Reign – Dead of Night

By: Stacy Miller

The episode opens with Mary (Adelaide Kane) and Greer (Celina Sinden) sitting in the royal garden. Greer is holding her daughter Rose.  Mary is grateful that Greer came back to court, especially after Mary was forced to banish James (Dan Jeannotte) when he took the blame for the deaths of the Hamilton family. Mary tells Greer that Darnley has been better since he found out that she was pregnant. So, she has decided that she will try as well. Greer thinks that Mary’s feelings for Lord Bothwell (Adam Croasdell) might make it difficult for her to fully commit to her marriage. The conversation is interrupted by Darnley (Will Kemp).  He has news from England: It seems that Elizabeth (Rachel Skarsten) is looking towards seeking a husband herself.  She is considering Archduke Ferdinand (Steve Byers). If the union takes place, Elizabeth will have the Catholic support since Ferdinand is a Catholic.  The church may even change their backing from Scotland to England.

In France, Narcisse (Craig Parker) questions Nicole (Ann Pirvu) about how Charles (Spencer MacPherson) is faring with his young brother Henry (Nick Slater) returning to court. Nicole assures that she is handling Charles and making sure he knows that he is important and the king. Meanwhile, Henry is showing his sister Claude (Rose Williams) and her husband Luc (Steve Lund) the presents he brought back from his victory fighting the Turks.  Among the treasures is a book of black magic. When Catherine (Megan Follows) sees the book, she orders Henry to hand it to her. How could he have possibly brought something as dangerous to court?

Mary and Darnley have a meeting with some nobles, including Lord Barrett (James Gilbert). The men plan on launching an attack against Queen Elizabeth. Mary thanks them for the risk that they are taking and present them with her royal seal to show her support.  They will also have full use of the Scottish army if they need it, but Mary says she hopes that Elizabeth will acknowledge Mary as the rightful heir to the English throne someday.

In England, Ferdinand tells Elizabeth that it is an honor that she wants him as her suitor. Elizabeth thinks it would be for the best if they kept their relationship a secret until their two countries have met and discussed terms. He adds that he just doesn’t want their marriage to be about gaining a crown, he wants to have something real come from it between them. Elizabeth smiles and says she wants the same. So Elizabeth, why did you kiss Gideon (Ben Geurens) the moment you left Ferdinand?  Elizabeth tells Gideon that Ferdinand is a nice man and has treated her with respect, but when she is talking with him she can’t stop thinking about Gideon.  He feels the same, seeing and hearing about her with another man has been harder for Gideon than he thought it would be. But he promises that if it gets too difficult, he’ll leave court.

Lord Bothwell comes to the castle in answer to Mary’s distress call.  Of course, Darnley is very angry as he is Mary’s husband and the one she should be leaning on when she’s in trouble or needs help.  Mary apologizes to Darnley and tells Bothwell that she shouldn’t have called him.  Darnley overhears (because he is standing right behind Mary while she is talking to Bothwell) and tells Bothwell that he knows that he was the Royal Watchman that provided Mary with information about him (Darnley). He thinks that Bothwell should be bowing to him as the new king.  Lord Bothwell is not sorry that he sent Mary those letters about Darnley and as far as bowing to Darnley, Bothwell says that he is an Englishman playing at being a Scottish king. If Bothwell had his way, he would make sure English blood was spilled before he’d bow to a faux English/Scottish King. Fighting words indeed!  Both Bothwell and Darnley draw their swords. Mary has to pull them apart. Darnley orders Bothwell to leave court.

Henry and Charles are playing tennis when things take a turn for the bloody worse and Henry’s ball hits Charles in the face! As Charles is taken to get medical attention, Narcisse discovers that Henry’s ball was filled with rocks. Catherine confronts Henry about the tennis ball rock and tells him that she’s noticed his behavior with Nicole and the way he is acting like he is king. Henry tells his mother that his sister Queen Leeza (Anastasia Phillips) told him that their brother Charles had mental issues and wasn’t fit to be king.  “What has he done to deserve to be king?” Henry demands.  “He was born first, that’s all he needs to do,” is Catherine’s response.  She warns her son that if he doesn’t apologize to his brother she’ll inform Spain and the Vatican of the book of black magic Henry brought to court. And both don’t tolerate heretics. Catherine is adamant; unless Henry apologizes to Charles, she’ll turn him in for witchcraft!

Darnley continues to try to convince Mary to give him the crown matrimonial, reasoning that if something were to happen to her she’d want to ensure Scotland was safely protected. He reminds that if Elizabeth were to find the royal seal of Scotland, Mary would be the one she’d suspect.  Mary takes this as a threat and says that she can’t believe Darnley would threaten his wife, the mother of his child and his queen.

At the family dinner, Henry’s apology to Charles is anything but; it is more like him taunting his brother about Charles’ mental state that makes him unfit to be king.

Mary meets with Lord Bothwell and tells him to abort the mission to go to England and bring the men back to Scotland. As he is the only one she can trust, Mary says that she needs Bothwell to still go to England to find information on Elizabeth, but warns that if he is caught he could be killed.  She requests that he located Gideon, who is the only other person she trusts it.  Despite the danger, Bothwell agrees to make the journey to England because of his love for Mary.

Claude is upset at how torn apart her family is since Henry’s homecoming. Her husband Luc comforts her and suggests that they start their own family.

Narcisse tells Henry he made a mistake with that wretched apology so now Narcisse has no choice, but to report his witchcraft activities to Spain. Henry tells Narcisse that if he attempts to do that, he’ll tell Charles about Narcisse’s dalliance with Nicole. Narcisse isn’t impressed; Henry’s young and has a lot to learn if he wants to go up against him.  But when he speaks with Catherine later, Narcisse tells her that Charles is just playing at being king but Henry IS king and would be better for the throne.

Lord Bothwell and David Rizzio (Andrew Shaver) arrive in England and meet with Gideon.  They tell him that they need his help because Queen Mary is in danger by a man named Lord Barrett, who also happens to be in England.

Darnley interrupts Mary and Greer as they are having a private conversation to again demand the crown matrimonial. He had a document drawn up for her signature, but she rips it in two. In anger, Darnley again threatens Mary.  This time he tells her that he’ll let Elizabeth know that Mary is plotting against her.

David Rizzio and Lord Bothwell order Lord Barrett and his men to return to Scotland.  But Barrett says that he only takes orders from King Darnley. Bothwell tells him that Darnley has no power and demands he return Mary’s seal.  Then, Bothwell knocks Gideon unconscious and takes him back to Scotland.  Gideon wakes up to find Mary in front of him.  She tells him that she can’t allow him to return to England because he knows information that can’t get back to Elizabeth. Mary insists that she is no longer interested in pursuing the English throne because she has enemies in Scotland she needs to deal with; her own husband at the top of the list. Mary regrets that she didn’t listen to Gideon when he warned her about Darnley.

Catherine comes to see Charles in his bedchamber and assures him that he will be the strong king France needs. She then takes his hairbrush and performs a spell from the black magic book of Henry’s.

Gideon is back in England and encourages Elizabeth to marry Ferdinand.  He also tells her about the attack against her that Mary stopped and insists Mary is no longer after her throne.

As the episode closes, Mary sits on her throne between Rizzio (her advisor) and Bothwell (her bodyguard). She tells Darnley that her royal seal and men are back in Scotland and the plot against Elizabeth was aborted. Mary won’t forgive the threats he made against her even as Darnley tries to apologize that he spoke in anger. Catching the look Bothwell gives when Darnley talks about Mary being pregnant with his child, Darnley insinuates that maybe he (Darnley) is not the father.  Mary orders her husband to leave her sight.