Reign: 1x15 “The Darkness”


Nostradamus: “Evil is not a thing. It is not a condition. It is a choice.”

Our actions certainly define us. Bash was ready to stay and risk his life to protect Rowan and her family. Francis in a way feels responsible for Lola after their ‘that kind of night’ together and he wants to make sure she finds happiness. Mary pretty much covered all spectrum of emotions from guilt of keeping a secret to jealousy that made her push Lola into a loveless marriage to regretting her actions ten minutes later. Then of course there was Henry. What the heck is going on with him? I’m not entirely sure where they are going with this, but I’m already not a fan of this new development. Within the space of few minutes he lost all his appeal, gained too much of delusion of grandeur and quite frankly scared me a bit.

I felt a bit uncomfortable with this new direction for the character especially when it seemed to have come out of nowhere. Last week, when the duchess went flying out of his window, I questioned whether Henry meant to do it or not. His behavior later seemed to confirm it was an accident. Accident or not, but it certainly opened a wrong door for him. All of a sudden he is into threesome and developing a ‘choking’ interest. Out of nowhere Kenna confirmed it’s been going on for a while. On the one hand, I’m happy he is given something else to do other than pompous monologues and bedroom affairs, on the other hand it felt like a major ret-con. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

I’m a also bit puzzled over the title of the episode. “The Darkness” strongly suggested that we’ll spend some quality time with that thing in the woods. Yet we saw him ever so briefly. He came, killed the poor goat and dragged Rowan away. We have not seen his face, but I think it is safe to assume it’s a human and a man. I guess we’ll see his face sooner rather than later, since Bash won’t stop until he frees Rowan. I’m not sure she deserves saving though, since she was more than willing to offer Bash to the Darkness. One might argue she did that to protect her family, but I say she could have listen to Bash and at least try to fight it. The choices we make…. 

The sole purpose of ‘First Light’ buffet thing was to find possible suitors for our two ladies in waiting. From this prospective, it failed miserably. At least Leith got a job offer. Lola’s suitor turned out to be wrong for her, because despite her predicament she wants happiness and love. What a freedom of choice, considering it’s 16th century, but I guess when your queen is on your side you can be picky.

I found the concept of this whole candle lighting ritual a bit silly, so it was a relief to see someone come up with an alternative. Lord Castleroy choose the right approach to woo a lady, unfortunately for him lady’s heart was already taken. It was nice though to see Greer arrange a better future for Leith. Their love story didn’t get enough screen time for us to invest in it properly, but I’m glad he didn’t loose his head, literally. And now, I’m very excited to see who was in that carriage. With Reign’s luck the guy will probably fall for Lola.

Did Mary actually suggest not to make love at all just because it’s an 'unlikely day of the month for conception'? Does she think Francis so ‘vigorously’ wants sex just to make a baby? I really hope it’s jealousy and frustration talking, otherwise it is not a good sign.

Historical bits

Well, the only relevant thing I can come up with it’s… No, wait! I got nothing!

Some observations  

Poor Mary is under a lot of pressure; even servants offer her advices on how to get pregnant.

Lord Castleroy’s name is Aloysius. I'm often amazed by the names they [the writers] come up with, but this time I think it was a great find. He totally looked like Aloysius.

Olivia’s ordeal was horrible and it managed to make the character a bit more interesting, but I still don’t really care. 

Memorable Quotes:

Kenna: “We're not going to tell anyone?”
Catherine: “The king already knows. Who else would we tell?”

Lord Castleroy: “Lady Greer, am I pleasing you tonight?”
Greer: “You're on fire.”
Lord Castleroy: “Well, I take that as a good sign.”
Greer: “No, no, no. You're on fire!”

Francis: “I don't make love to you because I want a baby. I want a baby because I love you.”
Well said!

Sol’s rating:  I have mixed feelings about this one. Maybe 3 out of 5 all things considered.

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