Reign - Recap: Husband and Strife

Neither Mary (Adelaide Kane) nor Francis (Toby Regbo) can afford the privilege of all that normal romance entails: they can't afford to be making promises to one another, because of the high probability that matters of state will necessitate those promises being broken; yet neither can they afford to be at odds with one another when those promises fall through, since the fate of nations hang on the stability of the alliance as represented through their marriage. They also can't afford the leisurely pace commoners enjoy when deciding to start a family. It's been months since their wedding, and Mary's inability to produce an heir has already been noted. She isn't just on a biological clock, here. It's far more serious than that for her -- and even then, it's only one facet of the plight that faces her, and her marriage, in "Toy Soldiers". This was a damn good episode simply for how it illustrated the impossible situation facing Mary and Francis: in effect, they don't get to be a regular married couple that gets to be mad at each other, because too much is riding on their every decision. And while every decision seems marked by good intentions, the result is often far less agreeable, yet no less necessary.

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This is a busier episode than most, since it's that rare episode where the entire ensemble has some role to play. Well, except for Nostradamus (Rossif Sutherland). Oh, and Lola (Anna Popplewell). But then, it's not as if Lola's been forgotten. Especially in light of Mary's own failure to reproduce so far. In a way, it feeds into the overall theme of marriage that runs through the episode. It's been a month since Mary was imprisoned in the tower by Francis, and she's now free yet no closer to traveling to Scotland. This, despite the fact that her mother continues to face upheaval from a restless populace. Enter Richard (Gil Darnell), Mary's uncle and the brother of Mary de Guise. He's a ruthless mercenary with his own legion of soldiers, mainly culled from local villages. In his introductory scene, he comforts the grief-stricken mother of one of his dead young soldier by offering her payment...in exchange for replacing the dead son with her youngest. And it's not an offer so much as an order. Thus, we see exactly what kind of a man Mary will be dealing with, and Francis as well, since he's the one in a position to give Richard what he wants. Long story short, Richard will agree to send his troops to Scotland's aid only if Francis makes him his right-hand man once he's king. Francis reluctantly agrees, and decides to go to Scotland with Richard in order to ensure his commitment. And like that, Francis and Mary's marriage seems repaired. Except for the troubles of a different marriage getting in their way...

King Henry (Alan Van Sprang) continues to lose his ever-loving mind, deciding he's going to reclaim the French territory of Calais from the English. This is virtually impossible from a military standpoint, but Catherine (Megan Follows) has already got things under control. For one, she's managed to pay off all of Henry's military counselors, with orders not to carry out any of Henry's ridiculous commands. Secondly, she's managed to keep Henry from having his mind preoccupied by Penelope (Kathryn Prescott), who claims she's pregnant with Henry's love child. Catherine knows it's a lie, but instead of using that lie to crush Penelope, she instead turns it into an advantage by offering Penelope a deal to be trained in Italy in the delicate art of high-class manners and deception, in exchange for her loyalty. Penelope is all too happy to agree, and it's as if Catherine has become the master of managing a difficult marriage, given how superbly she keeps Henry in line. Except...well, things kind of go off the rails towards the end of the episode, as Henry has discovered Catherine bribing his men, and has turned them back to his side. Infuriated that Queen Mary Tudor has decided to name her younger half-sister Elizabeth the next Queen of England instead of Mary, Henry decides to have his men march on Calais -- for real this time. Caught between honoring his agreement to help Mary, and protecting France from English dominion, Francis chooses to commit Richard's troops to helping his father retake Calais. Mary is not only heartbroken, but furious -- yet also understanding.

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In the episode's best scene, she takes Francis to task for breaking pretty much every promise he's ever made her, from promising to take her to Scotland, to promising her troops to help fight her cause back at home. And while she knows she's not exactly wrong to be mad, she also realizes that Francis is only doing what he must to protect his country, as she would do for Scotland if the tables were turned. Francis may not think his justification for the move (that losing Calais puts Scotland in as much jeopardy as France) rings hollow, but to Mary, it's just more empty promises. She goes as far as to openly express her regret for having ever married Francis, saying that there were countless alliances and treaties she could have made, yet she rejected them all out of her love for him. It's a stark, harrowing moment for their marriage, as Mary seems to regret what she's saying almost as soon as the words fall out of her mouth, yet she has no other way to express her hurt but to say them. It's pretty compelling, this constant battle between the need to maintain a royal temperament and the desire to just feel and express the emotions anyone would feel. But Mary and Francis don't have the luxury to feel as deeply and as recklessly as their subjects, which makes it kind of a tragic love. Though Mary is still mad, she forces Francis to promise her two things: to no longer make her any more empty promises, and to do everything he can to come back to her from the battle in Calais. Adelaide Kane and Toby Regbo do terrific work here, portraying Mary and Francis as two people doing their duty, yet also feeling something much deeper than duty requires. And it looks like the story of their fractures marriage will only become more potent in the weeks to come, as Mary tells the other girls that although she must forgive Francis for putting his country first, he'll have to forgive her for doing the same when the time comes. It could be a royal version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, with husband and wife working at cross purposes. And I couldn't be more invested.

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The rest of the episode continues the overall theme of marriage, and the amount of work it requires to make such a connection work. Bash (Torrance Coombs) decides to go all-in on his marriage to Kenna (Caitlin Stasey), and basically arranges for them to spend the entire day in their quarters consummating their union. What seems purely physical is actually a focused act of erasure for both Bash and Kenna. Bash tells Kenna he wants her to forget about every man that's come before him, and while this is framed as a sort of playful commentary, it's clear that he wants to obliterate the memory of his father (and what he did to her) from her mind. Kenna, meanwhile, can tell Bash is troubled after he returns to the bedroom following an encounter in the halls, where he sees Francis kissing Mary. She tells him that she wants him to remember what it's like to be with his wife, and to put everything else out of his mind. For as much as Kenna and Bash want the other to forget their past significant others, it's clear they want to forget just as badly themselves. It's kind of a dark, mature story, not just for its sexual content.

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That story makes for a fitting contrast to the sugary sweet tale of Lord Castleroy (Michael Thierrault) putting Greer's emotionally-abusive father in his place. He does this by offering him a deal to make his family wealthy again, on the condition that Greer gets final say on the marriage contracts of her younger sisters. With Castleroy footing the bill for their dowry, he wants Greer to be able to make certain the girls are free to marry for love. And he offers Greer that same choice herself -- one she willingly accepts, as she finds that even she's shocked at how "right" her relationship with the kindhearted Castleroy is. He may be a bit older, but the script makes it impossible not to love this guy. Seriously. And it provides a separate interpretation of marriage, as Castleroy/Greer are courtship, Kenna and Bash are the (awkward) honeymoon phase, Francis and Mary are at the phase where the bloom is gradually coming off the rose, and Catherine and Henry have reached "old married couple" status. All things come in phases, just like stories themselves.

"Toy Soldiers" plays sort of like Reign's treatise on marriage, and the difficulties of making any union work. It's just as hard to make a marriage work when two people love each other (such as Mary and Francis do) much less when two people are openly contemptuous of one another (like Henry and Catherine) or in an awkward phase of getting to know one another (like Kenna and Bash, or Greer and Castleroy). It's a theme that's not only germane to the story being told, but relevant to modern audiences, I think. Sure, it's not saying anything new to declare "Marriage is hard," but there's value in making that statement resonate. And it's something I feel Reign pulled off spectacularly well here.