Reign Recap S1E15: The Darkness

Snow covers the palace grounds. Kenna goes to Henry. She didn’t come to him the previous night, he hurt her by binding her too tightly. He tells her to remember her deal, he tells her he has a list of eligible and rich bachelors. He brings out Anna and kisses her in front of Kenna. He has games on his mind, and he wishes Lady Kenna to play with Anna. She’s reluctant, but willing to play. Kenna takes the drink Anna offers, and lets Anna remove her robe and kiss her as Henry watches.

Lola refuses to go and attend the First Rite feast. Mary tells her the tradition, and she knows. She needs to find a husband before everyone realizes that she’s pregnant. Lola does not want to become Francis’s mistress, and the property of France because she made a mistake one night. Mary has suitor picked out for Mary. She tells her that the Count would be a good husband for her, but cautions that it may take time for her feelings to grow for him. Lola thinks she’s be the lucky one if he felt anything for her.

Greer kisses her kitchen boy, Leith, who is kept busy with the First Rite. There is a suitor, Peppercorn as they call him, is back with a renewed interest in Greer, but she only has eyes for Leith. Unfortunately without a title or fortune, they can never wed. They’ll continue their stolen kisses. He gives her a letter from Scotland, and she thanks him. The letter is not good news by her look.

Nostradamus attends Olivia. She’s still troubled, she tells him when she was taken. She was in the tunnels, she was supposed to help Mary and the ladies get to safety, but she did not. She betrayed them, afraid for her own life, that’s when she saw Clarissa. She ran, and found her way into the woods. She ran into hunters, but they did not help her either. They held her, and spoke of the darkness. She tried to stay awake as long as she could, and eventually fell asleep, and woke up bound.

Bash prepares to leave, but Rowan wants him to stay, but he cannot with the snow, it’ll make it easier for him to be tracked. Rowan knows exactly who he’s running from, Francis, and who he is. She speaks of Mary, and the bastard Prince who were to rule England, Scotland and France. She says she’d be sad for him if he wasn’t away from that viper and court. She hopes that he is going away, and not back to Mary. He insists that he is. He thanks her for her hospitality, and she finds blood smeared across her door. Bash asks what the blood means, and she tells him that her family has been chosen, one of them will be sacrified to the darkness. Bash refuses to stand by while one of them is hurt, they’ll stand and fight. Sexy has found a new damsel in distress, and he’s prepared to slay her dragons.

Kenna awakens tied up to the dead prostitute, Anna. She finds Catherine at the First Rite feast, and tells her that the king has done something to a girl, that the King’s sexual appetite has grown. His bit of kink has grown too large. The girl has finger marks on her neck, she was choked to death. Kenna admits to Catherine, that Henry has been on the brink of obsessed with choking during sex lately, asking her to do it a few times. Catherine asks if anyone saw her with Anna, they haven’t so she gives her a cover story to tell. The girl was last seen leaving the king’s chambers up and walking on her own volition. She mentioned getting large amounts of money, she’s been sending it home to a relative far away. Kenna realizes that she won’t tell anyone, and Catherine won’t the King already knows, there’s no one else to tell

.

Lola remarks about the beautiful festival, and Mary points out her count. Sure he’s pretty, but he’s not exactly metrosexual. She could do worst. Mary propels Lola forward. A servant tries to give Mary baby advise, but Francis saves her. Francis notices the Count and Lola chatting it up, Mary admits that she invited him, but he’s not the man that Francis would have chosen for Lola. Perhaps he is in the market for a mistress. The count notices that Lola is refusing food, and he wonders if she doesn’t like France. They chat about the outside peasants, and he admits that he likes her. He’s blunt and straight forward, he needs a wife, and although he can be romantic, he has no time for it. His inheritance is being threatened. He tells her she is beautiful, and offers her his candle. She considers it.

Leith  approaches her at the festival with an invitation from Peppercorn. She accepts the meal invitation, but she struggles to focus on him, and not her love attending them. He’s vetoed pepper from the courses, trying to show her that he can take into account her desires. He wishes to use First Rite to offer up his heart. He asks if he is pleasing her, and before she can answer, his sleeve catches on fire. The Kitchen Boy puts him out.

Catherine goes to speak with Henry. She tells him that Kenna came to him about Anna, but his mind is on the health of Mary Tudor. Catherine announces the dead girl in his chambers, and Henry could care less. Catherine is more worried about the now second dead girl, and Henry is upset that she is bringing housekeeping matters to him. Catherine wants him to visit Nostradamus with news of his health declining, but Henry refuses, for the benefit of the realm.

Nostradamus attends to Olivia. She is getting better under his watch. She gets angered over his attempt to reintroduce her into society. He wants her to rejoin the upstairs, but she doesn’t want to. The darkness let her go because she was already tainted when it came for her, having betrayed those who counted on her, and now having fed off her is in her blood.

Francis pays Lola a visit. He asks if she has accepted the Count’s offer of courtship, she has. He tells her that he only wants what is best for her, and this is not it. He asks if she wants a family and a home, and of course she does. He tells her that the count is a waste of time. She asks if he has issue, or previous issue, he has none. Because of their history, she tells him that the matter of her engagement should be settled sooner than later, and has nothing to do with their tryst in Paris.

Bash reinforces the house, making only one entrance usable, creating a murder hole. Carrick doesn’t believe it will work, but Bash is sure it’s a group of pagans doing it. There is no where for the family to go, and with them being chosen they have to. The darkness has already chosen them. Those who are taken  die, and unfortunately one of them will. Bash continues to try to go over strategy, but none of them are listening. Rowan thinks that Bash lives in an idyllic world, where love and power are the only things worth fighting for. In her world they fight to prevent starvation, but none can fight the darkness. Rowan drugs Bash, because she cannot risk his fight in her world.

Leith rushes to Greer’s room telling her the good new. For saving Lord Peppercorn’s life, he’s offered him an apprenticeship in one of his spice houses. He’d be a member of the merchant class. If he takes the position he may never see her again. As bad as it sounds, they’re love affair would eventually end. She has to marry a man with a title, and he does not have one. She tells him to accept the offer, he tells her that he loves her.

Francis comes to Mary about Lola. He tells her that they need to help Lola, he tells Mary that the Count prefers the company of men. It makes no difference to him he claims, but it may to the Count’s wife. Mary struggles with her options, and finds that he and Lola have spoken, that they have confided in one another. He thinks Mary just has suspicions of the two of them, and makes the confession to ease her mind. They did sleep together, but tells her that it was one night that he didn’t think would matter since she was engaged to Bash. Lola was racked with guilt, guilt he’s been feeling too now that Mary chose him instead. He apologizes, and Mary tells him that is okay, that if circumstances were different, she understands. Somewhere in her head she has to wonder if she chose the wrong brother. She’s not surprised, and he asks if Lola told him, but she tells him it was her deductive reasoning. He makes it clear that there is nothing between them.

Mary confronts Lola, tells her that she lied to her husband for her. A lie that she will have to continue to tell until Lola leaves and moves on. Mary thinks that they should just tell Francis the truth so that they could become friends again. Lola wonders what they are now, they aren’t friends but liars, both made to play roles because of Lola’s mistake. Mary stresses that this could cost her Francis in the long run, that he may lose faith in her because of Lola. But Lola insists that she will take the secret to the grave, but Mary thinks the best course of action is still Lola marrying the Count. They both have secrets, and it would be beneficial for both. Mary confesses the count’s secret. Lola sees that with the Count there is no chance of happiness, but Mary tells her that maybe she had her chance, but she made a mistake, and now needs to fix it before it impact Mary any more than it already has. Mary tells her that if Count Philip asks her marry him she will accept, or she will tell Francis the truth herself.

She finds Francis in her room, alight with candles. It’s a lovely setting, and he’s trying for a grand gesture. He tells her that there have been regrets, and she tells him that she knows that both he and Lola regret what happened. They only regret that they got caught. Francis tries to undress Mary, but she stops him, feigning that its not likely to get her pregnant, so they shouldn’t. He tells her he doesn’t make love to her because he wants a baby, but because he loves her. Mary gives in, and he gets his way.

Greer goes to see Peppercorn. He was thinking of her, and she came to thank him for giving Leith the apprenticeship. He gave it to him, because she asked. He tells her that he’s quite perceptive. He knows she has some feeling for Leith, and appreciates that she has given him a soft landing. She thanks him for all the kindness that he has given to her and Leith, but tells him that she can accept no more.

Bash awakens on the house floor. There is a goat tied up inside, and he himself is trussed up. The family huddles nearby, awaiting the darkness to appear. Bash sees the darkness, it slaughters the goat, and Rowan’s mother tells all to close their eyes. It stops before Rowan, and Bash tells her not to look, but she does, and it drags her out of the house screaming.

Nostradamus and Olivia are in the woods. He pours warm water over her, and tells her that she is renewed. She is only what she chooses. He asks her if she knows what she chooses, and she tells him that she does. She embraces him.

Bash searches the woods for Rowan. Carrick tells her that he will not find her alive, but Bash will not stop fighting. If not for him she would have never looked up, and she would not have seen the face of the thing that took her. Carrick tells him that he cannot fight the darkness alone, but he has no intentions of doing so.

After a night with Francis, Mary remembers what being married  feels like, and apologizes to Lola. She was unfeeling because she was afraid, because Mary has still not gotten pregnant. Mary asks if it was only the one time, and it was. Mary fears that Lola will become Diane. Lola tells her that she is not Diane, Mary is not Catherine, and Francis is not Henry. She tells her to believe that she would not risk Mary’s hatred if she did not hope to find a love of her own, that she does not want Mary’s husband. Mary accepts the risk for now, but warns that Lola must save herself in the end.

Lola finds Greer doing some heavy thinking. Greer is waiting for her destiny, its approaching quickly. Lola is surprised that she knew it was coming. Greer tells her that her parents sent word of her match, and her engagement is all but done. She asks Lola when she will meet her destiny, and Lola hopes it will be soon.

Henry spots Kenna, and he reintroduces her to formalities. He asks if she has had breakfast, and she has, which is good since he sees “a lust in her eyes that will not be easily extinguished.” Catherine spots them in the nick of time, good thing for Kenna. She sends her away, angering Henry. Henry has isolated the cause of his discontent. He is the king by divine decree and yet he has been at the mercy of fate as of late. He has been waiting on the English Queen’s death, lied to by Catherine, by his mistresses while Mary dangled herself in front of his sons, and dangled England in front of him. This all ends now. He plans to use his power for his benefits. People will bend or break to his will.