Reign: Before the final season…

Before diving into the final chapter of Mary’s story, I caught myself thinking: “What to expect?”. What, if anything, I, we, as viewers, should expect from this drama’s final run? Where do we see ourselves when finale’s come - in the throne room or on the scaffold?

p.s. this will be completely spoiler-free for those who have seen all three seasons; if you haven’t, come back later, the rest – read on.

It could be a useless and totally rhetorical speculation, but it’s my blog so I’m doing it anyway. Can we expect a decent finale worthy of those characters we love? Should we expect it from a period drama that presents such a frivolous and casual interpretation of history? Being a fan, I would love to say ‘yes’. Would you?

Despite many and lots of inaccuracies, Reign still managed to stay on real events course, to some extent. Henry’s death, claim to English throne, Elizabeth’s affair with Robert; they even killed off the beloved Francis. But would they dare execute the Queen? And if they don’t, would we like it? Would the story be complete without this torturous and very important period in Mary’s life? If we are left on the high note without getting into doom and gloom, would it all have been worth it?

The writers are certainly not afraid of executions since we witnessed one last season, they are not afraid of loosing characters or taking creative risks. That is good. Unfortunately with only one shortened season left and SO MUCH ground yet to cover, I’m just not so sure they will be able to wrap up properly. Especially now, that the attention will be divided between three counties and three courts, with almost all of the original cast members gone.

We did loose a lot of time in France, with the introduction of English court some of the characters were sidelined. Of course you can’t really tell Mary’s story without Elizabeth, but my opinion is that they should have introduced her earlier, they should’ve killed Francis long before they actually did (despite my love for this character), and they should have focused on Mary’s reign since that is what this series is about. I would love to see her standing up on her own feet and try and rule her country that she knows so little about. That fight and that struggle would’ve been marvelous to watch and Adelaide would’ve played it magically.

But I’m not the writer on this series, I am a viewer; and as one, I am ready to let the imperfections in the stories slide. I want to see where the writers take this Mary, not the historical figure, but the character that I’ve seen suffering and growing up for the last years. I want to see Bash, who doesn’t even have a real life counterpart, to finally find happiness. I want to spend just a little more time with Catherine even though her involvement in Mary’s reign has come to an end.

Since I watched every single episode and reviewed almost all of them, I really hope they will bring this ‘fictional’ story to a logical and satisfying end.

What about you?