REIGN on the CW seemed to start off a bit slow but as its first season progresses the buzz is getting really good and fans seem to be enjoying it. In tonight’s new episode called, “Long Live the King” Mary teams up with Catherine to deal with Henry, whose deranged behavior puts Francis at risk. Elsewhere, Bash resolves to destroy the Darkness after meeting a boy who survived the horror; and a devoted Lola tries to protect Julien.
On last week’s episode Mary got blood on her hands to save Scotland- Mary (Adelaide Kane) enlisted a mercenary to help her, which forced her to realize there are sacrifices and lives she is willing to risk to save her country. Francis (Toby Regbo) embraced his role as Dauphin to lead France in a brutal battle against England, and found a new ally in Leith (guest star Jonathan Keltz). Meanwhile, as Lola (Anna Popplewell) grew closer to Lord Julien (guest star Giacomo Gianniotti), she got increasingly suspicious that he was going to betray her. Torrance Coombs, Megan Follows, Alan Van Sprang, Caitlin Stasey and Celina Sinden also starred. Did you watch last week’s episode? If you missed it we have a full and detailed recap, right here for you.
On tonight’s episode events reach a breaking point when the king’s madness puts Francis in grave danger – Mary (Adelaide Kane) and Catherine (Megan Follows) form an unlikely alliance when deciding how to deal with the increasingly manic King Henry (Alan Van Sprang), which puts Francis (Toby Regbo) in jeopardy. Bash (Torrance Coombs) finds a boy who lived to tell about his encounter with the Darkness, which makes Bash determined to end it for good at any cost. Lord Julien (guest star Giacomo Gianniotti) reveals the truth about his motives, and Lola (Anna Popplewell), blinded by love, finds herself in a dire situation after she attempts to protect him. Caitlin Stasey and Celina Sinden also star. The episode was directed by Jeremiah Chechik written by Wendy Riss Gatsiounis and Drew Lindo.
Don’t forget to come back here tonight at 9 PM EST for your live recap of Reign season 1 episode 21 “Long Live the King.” In the meantime, be sure to hit up the comments section below and let us know what you’re most excited about for tonight’s episode.
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The Duke of Guise marches back triumphant and Mary asks the ladies if they’ve seen Francis yet. Kenna asks Greer if she thinks Leith will be there but she says she won’t see him again. Francis comes back and yells out to the crowd that they’ve taken back Calais and rid them of the English from their port. He says he fought alongside some of the bravest men in the kingdom. He mentions Guise as well.
Catherine whispers that Francis should mention his father but it’s the Duke of Guise who recognizes the vision of Henry Valois as being responsible for the victory. Francis goes to Mary and they kiss as Henry announces that Mary Tudor is dead in England and that she betrayed the Catholic church by naming Protestant Elizabeth as her heir. Henry pulls out his sword and says they will put the rightful Queen on the throne in England – Mary Stuart – and tells the crowd God is on their side.
Mary and Francis rush into their bedchamber, shedding his armor and her clothes as they go. He asks if she’s forgiven him for going to Calais instead of Scotland but she says her mother escaped and is safe. He undresses her and tells her he thought about her every night. They fall into bed.
Julien tells Lola the servants are complaining because he cuts his own firewood. He asks if she’s okay with the modest home and she says she likes it, but would like something farther from court. He asks why she wants distance from court and if there’s someone she’s seeking to avoid. She asks if there will be a resemblance she’s worried about and she tells him the child will likely be fair haired and both of them have dark hair. He tells her not to be worried and says he will be a happy father and husband.
Mary wants to have a lie in but Francis tells her that everyone will be looking to her for action. Francis says that Elizabeth is weak now and his father seems determined to act. She says she doesn’t want to worry about Scotland which her brother is ruling and making an enemy of her cousin Elizabeth. She asks Francis if he’ll stand by her and he agrees. She says she’s thinking of writing her cousin a letter.
Bash and some men are out searching for the monster in the woods. They tell him they’ve found more sacrificed bodies throughout the woods. An eclipse falls. Bash tells the soldier with him not to be afraid. They press on into the woods and Bash spots drops of fresh bloods. He sees a body and pulls some limbs aside. He says the body is cold and pulls something out of his hand.
It’s a whistle. He blows it and the child wakes up and tries to run. Bash catches him and says he knows what the whistle means – he asks if he’s seen the darkness. The soldier says the child will take them all to hell but Bash says he’ll take them to the darkness. The sound is the one you hear whenever the darkness comes… How did the kid get it.
The Duke of Guise is enjoying a woman when Mary comes to see him. She says she got his message. The Duke sends Gabrielle away and tells her not to come back tonight. She leaves disappointed. He asks the servant to come back after her chores and she curtsies and smiles. Mary isn’t happy about him choosing a servant but he says she’s better than one of Catherine’s spies.
The Duke asks about her letter to Elizabeth. He tells her that three people at least read her letter. He doesn’t like that she relinquished her claim to England. She says either she or Elizabeth will end up dead and thousands of others dead. She says she’s Queen of Scotland and will be Queen of France. The Duke reminds her that she is only a guest at the castle and the letter is her only card. He tells her once the plays it, it’s gone for good.
Kenna finds Bash with the young boy and Nostradamus. Bash says the boy had a pagan whistle he thinks is used to inspire fear. Nostradamus says the blood on the boy is not his. The men try to question him but Kenna stops them. She takes his hand and promises that no one will hurt him. Nostradamus recommends that they let Kenna take a softer approach with him.
The chambermaid reports to Catherine that she learned nothing of import from the Duke but one of his men that wanted her because the Duke did told her that Henry is mobilizing for war and plans to attack England within a week. Catherine says that means he wants to kill Elizabeth and put Mary on the throne.
Julien’s uncle Vartos shows up and asks where his nephew is. Turns out that the man that Lola married is not Julien at all. He’s his secretary! Vartos says he heard that Julien is married and he’s expecting. He asks him to produce his nephew and fake Julien says he’ll start the search at his favorite tavern. Instead, he runs into Lola’s room and tells her that he has to tell her something quickly and that she has to believe him.
He tells her that he loves her but his real name is Renly and that Lord Julien is dead. He says he died in a fire in Bavaria. He says he had his cloak with Julien’s crest and the local magistrate assumed he was Julien. He says he took over his life and now they have a life together. He says Julien hated his family and was never around. Lola asks if his family cut off Julien’s stipends.
She says that it all makes sense now and that’s why he was going to fleece her and run off. She asks if he murdered Julien. He says he didn’t and that he also didn’t run away from her. He says Julien’s uncle is there but begs her to back him up until they can get rid of him. Lola says she doesn’t even know who he is but doesn’t want the uncle to leave because Renly terrifies her.
Catherine and Mary talk to Francis about the inevitable slaughter that’s coming if they invade England. Their army is weak after the fight with Calais but Henry won’t see reason. Catherine says they have to do something about him. Francis knows what his mother needs to do and says she can’t put his father down like a rabid dog. He offers to take him away on a hunting trip in case he’s being poisoned somehow at the castle.
Francis says he needs one last chance to try and break through to him. Mary tells him to do it quickly because they are running out of time. Francis leaves. Catherine tells Mary the time is now and Mary says she would be betraying Francis. Catherine reminds her they need to think like queen to save thousands from a war they cannot win.
Catherine reminds her that she would be giving her crown to Mary and that if they kill Henry it would save Francis from the burden. Mary agrees it would be a mercy. Catherine says that they’re in agreement and together they will kill the King of France.
Lola comes down to meet Uncle Vartos who still wants to know where Julien is. Renly tells him that Julien has been gone for some time and had gambling debts. He says that Julien was deeply in debt and fled from those. Vartos asks if he abandoned Lola and Renly says that Julien loved him. Lola chews him out and says that she doesn’t know whether Julien loved her or not.
Vartos says he is shamed that his nephew left her and says that his family will take care of her and the child. Vartos asks if there’s anything else to be said. Vartos says he’s going home and will alert the family. Then he notices that Renly is wearing Julien’s signet ring and demands to know why he’s wearing it.
Kenna talks to the boy who tells her that his parents are dead. She asks what happened to them or to him so she can protect him. He says it’s in Visiguard. He says the man with the sharp teeth took him to a place in the mountains.
Mary and Catherine speculate how to kill Henry. They wonder if they can get something past his tasters and Catherine says she already tried that. They speculate about a hunting accident. Mary tells Catherine she’s an imaginative murderer and there must be a way. Catherine says they could do it during communion and he takes no guards or tasters. We see something sprinkled on the communion wafers and them delivered to the priest for a private mass. Catherine says if they succeed, she’ll be a widow and Francis will be king. Mary says – long live the king.
Kenna, Bash and Nostradamus discuss where the town Visiguard might be so they can find the monster. Bash wants to go find it but Nostradamus says that he’s never heard of the town. Kenna says that he promised to take her to their new home. He tells her to go pack and they’ll leave tonight. She goes but then he tells Nostradamus he’ll make an excuse and won’t go with her.
He tells Nostradamus he couldn’t tell her that he knows what Visiguard is – it’s more than a place – it’s a pagan word that means “where darkness rises.” He says he knows it because he was born a pagan. Nostradamus asks if he feels responsible and Bash says he was forced to kill two men in the woods and now has a darkness in him that he despises. Nostradamus says he’s coming with him.
Henry and Francis are out on their hunt and Francis encourages him to wait until their forces are built back up. Henry says they should have taken more trips like this together – he says he took Bash on them and they missed out on some moments. Francis asks why he’s pushing so hard for England and he says his father was very ambitious and raised them to push.
Henry tells him his father was captured and held in Madrid. He says he was just six and they were taken to visit them. He says his father passed them by and jumped in the boat – turns out his dad has traded he and his brother as hostages to buy his freedom. Henry says sons must sacrifice for their fathers and this is the lesson. He tells Francis he learned it when he and his brother were beaten and starved for three years.
He says when they got back, their father had no loving embrace for them. Henry says he was a hard man to please – like God. Francis tells him what his father did wasn’t right. Francis says he believes in a loving God whose work is done by men like Henry. He tells him that he has more work to do in France before turning his eyes on England. Henry hugs him and says there are things to do in France first.
[10:09:32 PM] Rachel Rowan: Renly tells Vartos that he kept Julien’s ring so he wouldn’t lose it but then a servant comes in. Lola tries to send him away but Vartos asks him where Lord Julien is. The servant tells Vartos that Renly is Lord Julien. Vartos freaks out and chokes Renly. Lola tells him to let go and pushes him back. He strikes the wall and is dead. Lola freaks out and says she killed him.
Kenna comes to see the boy to tell him that she’s moving but that he’ll be taken care of. She offers him a trinket her mother gave her when she left Scotland. He begs her not to leave him and says if she leaves, he’ll burn me. She asks if he’s a pagan and tells him she doesn’t care and won’t let anyone hurt him. She asks if he wants to come stay with her and he says yes. He tells her that his name is Pascal.
Francis comes and tells Mary that he convinced his father to back off his plans to invade. He says saw reason and his sanity is returning. She looks stricken and he asks what she’s done. He comes to see Catherine to plead with her to stop it but Henry is already at his private mass. As he’s reaching for a wafer, he sees a man behind him in the reflection of the silver bowl sneaking up with a knife. He beats the man to death as he screams at him to tell him who sent him.
Catherine sees blood being scrubbed off the floor in the throne room as the Duke of Guise comes in. Henry says that he’s the only one he can trust and must speak to him alone. Back with Mary and Francis, Catherine says she got to the priest in time and there was no poison waiting on Henry. Mary asks who sent the assassin but Catherine doesn’t know. She says the Duke of Guise has benefited.
Catherine thinks the Duke has spies and knew of the plot. They decide he’s playing both sides because if Henry dies, he gets to work with Francis and if not, he benefits from warning Henry about the assassin. Catherine says that when they called off the poisoning, the Duke sent the knife man so Henry would believe him. Catherine says the trouble is now that Henry is on alert, will only listen to the Duke of Guise and they won’t be able to get at him again – she says he’s untouchable now.
Kenna tells Bash that Pascal is coming with her and he tells her that’s fine and that he has an escort of men to take her to their new home. He says they’ll stand guard until he returns and Kenna says she knew this would happen. Bash tells Pascal that he’s going to find the man with the sharp teeth to make sure he can’t ever hurt him again.
Kenna sends the boy to the carriage then chews Bash out and says she doesn’t want a life with her waiting at home while he’s playing hero. Bash tells her that she’s used to being treated as a plaything but says that even though she was handed to him, she is what he wants. He promises to come back to her but must finish this first. She kisses him and tells him to come back to her or she’ll kill him herself.
Renly says he has to turn himself in and Lola says they’ll think he killed Julien and Vartos. She says she can help. She says the family will send investigators. Lola says she’ll tell them that Vartos never arrived. She says that they must burn Vartos’ body so it will appear to be Julien’s. Lola says Renly can run away and that she’ll be a widow who doesn’t have to be ashamed to be pregnant.
Renly tells her to go back to French court. He says if her baby’s father is a good man, she should let him be in her life. He kisses her and tells her to go now. She makes him promise to run as well and he does. He lights the drapes on fire as Lola leaves to go back to court.
Pascal recites a poem to Kenna. She asks what it is and who taught it to him. He says it was his father and she asks what happened to him. He tells her that a bad man killed him. We see a flashback – it was Bash that did it! She tells him that whoever killed him will be punished because bad men get what they deserve.
Mary tells Francis that they had to make a move and he says she promised to wait. She tells him she’s sorry but he says she would do it again. Francis tells her that when she wanted to relinquish England, he stood by her but then she didn’t stand by him. She says she and Catherine were trying to spare him and says she was doing the right thing for France and was doing what rulers should do. He shakes her and asks who she’s becoming.
Henry stands at his map plotting and says the time he had with Francis was good. He says Francis would be content to hide under the covers with Mary instead of pushing for more. He says he was so close to death today but God spared him for the work must do which is for him to sit on the throne of England and slay their bastard queen and rule an empire.
He says that Francis was right and there are things he must do here in France. He says first he must kill his son and wed his wife. He’s talking to the young apparition of himself that he always sees when he’s in a manic phase.
The End!
