Reign - Recap: We Are the Outside World

The story picks up off of last week: Mary has condemned Edward Narcisse to a slow, painful death in a cell with other Plague sufferers, and that decision reverberates throughout this week's episode, as Edward's father, Lord Narcisse (Craig Parker), demands retribution for his son's murder. This means calling for the head of Nostradamus (Rossif Sutherland), who was among the conspirators that worked alongside Mary in organizing Edward's murder. He also demands the deaths of the guards involved in the act, and it quickly becomes apparent that he has the power to force Mary's hand, even if she doesn't want to condemn any innocent men to death. Lord Narcisse not only controls the lands that produce the grain that sustains the kingdom, he also controls the nobles, who, as we learned from Catherine (Megan Follows) last week, give the crown its power. If the nobles revolt, it won't be long before Mary and Francis are overthrown and the kingdom embroiled in chaos. So how does Mary get out of her situation without compromising her principles? It's a similar problem to the issue Mary faced last week when trying to decide what to do about Edward's blackmail attempts. Like father, like son. Except, this time, the problem is Francis' as well, as he has to save face with the nobles after Mary's impulsive act against Edward.

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It's a fairly rich story, and is the best part about the episode, as Lord Narcisse cuts an intimidating, indomitable figure as someone who can't be cowed by royal blood. He honestly doesn't care that Mary is his Queen, or that Francis is his King. He knows that there is no kingdom without the nobles, telling Mary, point-blank: "We are the outside world. And we surround you." Craig Parker plays Narcisse with a fierce confidence that makes an instant impression, both on Mary and on the narrative of the show. He's dangerously immovable, refusing to compromise, and demanding that Nostradamus be drawn and quartered while the soldiers involved meet a similarly gruesome death. Of course, what makes this such a pressure-inducing storyline is that it's hardly even the only thing on Francis' plate: 1) he has to decide whether or not he's going to claim the son he had with Lola (Anna Popplewell), wondering if this might be the only child he'll ever have. For her part, Catherine thinks Francis should claim the child, since Henry's refusal to claim Bash (Torrance Coombs) created a divide between father and son that was never healed. 2) Bash discovers the villagers are convinced that the spirits of the Plague victims remain on Earth, as the mass deaths have caused a door to open between this world and the next, meaning Francis has to figure out how to handle the mounting unrest among the common populace, in addition to handling things with the nobles. In short, it kind of sucks to be the king right now.

As for the ghost problem, the villager Bash encounters tells him that the spirits are restless and want revenge over the unsettled matters of their lives, echoing the words of the little dead girl in Bash's hallucination last week regarding a "reckoning". And...yeah. The occult has never done all that much for me on this show. It doesn't particularly bother me, per se, but it doesn't add as much to the show as the writers probably think. That said, it does lead to a genuinely chilling moment that nearly reversed my entire stance just for how completely eerie it was. But more on that in a bit, as the primary story of this episode remains squarely focused on Francis and Mary's attempts to get Narcisse out of their hair. Luckily, Mary is resourceful and quickly deduces that the vendetta Edward had last week wasn't his own, but rather his father's. And she wants to know why a son would take up his father's vendetta on his own. Of course, the answer is that he didn't up-and-decide to seek the death of a rival noble on his own. He did it on his father's orders. So who was Lord Volant, and why did Lord Narcisse want him dead? By talking to a priest, Mary quickly ascertains the truth: Narcisse and Volant were embezzling from the Vatican, and murdered a cardinal to cover up their crimes. Racked with guilt over his role in the crime, Volant was contemplating confessing, which is why Narcisse wanted him dead. Mary feels she can use this information to blackmail Narcisse right back, and it's actually a pretty solid plan. Unfortunately, Mary can't use the testimony of the priest, since it's protected by confessional privilege. And besides, he wouldn't want to testify anyway, arguing he'd be killed in the blink of an eye. So Mary must find another way to bring Narcisse down.

Throughout all of this, Nostradamus is virtually a dead man walking, shackled in the cells and awaiting his date with the horses. Catherine comes to visit him, and reveals that, unfortunately, there's nothing she can do to save him. However, she promises to see that his memory lives on through sonnets, books, and statues. In a wonderful moment for Sutherland, Nostradamus bitterly lashes out at Catherine. "After all I've done for you!" he roars. Catherine suddenly turns every bit as sour, telling Nostradamus, "You have brought this on yourself!" It's a wonderfully acidic turn from Follows, as she goes from sweet to venomous at the drop of a hat. And Sutherland matches her bitterness with his own, as Nostradamus taunts her in response: "You think you're untouchable. That your sins will stay buried. But they don't. Surely, you realized that when you met your daughter," referencing Clarissa. Catherine, suddenly horrified at the possibility that Nostradamus' prophecy regarding Francis' death has changed begs him to tell her if Clarissa is still alive, and if this means that Francis may still die. "Ask your statue," he spews at her, and it's just such a wonderfully vindictive response that caps off a scene between two characters who've been narrowly concealing their disdain for years now. It was one of my favorite scenes of the episode, right up there with the climax...

With the help of Francis, Mary pulls off a fairly genius little trick on Narcisse. Moments before Nostradamus is to be drawn and quartered, Mary orders the execution halted, confronting Narcisse with "letters" containing Lord Volant's "confession" to the crimes of embezzlement and murder. She orders Narcisse to release him, but before he can, Francis comes along and orders Mary to stand down. An argument breaks out between husband and wife, with Francis reminding her that she is not the king, and holds no sway over him in these matters. He sends her away so he can deal with Narcisse directly. Satisfied that Francis is finally ready to do business, Narcisse agrees to Francis' terms: he'll allow Nostradamus and the soldiers to be released if Francis will promise him lands of his choosing. Francis agrees to the terms and burns the "letters", and the situation with Narcisse is finally over for now. Francis meets up with Mary, and they celebrate having put one over on Narcisse. There never were any confession letters. Everything from the letters to the argument were all a trick. It might be a bit of an inelegant solution, but the episode essentially solved the quandary of how Francis and Mary could get away with overcoming a major threat without compromising their principles. They've freed the soldiers, and Nostradamus has been allowed to flee court with Mary's blessing. However, I don't expect these sorts of solutions to present themselves every week. Part of the narrative of this season seems to be that there will inevitably come a time at which Mary and Francis can no longer avoid compromising their principles. Rulership is about sacrifice and accepting the necessities of that responsibility.

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For example, at the end of the episode, Mary gives Francis her blessing to give Lola's son his name and publicly claim him. This is her sacrifice for Francis, understanding that for the child to have any chance at a good life, he'll need a father who is actively involved in her life. She lets go of her own feelings of pain and resentment to allow Francis to have a relationship with his son, and it's a lovely little moment that Regbo and Kane play very well, as their chemistry onscreen continues to grow each week. Meanwhile, Francis must sacrifice as well: the lands Narcisse demands as part of the deal belong to Leith (Jonathan Keltz). Francis has no choice but to strip his friend of his lands, leaving him with nothing but a title. All in all, it's been a pretty crummy week for Leith, as Lord Castleroy (Michael Therriault) condemns him for Yvonne's death, arguing that if he'd never gotten involved with her, she'd still be alive. He also condemns Leith for continuing to desire Greer (Celina Sinden) while simultaneously attempting to rise above his station in order to spite her. Lord Castleroy strikes Leith, leaving him with a bloody lip and a bruised ego. Greer tries to smooth things over with Leith later, but he doesn't want to hear it, nor does Lord Castleroy want to allow it. He eventually leaves Greer behind to visit his other children for an undisclosed amount of time, uncertain of when he'll return. This leaves her feeling as lousy as Leith, although I'd argue losing your girlfriend and your lands in the same week is worse than having your husband chew you out for showing sympathy to your ex. That said, I'm not really sure where Leith goes from here. Of course, dating back to Season 1, I never really knew what his function in the story was meant to be anyway, since his and Greer's stories hardly ever tie into the rest of the show.

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However, while Leith has it bad, Francis is every bit as swamped with matters of state. He promotes Bash to the role of King's Deputy in order to keep an eye on the rumblings in the village. In essence, he needs someone he can trust to keep track of all this talk of spirits, and it's better to have someone familiar with the Pagan lifestyle to do the job. That said, even with those measures in place, Francis finds himself confronted by the specter of the past: in an absolutely chilling sequence, the nanny picks up Francis' son and begins speaking in a gruff, almost disembodied voice, recounting how she held Francis like this as a child, before things went to ruin. Francis demands to know who this nanny is, to which she responds, "Don't you recognize your own father, usurper?" Francis suddenly realizes the nanny is possessed by the spirit of the late King Henry, and no sooner does he male this realization than the nanny suddenly snaps back to reality, having remembered none of what just happened. It's haunting stuff that could play as more than a bit silly, but I thought the show handled it with just enough of a knowing nod to keep from seeming absurd. This is a show that is confident in its identity. It's a primetime soap, and it has no pretensions towards prestige. That self-awareness is why this show can get away with spiritual possession, while other dramas of its ilk can't. Hell, that's what I love about this show.

"Drawn and Quartered" is a great follow-up to what was a damn good season premiere. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this season for Reign, as Mary and Francis continue to grow as rulers, parallel with the mounting threats that surround them.