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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

‘Reign’ premieres with new characters, old drama

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Tony Regbo plays King Francis of France and Adelaide Kane plays Mary Queen of Scots in The CW's "Reign," which premiered its third season last week.

“Reign” (2013-present) returned for its third season last Friday, satisfying its patiently waiting fans. The series documents the lives of power couple Mary Queen of Scots (Adelaide Kane) and France's King Francis (Toby Regbo), who are striving to maintain their crowns. The word “documents” is used loosely here, as the show constantly features clothing that looks like it's from Anthropologie, supernatural elements and a bastard brother who never actually existed. Straying from the convoluted plots of the second season, the premiere shows promise for a season filled with drama, intrigue and flower crowns.

A clear distinction between this premiere and older episodes is the political dimension. In season two, the politics seemed to appear out of nowhere and were too boring to follow. In this first episode of season three, however, the politics are quite simple: Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth (Rachel Skarsten) have each become aware of the threat the other poses -- a power struggle that should become an overarching theme throughout the season. Skarsten, who is new to the cast, brings a vulnerability to the strong Queen Elizabeth. Both queens want to outwardly demonstrate dominance; unfortunately, both face problems within their own countries.

In England, Queen Elizabeth has recently ascended to the throne. Unfortunately, the English nobles do not take her seriously, and, in addition to this political strife, the queen has found herself in love with a married man. If only there were someone to mentor her to be the formidable leader that she eventually becomes. Oh wait, there is. Francis’s ruthless mother, Catherine de Medici (Megan Follows), has fled from French court after kidnapping Francis’ (illegitimate) son and the mother of his child, Lady Lola (Anna Popplewell), in the last season finale. Queen Elizabeth and Catherine have one common goal: destroy Mary.

Across the channel, the French court is overflowing with gossip. Former lady-in-waiting Greer (Celina Sinden) has been welcomed back at court, because, quite frankly, the writers needed the character back in the action. The usually cautious Greer has gone through a complete role reversal after becoming attached to nautical bad boy Martin (Sameer Usman). In earlier seasons, Greer never pursued her romantic interests, but now she immediately displays her attraction to Martin. This character development, however, seems like a stretch.

Another stretch in the story line is that of Francis’ half-brother, Bash (Terrence Combs). The writers continue his weird subplot filled with supernatural elements. These scenes with Bash are a waste. He’s a lot like Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) from “Gossip Girl” (2007-2012): cute face, but no decent storylines since the first season.

Fortunately, there are some aspects of this episode that deserve praise. Whereas Greer’s character development feels forced, the depths of characters Lady Lola and Lord Narcisse (Craig Parker) feel genuine. Narcisse has seemingly dropped his moral ambiguity by helping the king and queen politically, but more importantly, he has come clean with his feelings for Lola. Even though Lola seems hesitant about the relationship, she soon flips the dynamic by pursuing him. Their relationship is complex because they were not sprung onto each other quickly. Their relationship has grown for a full season and is now coming to fruition.

On a serious note, executive producer Laurie McCarthy has been revealed that King Francis will die at some point this season. The scenes depicting Francis and Mary coping with the news of his imminent death are emotional. Hopefully for fans of this relationship, this means that Mary and Francis will want to enjoy their finite amount of time together. However, the writers rarely leave characters happy for more than an episode.

If viewers are willing to dissect certain aspects of this show, they will not be disappointed. Would this reviewer recommend “Reign” to a friend? Absolutely not. Will she (with moderate embarrassment) be glued to her TV Fridays at 8 p.m. to watch each episode live? Definitely.