birth.

Lilian told him that many kids were born at Gallifet and that Talleyrand had a medallion of Antonin's mother's photo. Then, Antonin rummaged through Talleyrand's belongings and found the medallion. He had a suspicion that Talleyrand was his father.

Antonin had done some pretty awful things on Talleyrand's insistence; first because he wanted his adoptive father Sylvain Bailly's freedom, and then because he wanted to seek revenge for Bailly's death.

Antonin's perception of Talleyrand shifted when Fouché visited him in episode 6 and told him that the letter accusing Sylvain of treason was from Courtiade, Talleyrand's right-hand man. All of this information was weighing down on Antonin. He ultimately gave in to the pressure and confessed to the Pope without naming Talleyrand. He began:

"Your Holiness. If a man does evil, am I not doing any good if I eliminate him?"

This implied that Antonin was planning to put an end to Talleyrand's evil ways for once and all. The chef went on to admit all the atrocities he committed at Talleyrand's behest. Moreover, Antonin was worried that he would be an accomplice in Talleyrand's next crimes. But the biggest fear he had was that Talleyrand might be his father.

The Pope advised Antonin to do what he must to end his suffering. He told the French chef that he would absolve him if he were to sin.

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How did Antonin and Agathe help Hortense during childbirth in Carême season 1 episode 7?

Hortense's baby was positioned in a complicated way inside her belly, which made the delivery difficult. Catherine had brought in an Indian midwife who tried her best to change the baby's position, but ultimately gave up and announced that between the mother and the child, only one could be saved.

Hortense was in unbearable pain, so Agathe went to the church to ask Antonin for some of his pain-relieving potion called the laudanum. At first, Antonin dismissed her, saying that its supply was exhausted. However, when Agathe emphasized that Hortense was in too much pain, Antonin made the potion from scratch.

When Agathe was handing over the potion to the midwife, the latter began examining her hands and concluded that they were fine enough to turn the baby around. Although Agathe had no prior experience with such things, she agreed to help. The next morning, Catherine announced to the men waiting outside that Hortense was alright and had given birth to a boy.

Later, when Agathe was feeling dizzy in the kitchen, the midwife came and told her that she was pregnant. When Agathe went to Antonin's room, she found him with Henriette, who had returned to Paris recently after vanishing for a while.

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Carême season 1 is streaming on Apple TV+.