Reign, “Three Queens,” was written by Doris Egan and directed by Steve DiMarco, both of whom should be familiar to viewers from the first season. At first glance this looks to be simply a light-hearted episode, and while there is a good deal of humor in it, there are some very serious matters at its core. The theme of the episode is how to play the game and your role in it to win. The title itself is a nice nod to a good hand of cards – better in some games than others…
The episode begins with an imposter of Francis, Jasper (Ari Millen), burning down a peasant’s farm. We soon see that they have managed to stir up the countryside against the real Francis (Tony Regbo) and Mary (Adelaide Kane) when Mary and Catherine’s (Megan Follows) carriage is set upon. In fact, this is exactly why Catherine is on her current journey. She makes it a habit to do good works in certain villages to ensure that she has their loyalty. Mary calls Catherine on her essential hypocrisy – she doesn’t really care for any peasants, Catherine is simply playing a role. The scene in the carriage is an excellent one, and Follows goes from light comedy to serious drama in the blink of an eye. She admits that she might not care for any individual peasant, but she cares a great deal about them in general. If they all banded together, the peasants could easily topple the monarchy. I loved her analogy of a three-legged stool. They have to placate the nobles, but without the peasants on their side as well, the stool they stand on topples.
The first scene with Mary and Francis shows him trying to maintain an air of normalcy, playing his part, but Mary refuses to join in: “I won’t play a part.” It’s heartbreaking when in the final scene, which is a nice mirror image to this one, Francis again tells Mary that he can’t tell her the truth. He says that he will never betray her, and she calls him on it – “Isn’t lack of honesty a betrayal?” They come to a kind of understanding, but even though Mary denies that she is just playing the part of dutiful Queen, she is now the one clearly lying, clearly playing her part.
The scenes with Catherine and Mary on their journey are fantastic – I love these two actors together! On their adventure, it is Mary who is the practical one. We shouldn’t forget that part of her childhood was spent among the common people at the convent – she hasn’t always been at Court. Mary insists they hide their jewelry and turn their cloaks inside out. She is also the one to negotiate successfully with the innkeeper to exchange their – her! – work for food and shelter. She’s also the one to come up with a plausible cover story. Catherine’s idea of practicality is to buy a horse! And naturally Catherine has no real idea of how much an actual horse would cost.
The scene with the two having dinner is excellent. Catherine is always trying to unravel any deception and presses Mary on why she insisted on coming. Eventually Mary relents and tells her she was going to a physician. Catherine sees her own marriage in what is transpiring between Mary and Francis and warns Mary against romantic expectations. Instead, she tells her to find solace elsewhere – in her own works – or by laying aside a nest egg for herself. Perhaps Catherine has forgotten that Mary’s most likely “work” just might involve Scotland. I thought it particularly telling, however, that Catherine went to Francis upon their return to the castle and reminded him of what a strong ally Mary could be. Catherine tells him that Mary risked her life just to try to please him and that if he isn’t honest with Mary, he will lose her. Interesting to see Catherine side with Mary!
When the imposters show up at the inn, Catherine is full of admiration for their “masterful exploitation of a weakness.” That weakness is that almost none of the peasants have any idea of what the King and Queen look like. I loved how impressed the shadow Queen, Jenny (Charlotte Hegele), is when she hears they’re ladies maids. Catherine, however, tells her that really, they are like her – “professional deceivers.” And in a sense they are. They must always play a part as rulers, never really able to truly be themselves. Jenny declares that she loves being a Queen because people just give them their best food and wine and ask nothing in return. Of course, when you are a ruler, the people ask for a great deal in return – a safe and secure realm, stable economy etc.
I also loved the scene in the carriage when Mary pulls out a dagger and Catherine produces a pin. Mary very hopefully asks if it’s poisoned and Catherine is amused at how eager Mary is for her to have poison. Catherine wisely points out that she doesn’t always carry poison because she could accidentally poison herself! Catherine does know at least one practical skill – how to kill efficiently with a dagger. Of course, considering Gifford (Noam Jenkins) is wearing a complete breastplate – to prevent just such a thing – there is no way for Jenny to complete the action. In the end, Mary uses Catherine’s pin to cause the horse to rear and strike Gifford, thus killing him. Again, the actual “practical” logistics are the horse would be more likely to kick at Mary – the source of the pain – or jump ahead to get away. But that’s just me being nitpicky.
The other major development in this episode is Lola’s (Anna Popplewell) desire to have some kind of security and freedom. Lola tells Kenna (Caitlin Stasey) that she’s received a letter from her family completely disowning her due to the scandal of her having the King’s baby – she can never go home again and they will have no further contact with her. She attempts to get her dowry back, but even as a woman without a husband or father to control her, she is still at the mercy of the banker who controls her dowry. Lola’s new friend, Narcisse (Craig Parker) steps in to help. Parker has really grown on me and I very much enjoyed his performance in this episode. He and Popplewell have extraordinary chemistry and look like they are thoroughly enjoying every scene.
I loved him inviting her for tea and then attempting to seduce her by teaching her how to shoot – it’s a wonderfully seductive scene. He slowly puts the van brace on her arm. As he guides her first shot he tells her that “mistakes in this game can hurt”; “you’re too quick”; “the eye is more important than the hand”; and “See what you’re aiming at. Don’t just let fly.” The entire dialogue is really a double entendre for the flirting that is really going on. He’s also schooling her in playing the game at court – how to get ahead and how to get what she wants – to be cautious, but to stay focused on what she really wants. He tells her “the beginning is often promising, the trick is to keep it going.” They are clearly attracted to each other.
Parker is excellent at keeping us guessing. He certainly seems like an attentive lover – and the journal says he’s the best! But we know that he is evil enough to have Francis at his mercy and is likely just using Lola to get more control over Francis. Kenna, of all people, is actually more suspicious of him than Lola! However, Lola is shocked when Narcisse suggests she bathe where he can watch in return for securing her dowry for her. I adored this scene as she gets the upper hand. It’s a terrific shot of him leering at what he thinks is Lola, no doubt enjoying not only the view but also knowing that he’s dominated her and subjected her to his will in this rather debasing way. However, she appears from behind him to join him on the balcony! She gave the servant who did her laundry five gold coins to do it!
Narcisse is clearly impressed and tells her that the dowry has already been transferred to her, so he was clearly planning on having that done regardless of whether she did the bathing or not. Narcisse says he understands her desire to have the money so that she is independent and can make her own decision – to fall in love again or get married again should she chose. He also says he has the same wishes. He tells her that she is becoming quite an intriguing game player. The scene ends with Lola repeating Narcisse’s words; “the beginning is often promising, the trick is to keep it going.” And she places her hand on his before she leaves.
This was an interesting episode with a lot more going on than appeared on the surface. What did you think of the episode? Do you think that Lola is playing a very dangerous game with Narcisse? Is she being fooled by him? Do you think that Francis will tell Mary the truth? Do you think he should? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
