Reign: Reversal of Fortune Recap

Synopsis: Francis finally recovers from his infection after Bash sacrifices Clarissa to save him. In the meantime, Mary tries to find a way to quell a Scottish insurrection while protecting France’s borders.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

After he discovered Mary’s betrayal, Francis collapsed and started bleeding out of his ear. Looks like Nostradamus’ prophecy is coming true – Francis is dying of an infection.

Catherine guilt trips Mary about her plan to abscond to Scotland with Louis. After she leaves, news arrives for Mary that the Protestant rebels have started attacking her followers in Scotland.

She needs to decide whether or not to move French troops from the border overseas to protect her people and prevent civil war, leaving France vulnerable to invasion. Catherine staunchly opposes the troop movement, forcing Mary to run to Narcisse for help. Narcisse has his own mercenary army which he’s willing to send to Scotland. Granted, with Narcisse being Narcisse, there’s a catch.

Narcisse pledges his loyalty to Catherine and tells his troops to delay their arrival, forcing Mary into one of two scenarios: if Francis dies, she loses all her French power, the crown reverts to Francis’ younger brother, and she cannot send troops to Scotland; otherwise, Francis recovers and Mary can no longer make the decision herself.

Francis ends up waking up at the end of the episode. In a fit of magnanimity, he sends 2,000 French troops to Scotland to defend Mary’s throne. He also tells Mary to figure out what she wants and get out if that isn’t him.

At the end of the episode, Mary talks with Louis. She tells him that she’s not going to Scotland with him and she’s not sure where that leaves their relationship (hint: it looks like the end for this couple).

While Mary agonizes over her decision, Bash recovers in Delphine’s quarters. After she healed him, there may be a price. Bash freaks out and treats Delphine ungratefully for someone who just saved him from a mortal wound. She doesn’t seem to mind, though – she sends him on his merry way to testify against the corrupt sheriff who tried to kill him.

While Bash watches his assassin swing from the gallows, he recognizes his half-sister Clarissa in the crowd. She’s being tried for witchcraft. Bash saves her, but realizes that he needs to kill her in exchange for Francis’ life. He poisons her in front of Delphine right before Francis miraculously recovers.

In the ladies’ storylines, Kenna meets a potential new suitor when her carriage driver dies suddenly and she’s forced to depend on the goodwill of Narcisse’s mercenary army general.

Laith and Greer are still doing well, but Laith is still pursuing his fool’s errand to get an annulment to feed his paternalistic savior complex.

Greer’s doing perfectly fine as a madam, but Laith takes it upon himself to play debt-collector for the cardinal while he babysits Princess Claude at Catherine’s request.