Reign Recap S1E22 (Finale) Slaughter of Innocence

Henry proves he’s still the King of Crazy Town. In the middle of the night he has summoned everyone to the courtyard urgently. He plans to find the person responsible for his assassination attempt, he gotten new guards, and now he has been told by God how to find the guilty. He has a group from the palace gathered as he taunts them that the sword will chose the guilty. His ghost talks to him, and calms him telling him to let the souls confess their sins themselves, that God likes that best. He asks who has gone to confessional and one man admits that he has. He asks if the man has fornicated or taken the Lord’s name in vain since, he has not. Henry skewers the man, for being more ready than him. He tells the people to prepare for the Celebration of Calais as the sun rises.

Francis always looked up to his father growing up, but that man is gone. Francis knows that the sanity he saw in his father is long gone. Assassination is not an option, he knows that. The only option is a coup, a military removal from the throne. Catherine cautions that it is very dangerous for all of them to be considering it. Francis wonders where he will find men loyal to him and not his father. Mary reasons that there must be many, Henry was heavy handed and fired many generals before the war. It’s decided, they will plot this coup, Henry will be removed from the throne, imprisoned and allowed to die a natural death, and Mary will rule at Francis’ side.

Pascal has another nightmare. He saw the darkness coming at him through the window. Kenna reasons with the child, the shadows he saw were the guards that Bash sent. Bash will not let anything happen to them she tells him. Bash is looking for the darkness now, with Nostradamus by his side.

Leith has returned to the palace, and Francis welcomes him with open arms. Now recovered from his injuries, he’s found the gift that Francis has given him. He does not have a title, but a generous land endowment. Francis wishes he could have titled him, but the King isn’t being reasonable at the moment, and giving Leith the land was the least he could do for saving his life. Leith sees a girl being put into an uncomfortable position. One of the King’s personal guards is throwing around his title, and being pushy. Leith swoops in and saves the girl. She’s very grateful, and asks him to have a drink with her, but he cannot. He’s after another girl. She takes the news well, but she’s disappointed. Ooh, Greer has some competition.

Henry goes on with his plans to kill his son. He plans to kill Francis during the feast. He wishes to make it look as if Francis choked to death. He order that the garlands be left in place, as there will be a wedding in the not so distant future.

Francis sets out to find the disposed of generals. Henry is pleased to see his son and Mary. He insists that Mary be around to see the naval display he has planned. He apologizes for being distant in the past and plans to change that. He admits that he was bitter about their lack of child, but now thinks it may have been for the best. Francis wishes to set out, but Henry doesn’t want him to go. Francis is not just any war hero, he lead the final rally to victory at Calais. Francis tells him that he’s going to see some of the injured soldiers, but Henry makes it clear that he will be there for the feast. Henry offers Mary his arm, making sure she can’t get away.  

Leith arrives, and Greer mistakes him for another servant, engulfed in her book. She is very happy to see him. He excitedly tells Greer about his new lands, his heart in his hands, he’s a war hero and he saved Francis’ life. She thinks that it’s wonderful but it’s not enough. He is not a rich man, but a comfortable man. She’s been sold to the highest bidder, Casselroy. Her father is too deep in debt, her sisters are banking on her good match for dowries, her family is counting too much on her their financial future. Leith is due to be on the naval ships on display, as a hero of Calais. Greer doesn’t want to leave on bad terms. Leith wants her to consider herself, her heart, and to give them a chance, but walks away.

Lola drops in on a woman. She was headed back to the castle, when she went started having trouble. She’s in labor, but the woman is not a midwife, and the woman is concerned what will happen should Lola die.

The celebration is to begin. Henry pays Mary extra attention, trying to see to her every comfort. Greer tells Casselroy that Leith came to see her, and he takes comfort in the fact that she didn’t run into his arms. Henry coos over Mary, giving her a blanket. Cannons fire towards the ships full of soldiers. Odd since they thought that fireworks were to be used. Henry grabs at Mary’s hand, and she looks at him horrified. One of the ships is hit, and it goes down to Mary’s revulsion. Henry told them to fire on the ships with care. He stalks off, vowing to do better the following day. He wants to seduce her with pomp and pageantry.

100 men died in the accident, and Mary blames himself. Catherine tells Mary that Henry has asked for an annulment again, she warns Mary that she believes that he has targeted Mary. Henry took an interest in the fact that she was not pregnant, that he was actually happy about it. Mary reasons that Francis would never agree to an annulment, when she and Catherine have an epiphany. Henry plans to kill Francis. They have to act now, they have to kill Henry to save Francis.

Francis comes across a group of soldiers fishing bodies out of the bay. They tell Francis about the cannons, the accident. The men were on their way to England, for a war that Henry had promised to hold off on, but at least they died quickly. Francis cannot believe the words, and it gets worse when he hears that Henry has ordered that the rest of the soldiers are to leave that evening.

Mary goes to her uncle about the coup. She needs his help, and reasons that the King is erratic, and getting worse. Guise isn’t against the coup, but he sees Francis as the leader to be a failure. Mary needs to step up and take France. With the triple crown option they actually have a chance of success.

Bash and Nostadamus try to figure out why the Darkness would take Pascal to a little cottage. Nostadamus finds pictogtraphs on the walls, pictures of disasters and predictions. There is only one picture that has not come to pass yet. There is a pagan rhyme on the wall, one that Bash has heard Pascal recite. It ends with “For I am the Darkness.” Bash is filled with fear.

Pascal mutters the rhyme, and Kenna comes to see why he saying it again, thinking it’s a calming mechanism for him. Pascal notices that all of the guards have gone quiet, that they’re gone. Kenna sees a hulking shadow walk past the window. The darkness has come for Pascal. Kenna fights to keep the Darkness out. She bars the door and yells for help. A man speaks, he is the darkness. He tells them that he has killed the guards, and asks that Pascal sacrifice her.

Greer goes to see if Leith is on the list of the dead. He is not, when Greer sees him she jumps into his arms.

Catherine watches the joust in distaste. Henry is upset that more people have not come. Mary makes a splashy entrance, wearing the English coat of arms. The people cheer for her, and King Henry finds her to be a vision. He’s happy until he realizes that he is no longer the center of attention. He stops the competition. He will joust and show his prowess. A few English sympathizers leave, but Mary asks her Uncle to detain them. Catherine hopes that Mary knows what she is doing, and she believes that she is, that she’s giving the people hope. Catherine misses the girl that Mary was, the sweet, innocent one. Mary tells her that she should, that girl was easier to kill.

Greer stops Leith before they can take the next step. She wants him to hold her, but there is no reason to stop. She could marry him. She won’t though. She was scared of losing him, and he warns her that if she does not take this chance she will. He begs her to marry him, but she cannot. Leith makes a promise to her. She threw away her chance at happiness, and he plans to rise and rise to power, but he will never again be hers.

Henry enters the joust. He and Montgomery take a few passes, and Henry falls from his horse injured. Montgomery returns to his tent while Henry is attended to, but it was not Montgomery in the joust, but Francis. Francis knocked out Montgomery and took his place.

The door gives way, its Bash to the rescue, but the darkness hasn’t left. Kenna shouts out a warning as the darkness closes in on Bash. They fight, and Nostradamus brings him down. Nostradamus takes Kenna and Pascal to safety. The darkness is trying to keep the black death at bay, he believes that if his successor, Pascal, does not come with him then the Black Death will return. Nostradamus has seen visions of the Black death returning, but Bash doesn’t believe it. Pagan borne or not, Bash doesn’t think that the Darkness has the power to hold something like that back.

Catherine updates Mary and Francis on Henry’s condition. A shard of wood is embedded in his brain, he is going to die. Mary reasons that it is God’s Will, that they had nothing to do with Henry’s injury. Catherine goes to say her goodbyes to Henry. He seems to have come back from crazytown, but he wishes for Catherine to become friends with Diane. They’ve been a part of eachother’s life for a long time. Catherine agrees to reach out to her. It’s Francis’ turn next. Henry tells Francis of his namesake, his uncle, the brother that Henry lost. He was to be king, he would have been a better king. Henry tells Francis that he killed his brother, that no one ever knew, and finally Francis understand why Henry always warned him about Bash. Henry laments that it’s a weight he has carried this entire time. Death takes Henry away. Henry’s death is announced and Francis flees the room, responsible for killing his father. He runs straight into Bash’s open arms.

Leith pops in on the damsel he rescued earlier, Yvette. She’s more than happy to see him, but unfortunately she’s there to meet another. She runs to see Casselroy, her father, and starts to tell him about the delightful turn of events.

Lola struggles in her labors, the baby may not be born. Lola has the woman write a letter for her, releasing her of her promise. She tells Mary that Julien is dead, and she is alone, and she can tell Francis that the baby is his. She hopes that should she not make it, that Mary will raise the baby as her own. The woman is surprised and panicked to hear the Queen Mary is the friend Lola wanted the letter drafted for.

Kenna tries to comfort Bash. He no longer knows what his place is with his father’s death. Kenna reminds Bash that he hasn’t lost everything, that though they were thrown together she has fallen completely for him. He’s fallen for her too, and its all very sweet. Kenna spots a falling star, and then another. It’s not so sweet now. The stars are falling, the final sign before the plague sweeps the land according to the darkness.

Francis is now the King of France, but he isn’t happy. He was angry about so many things, the soldier’s death, even the way he touched Mary’s cheek. Mary is surprised to hear that Francis was at the joust.

Mary worries she is becoming someone that he will not love. Francis asks her to tell him her darkest secret and he will tell her his. A maid delivers Lola’s letter. She is giving birth. Mary tells Francis that he should go and be by her side, but he doesn’t understand. Mary makes her first confession, the child that Lola is carrying is his. Francis runs to be by her side. Mary runs to get help, and Catherine denies her of that help. There have been reports of the plague, and no one will enter or leave the castle. Mary chases after Francis, hoping to stop him. He hasn’t left yet, but he won’t let the plague stop him from getting to Lola, and perhaps his only child. Mary tries to reason with him, he is now king, he can no longer be ruled by his heart. He admits that she wanted this, should still want it, and that