Reign Recap


Reign image

Oh Mary, poor Mary. Reign is one of the more intriguing shows on the air right now since it follows real historical characters in untenable situations while taking great (and highly entertaining) liberties with their predicaments. Currently, Mary is struggling. She doesn’t yet have a grasp on the complicated politics of the French court nor her own. This is largely due to the fact that she’s a teenager. It would be hard enough for any seasoned political figure, let alone a teenage girl. Mary is aware of the reaction she causes in her enemies, however her hands are basically tied. The tension between Mary’s suspicions and her powerlessness to do anything about them is utterly compelling. There’s only so much that even a Queen can do when she’s trapped in foreign territory with enemies at every side.

Early in the episode we find out that Colin actually hasn’t been beheaded after all. With Colin on the run, Queen Catherine is vulnerable. Her plots against Mary may come out after all. In addition, Simon, an English envoy to the French court, warns that England is aware of the weakness of her alliance with France, even going as far Mary is as terrified for multiple reasons – for her country and more importantly for her own life. True to history, the only thing that prevented England from taking immediate action against Scotland at this time was the potential of stoking the ire of the French army. Mary worries about this constantly, as she should.

We meet Francis, who is meant to help Mary navigate these pitfalls. He tells her they have to feign romance for the sake of the Englishmen at court. This will help conceal how weak the French-Scottish alliance truly is. It doesn’t hurt that both parties are startlingly attractive. Here, in their growing closeness, Mary also has the opportunity Francis just what his mother is up to. When she does, however, his immediate reaction is unbelieving. Francis doesn’t want to believe the worst of his mother and he has faith in his family. However, when one of Mary’s maids is killed as a result of a poisoned dress intended for her, the evidence begins to mount. When the body of the girl disappears, the certainties of Mary’s accusations are thrown into question.

Back to Colin, however. Bash is set to find him. For a while it seems as if he’s truly gone; that is until Bash finds him hanging from a tree. Who does Bash turn to for help with this brouhaha? Francis. Francis takes note that Colin was hung from the feet and not from the head – this means the English. Why would they want Colin dead? Mary confronts Simon after receiving a letter that leads her directly to his bedchambers…where she finds him in an awkward position…with the maid WE THOUGHT HAD DIED. All of this trickery was meant to scare Mary into returning home to Scotland and fleeing France. Our Mary isn’t so faint-hearted however. Simon tries a different route – dangling her potential succession onto the English throne.

Mary doesn’t want the English throne; all she wants to do is protect her homeland of Scotland. This won’t prove easy, however, since threats are coming at her from all sides. In a final twist of the episode we learn that it wasn’t the English that killed Colin – rather it was Catherine’s personal men. This leads to Francis fully backing Mary. A bold move this early in series, however one that will likely bring the two closer together, and quickly. The show doesn’t stay one hundred percent faithful to the history books, but what fun would that be? Tune into Reign on the CW on Thursday nights for further intrigue. Check local listings for times.


reign-recap

Reign image

Oh Mary, poor Mary. Reign is one of the more intriguing shows on the air right now since it follows real historical characters in untenable situations while taking great (and highly entertaining) liberties with their predicaments. Currently, Mary is struggling. She doesn’t yet have a grasp on the complicated politics of the French court nor her own. This is largely due to the fact that she’s a teenager. It would be hard enough for any seasoned political figure, let alone a teenage girl. Mary is aware of the reaction she causes in her enemies, however her hands are basically tied. The tension between Mary’s suspicions and her powerlessness to do anything about them is utterly compelling. There’s only so much that even a Queen can do when she’s trapped in foreign territory with enemies at every side.

Early in the episode we find out that Colin actually hasn’t been beheaded after all. With Colin on the run, Queen Catherine is vulnerable. Her plots against Mary may come out after all. In addition, Simon, an English envoy to the French court, warns that England is aware of the weakness of her alliance with France, even going as far Mary is as terrified for multiple reasons – for her country and more importantly for her own life. True to history, the only thing that prevented England from taking immediate action against Scotland at this time was the potential of stoking the ire of the French army. Mary worries about this constantly, as she should.

We meet Francis, who is meant to help Mary navigate these pitfalls. He tells her they have to feign romance for the sake of the Englishmen at court. This will help conceal how weak the French-Scottish alliance truly is. It doesn’t hurt that both parties are startlingly attractive. Here, in their growing closeness, Mary also has the opportunity Francis just what his mother is up to. When she does, however, his immediate reaction is unbelieving. Francis doesn’t want to believe the worst of his mother and he has faith in his family. However, when one of Mary’s maids is killed as a result of a poisoned dress intended for her, the evidence begins to mount. When the body of the girl disappears, the certainties of Mary’s accusations are thrown into question.

Back to Colin, however. Bash is set to find him. For a while it seems as if he’s truly gone; that is until Bash finds him hanging from a tree. Who does Bash turn to for help with this brouhaha? Francis. Francis takes note that Colin was hung from the feet and not from the head – this means the English. Why would they want Colin dead? Mary confronts Simon after receiving a letter that leads her directly to his bedchambers…where she finds him in an awkward position…with the maid WE THOUGHT HAD DIED. All of this trickery was meant to scare Mary into returning home to Scotland and fleeing France. Our Mary isn’t so faint-hearted however. Simon tries a different route – dangling her potential succession onto the English throne.

Mary doesn’t want the English throne; all she wants to do is protect her homeland of Scotland. This won’t prove easy, however, since threats are coming at her from all sides. In a final twist of the episode we learn that it wasn’t the English that killed Colin – rather it was Catherine’s personal men. This leads to Francis fully backing Mary. A bold move this early in series, however one that will likely bring the two closer together, and quickly. The show doesn’t stay one hundred percent faithful to the history books, but what fun would that be? Tune into Reign on the CW on Thursday nights for further intrigue. Check local listings for times.