Reign: 3x03 “Extreme Measures”

Claude: “God, I wish Mother were here. She manages tragedy with ruthless clarity.”

It felt like a finale of sorts. 
Did you feel that too?

Let’s recap: Francis is almost on the other side, Narcisse and Lola got married, Mary decided to move to Spain and Catherine is now where she is (historically, at least) supposed to be. They wrapped everything in a nice little bow. Like I said – ‘finale vibe’.  But we are only on our 3^rd episode this season. What’s left to do? Where do they all go from here? And how the series will look if they part ways, like they hint they would do? How very interesting….

No England in this one. Only Sir Nicholas, who wasn’t doing a very good job, his secret meeting with Antoine was compromised and he let himself be blackmailed by Catherine. The biggest mistake was his inability to sniff out that the King is dying, not in time anyway. Honestly how was this possible? Francis looked awful! Also, considering how many people now know the secret, it is a miracle this information is so well contained.

Despite being barely able to stand on his feet and terrible pain Francis managed to put all his affairs in order, so to speak. Bourbons are no longer a threat to the throne, France now has a regent who will fiercely defend it, Mary may get the strongest navy in the world in the face of Don Carlos, Lola and John are now under Narcisse’s protection.Very impressive.

let's talk about this 360 degrees turn. Narcisse has his moments, doesn’t he? Very timely ones, at that. But Charles learned the lesson and Narcisse got the blessing from the King to marry Lola. The wedding had to have happened soon, considering the damage to Lola’s reputation Francis is dying, but I didn’t think that it would happen like right this moment.

On the other hand I was glad, because color me suspicious, but I was waiting for the rat shoe to drop. But now it probably doesn’t matter, they are married and have other problems to worry about. The rat looks like a picnic compare to Catherine. When Francis dies, they won’t have much option but to run. Seriously, Catherine congratulating Narcisse and Lola and wishing them long and healthy life was the scariest scene they have ever done. Period. Yes, I remember about all the tortures and murders. Still, this was the scariest scene of them all.

Historical bits

Antoine offered to convert to Catholicism in exchange for Conde’s rescue. In real life Antoine didn’t have real religious conviction and officially changed religions several times. So, that part was close to truth. What is different is that whereas Conde was the head of Protestants, Antoine spent most of his life fighting for the King of France, and subsequently for Catherine, when she was regent for her son Charles.

Francis: “There are so many things I wish we'd done together: eating oranges freshly plucked from the trees in Nice, dancing under the stars at the Louvre.”

Mary: “Well, we were married there.”

No, they were married in the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. They did however dance a lot that night, but not at the Louvre, the grand banquet was in the Palais de Justice.

Mary was indeed suggested as one of the brides for Don Carlos (he married Anna of Austria instead).

Some observations  

We finally know what happened to Conde. He was captured by mercenaries, and his brother (the King of Navarre) came for help to the very people who want his brother’s dead. That was a bit far fetched. Doesn’t he have other resources? I didn’t like this move because it was obviously made out of convenience: they promise to help Conde and Antoine drops his claim to the French throne. Oh, well….

So Leith does have feelings for Claude. They ARE going there.

Francis and Mary dance was absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking.

Greer’s ladies are now on duty at court. How very open minded on the part of King and Queen.

Bash got a confirmation from a survived victim that Delphine is not the killer. Still not interested.

Let’s play hypothetical: if Mary marries Don Carlos, Francis’ sister Elizabeth would be her stepmother. That would make for a very confusing family tree; then again hardly a surprise when it comes to royal families.

How very ominous that Catherine picked the throne of the King and not the Queen, because she will be the real King behind the King for many years to come. 

Wardrobe department

There were so many gorgeous dresses in this one… especially those two

and I honestly didn’t spot a single one that was really bad… except for this…. is this some kind of bird?

Memorable Quotes:

Narcisse: “You may not be king, but your actions reflect on Francis, and he has the weight of thousands of lives, just like this one, on his shoulders.”

I almost didn’t believe my ears.

Francis: “The measure of a man is what he does when no one is looking.”

Sol’s rating: solid 4.