Season two of Reign premieres on Thursday, October 2 at 9et/8c. Season one garnered a loyal following and with good reason. The story may not be entirely historically accurate, but it is tightly written and compelling. In addition to strong acting, it features gorgeous sets and costumes, and the show manages to incorporate more modern elements in a mostly charming way. I thought for those curious about the show, and those that just need a quick refresher, I’d take a quick look back at season one and briefly take a look at what we might expect coming up. Spoilers will appear at the end of the article!
The season one finale, “Slaughter of Innocence” was written by Doris Egan and Laurie McCarthy and directed by David Frazee. Showrunner McCarthy will also pen the season two opener “The Plague.” The title of the episode is a reflection of both the innocents who are slaughtered in King Henry’s (Alan Van Sprang) victory celebration and also of the loss of both Francis’s (Toby Regbo) and Mary’s (Adelaide Kane) innocence as they both must now embrace what it means to be rulers. It also nicely points to the many who will no doubt die from the plague in this new season.
Van Sprang will be missed, and his acting in this final episode was outstanding as he goes from creepily lascivious towards Mary to utterly mad to heartbreakingly clear-headed and dying. Mary had tried to spare Francis from having to get his hands dirty or face the weight of being involved with his father’s death, but when Henry decides he will kill his own son and marry his wife, Francis has no choice but to disguise himself as the jouster and defeat his father, killing him with a splinter through Henry’s eye. On his deathbed, Henry reveals that he’d poisoned his own brother – ironically ALSO named Francis – to gain the throne in the first place. Francis is clearly consumed with guilt over having killed his father. Will he be able to live with what he’s done? Will he now worry that the madness or the murderous tendency will be passed to his own children? Regbo also delivers a powerful performance in the episode, particularly in the final scene with Van Sprang.
Mary, urged by Christian (Gil Darmell), decides to declare her intention to be a leader and shows up to the joust in a beautiful dress decorated by the rampant lion of England. She and Francis both worry about what ruling will do to them. Will it harden them into people they no longer even recognize? Yet, rulers must make the hard choices with little regard to personal comfort or often wishes. They promise to be honest with one another, and Mary finally confesses to Francis that Lola’s (Anna Popplewell) baby is his. She tells him that she’s telling him because Lola has given her permission. Francis rushes off to save her and the baby as she’s sent a note saying she is in labor and in danger of dying. Naturally, just before Francis leaves, the castle receives word of the plague. Francis insists on going even though Mary warns him they are sealing the castle. Will Mary let them back in if they do return to the castle?
For me, Megan Follows (Queen Catherine) has simply been outstanding week in and week out, and the finale is no exception as we see her peel back yet another layer at Henry’s side on his deathbed. We see that he really was the love of her life and there is real loss there – until Henry ruins the moment by bringing up his mistress. Not only does he bring her up, but he charges Catherine with taking Diane (Anna Walton) under her wing! Follows is brilliant as you see the subtle shift from softness to hurt back to hardness as she promises to do as Henry asks. Now that he’s dead, will she honor that promise? I loved Catherine cautioning Mary at the joust about the dangers of up-staging your boss. I wonder if Catherine will heed her own advice when Mary is her boss?
It also remains to be seen whether Greer (Celina Sinden) will honor her promise to Lord Castleroy (Michael Therriault) and marry him or whether she will be swayed by her love of Leith (Jonathan Keltz). Her determination to honor her promise to Castleroy and provide for her family seems to be challenged when she thinks Leith has died, but she remains firm, sending him away. He seems to have fallen rather quickly under the charms of a mysterious young lady, who turns out to be none other than Lord Castleroy’s daughter, Yvette (Sarah Winter)! Now that Francis is King, he can, after all, give Leith the title that he wanted to. Would that be enough to satisfy Greer’s concerns about her sisters? I for one have come to very much like Castleroy, so I hope that Greer doesn’t break his heart! However, did Greer know he had a daughter almost her age? Is he hiding secrets too?
Bash (Torrance Coombs) finally unravels the secret of the Darkness with the help of Nostradamus (Rossif Sutherland). Bash saves Kenna (Caitlin Stasey) and Pascal (Lucius Hoyos) from the Darkness and kills him. This brought this storyline to a satisfying conclusion though no doubt we are likely not done with the pagans just yet given that the Darkness’ prophecy comes true with the start of the plague, and Pascal is still his chosen one. Will others come to try to claim Pascal for the Darkness? Will Bash learn that he’s the one who killed Pascal’s father? Will Pascal forgive Bash or try to seek revenge? Interestingly, of all the women, Bash and Kenna (Caitlin Stasey) seem to be in the happiest marriage.
I have to admit that when Reign premiered, I was distracted by the less than historical costuming, the more colloquial dialogue, and the music choices. I also wasn’t that taken with the more supernatural elements of the show – such as Clarissa (Katie Boland). Of course, they wrapped up the Clarissa storyline quickly and the costuming, music, and dialogue all improved as the season progressed. I particularly liked how they took popular pieces of music and had them re-arranged to sound more time appropriate. In point of fact, the show is actually often quite accurate historically. One of the great results of watching the show is that it’s certainly made me more curious about French history at this time. I’ve always been enamored of British history at this time, but knew less about Mary, Queen of Scots and the French. For instance, Henry and his brother Francis were held for years by the Spanish as hostages for their father, and it did have a lasting impact on them. Francis III was thought to have been poisoned after drinking water after a tennis match. It was, however, thought to be more likely tuberculosis. On the other hand, Catherine de Medici was also known to dabble in the occult and be proficient in poisons!
All of the characters had strong arcs, and I’m impressed with how far they came in this first season. We see both Mary and Francis grow to be ready to take over as monarchs, though no doubt there will be a lot more for them to learn! I was surprised to see all of the ladies married or at least engaged by the end of the season. It’s a bold move of the show not to drag the storylines out and one of the shows greatest strengths.
So, what has been teased about the upcoming season? You can always get a full run down on the spoilers for Reign on SpoilerTv here. But some of the highlights are that we will see the plague devastate France. It will have victims and will have other repercussions such as famine. Lola and her baby will survive and come to court. There will be a LOT of sex. Mary and Francis will experience growing pains in ruling as the nobility jockey for favor and influence over them. The lack of an heir will continue to be an issue.
Jonathan Keltz is now a series regular, and Leith and Francis’ friendship will grow. Francis and Bash will grow closer again in the coming season as well. Sean Teale also joins the cast as a regular as Conde, Prince of the Blood. Rossif Sutherland returns as a recurring character and Rose Williams joins the cast in the recurring role of Princess Claude, Francis’ younger sister, who lives to torment Catherine. Also returning as recurring are Michael Therriault, Sarah Winter, and Lucius Hoyos. Further additions to the recurring cast are Craig Parker as Narcisse and Camille Stopps as Estelle. Narcisse is linked to Catherine as a “sparring” partner. The only information so far on Estelle is a tweet from Stopps that Estelle will provide a new perspective on the world of the show. No word yet on whether Anna Walton, Gil Darnell or Giacomo Gianniotti (Lord Julien/Remy) will be back. Personally, I’d love to see Tahmoh Penikett return as Mary’s barely controllable mercenary, John.
Has the hiatus felt like a famine to you? What are you most excited to see in this new season? What are you hoping to see happen in this first episode and this season? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Don’t forget to tune in to the first episode Thursday, October 2 at 9ET/8c on the CW. New this year will be a best scene poll for the show, so be sure to pop back to SpoilerTV and vote after the episode airs!
