Reign Tv show reviews

How books and tv shows talk about Britain & Scotland’s common history, part 2 :

Name : Reign

Channel : CW

Number of seasons : 2 (at the moment)

Number of episodes : 44 (36 broadcasted, 7 episodes left until the end of the season 2)

Synopsis: "The highly fictionalized series follows the early exploits of Mary Queen of Scots during her years living in France. The first season opens in 1557, with Mary living in French court and awaiting her marriage to Prince Francis, to whom she has been engaged since they were six. Mary has to contend with changing politics and power plays, as well as her burgeoning feelings for Francis and the romantic attentions from Francis' bastard half-brother, Bash. Francis' mother, Catherine de Medici, secretly tries to prevent the marriage following Nostradamus' confidential prediction that the marriage will lead to Francis' death. The series also follows the affairs of Mary's Scottish handmaidens Kenna, Aylee, Lola and Greer, who are searching for husbands of their own at court.

Opening narration for Season 1 (episodes 2-11):

“

Since Mary, Queen of Scotland, was a child the English have wanted her country and her crown. She is sent to France to wed its next king, to save herself and her people - a bond that should protect her, but there are forces that conspire, forces of darkness, forces of the heart. Long may she reign.

”

The second season opens after the death of King Henry II, and follows the rise of Francis and Mary as King and Queen of France and Scotland. Together they have to balance their marriage with their roles as monarchs, and deal with the rising religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics."

(I promise I'll try to contain myself and my passion for gifs)

It's time for a new tv show review, yeah! Bring confetti!

The principal actors : Adelaide Kane  (Mary),  Toby Regbo (Francis) Torrance Coombs (Sebastian/Bash)

 As in the last review, we are going to start with the trailer :

And the opening :

I was always a big fan of CW's tv shows, I can say proudly that I watch almost all of their series (Arrow, The Flash, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Supernatural etc) and I was looking for a new kind of tv divertissement before trying Reign. When I saw the trailer I was absolutely intrigued.

We can see Reign as a “Tudors” look-a-like tv show, except that the target is clearly teenagers. The story takes place at the Court of France, and almost never leaves this setting, yet we hear a lot about England and Scotland, especially because Mary is the Queen of Scots, even if she didn’t really lived there once.

I’ll start with the bad point first and finish with the good points of this tv show. First, what really bothered me in the season one is the lack of history veracity. But even if the series is highly fictionalized, it’s a divertissement and, episodes after episodes; we are used to it and forget about this “default”. At the beginning the tv show can also be seen as immature (as the target is teenagers, there’s a lot of cheesy moments, love triangle, etc) but as the story goes on, it becomes darker: murders, rape, betrayal, war…

I really loved how they tried to modernize the 16^th century, especially with the wardrobe : every episode looks like a Fashion Week show…

 

The true strength of this tv series is its characters : they are multiple, from the King and Queen to the servants, everybody has a role to play in the story and every episode is full of surprises. I liked the fact that all the actors were not really famous, it’s lovely to see “new faces” developing their characters’ story and growing up in front of the camera. The only person you may know is the actress, who acts Lady Lola, Anna Popplewell, known for her participation in Narnia. Good news: she kept her archery skills.

If I had to choose my favorite character, I think it would be Sebastian (aka Bash) the King Henry’s bastard. I always fall for the underdogs (you know, the guy who never gets the girl) and this time was not an exception. If we put aside the love triangle in the season 1 with Mary and his (half) brother Francis, Bash is a loyal character, to his people, his family. The most important for him is to protect the persons he loves and he would do anything for them…

 

About the main character: Mary. At first I found she was very childish and more than that: Naïve. But she was not use to the toxic atmosphere of the French court and didn’t understand what she was doing there. Then, she grows up and takes her responsibility, especially after the Coronation, which was beautiful and moving. The efforts put in the photography, in the set and in the tiny details of this tv show are wonderful.

 

After that and all Mary had to go through, she become more confident, more proud of her country and ready to fight for it. She is the queen of Scots and she claims it. She became also more “cruel”, ready to make strategies for her own good and for her people, as Catherine de Medicci would do. She's a very inspiring woman, struggling for her place at court and for her surviving. And as a picture is worth a thousand words: 

     

                

I know what you are thinking : What is the link with Scotland and England's common history? The link with Scotland's wish to be independent?

Here we go : 

To finish I can only say that Reign is truly a fantastic show but I would advise you to go your way if you can’t bear fictionalized historical series. But if you like tv shows with a piece of magic and modern touches (like Outlander, for exemple) Reign could be a good match for you. We explore Mary’s fate which crosses three countries’ destiny: France, England and Scotland…

That's all for this review, see you in a while for another article! 

Sources of the gifs : here, here, here and here