The CW's Reign - Episode 1.19 Toy Soldiers
When Mary's uncle arrives in France with devastating news about her mother, Mary and Francis are torn between putting their own countries first or saving their marriage. With the English throne in jeopardy, King Henry hatches an elaborate plan that will end in disaster. Bash and Kenna solidify their marriage and begin to trust one another.
The constant back-and-forth between Mary and Francis in love with each other and angry with each other is starting to feel a little played out. It's still the most interesting relationship on the show that grew even stronger once they became husband and wife. Now, they are a couple facing the world of politics. That political intrigue is what I wanted the show to be from the very beginning - back when it was about love triangles and the girls talking about their first kisses. The show has come a long way this season. And yet, the show also feels in a rut of sorts with Mary and Francis.The last episode ended very strongly with Francis locking Mary up in the tower as a way to protect her. "Toy Soldiers" works to undo all of that within the very first minutes. The first time we see Mary here, she's off having a snowball fight with her ladies. That's such an odd place to pick things up. It undercuts everything the show meticulously built in the prior episode. And then, the show still wants to continue that story of Scotland falling apart with France's support shaky at best. And that ultimately boils down to that back-and-forth amongst Mary and Francis. She needs her uncle's army to help save her mother. The French don't like her uncle. The uncle wants a high ranking position in Francis' court when he's king.
And then, there's Crazy King Henry who has started to act. Big stuff happens in this episode. Instead of stretching out the idea of whether or not Mary will be the next Queen of England, the show finally gives an answer. She's not. That contingency is the most important thing to Henry and now he's furious. And furious and crazy are just a potent combination. He's on such a power trip now. He's off to do battle with the English and is under the belief that he'll win because God is on his side. He may in fact win but only because Francis has a better strategy. Like I've been saying for weeks, this story is going to end tragically. Now, I'm just waiting for the tragedy to happen.
Some more thoughts:
- "Toy Soldiers" was written by Mike Herro & David Strauss and directed by Chris Grismer.
- I can just feel the writerly wheels turning. Francis is going to go off and fight this battle and come back sick. Mary's going to learn she's pregnant while he's away. It's just so blatantly telegraphed throughout the close of this episode that the surprise is going to be gone.
- And then, there's the Bash and Kenna having sex plot. That's literally all that they do here.
- Also, there's stuff with Greer and the man she's going to marry and just how nice he is. He's one of the few recurring characters who has remained nice and pleasant for his entire stay.
- Lastly, there's Catherine dealing with Penelope once and for all. It's all totally pointless. That character and story did nothing for the show except fill time. I'm glad it's over.
