Reign Recap S1E12: Royal Blood

Oooh Reign was out for a little while on a hiatus, and they took that chance to add some major sexy to their intro.

Clarissa is still lurking around the castle with the bag on her head, looking through her mother’s things. She finds some locks of hair from all the family members, when she’s interrupted by a maid getting busy with some nobleman, and Clarissa watches.

Mary missed her morning ride with Bash. She’s been worried again, far too tenderhearted as usual. This time she worries about the princes, should Bash be legitimized then they will no longer be princes. She wants to take the boys to a nearby town to enjoy their day. On the carriage ride in, the boys are spotted, and the villagers go mad at the sight of Medici Princes.

The maid stumbles upon Clarissa, and she kills her.

Mary tells Catherine about the incident. She knows that when Bash is legitimized that the boys will be in more danger. That Henry will be busy with his new bride, that she will lose her head, that the boys will be orphans. Should that all come to pass Mary tells her that she will raise the boys as her own, that she never intended to hurt Catherine’s family, that she is doing all of this to save Francis. She even tells her that she wishes to help Clarissa, that Clarissa helped her. Catherine bitterly tells her that Clarissa is more animal than anything else, that she should be put down.

Clarissa watches her brothers play, upset that even her mask is broken. Nothing about her is right. She pulls a lock from her own head, and wraps a ribbon around it, like the rest of the locks in Catherine’s box. Someone is about to take a jaunt into crazytown.

Bash and Mary go to Lord Hugo to see how to keep the biys safe. Hugo has suddenly change sides, and remains as ruthless as ever, going so far as to hint that the death of the boys would be his best option. He tells them that sooner or later blood will be spilled, and that none of them are safe. Bash knows that what Hugo says is true, that they should be sent away for their safety. Mary points out that she was sent to a nunnery and was not safer. Bash wishes to give them a chance to grow up without fear, but Mary forbids him from forcing away, willing to use her title to get her way. Not exactly the way to handle things with the man you plan to spend your life with.

Lola goes to find her brother in a den of sin. She gives the proprietor money for her brother’s release, but the money is not enough. She offers more money, but he wants something more. He wants into the lovely Lola’s skirts.

Nostradamus comes to visit Catherine, Bible in hand. He tells her to seek absolution for her sins, making a big scene in front of her guards. She wishes for death, even by her own hands, and tells him to leave if he will not help her. He leaves the book for her.

It’s snowing, and Francis has quite the surprise. Since the boys were not able to go the village and enjoy the frost, he brings the children to them so that they can have a normal life. Mary is quite pleased with Bash’s thoughtfulness.

The proprietor makes it clear that he wants nothing more than for a chance to have Lola, something that only noblemen have a chance with. In walks Francis, he offers four times the debt for the girl all on a cut of the cards. Francis loses the first cut, and offers to double it. The proprietor taunts him to sixteen times the amount, and Francis willingly takes the bet. The proprietor draws a queen, but Francis comes out on top with a King, and wins the girl. He and Lola quickly make their getaway.

Kenna agrees with mary about having the princes stay home, and even Greer cannot argue as they watch the boys play. The pair notice a man lurking in the shadows, but then Henry falls. Kenna goes to help him up and finds that it is not the prince at all. Bash orders all the children to remove their masks, and they find that the princes are gone. Mary barks out orders to find boys, but it was all a ruse on Bash’s part. He had them “kidnapped” so he could get them out of the city. The man that Kenna and Greer spotted was detained, he has planned to kill the boys, wanting all Medici’s to die.

The boys are taken from their wagon hiding place, but they weren’t the only thing smuggled out of the castle. Clarissa followed the boys. Henry asks why she’s wearing the driver’s cloak, and she tells them that they’re going to be a family from now on.

Lola thanks Francis for saving her. She’s chased after her brother all over the countryside, bailing him out. Francis understands both sides. He understands being adrift, and being betrayed by a brother he loved. He knows that Mary believed she was trying to save his life, and that Bash had his own reasons as well. Lola tells him that he was lucky to have escaped the court, and that his heart will mend eventually.

The guard struggles to open Catherine’s cell and Nostradamus helps him to break down the door. Once inside they find Catherine has hung herself. Nostradamus prompts the guard into action. He takes Catherine away to revive her, telling the man that Henry wanted her death to be a spectacle. The hanging was a ruse, luckily the item Nostradamus hid in the Bible held her weight. She prepares to leave, but Nostradamus breaks the news that the princes are missing, but assures her that Bash is looking for them. Catherine is not going to runaway when the boys are missing.

Mary learns of that the boys are missing, and she’s even more angry with Bash. He tells her that there was a body hidden in the passage way near the queen’s chambers, and they were found with Catherine’s box of locks. Catherine surprises Mary, and Mary puts the pieces together, seeing Clarissa’s lock of hair wrapped around the boys’. Catherine asks if Bash’s tracking skills are as good as Francis always said, and Mary has to agree they are. The two women team up to get Bash and find the boys before Clarissa does something that cannot be undone.

Lola wakes in Francis’s arms. She stumbles about mumbling about wine and late night talking. She thanks him for his help. And he thanks her for treating him like a normal person. He feels emptiness over all of his life’s privileges. She feels the same, being rich and pampered is hard work. He kisses her, and she worries about Mary and his feelings for her. He tells her there is nothing between him and Mary any longer, and the two quickly jump into bed. So much for loving Mary, his broken heart was mended far too quickly.

Bash and the group catch up with where the Driver was last with the boys. He tells Catherine that if the boys are not the perfect picture of health that he’ll be the one that needs to be restrained. Mary finds one of Henry’s mittens, and Mary, Bash and Catherine goes after the boys. Clarissa plans to have the boys drown themselves, telling them to fill their pockets with rocks and then they’ll go swimming. Mary, Bash and Catherine find the boys before they can carry out Clarissa’s plan. Henry gets away, but Charles is caught by Clarissa and held at knife point. Mary tries to reason with her, but she does not listen to her, and even Catherine tries to. Mary is forced to take matters into her own hands when Clarissa gets rough with Charles, and smashes her over the head with a rock.

Clarissa is gone, and Catherine has to go back to her cell. She tells the princes that Mary will take good care of them. Mary finally understands that Catherine was out of the tower before she knew of the boys’ disappearance, that she gave up her chance of freedom to make sure they were found. Catherine tells her that she has her to thank for all of her boys’ lives, and thanks her for killing Clarissa, that she’s in a better place now, and her mother will join her soon enough.

Bash saw to the boys getting settled in. He tells her that there will be more guards around the boys, and that they will keep them close to protect them. Mary isn’t angry over his failed attempt to send them away, in fact it’s made her realize something else. Safe choices don’t make them safe. Mary tells Bash that she wants him to marry her today. Waiting has given them nothing, and by getting married now it forces the Pope’s hand to legitimize him. He tells her that she could be stuck with a landless husband, but she doesn’t care, it’s a chance she’s willing to take. He turns her down, and shows her the correct way to propose, and every Bash loving heart leaps for joy. Mary happily accepts.

Lola and Francis prepare their goodbyes thinking that they’ll never see each other again. The proprietor chimes in, telling her to deliver a message for him. He wants a coin thrown back at the queen, knowing that she’ll be beheaded soon. He tells Lola that if she returns the coin with the queen’s blood on it he’ll give her a fortune in game play. Francis asks Lola if she knew of the Kings plan to execute the Queen for infidelity, and Lola tells him she had no clue. Francis thought he would never return to his father’s court, but he can’t let him execute the queen, hmmm, things are about to get awkward when Francis returns with Lola.

Two guardsmen fail to bury Clarissa, not wanting to bother fighting against the cold frozen ground to dig a grave. They throw her body down the hill, thinking that its good enough. Of course it’s not good enough, and like any good villain she’ll be back.