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‘Reign’ recap: One man dies, one man goes mad, and one man plots revenge

By Alexandria Ingham

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Photo Credit: Reign/The CW Image Acquired from CW TV PR

Reign Season 4 returns after a week break and now there are just two weeks left until the series finale. Nobody is safe, even though Mary has an epiphany.

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History is full of traitors, blood, war, and executions. You don’t need to look far for proof. If The Tudors was never enough to prove it, Reign has certainly become enough. This week tops the scales, as Elizabeth finds and loses happiness in less than an hour.

Out of all the storylines this week, France’s is the weakest. Sure there was some intrigues, but the Scottish and English storylines are by far the most exciting. So, let’s take a look inside Reign Season 4, Episode 14, “A Bride. A Box. A Body.” All three of those are prominent towards the end.

Scotland: Mary is out for revenge

The episode starts in Scotland, so it only makes sense to start with Scotland for the recap of the three kingdoms. Lord Rutherford is being hanged for his traitorous way, and Mary has no qualms about watching it happen.

We jump forward two months, only to learn that the conspirators of the coup that killed Rizzio are still out there. Darnley is missing, but James (Mary’s brother finally gets a mention) is out looking for him in the West. And to get us all excited, she’s finally admitting to herself and Bothwell that she wants to be with the new man she loves.

It doesn’t take long to get news about a conspirator, who Darnley has turned in. Apparently, Darnley wants the chance to know his child and he’s even willing to let Mary go and be happy. She will give him this chance, but then makes it clear that it’s all a trap. Mary will have Darnley arrested afterwards.

None of this quite turns out quite as planned. Darnley uses a story of promised safety in England, but all the conspirators need to be in the one place. They’re barricaded in and the building is set on fire, with the only person to really blame being Darnley. It’s not that surprising that he’s arrested, but Mary doesn’t want him tortured.

France: Charles chooses a bride

It’s all about securing a relationship with Spain right now. Charles needs to choose a Spanish bride, but they’re honestly not that appealing. He doesn’t want anyone else. He wants Nicole.

You remember Nicole, right? She’s the one that was manipulating Charles and is now sleeping with his brother Henri behind his back. Unfortunately for Henri and Nicole they’re spotted by Luke, who goes straight to Catherine to tell her the truth.

https://twitter.com/annpirvu/status/870809587066318849

As Claude and Luke are sent on the joint task to convince Henri to break up with Nicole, there is hope for the couple. It’s clear that both have feelings for each other, but Claude needs to admit them. We do later find out that Luke would like to be with Claude, but he wants her to be happy. She can’t do that when she wants to be with Leith. He’s a sweetheart but he should be fighting for this woman.

As for Henri, he quickly agrees to breaking it off with Nicole. This may have something to do with fear. After all, Nicole did just find him admiring himself with one of her earrings up against his ear. Our baby king-wannabe (who definitely looks older than his brother) has a dark secret; one that would see him hanged. He likes to dress up in women’s clothes.

Nicole is free to leave him if she wishes, but she surprises him with a kiss and one of her earrings. Just why is she getting herself into this?

Maybe she should have thought about this before telling Charles that the Spanish brides were the reason she wanted some space. After hearing how Luke just wants Claude to be happy and marry the man she loves, Charles gets an idea. He’s going to marry Nicole.

Oh dear, Charlie boy! Things are not looking good with Spain.

England: Happiness only lasts for so long

Elizabeth just cannot catch a break when it comes to men. While the archduke is lovely, she’s just not happy with the idea of sending Gideon away. She wants to be with him and needs to convince the archduke that he’s just useful for her politically and for her protection.

While the archduke accepts that, he makes it very clear to Gideon that Elizabeth has feelings for him and only him. Gideon believes the man rather than looking deep into Elizabeth’s eyes to see how she feels.

It looks like we’re going to lose our English favorite, but Elizabeth has a trick up her sleeve. Jane brings Gideon to her to an abandoned chapel, where she confesses her love. She will never lie to Gideon, but that doesn’t mean she won’t lie to others—as she has been for some time.

Gideon buys it and accepts the hand fasting ceremony in front of God with Anne Boleyn’s own dress shawl. It’s a beautiful moment as Elizabeth and Gideon both mention the women that mean the most to them, Elizabeth’s mother and Gideon’s daughter.

Now if only the happiness could last. The clue for what happens next was earlier in the episode, when Gideon returned from his trip with a slight fever. It turns out that he was poisoned and dies in the middle of a field in Elizabeth’s arms. She’s distraught but vows to him that she will find out who did this.

It’s easy to think that it’s the archduke, but there’s someone else at play. You see, we have the bride and the body, but what about the box?

"“Revenge is no meant to ease pain. It’s meant to balance the scales.”"

This has to be my favorite episode of Reign tonight. It’s one of Narcisse’s lines, after he delivers a mysterious box to Mary. Out for revenge for Lola’s death, he makes it clear that he is taking away the things that each person involved in the execution hold dear.

Mary is sickened that Narcisse has willingly castrated Knox and then delivered certain body parts to her. What would she possibly want with them?

But that’s not all. Gideon’s death wasn’t by the archduke at all. Narcisse knew that Elizabeth loved Gideon more than anyone else. Killing Gideon was a chance to let Elizabeth know just how it felt to lose the one person she loved.

If that wasn’t enough of a twist, the ending is where it gets extremely dark. It will be interesting to see where Reign goes with this, considering there are now just three episodes left. We’re talking about Darnley, who has been released from jail. Mary can’t deal with the bitterness and pools of blood anymore, so she decides to work on her marriage (no Mary, choose Bothwell!).

Darnley’s mother goes to see Darnley, who is putting on his crown and admits that he didn’t want to kill the men initially. “She” told him to.

Who is this mysterious “she?” Why it’s Kira, of course! As Lady Lennox points out, Kira is dead, but for Darnley Kira is very much alive.

Next: 'Reign' Season 4, Episode 13 recap

Where does Reign go from this point? Don’t forget to tune in next Friday at 9 p.m. on The CW for the penultimate episode of the season.

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