BWW Recap: REIGN Goes Baby Crazy

REIGN took a welcome break from the shocking gore and martial discord of the past few episodes to give us something else: babies and sadness. I actually cried watching this episode; it definitely proved that we have a cast of very talented actors! Mary and Francis were, for once, blissfully at peace especially after the news that we've all been waiting for: an heir to the throne! But how quickly things went wrong...

An Heir to the Throne At Last

While reminiscing about their childhood spent exploring the castle grounds together, Mary tells Francis that she's with child. Since their marriage, everyone at the castle has been waiting for an heir to the throne and it looks like Mary's position is secure at last. But all too soon disaster strikes. Mary doubles over in pain and with Conde's help, she gets to her chambers where she discovers blood trailing down her leg and realizes that she is miscarrying her child. She and Francis are distraught.

At the end of the episode, Francis leads Mary to one of the castle's balconies and reminds her of the times that they used to sneak out of the castle to hunt fireflies when they were children. He opens the shutters and shows Mary the hundreds of floating lanterns in the sky. As Mary cries, he tells her, "The world can be dark, Mary, and uncertain and cruel. The only thing that really matters is that we face it together. Whatever the future brings, you are my light." Cue all of my tears.

As a history major who was all too aware that Francis and Mary never had a child, I saw this coming. However, I certainly didn't expect it to happen so quickly or to be so heartbroken. Adelaide Kane certainly proved her acting skills as she tore my heart to shreds and showed that Mary is not only a badass queen, but a vulnerable woman who wants a baby of her own. Confession: from the very first episode of Season 1, I disliked Francis. However, this episode changed everything as Francis wooed me over with his floating lanterns. Probably just because Tangled is my favorite Disney movie, but also because he's proving to be a much better husband than I ever expected.

The Queen vs. The Baby Mama

It's only natural that Mary and Lola have another argument while the preparation for Lola's son's christening are being made. And when Lola says that she would prefer to live away from the castle, Mary releases her from her duties as her lady in waiting. Lola tells Greer about her fears that her reputation as the king's mistress will keep her from ever finding love again and remarrying. Mary is furious when Lola goes against her orders, but agrees to help her when it's clear that Lola's life is in danger. This leads to the two friends reconciling and Lola even asks Mary to be her son's godmother.

As much as I understand that Mary has very legitimate reasons for having arguments with Lola, I hope that this was their last. One of the things I love about REIGN is the strong female friendships it portrays, which are lacking from so many TV shows. Now with Mary as the baby's godmother, hopefully they'll make things work between the two of them.

From Girl in the Cage to Bride

This episode saw the return of Estelle, the girl whose family owned the house where Lola gave birth to her baby and who we last saw locked in a cage by Narcisse. She returned to court as Narcisse's bride, terrified by the rumors that he'd murdered his previous three wives and begging Lola to use her position as the king's mistress to save her. Though Mary and Francis warn Lola not to get involved, she tells Estelle, "I know what it feels like to be trapped and have no one to turn to." Her plans for Estelle's escape are completely derailed when the girl accidentally kills one of Narcisse's guards and her husband is alerted that she's missing.

Despite their feuding, Mary comes to Lola's rescue and gets Estelle out of the castle. When guards approach, Mary fearlessly threatens them away and tells them that the carriage contains the heart of the former king on its way to Rome. Rather genius, in my opinion, though a bit extreme. Their relief is cut short when Lola is notified that upon reaching friends in the country, Estelle committed suicide by jumping off a cliff claiming she saw her dead parents at the bottom. (So basically everyone is seeing ghosts now, not just Bash. At least we know he's not crazy!) Lola discusses Estelle's death with Narcisse and he tells her that he didn't kill any of his former wives and was actually trying to prevent Estelle from trying to commit suicide again after a previous attempt. I sense a friendship brewing between Lola and the newly widowed nobleman. And I'm kind of hoping that this might be Lola's chance to find a stable relationship and Narcisse's way to get over his son's death. Or maybe I'm just desperate to find someone for Lola who can look past her precarious position at court.

I Will Never Think of Shepherds the Same Way Again

Bash and Conde spend their time sleuthing around the newest hints of the Reckoning: cloaked horsemen who are offering their protection in exchange for the peasants' souls. A terrified shepherd insists that he refused their offer and stayed true to his religion, but trouble is brewing. When Bash and Conde return later, they find the shepherd covered in the blood of his family who he murdered. He tells them, "They took my soul and they let the devil in." Looks like the Reckoning will be happening sooner rather than later.

I'm not a big fan of the supernatural plotlines, but this was rather chilling. Here's to hoping no more people end up covered in their families' blood.

I was very excited to have Leith back on this episode! Who do you want Greer to end up with: Leith or Castleroy? While her and Castleroy's reunion was sweet, her chemistry with Leith cannot be denied. Does anyone else hope that Conde and Mary become best friends? His concern for her when she was miscarrying the baby was so sweet and I love that she finally has someone watching out for her. I don't know if it was just me, but based on his reaction to the christening, it looks like Bash might want a baby of his own...#kennashbaby And speaking of babies, what was up with that butter sculpture?

The preview for next week promised violence amongst the commoners and the threat of civil war. I'm just hoping we find out more about Conde's Protestant beliefs and maybe finally pick up the Clarissa storyline again. (Come on! You can't just tell us that a character is alive and then drop that plotline.)

What did you think of this week's episode? What do you hope to see next week? Comment below or tweet @nicoleackman16 to let me know!

Check out a sneak peek at next week's episode titled 'Blood for Blood':

Photo Credit: REIGN's Official Facebook Page

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