BWW Recap: REIGN Addresses a Violent Attack

Last night's episode of REIGN was certainly the most controversial one that's ever been aired. While the episode also held Conde and Claude's engagement, Greer's decision to convert to Protestantism, and Francis and Bash's triumph over Narcisse, much of the reaction to the episode has been centered around the attack on Mary by Protestant invaders.

Trigger warning: I will be discussing Mary's rape below, so please don't read on if that would make you uncomfortable.

Protestant invaders enter the castle with the intention of killing Francis. When they reach Mary's bedchambers and discover him missing, they are furious. After someone gives the order to kill Mary, one of the men throws her to the ground and hurls insults at her. He reveals that he is the father of the priest killed in the last episode and blames her for his son's death. While the other invaders hold her down and he chokes her, the invader rapes Mary. Part of the scene was shot in slow motion, a choice I didn't particularly understand. While it wasn't graphic compared to scenes of this nature on shows like Game of Thrones, it was far beyond what is typically seen on REIGN.

Mary is able to throw off the next man to attempt to assault her and get away from them. She runs into Catherine, who comforts her when she finds out what occurred. "You will survive this," she tells her. Catherine reminds Mary that she, too, was raped and lived past it. She tells Mary that they must not let the court know what happened and must present a strong front to the people. Mary, with Catherine by her side, speaks to the court to tell them, "Your king and your queen remain untouched."

When Francis returns to the castle, Catherine is tucking Mary into bed. Mary reveals to Francis what happened and he blames himself, for not being there to protect her. She urges him, "Find the men who did this to me and kill them."

As REIGN is usually a fairly un-graphic show aimed at teens, the scene last night was out of the ordinary and was incredibly difficult to watch. Personally, I didn't agree with the inclusion of the scene particularly after a petition earlier this year asking for the scene to be cut got over 1,000 signatures and was ignored.

While I think that the cast has reacted incredibly well, offering support and acknowledging how large of an issue rape is, I think that the management of the show hasn't. Including a trigger warning for the episode wouldn't have been difficult: as the show's fan base is so young and scenes of this nature aren't typically shown, I think it would have been appropriate.

I do admire that they included the PSA with the hot-line at the end of the episode, but that doesn't make up for potentially causing viewers to relive horrible memories. Several people on Twitter and other social media said that they were boycotting the episode or couldn't watch it for personal reasons. For a show whose renewal was already unclear, it was a bad move to alienate many of their viewers.

I know that rape occurs in real life all too often. However, I don't think that makes it acceptable to show it on REIGN given the circumstances. If you are a survivor of sexual assault, please know that you don't have to stay silent about what has happened, like Mary is. You can call the hotline 1-800-656-4673 or visit www.RAINN.org.

The one positive thing I have to say about the scene is that Adelaide Kane is an incredible actress who stunned me with the emotion that she brought to the role. I've always been a fan of her portrayal of Mary, who is one of my favorite characters on any TV show, but last night she blew me away.

Aside from that scene, it was one of the best episodes this season. Francis and Bash go in search of Montgomery, the man who was supposed to joust Henry the day Francis killed him. They find him locked up by Narcisse and question whether he knew the truth. When it becomes clear that he might know Francis's secret, the brothers kill him. They return to the castle, triumphant that Narcisse has no way to hurt Francis anymore.

The surprising plot twist this episode was Mary's brilliant idea to marry Princess Claude to Prince Conde. While Catherine is strongly against any marriage that would keep Claude at court, Francis agrees to the deal in hopes that it will bring peace to France if the Protestants see one of their own marry into the royal family. It's clear that Conde only agrees to please Mary and to be able to stay at the castle by her side. Claude (who suddenly has straight hair? What happened to those curls? I'm fairly certain they didn't have straightening irons back then...) isn't in favor of the marriage, until she meets Conde. She's impressed by him and happy that he's willing to allow her to keep her freedom, and isn't even swayed by a proposal from Narcisse.

Claude isn't fully convinced until Francis urges her to do her "duty as a Valois" and do something good for her family for once. Mary announces their engagement at the Feast of St. Nicholas, but Conde is seen escaping the castle soon after the announcement and leaves a note behind for Mary. Why did Conde leave? Is he unwilling to marry someone when the person he clearly adores is so near? Hopefully, we'll get answers in the next episode.

Meanwhile, Castleroy is encouraging Greer to convert to Protestantism by showing her the good works the Protestants are doing, like the school being built with the money he's donated. She agrees to convert for the sake of their children and their household...but it looks like her conversion might not be happening after all. Protestant men come to Castleroy's chambers asking for money to get away after the attack on Mary. When it becomes clear that these men were involved with the assassination attempt on the king and that Castleroy's money was funding assassins, not a school, he is furious. Greer is beside herself with the idea that she might have almost caused the king's death.

I'm looking forward to seeing if Greer will find out the truth about what happened during the invasion and how she will deal with her money having funded the attack on her best friend. I admire REIGN for showing that a religious war is never uncomplicated, with each side committing heinous crimes in the name of their faith. As Narcisse said, the Protestants feel they have "little to lose" and I'm personally in fear of what they might attempt next.

I'm sorry this recap is so late! I wasn't able to watch the episode last night because I was live-tweeting Peter Pan Live for Broadwayworld.com TV's Twitter account.

What did you think of last night's episode? If you want to discuss, please comment below or tweet me @nicoleackman16.

Photo Credit: REIGN's Official Twitter Page.

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