Reign - 1.12 - Royal Blood - Will the house of Medici fall?

‘Royal Blood’

‘The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it.
- George Bernard Shaw

Greetings Royals! Yep, I'm officially and hopelessly in love with Reign. When it was announced that Reign officially had a season 2, I scurried to get all caught up with Reign, so I could start doing reviews for the rest of the season.

There are a few things you should know:
1) I’m not a shipper (but I love shippers because they bring so much passion and zeal to the comments).
2) I just got all caught up with season 1 once I heard there would be a season 2.
3) I haven’t been on any boards or forums for the show, YET, so if I get some of the fandom stuff wrong, I apologize in advance.

OK, well let’s just get right into the recap and review portion of this article, shall we?
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Title: Royal Blood |Story by: Wendy Riss Gatsiounis /Teleplay by: Alan McCullough |Director: Holly Dale=====================================================================
My thoughts on the writer…
The story was by Wendy Riss Gatsiounis who last wrote episode 1x06: Chosen. As far as I can she really likes to put Mary and Bash at odds and have them come together over the weekly lesson that was had. Meanwhile the teleplay (aka the heavy lifting) was done by Alan McCullough. The last episode he wrote was 1x09: For King and Country. All in all, I thought this was a good solid script and story overall.

My thoughts on the director…
This is the second episode that Holly Dale has directed, the first being 1x03: Kissed. There was nothing fancy, just a steady, keen eye that didn’t stand out. This is something that I like very much. Not much else to say on this front so…

Long Story Short
Mary and Bash disagree on what is to be done with Catherine's younger sons, Charles and Henry. Going against Mary's wishes, Bash arranges for the boys to be taken out of France under the guise of a kidnapping, but Clarissa intercedes and kidnaps the boys for real. Nostradamus helps Catherine escape the tower but she refuses to leave when she learns her sons are missing. Catherine joins Mary and Bash to find Clarissa, who wants to kill the boys as revenge for their mother's abandoning her. Mary hits Clarissa with a rock, apparently killing her. Mary and Bash reconcile, Bash agreeing to care for the boys. Mary asks Bash to marry her immediately, without waiting for the annulment of Catherine and Henry's marriage, and he accepts. Lola goes to Paris to help her brother, and happens to meets Francis, who helps her settle her brother's debt. Lola and Francis bond over their similar situation and make love. Francis learns that Catherine is to be executed and decides to return to court.

Character Analysis
Bash – Brash as always, Bash did what he thought was best and again for the umpteenth time it blew up in his face. I’m starting to have a bit of a problem with the fact that Mary always seems to be right (with the exception of Tomas and kissing Bash that one time, of course). I have an inkling that Bash choose to send the boys away to spite Mary after that thorough tongue lashing she gave him. There is no doubt in my mind that Bash loves ALL of his brothers but he was raised by Diane who is quite the wily one. I think he loves Mary is willing to do whatever needs to be done to keep her affections. I sense a great shift in Bash’s character coming. One I don’t think many of us will like but should give Torrance Coombs a ton of great material to play with.

Catherine – I’m glad that they are really driving home the point that Catherine loves her children above all else. It humanizes her a great deal. Megan Follows really knows how to sell Catherine’s ruthlessness while still maintain the character’s vulnerability. I for one hope they don’t follow through with executing Catherine, she’s just too good at being an anti-heroine to do away with.

Francis – Poor, lost little lad. He feels alone and adrift. I guess he is now realizing that the grass is not greener on the other side after all. He has money and freedom but at the same time, no security, no roots and no one he can be 100% himself with. It is definitely high pass time he come home to court, he has after all been missing in action for about 3 episodes. But what will his return to court mean? Will he challenge Bash for Mary’s heart? Will Lola reveal her tryst with Francis to Mary before they reconcile, after they reconcile or not at all? Will Francis succeed in saving his mother’s life? I’m looking forward to a more pensive and truly calculating Francis who wants his crown back. I’d love to see a forceful and determined Francis who wants what is rightfully his back. Can’t wait to see what Toby Regbo does with the character of Francis next.

Lola – I was utterly shocked and rocked to the core with Lola this week. First of all, we found out that her virtue wasn’t intact. Secondly, she actually had sex with Francis. If I’m going to be honest, I thought they were going to make her and Bash a thing, a little disappointed they backed away from it. But they made her tryst with Francis seem very plausible and that they had a lot in common and could relate to each other’s woes, so score one for the writers on that. Well, that and the wine and a late night talkathon, something was bound to happen. I really enjoy how Anna Poppelwell plays Lola. Her facial expressions just really drive it home for me (that cannot be said about the entire cast, unfortunately).

Mary – I’m going to enjoy this sweet, caring, passionate, borderline naïve Mary, whilst I can. I love that Mary cares so much about the people around her. But if they are going to go down a historical road with Mary at all, that will all have to change. Maybe not now but surely towards the end of season 3 (if we get that far). The fact that she’s willing to raise the Charles and Henry like her own speaks volumes. She of all people understands that if someone wants to hurt you bad enough there is no stopping them, so why not be surrounded by the people that you love and love you instead of being sent away. I also like that she recognized her harsh words to Bash needed to be addressed. I’m absolutely in love with the fact that Mary wants to take charge of her own destiny. My biggest surprise is that the relationship between she and Bash is growing. I was fully expecting for Mary to be moping around and pining for Francis. This makes it more interesting now that Francis is poised to make a return. Adelaide Cane has a handle on the regal and caring parts of the character of Mary. I rather enjoy her take on Mary Stuart and can’t wait to see how she puts her spin on the later parts of Mary’s life (if we get that lucky).

Highlights
Character of the Night – Mary
Best Character Interactions – Francis and Lola
Line of the Night - Mary: Safe choices don't always make us safe, I see that now.
Scene of the Night – Bash, Catherine and Mary come to the rescue of Charles and Henry as Clarissa tries to drown them in the river.

Memorable Moments
1. Mary looking at the blood on the rock (is this foreshadowing that they plan to take a more historical approach to the show later on and have her become ‘Bloody Mary’?)
2. Catherine says her “final” goodbyes to the young princes Charles and Henry.
3. Catherine finally believes that Mary wished her no ill will.

Laudable Lines
1. Francis: I’m told I look like the Dauphin of France, only taller (great callback to an episode from earlier in the season).
2. Lord Hugo: Factions need a flag to rally behind and every young prince with a claim to the throne is another flag. But if those flags were taken away…
3. Catherine: I am your mother. And do you know how I know? Because I can see you now, holding that knife. Willing to pay any price for your convictions. It’s the same time I’ve done more than once to fight for my children. For what I knew was mine. But look at your mother now, condemned to die. If you want the pain to stop, learn from your mother’s mistakes. Choose a better way, let yourself be loved.

Superb Scenes
1. Mary attempts to take the boys out for a day of fun
2. Mary attempts a proposal to Bash
3. Francis and Lola chat about their privileged lives and what a “pathetic” pair they make.

Biggest Surprises
•Catherine fakes her suicide
•Clarissa is dead and Mary was the one to do her in.
•Francis and Lola had sex.

Style Spotlight: I really liked Lola’s orange floral dress.

Tasty Tidbit: Bash and Mary go for daily rides together. I think that’s really cute.

Lowlights

•Clarissa deserved a better grave (if she is in fact really dead).
•Lola’s family should really severe ties with that brother of hers; he seems like nothing but trouble. May we never see him again.
•Keena and Greer had a miniscule amount of screen time this week, might as well not have even shown them at all.

Burning Questions
1. Is Clarissa really dead?
2. How will Francis and Lola’s tryst affect their relationship with Mary?
3. Whose side were you on this week? Mary for wanting to keep the boys close, or were you on Bash's side in wanting to send the boys away?
4. Did anyone else want to attend that Frost Fest? It looked like tons of fun.

Grade: A-

Side Notes: I’m very eager to connect with my fellow Royals so follow me on Twitter (I’m totally on Team Follow Back, LOL!) and we can have a live tweeter party every week.

Friendly Reminder

Don’t for to live tweet with the show (@cw_reign) and me (@lilithhellfire) every Thursday night at 9 pm EST.
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Well, now it's your turn to sound off in the comments section below. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

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