Hey, Royals! Are you ready to talk about this week’s new episode of Reign? I know I am. Lots to discuss so grab your tea and biscuits and let’s get down to brass tax.
This week’s episode of Reign was entitled, Betrothed. It was written by Lisa Randolph and directed by Fred Gerber. The music featured in this episode was a song called White Blood by Oh Wonder.
A summary of what transpired in this episode is as follows: Mary and Francis prepared for the transition of power by telling Claude, Charles and Bash that Francis is dying, and asking Charles to marry Mary after Francis's death. Charles initially refused and sided with Catherine, but changed his mind when Catherine used him in an attempt to assassinate the Bourbons.
Under pressure from the Privy Council, Elizabeth sacrificed her friend Donatella to take the blame for Catherine's machinations in England, and insults Robert Dudley in front of the Council so he wouldn’t be made ambassador. Elizabeth chose her "retired" spy, Nicholas (to be her new ambassador to France. Claude and Leith grew close, and Leith learned that Francis is dying.
Narcisse tricked Lola into believing that Catherine wanted to destroy her; Lola, thinking Narcisse could protect her, started an affair with him. Mary told Lola that Francis is dying, and warned her to be wary of Narcisse.
Meanwhile, Bash continued to investigate Delphine and the mysterious murders in the village.
So while last week’s episode pretty much just dealt with Mary learning of Francis’s impending death and her beginning to process it, this episode was all about circling the wagons and telling their loved ones and in true Valois fashion, everyone has their own selfish needs that they want protected. Let the scheming (and screaming) begin!
It’s so messed up that we were deprived of the epic love story that is Frary for most of season two. But I can’t complain about how many Frary moments of tenderness we’ve had in these last two episodes of this new season. Except that I can. If the writers were going to kill of Francis this season (and I swear they are only doing this to retain at least one shred of historical accuracy at this point) then why did they have to depress us viewers with the Conde story line last season? Toby Regbo and Adelaide Kane have palpable chemistry (though I must admit Kane has chemistry with everyone, especially those of the opposite sex). Even though I’m not really a shipper I can understand why the fans root for this pairing, I mean other than the facts of history, of course.
Catherine still has her head? I mean I’m not complaining. She is the villainess that we all love to hate (or if we are being honest with ourselves just love because Megan Follows is the bomb dot com) after all. Historically she outlives them all. I was bummed that her time in England was cut short. Follows and Skarten had really good chemistry and the season two finale where they meet left my mouth watering for season 3. Catherine is in a bad way right now and I can’t wait to find out how she schemes her way out of it.
Call me crazy but I love when Mary gets a win and going up against Catherine, let’s be real that doesn’t happen very often but when she does she loves to rub salt into Catherine’s wounds and enjoy every second of it.
A man once called me a queen, then went on to ask, ‘What’s a queen without king?’, and not missing a beat I replied, ‘Well, historically better off,’ and sashayed away. That is something that I think Queen Elizabeth would concur with. Queen Elizabeth is an interesting historical queen and it is very intriguing what they are doing with this character on the show. I do miss the political aspect of royalty that the French court hasn’t really been giving me in the way that I crave, so it’s nice to see at least one queen attending to her queenly duties on a regular. But man Elizabeth is a b-i-t-c-h. Not only did she basically sign her friend up for torture in ‘The Tower’ for an indefinite stay and ruin her husband’s reputation and fortune she belittled her lover and then threatened to kill his wife. Elizabeth is an odd bird who yearns to be free but if she was free (i.e. a peasant) her life we suck completely. So, I totally feel the dude when he tells her, ‘Some prison’.
My sweet
prince king. Poor Francis! He finally has his Mary back and instead of spending what time he has left in wedded bliss and having sexy naked fun times with his lady, he has to make sure not only his wife and her country will be fine in his absence but his family and country as well. The best course of action he can think of is to have Mary wed his brother and all I can think about is how that didn’t turn out so well for King Henry (or any of his wives really), you know Elizabeth’s dad. While people seem sad for a moment about his death all anyone can think about is what is going to happen to him when he is dead, his wife included and that’s really another kind of tragedy in and of itself. Just when Francis was maturing becoming the kind of King I always knew he could be, he is getting struck down in his literal prime. While I haven’t always been a fan of the character, I’ve always thought that Regbo brought something earnest and pure to the role. He is going to be,missed and I hope they send him out with a bang and not a whimper. I also hope that he and Bash will get at least one episode together to settle unresolved issues.
Here’s hoping Charles grows on me (much like fungus) the same way Claude did. I think all members of the Valois clan have a default setting of whiny and annoying. Charles has a lot of growing up to do and fast (though we know his reign will not be that long). I like that he is motivated and seemingly on Frary’s side for the time being but I think that at the end of the day he is Catherine’s child and will side with her, heck this was probably all part of Catherine’s sick and twisted plan for all we know.
And speaking of Claude, this love story between her and Leith couldn’t be any more a of a slow burn unless they were both bottles of molasses sitting on a shelf in Antarctica. I’m really starting to root for them. I find them sweet and their characters balance each other well. I love Claude’s attempts of trying to carry off a royal air about her and how it usually ends up just making her look bourgeois. I liked the bit about her remembering King Henry before he went mad and his promise that she could marry for love because it hints at deeper layers beyond the spoiled princess act.
Now while we are on the subject of long drawn out entanglements, who is rooting for Narcisse and Lola? Anyone? Especially, after this episode? I totally called it that Narcisse was up to his usual tricks. He wants Lola but it is a truly genuine and pure pursuit? Probably not. My theory is he knows Francis is dying and is going to try to use John to prop himself and claim the throne or some other kind of shenanigans to that effect. Poor Lola, her heart makes such poor choices.
Highlights
MVP of the Episode
- The directorial execution, I love the choice of using bright lighting and showcasing nature in bloom full force to counter the heaviness of the revelation.
Character of the Night
Best Character Interactions
- Francis & Mary
- Claude & Leith
Favorite Scene
- Mary visits Catherine in the dungeon and gloats about getting Charles to marry her.
Line of the Night
- Charles: What has Scotland ever done for France. (That also gets the 'Well He's Not Wrong' award as well)
Stray Observations
- I miss Kenna.
- When are we going to get to see another one of Greer magnificent parties at her brothel?
- What are we even doing with Bash’s storyline anymore? It’s so lame and I’m so over the mystical/magical hook they have unsuccessfully been trying to cultivate for three seasons now. Let it go, move on, please. Unlessthey are going to bring back Nostradamus (Rossif Sutherland) that is, then I’m game for that.
Don't forget to watch and live tweet (@CWReign) with the show every Friday at 8pm on The CW.
As always please feel free to leave any comments, theories and/or burning questions in the comments below.
You know I love for reading!
About the Author - Lilith Hellfire
Lilith Hellfire is your every day run of the mill blogger, DJ, fangirl, podcaster, TV critic and YouTuber. She enjoys serialized dramas over procedurals. She also loves comic books, shoes and Tumblr. She writes about
Beauty and the Beast and
Reign for Spoiler TV. To check out all the other cool stuff she writes about be sure to check out her
blog.
