Reign - A Better Man - Review

Reign “A Better Man” was written by the team of John J Sakmar and Kenny Lenhart and was directed by Dawn Wilkinson, whose other credits include Riverdale, Nashville, and Degrassi: The Next Generation. I really liked how the title of this episode ran through the various threads of the story. Darnley (Will Kemp) tries to be a better man for Mary (Adelaide Kane), but James (Dan Jeannotte) really is a better man. Elizabeth (Rachel Skarsten) looks for the best man to become her husband and finds that Gideon (Ben Geurens) is a better man – certainly better than Dudley. Charles (Spencer Macpherson) tries to be a better man and King but may not be as good as his brother Henry (Nick Slater). And finally, Narcisse’s (Craig Parker) efforts to be the better man Lola knew he could be is heartbreakingly thwarted in his efforts.

The episode begins in Scotland with Rizzio (Andrew Shaver) helping Darnley compose his coronation music. I’m really loving the addition of Shaver to the cast – and I love how they’ve written the character. We discover that Rizzio has moved up in the Court quickly and is actually now Mary’s private secretary – the post he held in real life. We also learn that he’s been assigned to keep Darnley busy and out from under Mary’s feet. Darnley asks to come to Mary’s chambers, and she puts him off. She’s taken Catherine’s (Megan Follows) advice and has been travelling to avoid having to sleep with Darnley again.

Lord Hamilton (Tyrone Savage) is coming to court and Mary is hoping to keep Darnley away from him as there is a blood feud between the Darnleys and Hamiltons because the Hamiltons murdered Darnley’s great grandfather. James points out that if Mary can convince the Hamiltons to side with her, as Protestants, it will demonstrate that she is a tolerant Queen. Mary tells James that he has to find out whatever he can about Knox’s (Jonathan Goad) plans by continuing to show an interest in Emily (Claire Hunter).

I loved the scene in which Mary tells James that she is pregnant. He’s immediately thrilled for her and tells her that she’s going to be a wonderful mother. When Greer (Celina Sinden) interrupts them, James is polite but immediately withdraws. Greer thinks she made a mistake by telling James that she had feelings for him that are clearly not returned. Mary insists that he’s simply respecting Greer’s “situation,” but Greer points out that Emily is also married. Mary cryptically tells her that things may be more complicated than they seem. It seemed like rather a plot hole for Mary not to confide in Greer completely about James working for her.

Mary welcomes Hamilton and his men to court and invites them to the Coronation to show a united front. Hamilton maintains that she should have married him, a Protestant. She’s asking him to turn his back on his family and its long-standing feud. He wants to know what’s in it for him. She promises him a seat on the Privy Council. Mary insists that she is only interested in the future – not the past.

Meanwhile, Greer takes the bull by the horns and accosts James, telling him she’s sorry if she made him uncomfortable by what she said at the wedding. James apologizes and says that he’s just been very busy with his duties. Greer doesn’t beat around the bush at all and asks him point blank if he has feelings for Emily Knox. James tells her that his life is complicated, but he hopes it won’t always be. He tells her he’s sorry and walks away only to come back and kiss her! He asks her to be patient with him.

Darnley is furious that Mary invited the Hamiltons, and Mary makes it even worse by telling him about her offer of a seat on the Privy Council! Darnley has it driven home that he is really just a figurehead – he’s not going to be helping make decisions or even be consulted. Mary tells him that she’d hoped it might be different, but his drinking, cheating, and blind ambition don’t make him a good choice for partner. Darnley insists that he’s been trying to do better – and Mary yells at him to “Try harder!” She points out that a better partner or King knows they must sometimes do things they hate for the good of the crown.

Darnley does try to make an effort and takes a bottle as a peace offering to Hamilton and invites him personally to the Coronation. Hamilton insults him until Darnley loses it over Hamilton’s family killing his grandfather. Hamilton throws back at him that a Catholic who turns Protestant still serves the same God, but a Scot who turns Englishman loses his soul. Darnley somehow manages to keep his temper and tells Hamilton that he hopes he’ll take the seat on the Privy Council. Hamilton throws back that he will and he will block everything Darnley tries to do to show everyone how weak and impotent Darnley is!

James goes to Emily, and she tells him that Knox knows all about them and is treating her like one of the animals on their farm. She knows that James was only using her and now she hates him more than she thought possible. She wants him to spirit her away to a new life in France, and in return, she tells him of a plot by Knox and Hamilton to kill Mary.

However, Emily is playing him and Knox has poisoned Hamilton against Mary, telling him that she is out to kill Hamilton. When the two groups meet in the hallway, Mary trying to escape the supposed assassination plot, Hamilton thinks it’s an ambush, and they engage. Naturally, Hamilton and all his men are killed so there’s no one to corroborate that Knox orchestrated the whole thing.

James determines that Mary must sacrifice him in order to regain any hope of winning the Protestants to her side. He insists she ban him from Scotland, insisting that she is a good and fair Queen and her people need her. He’s sorry he won’t be at her side to protect and advise her, but he insists that she summon Bothwell to take his place, trusting that no one else will be as dedicated to protecting her.

Mary calls Emily in front of her. Emily insists that the lies she told were no worse than those James told her. She’s prepared to die, and she warns Mary that anything she does to Knox will only make him a martyr. Mary determines that by far the worst punishment for Emily is to send her home to Knox to let him continue to punish her.

Mary publicly denounces James and banishes him, but she can’t stop herself from running after him tearfully and hugging him. Greer is angry – once again she lose the ‘better’ man of her dreams! Greer asks Mary how many more people she will sacrifice and wants to know if there was no other way. Mary vows to James that she will eventually bring him home.

Darnley actually shows some sense and suggests that in the end, the coronation should be a small, quiet affair as emotions are already running high. Darnley tells her that he didn’t provoke Hamilton, having found strength in her challenge to be a better man. He insists that he can protect and support her if she’ll let him. Once again, he asks if they can try to start a family, and Mary finally tells him that they already have – he’s thrilled and promises to be a good father and husband.

Meanwhile, in England, Elizabeth and Gideon are enjoying each other. It’s become personal for both of them, however. Gideon is trying to find her a husband – preferably Catholic – to help unite Scotland with them. Gideon, however, is clearly a little jealous when Elizabeth shows favor to one of her suitors.

When Gideon forgets his condom, she insists it doesn’t matter. She doesn’t know if she can get pregnant anyway. Maybe she’s barren? It’s better that she finds out before marriage – and Gideon takes offense and being treated like a stud horse. Of course, we know she can get pregnant because she was pregnant with Dudley’s child. The two ultimately make up, and Gideon assures her that he’s a ‘better man’ than Dudley as he will be able to accept their relationship for what it is.

In France, Nicole (Ann Pirvu) is doing a good job helping Charles shoulder the burdens of ruling. Catherine is still worried, however, because Leesa is insisting that Henry – who has just had a big win against the Turks – should take power. Catherine wants Nicole to convince Charles to abdicate and retire to the country and hopes he’ll be allowed to simply live in peace.

Narcisse goes to Nicole to enlist her help in getting Charles to abdicate. However, this all runs counter to Nicole’s own plans and desires. She doesn’t want to retire to the country – she wants to be in the thick of the action at Court, and furthermore, she declares that she’s in love with Narcisse. When it’s clear that he doesn’t really return her feelings, she is enraged and refuses to do his bidding any longer. Can I just pause her to say that Pirvu is terrible? I felt bad for Parker having to share scenes with her.

When Protestants take Catholics hostage in a church, Catherine insists that Narcisse win back Nicole’s favor. It’s a nice echo of Mary’s words to Darnley – sometimes you have to do something you hate for the good of the country. However, if Charles doesn’t put the uprising down, Leesa will take his crown and abdicating won’t be an option.

Narcisse goes to Nicole, and Parker is brilliant in this scene. He tells Nicole that he feels like loving her is a betrayal to Lola, but he can’t erase Nicole from his mind. It’s utterly clear that the first half of his statement is true and the second part is a lie. Nicole believes it all, however, and is happy to convince Charles to have the Protestant uprising put down.

Catherine is pleased and thanks Narcisse, and the true anguish it cost him is apparent as he tells Catherine, “and all it cost me was the desecration of my wife’s memory.”

The Protestants are defeated, and Charles first thought is for how many soldiers he’d sent to their deaths. Catherine leads him out to the crowds who call him their savior and Charles takes heart from their approval, even going back to sparring, preparing to actually lead his armies in the field. He’s finally ready to be King and tells Catherine so.

Naturally, this is when Henry arrives. Catherine informs him that there’s been a change of plans. Charles is recovered, and Henry doesn’t need to step in and take over. Henry says good, it’s a relief, and Catherine presses that he’s not disappointed? Henry denies being disappointed, saying he’s a Prince and gets to do whatever he wants – why would he want the burden of being King? Catherine is relieved, but it seems obvious that Henry isn’t pleased and does want to be King.

I liked how the themes of this episode wove through the three storylines. There’s so much more story to tell, I can’t imagine how they can do it all! I have to wonder how they will close the series out. What are you most hoping to see? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!