Reign Love Triangle Scoop: Bosses Dish on Mary and Bash's "Slow Burn" and Francis' Blast From the Past

EPs Laurie McCarthy and Brad Silberling tease what's ahead for the Queen of Scots after accepting the future King of Portugal's hand in marriage in tonight's episode of the CW drama

By Tierney Bricker Nov 01, 2013 2:00 AMTags
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Warning: Do not read the following article if you have yet to watch tonight's episode of Reign. Seriously, if you choose to read on and then complain about spoilers in the comments, off with your internet connection, we say!

Who knew speed dating was invented in the 16th century?!

On tonight's episode of the CW's new hit drama Reign, Mary (Adelaide Kane) made a major move in order to protect Scotland from the English: She accepted Tomas (Manolo Cardona), the son of the King of Portugal's proposal in exchange for troops. But what about her engagement to Prince Francis (Toby Regbo)?! He signed off on her new engagement with a kiss, realizing his feelings for Mary were clouding his ability to make hard political decisions. But Tomas and Francis aren't the only men vying for Mary's heart as Francis' half-brother Bash (Torrance Coombs) is also smitten with the Queen of Scots.

So what's next for the love triangle? And when will we get answers to what's going on in the woods and the backstory on Clarissa (Katie Boland), the castle's "ghost" out to protect Mary? We chatted with executive producers Laurie McCarthy and Brad Silberling on what's ahead...

Spoiler Alert, Historical Edition: Of course, anyone with access to Wikipedia knows that Mary will not marry Tomas, who is the favored bastard son of the King of Portugal (His only other heir is three years old).

And while the series has taken some heat from history buffs, given that they play fast and loose with some aspects of Mary's life and the French Court, McCarthy explains, "We take the spine...we don't contradict history and then we wedge in stories of our own. For example, when we were looking at Mary's predicament and if her job is to marry someone for her country, let's look around and see who she could marry. And I thought it'd be interesting to do somebody who didn't quite make it to the pages of history." Enter Tomas!

But in next week's episode, Francis and Bash are suspicious of his' true intentions, which leads to a disastrous confrontation, as Silberling teases, "There is payoff in the next episode and that's actually called out, the conclusion of the Tomas story; it gives it voice that this is never going to make it to the pages of history."

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Love Triangle Drama: While she ended this episode hand-in-hand with Tomas, Mary will still find herself torn between Francis and Bash in upcoming episodes.

As for Francis and Mary, who have been engaged since they were six and shared their first kiss tonight, "They're not masters of their own destiny, and that is just ripe for a lot of hurt feelings and acting out," McCarthy previews. "Francis has a past; we'll be introduced to someone from his past who comes to court." Hmm...could it be The Selection's Yael Grobglas?!

And though Mary and Bash haven't interacted much in the last two episodes, McCarthy assures there's plenty to come for "Mash" fans: "It's a slower burn, but it's burning. And it's always there. Bash has a connection to some of the  things that are going on in the woods and that will bring some danger into the castle, some conflict with Francis and it's all centered on his affection for Mary, his desire for Mary."

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The Creature in the Woods: Speaking of the woods, what the hell is exactly going on in there? And how is Bash involved?!! "You had a hint of it in episode two and it comes back in five and six," Silberling previews. "But it's beautifully rendered because it's not separate mythology for a genre jolt. What I love is that it really does it figure into the family lineage. You'll see where Bash's connection to it and Diane's connection to it and what that potentially means." McCarthy adds, "It gives us story that will live to heresy, heretical beliefs were punishable by death at the same time, it allows us to explore the superstitions."

Mythology Reveals:  Have a lot of questions about the mysterious being Clarissa who's been looking out for Mary? Have patience as you'll slowly get answers, McCarthy teases.

"It's a peeling back of that mythology of the castle, it's a lore that the servants believe," she says. "There's so many prisms to look at and through the one are the encounters that she has with Mary. You learn some of the lore that the people in the castle believe about her and we'll see her intermittenly throughout the series. We'll get close and closer to the truth of her existence…She's got a very rich backstory that's tied to the castle, tied to Nostradamus and we'll find it out over the course of the first 13."

Reign airs Thursday at 9 p.m. on the CW.

What did you think of tonight's episode? Are you Team Bash or Team Francis? Sound off in the comments!

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