Reign returns this week for its final season, so what better time – considering it’s been 8 months since the season three finale! – to recap and review “Spiders in a Jar”? I don’t know about you, but I definitely needed a refresher! The episode was written by Laura McCarthy and was directed by Deborah Chow. While this episode sets up a lot of interesting storylines, it will be interesting to see where the showrunners take us in the final 16 episodes of the series. How far will we get in the story of Mary, Queen of Scots?
Mary (Adelaide Kane) realizes she is a stranger in a strange land – she doesn’t know her people or their ways. James (Dan Jeannotte) is there to help bring her up to speed and Bash (Torrance Coombs) is there for support. Elizabeth (Rachel Skarsten) is threatening to invade, and John Knox (Jonathan Goad) has thrown his support behind Elizabeth. He may hate women – seems like a timely discussion in a would-be power-monger just now – but he’s willing to put that aside in favor of a Protestant Queen. James suggests Knox’s hatred of women stems from Knox’s mother – but he also warns that he is a master orator and shouldn’t be discounted.
Mary is determined not to turn her back on her Catholic faith and is also determined to show Knox that she will not bow to one of her subjects – it is to be “quite the other way around.” Mary very publicly has the Bishop (Scott Hurst) open the chapel so that she can take mass. Knox scurries up and reminds her that it is forbidden by the laws of the congregation. Mary insists that she is his monarch and will practice her faith. Mary tells Knox to tell the other nobles that she has no intention of forcing her religion on anyone or of impeding the worship of theirs. She wants Scots united, in peace.
Knox dismisses the threat from Elizabeth – essentially attributing it to female exaggerations. He insists that the Vatican poses a greater threat. Mary insists that she has come home to establish peace and lead the Scottish people into the future. Her threat is clear – “Help me bring all of my people together, or may God and your Queen have mercy on your soul.” And then she has the chapel doors shut in his face!
Back in France, Catherine (Megan Follows) is still trying to rescue Charles (Spencer Macpherson). Her interrogation of the Red Knight yielded her nothing, so she tells Leith (Jonathan Keltz) that she is changing her tactics – and her first move is to invite a number of peasants to the palace. She assigns Leith to continue the questioning – the peasants are there because the knight knows them and Catherine thinks he may talk if they are the ones receiving the torture.
Lola (Anna Popplewell) is still agonizing over Mary’s letter telling her to kill Elizabeth. Governess Renee (Martha Girvin) is quite rightly worried about Lola. Lola has decided that she must go through with it, but she can’t put the baby at risk. She asks Renee to arrange another meeting with Narcisse (Craig Parker).
Narcisse is not pleased when Lola meets him and puts him off. He pleads with her to leave now – not in two days. She insists that he take the baby – and it’s very clear it is there final meeting. Lola knows she isn’t going to survive. As a total Narcisse/Lola shipper, this was a wonderful but very bitter-sweet scene as we see what their future might have been – Lola’s goodness bringing out the very best qualities in Narcisse.
James advises Mary to hold off on holding court as there’s been a slaughter of a Protestant village, incited by the resident Priest. Bash informs her that there are reports of an English delegation visiting villages. Mary wants the Priest brought to her and vows to hang him if he’s guilty. Mary tells Bash to arrange for them to ride out to meet the English lords.
Bash meanwhile has already recognized one of the Druids (Shona played by Amanda Smith) attacking by Clan McFee and accosts her. She remembers Bash too – he’s “touched by magic” and doesn’t belong there – he should be doing much more because he can’t protect Mary.
Elizabeth meets with her council about her plans for Scotland. Dudley (Charlie Carrick) arrives, and while she’s pleased to see him, she also brushes him off – she’s too busy to chat with him.
Catherine receives reports on each of her children who are in hiding from Martel De Guise (Lewis Kirk). It’s very obvious that Princess Claude’s (Rose Williams) distaste for him is only growing. Leith arrives in the nick of time to save Catherine and Claude from being assassinated based on the information that the Red Knight gave up under Catherine’s interrogation methods. Claude intervenes to prevent Martel from killing Leith before Leith explains.
Claude suggests that the Red Knight may not know where Charles is and that’s why he hasn’t given up the location because Charles has escaped. Catherine tells Leith to keep Claude safe and then gives her blessing for the two to wed.
As they ride out, Mary asks Bash wants troubling him. He doesn’t want her to worry about him, she’s not responsible for his happiness. She assumes that Bash has set his sights on Melanie (Lucy Parker Byrne), who she thought had just come along because she could cook. Bash adds that she can tell a good joke too!
When Mary catches up with the English nobles, there leader is (of course!) Gideon (Ben Geurens). Mary and Gideon find themselves alone and tempted by passion, but Mary puts a stop to it – how can they, if they are enemies? Gideon admits he’s there in service to his Queen, but he’s pretty quick to tell Mary that things are even worse than she feared – they’ve even swayed Catholic nobles to Elizabeth’s side. Gideon tells her that Elizabeth is proposing a bloodless coup. Mary asks Gideon to delay his travels to allow her time to show her nobles that she’s not just some Catholic despot but their true Queen. He promises to give her one day.
Charles returns on his own – and tells Catherine that he doesn’t want to be King! He’s clearly been through an ordeal and is completely changed. Charles is devastated by Thierry’s (Seamus Patterson) death and feels terrible guilt over it and the fact that Thierry never gave him up. Catherine, not surprisingly, is completely unsympathetic. Weakness will only keep their enemies coming.
Lola meets with the assassin (Jefferson Brown) who gives her a pistol to hide and tells her to stall Elizabeth in the hallway on the way to the library. He is happy to die in Queen Mary’s and the true faith’s service.
Leith and Claude are simply too happy. He has a final mission that she doesn’t want him to go on. They tease each other and then Leith proposes before they share a passionate night.
Mary has Father Ashby (Brandon McGibbon) brought to her. He tells Mary that he wasn’t there at the time of the slaughter. And of course he went on a retreat alone “in nature” and not at an Abbey where there would have been witnesses. He tells her that he’s being blamed because he’s the only one left standing – all the other Catholics in the village fled.
He admits to inciting protest but not violence and maintains that he doesn’t even know if locals committed the massacre. He tells her that if she trades his life to further her goals it will blacken her soul. James urges her to execute the Priest, but Mary insists that she simply can’t – even to win over the nobles.
Lola does her part to help the assassin get to Elizabeth. It’s easy to see Dudley in the background, watching it all unfold. He jumps the assassin from behind – how could he possibly have even seen the tiny gun? He also immediately accuses Lola of being in on the plot – and Elizabeth immediately has her arrested! Later events make it seem unlikely that Dudley was in on the plot to gain back Elizabeth’s favor, however…
Elizabeth visits Lola in her cell. The assassin confessed and gave up Lola. Lola insists that Elizabeth’s plan of a bloodless offensive is a delusion. She tries to explain that once she knew Elizabeth was going ahead, she had to try to save her country. Lola tells her not to trust anyone, and that because Elizabeth values power above all else, Elizabeth will always be alone. Much of the same ruthless need for power could be attributed to Catherine, but she managed not to be alone – though she never ruled alone. Lola tells Elizabeth that even though she is the one about to walk to her execution, Elizabeth is the one to be pitied. Both Popplewell and Skarsten are terrific in this scene.
Bash tells Mary that Ashby has killed himself. Mary is sure it is because he feared that she would torture him after the ways of Catherine De Medici. He assumes that Mary is as consumed by the need for power as both Catherine and Elizabeth are. Mary decides not to let Ashby’s death be in vain and uses it to her advantage.
Mary has Ashby hung up and invites the nobles. She tells them that under her rule, all men will be judged equally, regardless of their faith. She goes on to say that regardless of her faith, she is not a Catholic Queen, a Protestant Queen or a French Queen. Scotland is in her blood. Kane delivers a terrific speech as Mary wins over her subjects.
Charles goes behind Catherine’s back and uses her spin on him being a hero to help convince the Privy Council to declare him of age. He vows that she will no longer use her children as pawns and he tells her that he’s taken away all of her power. It may seem that Catherine is all about power, but I think it’s pretty clear that all along she has shown that at the end of the day, it is actually her children that she holds most dear.
Dudley informs Elizabeth that Narcisse is there pleading for his wife’s innocence. He reminds her that Narcisse is Chancellor of France, and she’s concerned about the execution turning into an international incident, so she orders the execution for that day. Lola’s words stung and Elizabeth doesn’t want to be alone and proposes that she and Dudley wed immediately. Dudley refuses Elizabeth’s proposal of marriage – he’d lost faith in waiting for her and has married another. Elizabeth is furious and orders him away – and clearly, she wants to take this anger out on someone – and who better than someone who is happily married. Lola had no chance from this moment forward.
Charles has heard that the Red Knights are holed up in hiding. Martel offers his advice and his soldiers. He’s particularly interested that it’s Leith that has provided the intel. Leith leads the attack on the Red Knights – or at least sets in motion before he is stabbed and left for dead!
Mary welcomes Gideon to her bed. Gideon is a bit worried about Elizabeth’s reaction to his failure, but he completely supports Mary’s actions. Gideon wants the animosities between their two nations to end – and Gideon seconds that wish as he kisses her.
The action then cuts to Lola’s execution. Something tells me that Mary isn’t going to take this well at all. Narcisse is in the crowd – and how cruel to “allow” him in! Lola sees him and begs him to leave – she doesn’t want him to watch it. She begs him to protect John and tell the boy she loves him every day.
Parker and Popplewell are both outstanding in this scene. Narcisse tries valiantly to fight his way to his wife and stop the execution, but of course, it’s hopeless. I was deeply saddened to lose Popplewell who has been a superb addition to the show since the very first episode.
Narcisse glares murderously at Elizabeth after the execution. Elizabeth is completely unremorseful. While I am a big fan of the historical Elizabeth, I find myself wanting this version to die a horrible death as soon as possible!
James is telling Mary about how the people have turned around in her favor since the speech, when Bash interrupts to tell them that there had been an assassination attempt on Elizabeth. Mary’s response is one of concern that Elizabeth is alright. And then Bash tells her of Lola’s involvement and beheading. Mary assumes that Elizabeth has done it because she was angry about Mary’s success in Scotland.
James confronts Knox, assuming he was behind the assassination attempt. Knox denies that he would have tried to kill a Queen. James knows that Knox had a group working close to the English court. He’s also correctly surmised that even if the assassination attempt failed, the hostilities between Mary and Elizabeth would now be personal. Knox likens them to “two spiders in a jar” – they can’t co-exist and sometimes someone has to give the jar a shake.
Knox tells James that Mary can’t come after him because he is the religious leader of the country. He advises James to play all sides – as he’s always done. He them suggests that Mary’s rule can’t last and James could be the leader of the first true democracy since the Ancient Greeks! Unfortunately, James looks interested.
Shona promises to help teach Bash the old ways. But first, he has to admit that he’s seen things that others have not. She promises him that there’s a better way for him to serve Mary. Bash tells Mary he’s leaving to join a band of Druids. Bash confesses he’s seen the dead. He wants to learn to be a seer to help her in that way. He promises to come to Mary when she needs him the most.
Catherine has Henry (Tomaso Sanelli) brought back to court to serve as a reminder to Charles – and everyone else – of how replaceable Charles is. Charles reminds her that she spoke of family coming before everything else, and she tells him that he taught her otherwise!
There’s a beautiful shot of Mary on a heather covered hill – which I assume was CGI. She meets Gideon to ask him to spy on Elizabeth for her as Elizabeth asked him to spy on her. He assumes it’s because she’s angry about Lola, but Mary isn’t about revenge. She doesn’t want anyone else in her life to die, trying to protect or save her. Mary doesn’t want to kill Elizabeth, but the episode ends with her vowing to take England!
So many balls in the air! Will Charles be able to rule? Will he come to a more amenable agreement with Catherine? What will Narcisse do? Will he join Mary against Elizabeth or will he bring France’s power against her? Will Gideon work for Mary? Will Bash return? What did you love/hate about the finale? What are you hoping will happen in this last season? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
