Reign

Previously on Reign...

Francis refused my request to let me court you.

I am going to marry you. And I am prepared to wait.

I am dying. I've already sent for my brother.

He doesn't know that he'll be king soon enough.

Charles. Welcome back, little brother.

Let me hold you in my arms, Elizabeth.

Or let me leave court.

I can't. I need you near.

Elizabeth's real war is with me.

Perhaps her advisors have realized this and are pressuring her.

Are you suggesting there's a way to turn the pope against Mary?

She'll be disgraced. Forced off her throne.

Catherine wants to destroy me and if she can't,

she'll help Elizabeth destroy my nation.

Clearly, we should have taken your head

the last time you betrayed your son.

Take your hands off of me! How dare you?

All prisoners are to be relieved of their personal effects.

Do prisoners have the right to know how long

they're forced to suffer the sight of these four vile walls

and your smug, weaselly face?

I want to see my son.

I am the king of France's mother.

And he is the one who put you here.

We know who you are, Queen Mother.

But you can hold your breath.

For this is the one place

it does not matter.

God help me.

There's only one way we can be sure

that Catherine won't betray us again.

I can't do it.

I can't.

Her crimes are treasonous.

I will not condemn my mother to death.

Especially not as my last act as king.

The illness has progressed

and it's becoming more difficult to hide.

I refuse to give up hope.

I know this is difficult.

It's more than difficult.

Today, in particular.

I'm not pregnant.

Again.

It's all right.

I just wanted this. A part of you.

I know.

I would love nothing more than to see you pregnant,

radiant, a mother.

But fate has other plans.

Charles will inherit my throne.

But... he's so young, Mary.

A young king needs a regent.

And who can I trust to rule over France

whenever our young monarch turns his head?

Elizabeth is after your country, Scotland is in jeopardy.

And your status at court...

You want me to marry Charles.

Yes.

To protect you and secure my family's future.

I understand that, the politics. But this is a marriage.

You're not naive to the burdens of royalty.

You and I... us.

We're not just royalty.

We are more than an alliance.

We're different. We love each other.

And we always will.

Mary, please, you know this makes sense.

A life in France

without you.

Marriage is just a legal agreement.

In time, you could move back to Scotland.

Unless it progressed into something more...

We both know that will never happen.

But you're right...

it would be the best thing to protect both our countries.

I will marry your brother.

Even though it breaks my heart.

We must share our plan with our future king.

Your girlish collusion

with Catherine de Medici has placed England

firmly in the middle of an international crisis.

The Vatican knows we sponsored

the nobles sent to slander Mary.

A plan that you

and Catherine hatched.

What the Vatican knows, Spain knows.

We are at peace with Spain and King Philip.

A very fragile peace.

He views the attack on Mary

as an attack on all Catholic monarchs.

King Philip has threatened

to walk away from the trade agreement

we've spent months negotiating.

We can find a way to make amends with both Spain and France.

I'm afraid that burden lies with our queen.

Her Majesty will give testimony speaking to the circumstances

surrounding Catherine's time in England.

Testimony that clears our queen of any involvement.

Then we look forward to hearing what you have to say.

The Medici issue will be resolved,

and swiftly.

King Philip gains more with us than against us.

If only I felt confident making the same claim

about members of this council.

There's also the matter of a new English ambassador to France.

Relations are tense.

Sending an ambassador conveys a message of peace

at no political cost to us.

I have a nomination.

There is one member of this council

whose track record of diplomacy

uniquely prepares him for a position overseas.

The ambassadorship would be a sizeable promotion,

but one that is long overdue.

Lord Robert Dudley.

Do we have a second?

The nomination has been seconded.

Your Majesty?

I'll take it under advisement.

Lady Dudley. It's done. Your husband's the only nomination.

Our loss is France's gain.

What will the frogs make of this

wily English rose?

I don't care.

I'd follow my husband anywhere.

Especially if it means I never have to think of him

writhing in Elizabeth's bed again.

Our queen truly has that much of a hold over your husband?

I suppose there's no accounting for taste.

All this talk of France inspires thoughts of their rumored

more ambitious lovemaking.

There are, after all, acts my wife

refuses to submit to.

Leave us.

When you shared secrets in Catherine's bed,

did they include the specifics of our bath time flirtation?

Why? What's happened?

A rat. In my bath.

Well, even the house of a king

is not immune to a rodent infestation.

No, it was planted there, deliberately.

This was inside its vile little mouth.

"One rat down,

two to go."

But Catherine is in prison.

Giving her plenty of time to scheme against her rivals.

You betrayed Catherine, had her exiled,

and then made a public request to court me.

Word of your intention has spread all over the castle.

including Catherine's cell.

I swore that I would protect you.

But you also swore that you would never hurt me again.

But you have. This is why I said no to you.

I do have feelings for you.

But I wanted to keep them private,

and I was right to want that.

Even rejecting you as a potential husband

has put me in danger.

And that's why we can never be together.

My news doesn't leave this room.

Once the world learns of my illness,

our enemies will move in,

try to take advantage of France's weakness.

We must prepare for the transition of power

as a family and in secret.

Does Mother know?

Catherine no longer has the privilege

of contact with her children.

She wouldn't be of any comfort

to me, either. But you're dying,

she is your mother.

No, I've recognized John,

given him lands and titles, but

he'll never be king.

When Lola learns of my fate she will fear for him.

You understand the life of a bastard son.

John will be protected.

I promise.

Now you see why we had to send for you.

I should've studied.

Actually listened as my guardians

blathered on about tithes

and land reforms.

You were right.

I never thought it...

Give us some time.

I have decided that after my passing,

you will take Mary as your wife.

But she loves you.

When the time comes, I want my own wife, someone my own age.

Now, you know that that is not always possible.

Our own marriage was arranged

to bring our two countries together.

What has Scotland ever done for France?

Charles, this marriage would not only benefit Mary.

A young king needs a regent.

And we can't trust anyone with that amount of power.

Usurpers would come after your crown.