Reign - Recap: Innocence Is All Relative

"Higher Ground" is an episode that would have seemed unthinkable at the start of the season, if only because Mary, while strong and authoritative in her own right, never came across as the kind of person who'd willingly order someone's murder, particularly to frame them for a crime they didn't commit. But it seems less hard to believe following the precarious position Francis put her in last week. Sure, this episode tries to justify her actions by making certain that the person she has killed was about to kill someone else, there's a clear question of morality burning at the center of her decision. By the end of the episode, Mary is as close as she's ever been to being a ruler of cold necessity, and it makes for a striking portrayal, especially because Adelaide Kane seems to be portraying Mary as someone who, at some level, is still fighting the change. Reign doesn't always traffic in subtlety, but "Higher Ground" takes a narrative of broad strokes, and finds complexity in the telling. It's likely no surprise to anyone that I loved an episode of Reign, but this was as thematically substantive as it was enjoyable at a strictly soap operatic level, and that's not always the case. It's encouraging as Reign nears its first season finale.

Credit: The CW

While the overarching theme of the episode centers on the exigencies of rulership, there's an underlying current about...well, money. Lack of money makes desperate men of us all, high and low. Such is the case here, as Mary (Adelaide Kane) pleads with Catherine (Megan Follows) to pledge some of her own funds to help get her mother out of the terrible situation she's in back in Scotland, since troops won't exactly work for free. As an added incentive to help, Mary reminds Catherine of a debt she owes her mother, dating back to when Mary de Guise bailed Catherine out of an impossible situation of her own (a past that isn't entirely revealed to us. Suffice it to say, Catherine and Mary de Guise were friends, and that's all we need to know). However, Catherine claims that, in the intervening years, she's traded ten times that initial sum with Mary de Guise, so she sees the debt as having been paid, and then some. Thus, Mary is right back where she started, leaving her with no choice but to hire a mercenary to steal Catherine's hidden cache of funds in order to buy herself some troops. Of course, things get a bit out of hand when the mercenary abducts Catherine and ransoms her to her snobby, contemptuous cousins Roman and Hortenza, who are in town visiting because Henry is thankfully off in Paris. The mercenary swears he has things under control, but leadership in a time of war is a delicate balancing act, as Mary learns. And her husband is forced to learn the same lesson...

I found myself loving the Francis (Toby Regbo) side of things this week, mostly because of the earnestness of the performances at its center. Francis leads a skeleton crew against the English forces, and among them is, of all people, Leith (Jonathan Keltz), Greer's baker boy. Yes, the relevance of that particular storyline is finally revealed, as Leith saves Francis from a sword to the face, and teaches his Dauphin a valuable lesson about winning the loyalty of soldiers, as he explains to Francis that these are not men who fight for their country or for their lords and nobles, they fight for the people they love -- also, for money. What follows is a fairly poignant storyline, as Francis wins the loyalty of his men by promising he doesn't see them as chess pieces, and proves it by making sure they make it out of their mission alive. In a clever tactic, the men draw the attention of the English cannon atop a cliff, while Francis fires a flaming arrow into their gunpowder, sending the entire encampment up in a huge explosion, winning the day. Although not without cost, as Leith is critically wounded from one of the cannon shots. Leith pleads to be left for dead, but Francis begs him to think of someone he'd like to see again, a person worth fighting for. Without naming names, he tells the story of his romance with Greer (Celina Sinden), and how it could never work due to their class differences. It's then that Francis tells him that Kings can grant land and titles, and since Leith has just made a friend with the Dauphin of France, that's exactly what he'll get. This final push of encouragement, as Francis tells him to live on for Greer and for himself, inspires Leith back up to his feet. And right on time, too, as French forces regroup to march on Calais.

Credit: The CW

Both Francis and Mary's storylines speak to the necessities of rulership. Francis requires the confidence and loyalty of his men, particularly since he's not exactly a battle-tested commander. That's why the earnestness of Regbo and Keltz's respective performances add so much to the story, since there's a real sense of camaraderie there, of Francis having earned something in his attempts to be a good commander, and a good Prince (and possibly, someday, a good King). Mary's story, meanwhile, shows her making similarly hard decisions, but in a way that will leave emotional, moral scarring. When Catherine offers to double the pay of the mercenary if he brings her the head of the person responsible for ordering her abducted, the Queen assumes that Mary's head will be brought back to her. But, as the mercenary explains to Mary, they'll need someone to blame for this crime, meaning Mary must give him the name of the person who must die. Conflicted, she seeks the counsel of Bash (Torrance Coombs), who warns against committing any irrevocable acts. Even if it was a person deserving of death, a person whom the world would be better without, killing an innocent person is never without the stain of the morally objectionable. Mary takes his words under consideration, but when Hortenza threatens her and boasts about an enemy she plans to kill -- an innocent woman -- Mary rationalizes having Hortenza killed by saying she traded one life for another.

Credit: The CW

Once freed, Catherine doesn't entirely believe that the late Hortenza was behind the abduction, saying that even though she can't prove Mary had anything to do with it, she's worried that Mary has grown to become the kind of ruler who's now capable of something so harsh and desperate. In a touching reflection, Catherine recalls Mary's youth at court, and her role in raising her to be such a ruthless woman. But, as Catherine states, "I suppose innocence is all relative. I wonder how long Mary's will last? Because once gone, it can never be reclaimed." Which brings ill-tidings for the conclusion, as Mary not only obtains the money she needs from the mercenary, but also enlists his service in delivering it to Scotland with the aid of the troops she's purchased....the very same men responsible for the murder of her countrymen in the brothel. This even gives the mercenary pause, as he warns her that these men are "monsters". Which leaves Mary to chillingly respond, "Indeed, they are. But they're my monsters now." Truly, what ever innocence Mary had cultivated is slipping away as the demands of leadership grow more pressing. And it's an absolutely fascinating direction to take the character, and the series.

Credit: The CW

"Higher Ground" does have its clunkers though, as Kenna (Caitlin Stasey) enlists Bash to look into the background of Lord Julien (Giacomo Gianniotti), in order to set Lola (Anna Popplewell) at ease. Bash quickly discovers Julien's plans to bail with Lola's dowry, and it isn't long before Julien is confessing the truth of his financial situation to Lola. Turns out, while they both entered into the marriage for their own reasons of "survival," as Lola puts it, they've both fallen in love in the process. Julien promises never to lie to Lola again, and while it all seems like a beautiful, happy ending, I get the feeling that things are far from rainbows and sunshine with those two, particularly given that the man still has a history of losing wives in childbirth. Not saying he necessarily killed his wives, but at the very least, the man is unlucky.

Reign has its highs and its lows, and this week was, thankfully, a collection of highs and very few lows. As we near the season finale, the plotting has become tighter, charting Mary's moral degradation as necessity grows more intense, which contrasts nicely with how Francis only seems to be growing more noble and capable as a leader while under all this pressure. It's a striking difference between the two. Francis has been groomed for this role since birth, while Mary has been stashed away at a convent for most of her life. One knows how the game is played, while the other is still learning the ropes. In short, it should make for an interesting game of thrones as season one nears its end.

http://cms.springboardplatform.com/embed_iframe/3627/video/919493/rick001/rickey.org/10/1/