Reign, “Our Undoing,” was written by the team of Gretchen J Berg and Aaron Harberts and was directed by Lee Rose. Berg and Harberts have been executive producing this season and their other writing credits include Revenge, Pushing Daisies, and Roswell. In the wake of Francis’s death, the show continues to evolve. Any episode that features Mary (Adelaide Kane) and Catherine (Megan Follows) working together is a win for me. The episode also features a terrific performance from Rose Williams (Claude). I was very disappointed to see Lola (Anna Popplewell) and Narcisse (Craig Parker) seemingly at the end of their relationship, however.
The episode begins with Mary and Catherine burning the evidence of their part in Don Carlos’ (Mark Ghanime) “accident.” In the end, he doesn’t die but is left incapacitated by his brain injury. He remembers nothing of the accident and only remembers Mary’s beauty and that she was kind to him.
Meanwhile, there is plenty of trouble on numerous other fronts. Catherine is still facing charges of having poisoned Francis. I love watching Follows and Parker spar too! The scene in which the two discuss rats is an excellent one. Catherine does confess to Mary that she’s rekindled her affair with Narcisse – or had.
Mary offers to speak to Lola, but Lola refuses to believe that Narcisse planted the rat himself. Lola comes to realize that she has no solid proof against Catherine, however, after facing the panel. Narcisse continues to declare his own innocence. However, Lola recognizes Narcisse’s secretary, Cedric’s (Gregg Lowe) penmanship as the same as that on the note found with the rat, sealing Narcisse’s guilt.
Mary receives word of a food shortage and hostage situation in Scotland. Once again Greer (Celina Sinden) offers advice, and Mary finally notices that “something” is different about Greer. She puts Mary off by claiming it’s simply her new dress… her new maternity dress. Lola then receives word that it is her family that is being held hostage. Elizabeth demands via Blackburn (Ben Geurens) that Lola come to the English court as a substitute hostage. Mary and Narcisse disagree vehemently on how to handle the volatile situation.
Narcisse vows that he will only perpetrate one more lie and gets rid of Cedric – by tossing him off the castle wall! Parker is excellent in this episode as we really start to see Narcisse losing it. I was very much pulling for Lola to be able to rehabilitate him, but even she doesn’t seem to be able to change this leopard’s spots. Lola knows that Narcisse has killed Cedric and she vows to go to England to save her family and help her country. She heartbreakingly tells Narcisse that he has murdered their love.
Scottish nobles arrive with starving children to convince Mary to help. Lola begs Mary to let her go to England – pointing out that she can be a valuable spy for Mary while at English court. Mary finally gives in and says Lola can go. Lola will leave the baby with her family and hopes that Elizabeth will be kind enough to let her at least visit the baby. I did find her willingness to drop the baby off a bit of a misstep, even while I was glad that the writers did address it.
Follows and Williams also have a history of terrific scenes together and this episode is no exception. Catherine goes to Claude to beg her not to tell the panel looking into the poisoning that Catherine had tried to poison Claude. Catherine tells Claude that she loves her and tries to explain that she wasn’t in her right mind when she did it – after all, Catherine was herself being poisoned at the time! Claude finally concedes to testify the way Catherine wants as long as Catherine agrees to making Charles agree to allow Claude to choose her own husband.
Even Bash (Torrance Coombs) comes forward to help Catherine. Narcisse, however, gets Claude’s diary and forces her to tearfully tell the truth to the panel. This results in Catherine being set to be tried for murdering King Francis. Mary smuggles Catherine out of the castle, dressed as a servant boy. I loved Catherine not wanting to put the disguise on! Another terrific scene. Bash brings Catherine news of the embalmer, and she returns to court with Francis’s body – his internal organs had never been removed! In the final scene, the Cardinal (Blair Williams) pays for his ineptitude.
Mary is still between a rock and a hard place. She and Alba (Richard de Klerk) agree on the “story” of Don Carlos’s death, which as mentioned turns out to be premature. On discovering that his mental powers have been diminished, the decision is made that he will remain hidden. However, Catherine urges Mary to marry Don Carlos and secure a valuable – and wealthy – ally in Spain. Mary is unwilling to do so until she is faced with the starving children. She agrees to marry Don Carlos and he gives her grain for Scotland as an engagement gift.
If you are a history buff – spoiler alert!!! – you know where this engagement is going. It should be fun to see how we get there though. I can’t wait to see Lola face off against Elizabeth. Will Narcisse finally change and find a way to win Lola back or will he simply slide completely to the dark side? And what of Greer’s pregnancy? What did you think of the episode? Favorite scene? Line? Theories? Only two more episodes left until???
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
