Reign: 2x13 “Sins of the Past”

Narcisse: “There are those who merely believe they have power, and there are those who actually have it.” 
 

Well, this was an episode for everyone. It was hilarious watching Catherine having to endure an unorthodox middle age treatment of a sickness she didn’t even have. It was painfully dramatic watching Mary letting Francis go. It was very romantic, how Bash spoke of his love for Kenna, his words were the best love confession I’ve heard in a long awhile.

It was also an episode that put an end to all this madness and gave us an explanation not only for Catherine’s visions and ghosts but for Henry’s crazy behavior as well. It was not historically accurate, but it was logical. The second I saw Catherine licking her fingers trying to flip the page my memory flashed to Alexandre Dumas' historical fiction “Queen Margot”. In the book, Catherine in the attempt to assassinate Henri of Navarre tainted the book with arsenic, but accidentally caused the death of her son Charles, who took the book instead.

Here it was Catherine who took the Bible (of all books!) from Henry, which is raising an interesting question – Who was trying to poison the King? Well, everybody we know did try.  Unsuccessfully. Who was it then? The only thing we can say for sure is it was not Catherine.

The visitor of the castle this week was Antoine, King of Navarre, who spots Bash and remembers seeing him fleeing the villa where his brother was killed. Bash confirmed his suspicions, which can only mean two things – either Bash killed Marcus not knowing who he was, or Marcus was already dead by the time Bash got there.  

With everything that has been going on in the last couple of episodes I completely forgot about England and Queen Elizabeth. This episode was there to remind us that the threat is real and Elizabeth was doing everything she can to protect herself and her country from a catholic queen. I don’t even want to ask this out loud, but considering they bring England up and Catherine having visions of Francis dying, are we maybe moving to a historical course of events? One might hope. Not that I want Francis to die, but it’s only so much they can do with a character.

My favorite couple is doing better this week. With Bash willing to look into Kenna’s heart and try to get past her mistakes, and her being so full of wisdom they seem to reconcile after a short period of estrangement. Who would have thought that theirs would be a mature relationship of all? I’m at awe every time they talk out their issues instead of hiding from them.

The other couple that I’m also rooting for is not doing well at all. Mary inviting Francis to sleep with her was a sign of her wanting to heal, but maybe it was too soon. It is an impossible situation and seeing them both trying and failing is painful. Her asking him to go and find another love was heartbreaking.

Let’s talk about Narcisse, shall we? I felt a bit sorry for him. He lost all his glamour and felt  a bit cheap. He was desperately trying to survive and was literally going through any door that opened in order to gain some shred of power he used to have. He started with Francis and offered to kill off the competition, namely Conde. Thankfully Francis didn’t take the bait, maybe because investigating what Antoine was really up to was more important than his jealousy. The King of France learned his lesson. 

Next, Narcisse tried ‘mentoring” Claude only to back down when she started playing her own games. He tried to rekindle his relationships with Lola only to ruin the only actual chance he had few scenes later. Lola is still obviously into him, even if she doesn’t admit it. Is he? Is he still into her, or having the woman who is the mother of king’s child is an advantage he can’t afford to miss? I can't figure him out? Can anyone? 

Lastly he went to Catherine and was helpful enough to point to her that her ‘sickness’ might be of another kind. Of all the women he ‘tried’ Catherine might be the only one who can actually help him. We’ll see.

Historical bits

Antoine and Louis did have a brother in real life, but his name was Charles and he was a French cardinal and he died peacefully (at least as history goes) in the castle Fontenay-le-Compte.

Marcus was one of the three most common given names in Ancient Rome. In our days it is a popular name in Europe, particularly in Sweden, Norway, Italy and Germany, and increasingly, in the Netherlands. No mention of France, and I doubt anyone would ever be named Marcus in the House of Bourbon. No disrespect to anyone named Marcus out there, I myself have a good friend named Marcus, but the writers can at least try to come up with more era appropriate names.

Some observations  

Last week it was Ice Festival, this week it’s Winter Ease. I wonder how they come up with these things.

I don’t think we ever saw Claude that happy. Enjoying Catherine’s suffering was a tad bit cruel, but I suppose well deserved.

Say what you want, but Lola and Narcisse have a ton of chemistry, whereas Conde and Lola have none.

Francis was still sleeping on the couch… that was until Mary sent him away for good.

Mary’s dog is absolutely gorgeous!

Clarissa was mentioned again, but we haven’t seen her for a long time, I almost forgot she was alive.

How very insensitive it was of Mary to ask Conde to spy on his brother!

I already said it before, but Mary looks especially stunning with hair up.

Wardrobe department

The “Best Dress of the week” Award goes to Mary

The “Worst Dress of the week” Award goes to Claude

 Memorable Quotes:

Mary: “Enough about the prophecy; it's exhausting.”

No kidding!

Claude: “Sores on the body? Seeing things that aren't there? And a husband who also suffered madness? That can't be a coincidence.”

Doctor: “I don't suppose your husband, um, uh, took lovers outside the marital bed?”

Catherine: “Syphilis?”

Bash: “Trust me, your heart is complicated. It's like one of those drinks at Christmas with too much spice. Nutmeg and ginger and cinnamon and cloves. But what can I say? I've developed a taste for spice. I can't imagine doing without it.”

Kenna: “I love you, too.”

Sol’s rating: Liked it a lot, so 3.5 out of 5!