Reign, S2 E15- Forbidden

I am not the type to normally pick apart an episode, film, book, etc to bits and pieces. The majority of the time, I can see where the writer(s) is/are coming from. Your favorite characters can’t be happy all the time; drama needs to ensue. As a fellow writer, I recognize and respect that. However, personally, I feel when you’re dealing with such a touchy subject like recovering from sexual assault, one must be careful in portraying that. I was truly in love with this episode…until the final five minutes, and I will explain why at the end.
That aside, throughout the episode, each female character (minus Claude who wasn’t present, and Catherine who acted as more of a supporting character, sorry ladies) was given a solid story-line and a kick-ass female empowerment monologue to go with it. So, I figured why not organize this review via each lovely lady!

*sings* I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away.

Let’s begin with the Queen herself: Mary, Queen of Scots:

We first see Mary in her funeral garb (pictured left) as she and everyone else attends the memorial service for her uncle, Duke de Guise. It’s funny; when I first saw the promotional photo for this episode, I could not think of who they could be burying. I thought, “Why are they burying Henry so la-oh! Duke, duh!” Mary’s mother, Marie, is present, saying kind words about her brother. Later in Mary’s chambers, Marie doesn’t have many nice words to say to her daughter. Instead of saying “I missed you” like a normal mother, she’s grilling Mary on why she isn’t expecting an heir. Marie explains that Scotland is in jeopardy of being ruled by Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, and we just can’t have that. If a child is born, she’s a shoe-in to be well respected, etc. Marie even goes as far as giving her a concoction to make her relax more (note: this will come up again later). Because of Marie’s baby-making persistence, Mary hesitates to come clean about her assault. I don’t blame her; Marie de Guise is quite the intimidating lady. Francis doesn’t think it best she try to conceive at this time; she would just be doing this for political reasons, not love. I agree with Francis on this.

*sings* Love me, love me. Say that you love me.

Ultimately, this is Mary’s choice, as both I and Catherine state and Francis eventually goes along with. I’m sure you can guess what happens. That’s right, nothing. Everything comes back to Mary’s hesitance around Francis and lack thereof with Condé (just wait till the end you guys!). Mary’s sick of being, “a queen but not a queen. A wife but not a wife.” Their plan to bear a child obviously busts and the two are left even more separated than they once were. Aw phooey. Side note: Adelaide Kane looks stunning in this simple white gown with her long dark hair perfectly contrasted against it. Let’s take a moment to appreciate it.

Coinciding with Mary’s story-line is that of her mother, Marie De Guise, so let’s discuss her goings-on in “Forbidden”. In the beginning of this episode, I couldn’t stand how she treated Mary. The hatred continues once Mary comes clean about her assault. The millisecond after Mary says “rape”, Marie asks if she’s pregnant with her rapist’s child. Her daughter was sexually assaulted and all she’s concerned about is an heir to the throne! It’s okay because Adelaide completely floors us with a moving speech. She is her own person and if she can’t have/want kids, she’s perfectly fine with that. Thanks for making me cry, Addie. I really appreciated it. The audience is thrown for a loop once we find out Marie’s real reason for the baby pestering. Marie is dying. Her lungs are failing and she has to take narcotics to even function and relieve the pain (we’ll get to those). She is terrified of leaving her daughter to such an uncertain future, hence the bickering. Mary assures her that she’ll be okay. She was born a queen and a queen she will be forevermore. If that isn’t character development in a single episode, I don’t know what is.

Straying from the Queens, Mary’s ladies (and former lady, Greer) saw quite some action in this episode, too. Greer is working her magic as a pimp and it’s adorably hilarious. She finds fancy parties for her neighbor and her friends to attend, they do their business, and Greer receives part of the profit. Make that money girl! Thank you Reign for keeping us updated on Greer’s life!