We got to meet some new royal faces this week as Princess Claude arrived! She’s quite the devilish girl, might I say. She was getting it on with the priest who brought her over from French court and she has some serious history with her half brother Bash. It’s no wonder she’s not a fan of Kenna, who’s endlessly trying to win her approval. Claude got Bash to believe that Henry wasn’t his real father so that it would be “okay” for them to hook up.
I like Claude because she’s pretty funny. I also feel bad for her because her mother (Queen Katherine) has always made it seem like she’s not loved or wanted. But now that her dead ghost sisters are threatening her life, Katherine needs to make sure Claude leaves court again.
Besides Claude’s arrival, a lot of other things are going on in French court.
Francis confesses to Bash that he killed their father. Bash’s reaction is very understanding, almost happy that Francis did what Bash didn’t get to do. After all, the King was going mad and everyone’s lives were on the line. Francis also tells Bash about how Narcisse is blackmailing him, and Bash offers the solution of murdering that son of a gun. Unfortunately, they still need to have some evidence on him. Their only hope is the nurse that Narcisse hired, but Narcisse has killed her off. It’s truly frustrating to see Francis bend so easily before Narcisse. Isn’t being King good for anything?!
Instead, Francis decides to use a British cypher that Queen Katherine found. He plans on planting it on Narcisse, but in order to do that he will have to use Lola. Narcisse has a weird liking for baths, so Lola knows exactly how to plant the cypher. But Narcisse is extremely open with Lola, revealing Francis’ huge secret—something that Francis was unable to do. His sincerity wins Lola over, and she tells Francis she was unable to hide the cypher. What’s unclear is whether Lola really took back the Cypher or if she kept it hidden but lied to Francis until she decided who is truly “the better man.”
Advertisement
Narcisse, however, maintains his blackmailing ways with Francis as he presents him with an edict that would out any Protestants, making it punishable by death. Francis, of course, is completely against it, but his back is against the wall since he killed his dad and all.
Thankfully, Mary always has a plan. But, because of the growing distance between them, Mary turns to Lord Conde and he happily agrees to be of help. Together they find out that some of the nobles were practicing the Protestant faith in secret. Mary does her best to convince a noble to speak up and put his life on the line in order to avoid having this edict signed. Conde, meanwhile, is drooling as he watches Mary in action. This guy is beginning to be unable to hide his feelings for Mary.
The day when the edict is to be signed the noble chickens out, and so Conde is the first one to come out as a Protestant—putting his neck on the line—inspired by Mary’s courage. Mary is severely impressed, which makes sense since she sees her husband’s bravery slipping away by the minute at the hands of Narcisse.
Advertisement
The distance between them is throwing her into Conde’s arms, and my palms are getting sweaty at the thought of Mary pursuing an extramarital affair. And should we really trust Conde? This week we found out he’s the prince of the blood. He belongs to the Bourbon family. When Francis was a child and got ill, there were rumors that the Bourbons would take over the throne since Katherine didn’t have any other heirs at the moment. Could Conde’s stay at French court have ulterior motives?
Nevertheless, Conde and Mary are starting to make a good team, as Francis puts it. But this is only because Francis has decided to conceal things from Mary that builds walls between them. It doesn’t get any better when Narcisse corners Francis to sign the edict even though he had told Mary he had decided not to.
It turns out that when Francis stood up for himself, unafraid of his secret being told, Narcisse pulled out the secret card he had under his sleeve. Narcisse also found out about the time that Katherine and Mary worked together to poison the king.
Advertisement
Narcisse would use this to put the whole royal family on the chopping block (literally). Francis had to sign the edict in order to protect his family’s life… including his newborn son. I bet Lola wouldn’t be too pleased with that.
When Mary finds out, her face of disappointment is heartbreaking. This edict is going to cause chaos and terror through the streets of France. But it’s so much more than that. Francis went behind her back and didn’t bother communicating his change of mind before signing it. She had to find out through third parties. As she confronts him angrily, he makes the worst move ever—telling her to go back to Scotland. Right then, Mary’s heart is stabbed with a thousand daggers.
Adelaide Kane and Toby Regbo are getting better at these scenes every week, I must say. This was one of the most heartbreaking ones in their marriage because Francis and Mary have always wanted to be close. Sure, maybe Francis is doing this to keep Mary safe, but honesty is always the best policy.
Mary is cunning, witty, intelligent and savvy. Francis should know the kind of wife he has after all those times that she’s come through and bought him more time when he’s been in a tight situation. Yet, their royal duties cause them to be secretive.
I’m wishing that marriage counseling existed back in those days for these two. And hoping we could have more of these cute moments from Mary and Francis.
Do you think Mary will really leave to Scotland?
Will Conde try to make a move anytime soon?
Narcisse: friend or foe?
Leave your thoughts below!
Advertisement