It was truly a bizarre mind at The CW Television Network who started developing a show based on the teenage years of Mary, Queen of Scots. Fortunately, the end product turns out to be so bizarre it’s brilliant.
The opening was all gothic dream sequence as a man strolled into a forest with blood pouring from his face, and then died. Nice and dramatic. We swiftly bounced along to spotting Mary (Adelaide Kane), suitably attractive for a lead on a CW show and definitely with more manicured eyebrows than the average 16th century girl.
For her own good, after an assassination attempt barely two minutes in, Mary’s packed off to the French Court where she’s going to marry Francis (Toby Regbo), Dauphin of France. Of course he’s a scoundrel and bonking a sultry courtier named Natalia who has a husky voice and says things like: “no-one ever sees me, no-one ever will,” before stripping. For added complication there’s also Sebastian (Torrance Coombes), the King’s bastard, who clearly has a thing going for Mary.
If one love triangle isn’t enough, there’s also the searing fury of Catherine de Medici (Megan Follows) toward Diane de Poitiers (Anna Walton) and her very public affair with King Henri II (Alan Van Spring). Added into the mix are Mary’s ladies-in-waiting who all have very 16th century names like Lola (Anna Popplewell), and lastly, and most bizarrely of all, Nostradamus (Rossif Sutherland), who’s there to bring gloomy tidings to all.
That the pilot packed in two assassination attempts, a hefty amount of courtly plotting, some very awkward romantic scenes between Mary and Francis (despite having been contracted since 6, Francis isn’t altogether sure he wants to marry Mary) and an enormous amount of exposition just in case you didn’t know who absolutely everyone was, was very impressive work.
Kane was also remarkably strong as a lead, although her accent was a bit all over the place, lunging from a very mild twang of her natural Australian to what can only be described as stage-school Scottish. Still there were enough elements to keep you going, without a faintly ridiculous “next time on Reign,” segment at the end that promised plots, romance and intrigue. Also the ladies-in-waiting are going to get so annoying. One of them has already slept with Henri II.
Biggest Zing from the Queen of France:
“We are overrun by Scots.”
Doubtful Historical Subplot:
That Mary’s lady-in-waiting Lola was in love with a servant’s boy called Collin in Aberdeen, and then Collin actually forked out to sail to France to see her.
Dodgy Period Dialogue:
Mary: “You aren’t even going to give us a shot are you?”
Just in case you weren’t a history buff:
On both occasions that there are assassination attempts somebody immediately blames the English. “He was trying to assassinate you.” “AN ENGLISH PLOT!?” Its only 1557 guys, Elizabeth doesn’t take the throne till 1558, chill your beans.