Love triangles can be a messy affair, not just for the characters involved, but for the people watching as well. It creates a divide of sorts, pitting fans against each other in a full on ‘shipping war. And the funny thing is, we like it. In fact, we thrive on it. This is the stuff great Tumblrs and GIFs are made of. It's why Reign's Mary & Bash 'ship was once so fun.
However, Reign has been playing by a completely different set of rules since Day 1. Instead of a slow, gradual build up, Reign Season 1 introduced the love triangle into the equation almost immediately. Some may argue that it happened a little too fast. (Not to take sides, but I'm totally taking sides. You’ve got to give the core couple time to establish their relationship before bringing a big third party player into the mix.) But nevertheless, the Mary-Francis-Bash love triangle was born, and with it, an equally passionate fan base for both brothers. Then the series did something I doubt anyone was expecting: they gave us a resolution.
Mary chose to wed Francis instead of Bash, which then resulted in Bash marrying Kenna, ultimately putting an end to the love triangle altogether. That seems awfully quick, no? Those folks over at The Vampire Diaries didn’t let Elena and Damon have their first kiss until halfway through the third season. And it was well worth the wait. So to have Mary go from two perspective love interests to being a married woman all within the span of 13 episodes gave me a bit of whiplash.
Granted, there’s always a chance the writers could find a way to revive Mary and Bash's romance during Reign Season 2. But when you have not one, but two different marriages to contend with, it makes the process pretty damn complicated, and therefore less likely to happen. Plus, given that many fans are already familiar with Mary’s history, I’m surprised they jumped to the marriage so quickly. Moving at a slower pace would’ve given Mary and Bash fans at least a little more time before shoving what they had out the door. Not to mention, I’ve always been a big fan of the slow burn process. It's all about the anticipation.
So where exactly did it all go wrong? The answer to that can be summed up in two words: meddling mothers.
If you recall, Mary and Bash grew quite close after news of Nostradamus’ prophecy became public knowledge — foretelling that Francis would die if he and Mary were to wed. As a solution, Mary struck a deal with King Henry to have Bash legitimized and marry him instead. Obviously, Catherine was none too thrilled with the thought of her son be ousted from the throne, so she took matters into her own hands (i.e. attempted murdering both Mary and Bash). But when Nostradamus’ visions changed, claiming it was safe for Mary and Francis to be together, Catherine nudged (OK, more like shoved) Mary back into Francis’ waiting arms.
And while that may have been enough to spark the start of a reunion, it took an equally conniving mother to ensure a shotgun wedding. Enter Mary’s mother, Marie de Guise, who faked the news of the Queen of England’s death in order to push her daughter into rushing her decision on which man to marry. In the end, she chose Francis, and poor Bash was forced to watch them have sex on their wedding night because marriage traditions back then were super sketchy and very creepy.
So there you have it — when in doubt, blame the mothers. (That’s always been my motto anyway.) But as for whether or not Mary and Bash’s relationship can overcome these many obstacles, I’d say nothing is impossible — especially when your opponent is the father of another woman’s child and is supposed to die within a year after his marriage.
Your move, Reign writers.
Images: Ben Mark Holzberg/The CW (3); Christos Kalohoridis/The CW; overrunbyscots/Tumblr (2)
