'Reign': Mary and Bash Prepare to Take the Thrown

If there were any delusion that Reign intended to stay true to history (which really, there shouldn't have been at this point), it's all gone now. In a bizarre turn of events, Mary and Bash are set to be wed and Bash to be legitimized and put in the line of succession. You might remember that they ran away together at the end of the winter finale, but it was hardly under romantic conditions. It works out, though, since their engagement isn't romantic either.

The episode begins with Mary and Bash on the run from all the king's horses and all the king's men, who are determined to bring them to court again. When they're eventually found, Bash is threatened and Mary comes along willingly, since they couldn't force her to (what with her being a queen in her own right and all).

Back at the French court, King Henry demands that Mary marry Francis immediately and lay claim to the English thrown like he wanted all along. He has the perfect plan to cover-up her running away: Cold feet. #eyeroll.

But Mary, being the feisty gal that she is, completely refuses. She has no intention of marrying Francis and playing into Nostradamus' prophecy. The King isn't amused by her political debate with him and makes a mean counteroffer: She can either marry Francis and do what he says or he'll kill Bash for treason. Yep, the man is ready to kill his favorite son just to get his way (and England. His way and England). Mary is, understandably, a little torn about this choice.

Even though Catherine warns her against it, she admits to Francis that her belief in a prophecy about him dying is the real reason she called off the wedding and ran away. He does exactly what his mother predicted and pulls out a big pile of logic to use against Mary. She hold strong to her belief that he's doomed to die if she's at his side and hatches Plan B.

What is Plan B? Simple, Henry will legitimize his bastard son Bash, putting him next in line for the thrown and then Mary will marry him. She's okay with being a French political pawn, so long as Francis is safe. Catherine, as selfless as she's claimed to be regarding Francis up to this point, is not pleased with this plan, which would require her to submit to an annulment, illegitimate all of her sons, and leave her powerless and open to attacks. She's a mean, mean woman and has made a lot of enemies. You'd be scared in her position too.

In the end, Henry agrees to try Mary's plan and sets off to Rome to ask for the annulment. Catherine's plotting is laid out before she can do it, Bond villain-style, by Henry, and Francis chimes in to warn her that if she causes anyone involved to come to harm in an attempt to put him back on the throne, his first order of business as king will be her execution. Ouch. At first, Catherine is all ready to go "visit a relative" at a convent indefinitely, but Henry thinks better of letting her leave. She's a crafty woman and he doesn't trust her, especially while he's traveling to Rome. So Catherine earns herself a spot in palace lockdown.

It's amazing how okay with this plan everyone seems to be by the end of the episode. Francis has to be plotting a way to get Mary back. He just has to be. And for his part, Bash seems pretty unenthusiastic about the idea of being king. He's into Mary and loves his brother, so he's going along with it, but he could not seem much less excited about the whole thing. Here's hoping that the intensity picks up next week.

Image: The CW