Reign - Recap: Super Bash Brothers

Recap and review of Reign - Episode 9 - For King and Country:

In returning from midseason break, Reign needed to raise the stakes of its central story. I've never really had an issue with the love story being so central to the overall narrative of the series, since the romance between potential rulers inherently carries more dramatic weight than most other romances (although a romance is only as dramatically substantive as the show makes it; a good script could make the romance between two high schoolers feel like the pivot point of the universe). But now that we're headed into the second half of the season, Reign needed to do more with its story than just have the romance between Mary (Adelaide Kane) and Francis (Toby Regbo) become one long "Will They?/Won't They?" Thankfully, "For King and Country" provides a new dynamic to the story that keeps it from stagnating, as the love triangle has officially taken off in a big way. And it has far-reaching, kingdom-changing implications. Sure, the show keeps its narrative locked tight on the love story, but there's a lot more going on around it.

Credit: The CW

The story of "For King and Country" centers on Mary's attempts to save Francis by finding a way out of their marriage arrangement. Gone is the "on the run" cliffhanger of the midseason finale, as Mary and Bash (Torrance Coombs) are captured almost immediately and returned to the castle. King Henry (Alan Van Sprang) imprisons Bash and threatens to have him beheaded if Mary doesn't marry Francis, since the marriage would essentially give Henry control over three countries: France, Scotland, and England. Mary is pretty much backed into a corner, faced with either marrying Francis and risking the death of one brother, or refusing to marry Francis and assuring the death of the other. And so, with her options dwindling, Mary decides she's going to tell Francis the truth about the prophecy, against the objections of Queen Catherine (Megan Follows), who accurately predicts that Francis will chalk up her concern to superstition. When Mary spills the beans, Francis is understandably irked that she would throw away their love on the ramblings of a glorified magician. But Mary is convinced the prophecy is true, since Nostradamus (Rossif Sutherland) was accurately able to predict Aylee's death. Mary sends Francis away, and it looks as though their relationship is doomed. Of course, there are still certain things Mary doesn't know about Aylee's death.

Credit: The CW

Mary learns from Kenna (Caitlin Stasey) that Aylee was poisoned, and that the culprit was likely Sebastian's mother, Diane (Anna Walton). Kenna's theory is that the poison was intended for her, although Mary has a theory that runs even deeper, suggesting that Catherine was behind the poisoning. And she gets this theory confirmed by Catherine, who admits that she gave Diane the poison, but didn't actually think she'd go through with it, which just seems wildly uncharacteristic of Catherine. I mean, I could understand if the intention was to imply she's lying about her culpability, but we're given no real reason to suspect that she's not being honest. And if that's the case, it's a strange departure for a character who's normally among the better-written in the ensemble, as I just can't imagine Catherine wouldn't have known what was going to happen the minute she gave Diane that poison. But this is a minor issue, as there are bigger fish to fry...

In case we viewers forgot, Nostradamus visits Clarissa in a makeshift dungeon behind the walls of his room, and helpfully reminds us that it was she who killed Aylee, in order to convince Mary of Nostradamus's predictive powers. Clarissa is shackled and tormented by Nostradamus, who threatens to starve her if she doesn't start behaving. He also threatens to revoke her privileges to the castle, as they'd had an agreement that Clarissa could have her run of the place as long as she stayed out of the affairs of its inhabitants. Clarissa, sick of being forced to hang around in dungeons, removes a sharp object embedded inside a stuffed doll in her cell, and uses it to free herself from the shackles and stab Nostradamus in the neck. So now we've got a crazy girl with a sack over her head on the loose in the castle. Sounds like fun. Hopefully, she doesn't go pushing anyone else down a flight of stairs.

Credit: The CW

So with all these different factors in play, we circle back around to Mary's decision on how she's going to handle the choice between marrying Francis and ensuring his death, or refusing to marry Francis and ensuring Bash's. Ultimately, Mary comes up with a third option: she proposes to have Bash legitimized as the true heir of France, so she could then marry him, thereby giving the King what she wants while also allowing her to save the lives of both brothers. It's actually a fairly genius compromise, since Diane had already garnered some support in Italy for the idea of legitimizing Bash, and legitimizing a royal bastard is not exactly without precedent. Of course, to do this, Henry would have to annul his marriage to Catherine, essentially disinheriting Francis and sending he and his mother into obscurity and ruin. But Mary's priority is to keep Francis alive -- not that he understands or appreciates the sacrifice, flying into a rage and pummeling Bash into a bloody pulp in his cell. Bash isn't all that happy about it either, as he never wanted his brother's throne, nor did he agree with his mother's plan to change the order of succession. But the wheels are already in motion, and so Henry agrees to the match, though not without admitting that he still loves Francis. "I may have been more of a father to you than to Francis," Henry tells Bash, "but Francis is still my son."

As the newly-minted couple convenes in the court, Francis arrives and basically makes his peace with the situation. It's actually kind of poignant, as Francis admits that he was always a bit jealous of Bash, so it's somewhat fitting that he now has the woman he loves. Francis seems weirdly serene throughout this entire monologue, telling Mary he would have done anything for her, and still would. But he's accepted her decision, and so he's going to make the most of the freedom he now has -- a sense of freedom that once belonged to Bash, but doesn't any longer, now that he is to be the king of France. It's an effective scene, even if it undercuts the drama somewhat by having Francis seemingly get over the loss of Mary (to his own brother!) too quickly. But I enjoyed it all the same, as Toby Regbo is far better than he's getting any credit for being, at least among critics of the show. "Long may you reign," Francis tells the couple, and departs.

So all that remains is for Henry to travel to the Vatican to meet with the Pope and hopefully secure an annulment, allowing him to declare Diane queen and Bash legitimate. Henry leaves, but not before preventing Catherine from escaping safely to a convent. Instead, he has her imprisoned with an armed watch at all times, as he can't afford to have her meddling in his plans from afar. This essentially puts Mary and Catherine on the same side: against Henry. It adds a bit more oomph to the feud between Mary and Catherine, which is among the central conflicts of the series. Hell, I'd argue of everyone in the cast, it's Mary and Catherine who have the best, most organic story, as the former Queen teaches the new, through her antagonism. And, over time, they develop a begrudging respect for one another. You could see the hints of it here, as Catherine seems to show empathy for the situation Mary's gotten herself into, telling her that queens like them don't have the luxury of happiness. It's a bit on the nose, but it fits in this instance. In fact, I'd argue there wasn't very much about this episode that didn't fit, and that's definitely a sign of growth for Reign.

Credit: The CW

"For King and Country" is a solid hour on which to return from break, as the plot now has a lot more weight behind it, with the fate of three countries hanging on the thread of a love triangle. It's engaging stuff, even when it hinges on a somewhat silly supernatural angle such as the prophecy. More often than not, I enjoy the things Reign gets right far more than I dislike the things it might get wrong, whether it's a period detail, the pacing of the narrative, or an incongruous storytelling choice. Ultimately, my fondness for Reign runs a lot deeper than its surface offerings, and "For King and Country" has a lot more going on beneath the surface than most episodes.