In our penultimate Reign post, we look at the star herself; Mary, Queen of Scots. We have already considered the political landscape in which Mary found herself, so now we turn to the personal. The fourth season shows Mary’s hunt for a husband, her second marriage to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, the birth of their son,… Read More Everything Wrong with Reign (S4): Mary, Queen of Scots
Although Reign follows the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, and she has long since left France, the plot continues to follow the characters that she left behind. We see a traumatised King Charles IX struggle with the weight and responsibilities of the crown, his mother trying to help him, and his brother trying to… Read More Everything Wrong with Reign (S4): édition Française
We are kicking off our more in depth look at Everything wrong with Reign (S4) with a look at the portrayal of Elizabeth I. Having been introduced as the primary antagonist in Season 3, Rachel Skarsten reprises her role in Season as an Elizabeth desperate to keep her throne. Elizabeth’s plot lines focus on her romantic… Read More Everything Wrong With Reign S4: Elizabeth I
It took a minute, but I have finally finished Reign. Ostensibly showing the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, Reign was famous (or infamous) for its anachronisms and its sheer drama. It took historical fiction to new heights with increasingly ridiculous and outlandish storylines that had little to no bearing on reality. But boy, was it entertaining.… Read More Everything wrong with Reign (Season 4)
Reign season three continues to give us a wildly entertaining and dramatic life of Mary, Queen of Scots. This time we have a new antagonist; Queen Elizabeth I of England. Historically, Elizabeth was Mary’s natural rival. They both had a claim to the English throne and being of opposing religions gave the people an obvious… Read More Everything Wrong with Reign (Season 3)
Many moons ago, in the long-distant days of 2004, historian John Guy published My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary, Queen of Scots. It was a comprehensive biography of Mary, Queen of Scots and for some of us [read: me] it would become required reading for the various school work on Mary, Queen… Read More Everything Wrong (and sometimes right) With Mary, Queen of Scots (2018)
Content Warning: As the title suggests, here be discussion of historical rape and pregnancy loss. The most asked question on this blog is; Was Mary, Queen of Scots raped? Reign, Starz’ highly dramatised series about the life of Mary, uses the threat of rape against the Queen frequently and on one occasion it goes ahead… Read More The R*pe of Mary, Queen of Scots
CW: This article discusses rape. In the words of Adelaide Kane: Tonight’s episode deals with a very serious issue. Today, sexual assault happens all too often and the majority know their perpetrator. If this has happened to you, tell someone. You are not to blame for what happened and there are people who can help.… Read More Everything wrong with Reign (Season 2)
At the risk of making myself immensely unpopular, I finally watched Reign and I enjoyed it. There, I said it. It bears no resemblance to history, the costumes are ridiculously anachronistic, more than half of the characters never actually existed, the storylines are insane, there isn’t a chaperone to be found, and yet, I love… Read More Everything Wrong with Reign (Season 1)
Did someone try to assassinate Elizabeth I with a poisoned dress? This question (the number one question posed to this blog in 2020) derives from the film Elizabeth (1998). In said film, one of her ladies, Isabelle Knollys, dies mid-coitus with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, while wearing a dress intended for the queen. The… Read More Elizabethan Assassination Attempts (not feat. a poisoned dress)
