Season two of Reign premieres on Thursday, October 2 at 9et/8c. Season one garnered a loyal following and with good reason. The story may not be entirely historically accurate, but it is tightly written and compelling. In addition to strong acting, it features gorgeous sets and costumes, and the show manages to incorporate more modern elements in a mostly charming way. I thought for those curious about the show, and those that just need a quick refresher, I’d take a quick look back at season one and briefly take a look at what we might expect coming up. Spoilers will appear at the end of the article!
The season one finale, “Slaughter of Innocence” was written by Doris Egan and Laurie McCarthy and directed by David Frazee. Showrunner McCarthy will also pen the season two opener “The Plague.” The title of the episode is a reflection of both the innocents who are slaughtered in King Henry’s (Alan Van Sprang) victory celebration and also of the loss of both Francis’s (Toby Regbo) and Mary’s (Adelaide Kane) innocence as they both must now embrace what it means to be rulers. It also nicely points to the many who will no doubt die from the plague in this new season.
Van Sprang will be missed, and his acting in this final episode was outstanding as he goes from creepily lascivious towards Mary to utterly mad to heartbreakingly clear-headed and dying. Mary had tried to spare Francis from having to get his hands dirty or face the weight of being involved with his father’s death, but when Henry decides he will kill his own son and marry his wife, Francis has no choice but to disguise himself as the jouster and defeat his father, killing him with a splinter through Henry’s eye. On his deathbed, Henry reveals that he’d poisoned his own brother – ironically ALSO named Francis – to gain the throne in the first place. Francis is clearly consumed with guilt over having killed his father. Will he be able to live with what he’s done? Will he now worry that the madness or the murderous tendency will be passed to his own children? Regbo also delivers a powerful performance in the episode, particularly in the final scene with Van Sprang.
Mary, urged by Christian (Gil Darmell), decides to declare her intention to be a leader and shows up to the joust in a beautiful dress decorated by the rampant lion of England. She and Francis both worry about what ruling will do to them. Will it harden them into people they no longer even recognize? Yet, rulers must make the hard choices with little regard to personal comfort or often wishes. They promise to be honest with one another, and Mary finally confesses to Francis that Lola’s (Anna Popplewell) baby is his. She tells him that she’s telling him because Lola has given her permission. Francis rushes off to save her and the baby as she’s sent a note saying she is in labor and in danger of dying. Naturally, just before Francis leaves, the castle receives word of the plague. Francis insists on going even though Mary warns him they are sealing the castle. Will Mary let them back in if they do return to the castle?
For me, Megan Follows (Queen Catherine) has simply been outstanding week in and week out, and the finale is no exception as we see her peel back yet another layer at Henry’s side on his deathbed. We see that he really was the love of her life and there is real loss there – until Henry ruins the moment by bringing up his mistress. Not only does he bring her up, but he charges Catherine with taking Diane (Anna Walton) under her wing! Follows is brilliant as you see the subtle shift from softness to hurt back to hardness as she promises to do as Henry asks. Now that he’s dead, will she honor that promise? I loved Catherine cautioning Mary at the joust about the dangers of up-staging your boss. I wonder if Catherine will heed her own advice when Mary is her boss?
It also remains to be seen whether Greer (Celina Sinden) will honor her promise to Lord Castleroy (Michael Therriault) and marry him or whether she will be swayed by her love of Leith (Jonathan Keltz). Her determination to honor her promise to Castleroy and provide for her family seems to be challenged when she thinks Leith has died, but she remains firm, sending him away. He seems to have fallen rather quickly under the charms of a mysterious young lady, who turns out to be none other than Lord Castleroy’s daughter, Yvette (Sarah Winter)! Now that Francis is King, he can, after all, give Leith the title that he wanted to. Would that be enough to satisfy Greer’s concerns about her sisters? I for one have come to very much like Castleroy, so I hope that Greer doesn’t break his heart! However, did Greer know he had a daughter almost her age? Is he hiding secrets too?
Bash (Torrance Coombs) finally unravels the secret of the Darkness with the help of Nostradamus (Rossif Sutherland). Bash saves Kenna (Caitlin Stasey) and Pascal (Lucius Hoyos) from the Darkness and kills him. This brought this storyline to a satisfying conclusion though no doubt we are likely not done with the pagans just yet given that the Darkness’ prophecy comes true with the start of the plague, and Pascal is still his chosen one. Will others come to try to claim Pascal for the Darkness? Will Bash learn that he’s the one who killed Pascal’s father? Will Pascal forgive Bash or try to seek revenge? Interestingly, of all the women, Bash and Kenna (Caitlin Stasey) seem to be in the happiest marriage.
I have to admit that when Reign premiered, I was distracted by the less than historical costuming, the more colloquial dialogue, and the music choices. I also wasn’t that taken with the more supernatural elements of the show – such as Clarissa (Katie Boland). Of course, they wrapped up the Clarissa storyline quickly and the costuming, music, and dialogue all improved as the season progressed. I particularly liked how they took popular pieces of music and had them re-arranged to sound more time appropriate. In point of fact, the show is actually often quite accurate historically. One of the great results of watching the show is that it’s certainly made me more curious about French history at this time. I’ve always been enamored of British history at this time, but knew less about Mary, Queen of Scots and the French. For instance, Henry and his brother Francis were held for years by the Spanish as hostages for their father, and it did have a lasting impact on them. Francis III was thought to have been poisoned after drinking water after a tennis match. It was, however, thought to be more likely tuberculosis. On the other hand, Catherine de Medici was also known to dabble in the occult and be proficient in poisons!
All of the characters had strong arcs, and I’m impressed with how far they came in this first season. We see both Mary and Francis grow to be ready to take over as monarchs, though no doubt there will be a lot more for them to learn! I was surprised to see all of the ladies married or at least engaged by the end of the season. It’s a bold move of the show not to drag the storylines out and one of the shows greatest strengths.
So, what has been teased about the upcoming season? You can always get a full run down on the spoilers for Reign on SpoilerTv here. But some of the highlights are that we will see the plague devastate France. It will have victims and will have other repercussions such as famine. Lola and her baby will survive and come to court. There will be a LOT of sex. Mary and Francis will experience growing pains in ruling as the nobility jockey for favor and influence over them. The lack of an heir will continue to be an issue.
Jonathan Keltz is now a series regular, and Leith and Francis’ friendship will grow. Francis and Bash will grow closer again in the coming season as well. Sean Teale also joins the cast as a regular as Conde, Prince of the Blood. Rossif Sutherland returns as a recurring character and Rose Williams joins the cast in the recurring role of Princess Claude, Francis’ younger sister, who lives to torment Catherine. Also returning as recurring are Michael Therriault, Sarah Winter, and Lucius Hoyos. Further additions to the recurring cast are Craig Parker as Narcisse and Camille Stopps as Estelle. Narcisse is linked to Catherine as a “sparring” partner. The only information so far on Estelle is a tweet from Stopps that Estelle will provide a new perspective on the world of the show. No word yet on whether Anna Walton, Gil Darnell or Giacomo Gianniotti (Lord Julien/Remy) will be back. Personally, I’d love to see Tahmoh Penikett return as Mary’s barely controllable mercenary, John.
Has the hiatus felt like a famine to you? What are you most excited to see in this new season? What are you hoping to see happen in this first episode and this season? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Don’t forget to tune in to the first episode Thursday, October 2 at 9ET/8c on the CW. New this year will be a best scene poll for the show, so be sure to pop back to SpoilerTV and vote after the episode airs!
Coming this fall on ABC is drama How to Get Away with Murder from Shonda Rhimes's Shondaland and created by Peter Nowalk.
The scenes flashback and forward throughout the episode to show us the ongoings of the night of the murder and the case the students are helping with. The identity of the person who is killed, which is revealed later in the episode, left me surprised as it was not who I was expecting. Also featured throughout the episode is the investigation of a missing student Lila Stangard.
The shows is scandalous, sexy and salacious as can be seen in the pilot. Voila Davis proves to be an excellent lead for the series and the supporting characters are also fairly interesting. Not much is revealed about the characters in the pilot, but I am sure that will be seen as the show progresses. The shows has all the markings of a potential hit for ABC.
How to Get Away with Murder airs this fall on Thursdays 10/9c on ABC. Watch the promo and sneak peek below.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned last night with “Shadows.” The episode was written by showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen and directed by Vincent Misiano – a familiar name to those who watched the first season. Given that Whedon and Tancharoen penned this episode, I think we can expect that most of the big threads for the season will have their start here. As with the first season, we have some new characters to get to know – both good and bad. But there have also been some real changes to our core team too – and many of those changes are distressing – in a good, angsty, Whedon-universe kind of way, of course!
The episode opens with a flashback to the very beginnings of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Agent Carter (Haley Atwell) and her men, Dum Dum Dugan (Neal McDonough) and Jim Morita (Kenneth Choi) defeat HYDRA and take possession of the first 0-8-4. Dr Whitehall (Reed Diamond) lets us know that the obelisk was thought to be able to defeat death – I think that’s going to be pretty important. He also placed the timing of Agent Carter nicely by informing his underling that the Red Skull was dead – we’ll be sliding in nicely after Captain America: The First Avenger. We see Whitehall show up – strangely young – at the end of the episode, so I wonder if we’ll be seeing him as an important character when Agent Carter premieres. We also get a nod to Stark industries playing with the new tech and being a problem, so no doubt, we’ll be seeing quite a bit of Tony’s father – and maybe a very young Tony himself!
We then flash forward to the present where S.H.I.E.L.D. is once again at the mercy of HYDRA. Unfortunately, this time, they are also enemies of the US government. The premiere features some good fight scenes, snappy dialogue, and the special effects we’ve come to expect. A quick shout out for the great work done with Carl Creel (Brian Patrick Wade). A picture was tweeted from set showing a muscular guy with one blue arm – speculation was that this might have been a Kree – but it seems certain that it was Wade being made up for the big fight scene when his arm is concrete.
I liked the uncertainty of the first scene – it’s impossible to tell who the good guys are and who the bad guys are – it’s a terrific way to demonstrate the world our agents now find themselves in. We quickly learn that Coulson (Clark Gregg) trusts Isabelle “Izzy” Hartley (Lucy Lawless) who is a former agent. Idaho (Wilmer Calderon) and Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) are a different story, however, and as mercenaries are really only accepted as part of her team. By the end of the episode, Hunter has a new motivation for helping S.H.I.E.L.D. and finally seeing the big picture – revenge.
Trip (BJ Britt) is always a breath of fresh air. I love his obsession with trying to figure out
exactly what Koenig (Patton Oswalt). He introduces us to Alphonso “Mac” Mackenzie (Henry Simmons), the team’s new mechanic. However, his first question is whether they found any tech, so I have to wonder if he’s the team’s new Fitz (Iain De Caestecker). Given how… fit he is, I hope they don’t keep him locked up in the Playground though!
Speaking of Fitz, Iain De Caestecker delivers a brilliant performance in this episode, and I think breaks all of our hearts as we finally see the effects of Ward’s (Brett Dalton) treachery. This is the first of the episode’s huge surprises. In a move worthy of The Sixth Sense, we don’t learn until the end of the episode that Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) was never actually at Fitz’s side. Where she is and whether she’s abandoned her BFF (or more?) is yet to be learned, though Coulson says at the end of the episode that she left for Fitz’s own good. The interactions are actually beautifully shot. In the very first scene with Fitz and Simmons, Simmons is not in focus and is behind Fitz. She only slowly comes into focus. It seems like she talks to May (Ming-Na Wen) when May comes to the lab, but in fact, Fitz echoes what Simmons says and May really responds only to Fitz. When we see Fitz and Simmons outside the control room, it drives home how on the fringe Fitz really is. There’s a dark moment of humor when Fitz calls Simmons on making a head trauma reference.
It was easy to buy into the deception because the largest part of me wanted to believe Simmons when she told Fitz he was getting better and was almost there – but it’s clear from the devastation on Coulson’s face that Fitz is, in fact, getting worse as he withdraws from everyone except the Simmons that he’s conjured up. Fitz himself is clear headed enough to know what he’s lost which makes it all the more poignant and painful to watch.
Skye (Chloe Bennet) is all grown up and under May’s wing. She clearly misses having access to Coulson, but is now content to be ruled by chain of command. I have to wonder if there is more than too much to do that is making Coulson keep Skye at arm’s length though. We see that he has her on trying to break the alien language – and happily there don’t seem to be any overt problems with either of them over the alien blood coursing through their veins – certainly not that we see in this episode. We do, however, get a glimpse of just how broken Ward is.
Brett Dalton continues to impress as the now un-masked Ward. He’s pretty darn convincing playing a crazy person! I don’t believe that Skye was ever really in love with Ward – and certainly never in the obsessive way he is in love with her. I think that his suicide attempts may eventually garner some sympathy for him – but never the love he craves. Given that Fitz is a constant reminder of what his treachery cost their team, I doubt that anyone on the team will ever really forgive him. Or the fans either. I’m personally still stuck on the fact that Garrett damaged the younger Ward as much as lack of oxygen damaged Fitz, and for that reason, Ward is redeemable. Ward vows to tell Skye only the truth for the rest of his life.
Creel is set up as an on-going problem – much like Deathlok in season one. I thought it was hysterical that as Ward explains to Skye that Creel can absorb any substance and transform the molecules of his body into that substance – and that he enjoys the process – we see turn into… *ahem* … wood! The other big on-going problem is Brigadier General Talbot (Adrian Pasdar). Props to Pasdar for sporting that haircut!
I loved Coulson interrogating Talbot – he does offer to work with Talbot. I’m looking forward to Talbot finally realizing that HYDRA is still a really big problem and that he needs Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D. I also loved that they used the interrogation to carry out their ultimate plan. They haven’t evaded Talbot for so long by underestimating him – both his capabilities and his stupidity! I did love Talbot calling the interrogation room their Honeycomb Kill Room though!
We definitely need to see lots of Oswalt and Gregg in scenes together – loved Koenig coaching Coulson’s impersonation of Talbot! The raid itself was as much a mission to get the team’s hands on the cloaking technology they needed as to get the 0-8-4 back. My one big quibble with the episode is that while it’s nice to have the slow-motion hero win, there’s just no way that that soldier could have missed cutting May in half with his machine gun as she rode away on that motorcycle.
May does continue to be her badass self, however. I’m relieved and happy to see that she and Coulson have clearly settled their differences and she’s settled into her role as his right hand. That doesn’t mean she isn’t still watching out for him though – keeping him out of the field and making sure he stays in touch with her – though clearly he’s not that good at it.
And that brings us to the other shocking moment of the episode. Why would Izzy pick up an 0-8-4 with her bare hands? In fact, why open the box at all? I did think that was a bit of a misstep. Regardless, it leads us to the shocking necessity to amputate her arm and then her death! Hunter is going to have to take at least some responsibility for her death as he’s the one who ditches the mission to take Lizzy for help. I’m really going to be disappointed if this is it for Lucy Lawless. She does tell Hunter that she doesn’t want to die – and given what we do know about this 0-8-4 – that it may be able to defeat death – maybe we haven’t seen the last of her.
The episode ends with Coulson dedicating their work to validating the sacrifices of those agents who have laid down their lives for the cause. For all that I’m a pretty positive tv viewer/reviewer, it’s not often that I’m completely willing to trust showrunners to take me where we need to go, but that’s the case with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I was quick – check out my first ever review of the show – to say it was all going to make sense down the road. There’s less mystery in some ways this season, but no less excitement for me to follow where Whedon and Tancharoen are leading us. What did you think of the episode?
Forever’s second episode, “Look Before You Leap,” was once again written by series creator Matt Miller and was directed by Sam Hill. Hill’s other credits include Believe, Almost Human, CSI: NY, and CSI: Miami where he also worked with Alana De La Garza (Jo). The second episode was stronger than the first and the show seems to be quickly finding its rhythm. The first episode garnered decent ratings with a total viewership of over 8 million. It will be interesting to see what the ratings are in this arguably tougher time slot up against Chicago Fire and Person of Interest. If you like the show – start spreading the word. I’ll be interested to see what the DVR numbers will look like for the show too.
The show seems to have settled into what will be its basic format. A quick voice-over sequence to bring new viewers up to speed about Henry’s (Ioan Gruffudd) condition and then a quick teaser of the murder of the week. I suspect some cases will begin in the morgue, but now that Jo has Lt Reece’s (Lorraine Toussaint) blessing to use Henry to solve cases, I suspect we’ll start to see more cases begin in the field.
So far the show has been inventive and clever about finding ways to weave in Henry’s condition. There were just so many opportunities for him to fall off the bridge, and after he described what happens when someone dies that way, I was squirming in my seat almost the entire time he was out on the ledge. It was both a shock and funny for him to end up getting hit by the car! Clearly, it’s a good thing that he’s immortal because he’s terribly accident prone!
I really liked how they played with Henry’s fear of having his secret exposed during the climax when Paul (Dave Quay) is holding the knife to his throat. If Henry were to have his secret revealed, it would no doubt ruin his life. I loved Hanson (Donnie Keshawarz) telling everyone that Henry kept telling him to shoot Paul and then declaring, “This guy is definitely going to get himself killed!” Well done, Hanson – you’re right for once! That said, I hope every episode doesn’t have a close call with people – and especially Jo – finding out his secret. That needs to go on the back burner for a little while at least.
It’s clever plotting to have Abe (Judd Hirsch) be the one to help Henry track down the “Fan.” It keeps movement on that front and helps to give Hirsch more to do. And of course, Abe is the perfect man for the job given his expertise in antiques. And we learn that the Fan is a very, very old antique – a 2,000 year old antique if we can believe he is telling Henry the truth. It wouldn’t seem very logical for the Fan to risk exposing Henry, however, when he could become exposed himself. You’d think he might want to be friendly with the one person who he could form a “long-term” relationship!
We also see a picture of and have another reference to Jo’s husband. I’m pretty sure that I recognize the actor playing him. I had to wonder if her husband might, in fact, turn up as the Fan… but it’s more likely that he was simply the victim of some Washington based plot.
One of the things that I quite liked about this episode is the way that the title resonated with the theme. “Look Before You Leap” is an obvious reference to the victim’s “jump” from the bridge, but it also refers to making sure the way is clear before you take a new path or that you know what you are getting into before you take a new path. In this episode, we see Henry make some conscious decisions to change how he interacts with people. He decides he will actually engage with them. We also see Henry and Abigail (Mackenzie Mauzy) do this in the past. Henry makes the decision to let Abe and Abigail into his life.
Henry tells Lucas (Joel David Moore) that he avoids emotional scenes and that’s why he never talks to the families at the morgue. However, Henry does in this instance and subsequently promises to find the killer – much to Jo’s annoyance. Henry’s aloofness is in direct contrast to Abe, who we see pursuing relationships and engaging with life. He tells Henry that emotional commitments are the meaning of life. I loved that he sends Henry off for the evening because he has date through E-Harmony! I also loved that we get to see a picture of Hirsch circa his Taxi days as his profile picture!
A similar scene plays out in the past as Abigail persuades Henry to take a chance on their relationship. She tells him that “Live is about the journey no matter how long it lasts.” Better to be happy for a day or a few years than to exist cut off from the rest of the world. It’s clear that the loss of Abigail has hurt Henry deeply. Gruffudd is doing a great job slowly thawing Henry out and showing us his various layers. I loved him trying to tell Jo about the brownstones and her telling him she wasn’t interested in a history lesson.
How Henry solves murders is quite clever and therefore amusing. I loved him pointing out that the guy with an axe in his head was an accident whereas the woman who had committed suicide was actually the murder victim. I hope they include at least one ridiculous death in each episode! I also loved Henry’s deduction that she was having an affair with Browning (James McCaffrey) based on a number of clues, but sealed by a scarf. I adored Henry’s remark “as a scarf man…” Yes, Henry, I’d noticed you are a scarf man!
I think the show has set itself up well with an excellent mix of humor and mystery. The weekly crimes should be nicely balanced by Henry’s cat and mouse relationship with the Fan, and we will no doubt learn more about Jo’s husband in due time. I liked this second episode even better than the first. What did you think? Let me know your thoughts about the episode and the show in the comments below.
New Girl - Episode 4.02 - Review: "Dice"
This week’s episode of New Girl was in keeping with last week’s premiere, which basically means that it was a coarse half-hour dedicated to life lessons, sexual innuendo, and twenty-something’s freaking out. Schmidt introduced Jess to the world of mobile dating and Winston invited the rest of the gang to an afternoon barbeque to gain some friend credit among the cadets in the police academy. However, Nick, Coach, and Cece threw a wrench into his plans when they decided to get really, really toasted on the day of the party.
As soon as the episode began and the Tinder like mobile dating app “Dice” was introduced, one could surmise that Jess would want a piece of the action to prove that she’s “with it”. Schmidt knew this was a bad mistake, but eventually caved because deep down he’s a good roommate and friend to Jess. What followed was a series of unfortunate dating experiences that included a bearded treadmill runner and a raisin farmer. Following in last week’s footsteps, Jess shared a “teachable” moment with Schmidt that detailed why mobile dating is awful, but why it can also be freeing and fun. You may not find the love of your life via the swipe of a photo, but just maybe you’ll find someone to enjoy spending a Saturday afternoon with. I’m glad that the guy Jess was so keen on dating the first time turned out to be normal and crazy at the same time. In classic New Girl fashion, the “comedy magician” was a nice touch to cap off Jess’s arc.
Now Winston, Nick, Coach, and Cece’s arc is a separate thing all together. I can understand Coach not having smoked marijuana before in his life. I know some people never touch the stuff, but watching three grown adults indulge in an afternoon bake session just felt kind of off, even if you knew where the plot was going. I genuinely felt bad for Winston when the gang arrived at the party and he had to control them before they turned him into the laughing stock of the academy. It may just be my bias, but I am tired of Winston always having the third-string plot compared to the actions of the rest of the gang. I was pleasantly surprised when he, along with all the other cadets/cops at the party, scared them just to get even.
This week’s New Girl followed the same type of vibe as last week with just a little too much low brow comedy for my taste. It was surprising to see a life lesson moment between Schmidt and Jess because he obviously has his own problems to work out with Cece, but their arc was satisfying while providing some social commentary on the downsides and upsides of mobile dating. I expected more from the Nick, Coach, and Cece plot, but I was happy to see Winston ‘Toilet’ Bishop have a win. Let me know what you thought of tonight’s episode in the comment section below and I will try to respond with some feedback. Until then, look out for my preview of next week's episode sometime Monday night.
Favorite Quotes:
“He looks like a Hemsworth.” --- Schmidt
“Never take out the protection plan.”—Schmidt
“…Kings of Leon…good band, but it just feels like they’re stuck in one place, musically.” ----Schmidt
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