The CW's Reign - Episode 1.16 Monsters
When Francis reluctantly agrees to help Bash uncover the threat in the woods, he ends in grave danger, with only Bash to save him. Meanwhile, Henry's madness causes chaos when a servant (Kathryn Prescott) wins "Queen for the Day," and he becomes obsessed with her. The King also forces a surprising, and unbreakable, union with a new couple at Court. Greer gets caught kissing Leith, which threatens to ruin her.
King Henry's spiraling descent into madness has been one of the most delightful developments to come from the most recent episodes of Reign. His quest for power fueled him earlier in the season and he slowly got to be more and more crazy - remember when he took the sword to the guard's neck? Now, he has gone into full on madness. It's just delightful to watch as he elaborately tries to kill anyone who threatens his power. Catherine and Bash are in his crosshairs in "Monsters." While both survive their ordeals with Henry, they are both in predicaments that they rather not be in.And Henry's madness is growing more and more apparent to everyone. Mary comments on it while trying to escape his bed chambers. The nobleman had hot wax poured into his ear. News of such should spread throughout the country. There's no way this story doesn't end tragically - whether it's in Henry's death or him executing someone close to him. He is so unstable and it adds a nice sense of danger and unpredictability to the show. To make matters worse, Penelope - the kitchen servant who won the "Queen for the Day" contest - is encouraging his actions. She's supportive in a way that Catherine and Kenna are not. They use him to get what they want. Penelope serves him and gives him exactly what he wants. And he craves that. Her return to the kitchen doesn't seem as certain as it does at the start of the episode.
Elsewhere, the ladies-in-waiting all continue to have problems in their search for husbands. All three of them either get engaged or married by the episode's conclusion - and none of them to someone they were expecting. A complication arises for Lola and her fiancé by arranged marriage breaks it off and Mary sets him up with Lola. She then finally agrees to marry the Spanish nobleman who's been pursuing her for awhile but she never had much interest in. Lola's engagement is one of convenience as she and Mary have to hurry to hide her pregnancy. That is growing more and more difficult as she is slowly starting to show. Lastly, the most unexpected union comes at episode's end with Henry forcing Bash to marry Kenna and stay at Court as a sort of punishment for both of them. It keeps both of them at Court but also makes them so unhappy as it's not what they wanted from life. But it's what they're stuck with now. Hopefully it will lead to interesting complications soon.
Some more thoughts:
- "Monsters" was written by Drew Lindo & Wendy Riss Gatsiounis and directed by Jeff Renfroe.
- I really don't care about The Darkness story. It's good to know that it is in fact a man. Cuz duh! And that more of the characters are made aware of Olivia's return to court.
- There should have been more repercussions from Francis falling through the ice. And yet, Bash rescues him, he hurdles next to a fire for a few minutes and then fights off his father almost like nothing happened.
- Nostradamus also used to have a family. They all died from a plague that he happened to be immune from.
