Reign

Season 1

1. Pilot

In 1557, fifteen-year-old Queen Mary Stuart of Scotland has been living in a convent in France since the age of nine in anticipation of her marriage to Prince Francis, heir to the throne of France. After a failed attempt to poison her, Mary is brought to French court for safety, where she is reunited with her Scottish handmaidens and childhood companions Greer, Kenna, Lola and Aylee. Queen Mary discovers that her marriage isn't assured, due to ever-changing politics and Francis's doubts over the wisdom of a Scottish alliance. Queen Mary also catches the eye of Prince Francis's older half-brother Bash, illegitimate son of King Henry with his mistress, Duchess Diane de Poitiers.

When Queen Catherine's adviser, Nostradamus ( Rossif Sutherland ), has a vision that Francis's impending marriage will cost him his life, she arranges for Queen Mary to be drugged and raped by Colin (Ashley Charles), a Scot betrothed to Lola. Queen Mary is warned ahead of time by an unknown figure to not drink the drugged wine, and so manages to stop Colin. Before she can question him, Colin is executed by order of the King and Queen.

2. Snakes in the Garden

Prince Francis's younger brother, Prince Charles (Peter DaCunha), is to be betrothed to Madeleine (Vanessa Carter), a French noblewoman. Madeleine arrives by ship, escorted by an unexpected English envoy led by Simon Westbrook ( Luke Roberts ), who are welcomed at court for helping Madeleine arrive safely. Mary learns from Charles that a girl named Clarissa ( Katie Boland ) lives in the secret passageways of the castle; Mary suspects she's the one who warned her of the rape plot. When Queen Mary avoids what appears to be another poisoning attempt, she asks Clarissa for information.

She is led to Simon, learning that he feigned the poisoning to scare her out of the alliance with France. Simon points out that Queen Mary already has enemies in French court and will not be safe, but Mary declares her intent to stay and stand against the English. Queen Mary suspects Catherine as responsible for the various plots and shares this with Francis, who believes her and warns his mother to leave his fiancee alone. Queen Mary and Prince Francis are for now determined to be a united front against their mutual enemies.

3. Kissed

When news arrives that English soldiers are amassing near the Scottish border, Queen Mary asks King Henry for military aid but is refused. She tries to negotiate a deal for troops with the visiting Prince Tomas ( Manolo Cardona ) of Portugal. Tomas proposes to Mary, promising military aid and an immediate wedding, which Francis cannot give her. Queen Mary tells Prince Francis of Prince Tomas's proposal, which prompts Prince Francis to blackmail King Henry, threatening to tell Queen Catherine and Lady Diane of his new affair with Kenna. King Henry is pleased by Francis's initiative and agrees to send six companies of troops to Scotland.

Bash rides out to deliver the orders to the troops but returns gravely wounded; someone warned the English, who ambushed the French troops before they could set sail. A distraught Francis kisses Mary for the first time and tells her to marry Prince Tomas for the sake of Scotland. Queen Mary accepts the Prince's proposal, and he sends a ship of his men immediately to Scotland.

4. Hearts and Minds

Simon Westbrook is arrested for causing the deaths of the French troops, based on the testimony of a prostitute who claims she saw him bragging about it. Prince Tomas shows his true colours to Queen Mary by threatening her and hitting a whipping boy when she talks back to him. After receiving a hint from Clarissa, Queen Mary, Prince Francis and Bash realize that Prince Tomas had the most to gain by warning the English. She questions the prostitute, who admits she was paid for her testimony.

Prince Francis and Bash find Prince Tomas when he's about to kill his whipping boy to cover his tracks in the plot; a fight ensues and Prince Francis kills Prince Tomas. Queen Mary, Prince Francis, and Bash return to court in time to prevent Simon's execution. Henry and Catherine, with the King of Portugal's agreement, agree to cover up Tomas's treachery - the official story is that his death was an accident. Simon leaves France as the new English envoy to Portugal. Due to her role in protecting France's ties with Portugal, Mary is able to reopen negotiations for her marriage to Prince Francis, this time pressuring King Henry and Queen Catherine for better terms for herself and Scotland.

5. A Chill in the Air

In hopes of ousting Queen Mary, Queen Catherine arranges for her son's former lover, Lady Olivia ( Yael Grobglas ), to return to court and profess her romantic feelings for him. When Francis refuses to send Olivia away, Queen Mary vents her frustrations to Bash and the two kiss, witnessed by Prince Francis.

Aylee is caught stealing Queen Mary's ring by Queen Catherine, whom she blackmails into letting her read Queen Mary's letters before they are posted. Queen Mary is aware of this arrangement, as she deliberately planted Aylee as her spy for Queen Catherine. Pagans are practicing human sacrifice to appease a creature in the woods; one of the pagans tells Bash he has to kill someone to replace the victim he had removed before the ritual was complete. Queen Mary learns that Kenna is having an affair with King Henry and advises her to end it, but Kenna refuses; claiming that King Henry is planning to make her his new mistress to replace Lady Diane.

6. Chosen

The pagans mark Queen Mary as their next sacrifice, planting a necklace with a stag's head in her room. One of Queen Catherine's guards and one of Queen Mary's servants are revealed as the culprits, and they are captured and burned to death. Lady Diane ( Anna Walton ), who secretly practised the pagan religion in her past, advises Bash to sacrifice someone else in Queen Mary's stead. Bash prepares to sacrifice a thief. But when a pagan priest arrives, Bash reveals it as a trap and kills the pagan instead. Bash almost lets the thief free, but when the thief identifies him as the King's bastard son, Bash pushes him off a cliff.

King Henry publicly declares that Kenna is his mistress. But unknown to her, King Henry is still keeping Lady Diane. Prince Francis tells Queen Mary that in order to prevent other people from using their feelings against them, they should be free to be with other people; the only exception is that Queen Mary cannot be with Bash. Prince Francis has sex with Lady Olivia, who is hoping to get pregnant and become his wife and, in time, Queen of France at the urging of Queen Catherine.

7. Left Behind

While King Henry and his troops are away, the castle is taken hostage by Count Vincent ( Michael Aronov ) of Italy, who seeks vengeance for the death of his son Roberto. Queen Mary and Queen Catherine form a plan together to get everyone out of the castle. While Queen Catherine, Queen Mary and Mary's ladies are feasting with the Italians, Prince Francis sneaks everyone else out through the castle's secret passageways that have been marked for safety by Clarissa. Lady Olivia is left behind to open the passage door for Queen Mary but leaves her post; she gets lost in the tunnels and is not seen again.

Queen Mary and her ladies are unable to escape, but Queen Catherine successfully poisons the Count's men, who die before they can rape the four ladies. Count Vincent dies when Queen Mary stabs him, with his hand sliced off by Prince Francis. Queen Mary and Prince Francis reconcile, and they have sex. Bash learns that Lady Diane was working with Count Vincent, as part of her plan to remove King Henry's other sons, and have Bash legitimized and become King Henry's heir to the French throne in his elder half-brother's stead, much to his chagrin.

8. Fated

News arrives that the Queen of England is dying and has not yet named her heir. King Henry announces that it's time for Queen Mary and Prince Francis to finally wed, because Mary is a strong claimant to the English throne and King Henry wants to take England for France. Henry II contends that Elizabeth I is illegitimate because her mother 's marriage to Henry VIII was annulled and never recognized by the Catholic Church. Queen Catherine tells Queen Mary about Nostradamus' prophetic vision that her marriage will cost Prince Francis his life, asking her to leave him for his sake.

Queen Mary confronts Nostradamus, who adds that one of her devoted ladies will die soon. Queen Catherine learns through Kenna of Lady Diane's plot to legitimize Bash. Furious, Queen Catherine blackmails Lady Diane, with the order her to poison Kenna and leave King Henry for good. Lady Diane refuses to poison Kenna but leaves the castle. Clarissa poisons Aylee and pushes her down the stairs, killing her in order to make Queen Mary believe Nostradamus's prophecy of misfortune and death. Queen Mary declares she will not claim the English throne instead of her second cousin Princess Elizabeth Tudor, and flees the castle with Bash.

9. For King and Country

Queen Mary and Bash are captured by King Henry's men after a week of being on the run together. They are brought back to the castle, where Queen Mary tells a disbelieving Prince Francis about Nostradamus's prophecy.

King Henry threatens to execute Bash if Queen Mary won't marry Francis. Queen Mary counter-proposes that Bash be legitimized as King Henry's new heir and she marry him instead; if King Henry agrees, Queen Mary will claim the English throne as King Henry wants. As this would require an annulment of King Henry and Queen Catherine's marriage, and would turn Prince Francis and his two younger brothers into bastards. Queen Catherine sends an assassin to kill both Queen Mary and Bash. King Henry II has the assassin killed before he can complete his task, and Queen Catherine is imprisoned. King Henry II agrees to Queen Mary's terms and leaves for Rome to seek the Pope's approval for Bash's legitimization. Clarissa is chained in a cell by Nostradamus as punishment for killing Aylee, but she stabs him and escapes.

10. Sacrifice

Queen Catherine conspires with nobleman Lord Hugo ( Ted Atherton ) to remove Bash, who is acting as regent in King Henry's absence. Their poisoning attempt fails when Bash is protected by his new bodyguard, Alec ( Daniel Fathers ). Their second attempt involves trying to expose Bash's connection to a pregnant peasant named Isobel (Amy Forsyth), Bash's cousin, whose father was executed for being a pagan. Bash, Alec and Queen Mary sneak Isobel out of the castle but make camp in the woods when Isobel goes into labor. A group of pagans surround their tent, but leave them unharmed when Bash, Alec and Isobel perform a pagan chant.

Bash explains to Queen Mary about his pagan heritage, and that the blood pagans of the wood are a different sect. Isobel dies giving birth to a daughter, and the group return to the castle, where the baby is secretly given to the castle's communal wet nurse. Lady Lola, Lady Kenna and Lady Greer are unable to find evidence of Catherine's involvement in the plots, but forge letters in Queen Catherine's handwriting to blackmail her to stop. Bash declares his feelings for Queen Mary; the pair kiss and privately honor Isobel's grave with a pagan ceremony.

11. Inquisition

King Henry returns from Rome having failed, and accuses Queen Catherine of adultery with Nostradamus so that he can execute her. Queen Catherine learns about Isobel's infant daughter, but the pagan mark on her foot has disappeared so she is unable to be used as evidence against Bash.

Queen Mary and Bash discover that in the past Queen Catherine had an affair and gave birth to a child before Prince Francis was born. They tell King Henry, who realizes that the father is his friend, Richard Delacroix ( Greg Bryk ), and imprisons him. King Henry also dismisses Queen Catherine's efforts to reveal Bash and Diane as pagans, as he was already in full knowledge of their heritage. Queen Catherine learns that Clarissa is a foundling who was disfigured by Nostradamus's father in his efforts to remove a birthmark on her face; Clarissa is none other than Queen Catherine's secret illegitimate daughter.

Bash tells Queen Mary of his fear she will never reciprocate his love for her but she manages to persuade him otherwise. Queen Catherine attempts a combined murder-suicide with Queen Mary, but Clarissa saves both of them. And Queen Catherine is again imprisoned in the tower awaiting her execution.

12. Royal Blood

Queen Mary and Bash disagree on what is to be done with Catherine's younger sons, Charles and Henry. Going against Queen Mary's wishes, Bash arranges for the boys to be taken out of France under the guise of an abduction, but Clarissa intercedes and abducts the young Princes' for real. Nostradamus helps Queen Catherine escape the tower, but she refuses to leave when she learns her sons are missing. Queen Catherine joins Queen Mary and Bash to find Clarissa, who wants to kill the boys in bitter vengeance for their mother abandoning her as a newborn infant due the birthmark across her left cheek.

Queen Mary hits Clarissa with a rock, apparently killing her. Queen Mary and Bash reconcile, Bash agreeing to care for the boys. Queen Mary asks Bash to marry her immediately and he accepts. Lola goes to Paris to see her brother and happens to meets Francis, who helps her settle her brother's debt. Lady Lola and Prince Francis bond over their similar situation and have sex. Francis learns that Queen Catherine is to be executed and decides to return to court.

13. The Consummation

Queen Mary's mother, Queen Marie de Guise ( Amy Brenneman ), arrives and advises her daughter against marrying Bash. Nostradamus tells Queen Catherine that he stopped having visions of Francis's death after Clarissa died, and had a new vision of Mary and Prince Francis's happy future together. When Prince Francis returns to the castle, Queen Catherine advises him to pursue Queen Mary and promises never to harm her again.

King Francis and Bash fight over Queen Mary, and Prince Francis tells her of the change in Nostradamus's visions- News arrives that the Queen of England is dead, and King Henry pressures Mary to choose one of his sons. Queen Mary ultimately chooses Prince Francis and they are wed; King Henry pardons Queen Catherine for the occasion. Nostradamus discovers that Clarissa is still alive.

Meanwhile, the castle, Queen Mary is angered to learn that her own mother had fabricated the news from England to push her into making a choice, and orders her to leave. Nostradamus has a deeper vision of Queen Mary and Prince Francis's future: They will indeed be happy but Prince Francis shall perish just one year into their marriage from a bleeding ear. King Henry makes Bash watch Queen Mary and Prince Francis 's consummation before he is escorted from the castle. Believing the royal guards were ordered to kill him, Bash finishes them off first and escapes.

14. Dirty Laundry

Queen Mary and Prince Francis return to court after their two-month honeymoon, arriving while the Archduke Ferdinand of Bohemia (Jonathan Higgins) is visiting. King Henry is having an affair with the Archduke's sister, and while they're having sex she accidentally falls out a window. King Henry and Queen Catherine work together to successfully make the Duchess's death look like a suicide. Bash is hunting in the woods where he meets Rowan (Hannah Anderson) and her brother Carrick (Kristian Hodko) who live there.

Bash stumbles upon Lady Olivia, who is traumatized and has bite marks on her arms, and takes her to Nostradamus to be healed. Bash visits Queen Mary to tell of his suspicions that Prince Francis tried to have him killed, who firmly denies this when Queen Mary confronts him. Queen Mary learns that Lady Lola is pregnant with Prince Francis's illegitimate child, and stops her from getting an abortion that could kill her. Queen Mary reluctantly agrees to keep Lady Lola's pregnancy a secret, and promises to help her find a husband. Queen Mary tells Bash to stop caring for her but he refuses. Bash goes to Rowan, who convinces him to stay in France, and they kiss.

15. The Darkness

Lady Lola, Lady Kenna and Lady Greer search for husbands at a matchmaking festival. Queen Mary fears that Lady Lola will usurp her position the way that Diane usurped Catherine, and pressures Lola to accept the first interested suitor. She later changes her mind and tells Lola to make her own choice, even if it means waiting. Greer accepts the suit of Lord Castleroy ( Michael Therriault ) despite having feelings for Leith, the castle servant ( Jonathan Keltz ).

Lady Greer has Lord Castleroy arrange for Leith to be sent to Spain for an apprenticeship, though she later rejects Castleroy and waits for a new suitor her parents have arranged for her. Lady Kenna has a threesome with a prostitute at King Henry's request, and later finds the prostitute choked to death. Queen Catherine helps cover up the incident, but worries that King Henry is ill and killed two of his lovers on purpose. Lady Olivia tells Nostradamus how she was sacrificed by peasants to "the Darkness", a fierce bloodthirsty creature in the woods that fed on her flesh and blood until she escaped. The blood pagans take Rowan as their next sacrifice.

16. Monsters

King Henry continues to behave erratically, much to everyone's concern. A servant named Penelope ( Kathryn Prescott ) wins "the Queen of the Bean" contest and becomes queen for a day. She is able to sexually satisfy Henry and becomes his new mistress, deliberately undermining Queen Catherine. Bash asks Prince Francis for help hunting "the Darkness", though they are unable to find any trace of it. The paternal half-brothers reconcile when Bash saves Prince Francis's life, and they learn that it was King Henry himself who ordered the guards to kill Bash, claiming that a "sacrifice had to be made", which concerns his grown sons.

Lady Greer's new fiancé, Lord Julien (Giacomo Gianniotti), catches her kissing Leith and calls off the engagement. Castleroy intervenes when Leith is sent to prison, arranging that Leith be allowed to become a soldier. Castleroy proposes to Greer again, and she accepts. At Queen Mary and Lady Greer's urging, Lady Lola approaches Julien as a potential suitor. Lady Olivia and Nostradamus grow close and kiss. In order to ensure that Bash will no longer threaten Prince Francis's marriage, King Henry has Bash immediately wed to Lady Kenna.

17. Liege Lord

Queen Mary discovers that her marriage contract has a secret clause stating that if she dies without an heir, Scotland will be given to France. Queen Mary and Prince Francis secretly meet Scottish Lord MacKenzie ( Andrew Airlie ) to tell him of the contract so he can return to Scotland and protest. Queen Catherine learns of Queen Mary's actions and has all the Scots who know of the contract killed. Queen Mary threatens to reveal to all that King Henry is mad, which forces Queen Catherine to burn the original marriage contract.

Prince Francis is disconcerted by Queen Mary's willingness to start a French civil war to protect Scotland. Bash and Lady Kenna's marriage has a rocky start but Bash later saves Lady Kenna from King Henry's harassment and promises to always defend her. Lady Lola confesses to Julien about her pregnancy but not the father; Julien accepts this and still wants to marry her.

18. No Exit

Queen Mary's younger half-brother James Stewart, Earl of Moray (Joe Doyle) arrives to tell her that the Scots are chafing under Marie de Guise's rule and advises her to return to Scotland. Queen Mary wants to go immediately, but Prince Francis is reluctant. He discovers Prince James's footman was paid by the English to kill Queen Mary during her voyage so that James can be King of Scotland. When Queen Mary still insists on going, Prince Francis locks her in the tower. Queen Catherine and Lady Kenna work together, staging an intervention where a false "Bishop" condemns King Henry's sexual activities and scares the King into humility and dismissing Penelope.

When this succeeds, Queen Catherine gives Penelope's estate and jewels to Lady Kenna and Bash, who celebrate with a kiss. Lady Lola and Julien are married, but Lady Lola starts to suspect that Julien has financial difficulties. Nostradamus and Lady Olivia have started a romantic relationship. But when Nostradamus has a vision of Lady Olivia's death, he sends her away to Trinidad alone, knowing that Queen Catherine will never let him go.

19. Toy Soldiers

One month later, news arrives that Queen Marie de Guise's castle is under siege by Scottish Protestants. Queen Mary asks for help from her war-mongering uncle Christian, Duke of Guise (Gil Darnell), who wants to become Lord Magistrate to Prince Francis as reward. To Queen Mary's disappointment, Prince Francis decides to use Christian's army to help Henry take Calais from the English. Penelope pretends to be pregnant but the ruse is uncovered by Queen Catherine; Penelope agrees to be sent to Italy to be trained to be one of Queen Catherine's spies.

Castleroy meets Lady Greer's family and disapproves of the way her father treats his daughters. Castleroy gives the marriage contract to Lady Greer to review, and arranges for her to oversee her sisters' dowries and future husbands. Lady Greer is grateful, and the pair kiss. Bash still has romantic feelings for Queen Mary, but consummates his marriage with Lady Kenna. Prince Francis leaves with Christian and his army to invade Calais.

20. Higher Ground

Queen Mary hires John ( Tahmoh Penikett ), a mercenary, to steal Queen Catherine's money to help Queen Marie de Guise. John abducts Queen Catherine, tricking her into paying him twice his fee to betray the person who hired him. John asks Queen Mary to pick a scapegoat for the kidnapping, and Queen Mary chooses Queen Catherine's unscrupulous cousin, Hortensia ( Shauna MacDonald ), whose head is given to Queen Catherine. Queen Mary then takes control of Hortensia's guards and pays John to lead them to rescue Marie de Guise in Scotland. Prince Francis leads a company of twelve men, including Leith, towards Calais.

They successfully take a castle from the English en route. While injured, Leith confesses his love for a woman above his station, and Prince Francis promises to award him lands and title to pursue that love. Lady Lola learns that Julien has secretly received her dowry and is about to abandon her. Julien changes his mind and confesses that he is almost penniless, but that he has truly fallen in love with her. The pair agree to work it out.

21. Long Live the King

Buoyed by Prince Francis' successful taking of Calais and Queen Mary Tudor I 's death at 42, King Henry wants to immediately invade England despite their forces being depleted.

Queen Catherine and Queen Mary plot to poison King Henry, angering Prince Francis, but they call it off when King Francis convinces his father to delay the invasion. King Henry decides that Prince Francis is unsuited for conquest and must be killed so that King Henry can wed Queen Mary himself.

While searching for "the Darkness", Bash rescues a boy named Pascal (Lucius Hoyos), not realizing he is the son of the pagan priest Bash had killed months earlier. Lady Kenna cares for Pascal while Bash and Nostradamus head into the mountains to continue the search. Lady Lola learns that Julien is actually Remy, the real Lord Julien's personal secretary, who took his identity when Julien died in an accident. Remy's ruse is revealed by Julien's uncle Bartos (Geordie Johnson), whom Lady Lola accidentally kills when Bartos attacks Remy. She and Remy burn down the house with Bartos's body in it to make it look like Julien died, so that Remy can escape and Lady Lola can return as a widow to court.

22. Slaughter of Innocence

Due to King Henry's increasing madness, Prince Francis, Queen Mary and Queen Catherine all devise a coup. Christian advises Queen Mary to lay claim to England in order to inspire the French to rally around her. At the jousting match celebrating the victory at Calais, Queen Mary wears the English coat of arms. King Henry, jealous of the response Queen Mary gets, decides to participate in the joust himself. It is revealed that Prince Francis secretly switched with the opposing knight, Sir Montgomery, and mortally wounds his father for to sake and stability of the realm of France.

On his deathbed, the King's sanity returns; he makes Queen Catherine promise to befriend Lady Diane, and confesses to Prince Francis that he poisoned his own elder brother to become king, therefore warning Prince Francis not to betray those he loves most. King Henry dies and Francis is proclaimed king. Leith returns with rewards but Greer, though she still loves him, refuses to marry him, saying it is not enough.

Profoundly heartbroken, Leith declares he will become more successful but will never return to her. Leith flirts with a woman named Yvette (Sarah Winter), not knowing that she is Castleroy's daughter. Bash saves Lady Kenna and Pascal from "the Darkness", revealing it to be a nothing but a mere human man, whom claims that blood sacrifices are necessary to appease the gods and keep the plague at bay, but Bash kills him. Queen Mary receives a letter from Lady Lola that she is in labour and possibly dying. Queen Mary finally tells King Francis he is the father of Lola's illegitimate child, just as news arrives that the plague has risen just as the Darkness predicted. Queen Mary tries to convince King Francis to stay, but he insists on going to Lola. Queen Mary closes the gate behind him when he leaves.

Season 2

1. The Plague

Queen Mary and Queen Catherine have the castle locked down, but " the plague " manages to enter. Mary and Catherine clash when powerful noble Eduard Narcisse ( Kjartan Hewitt ) demands they throw his rival Pierre Voland in with the sick. Queen Mary refuses, so Eduard has Voland's entire family poisoned with diseased water; Yvette dies as well since she was staying with the Volands. In response, Queen Mary has Eduard thrown in the dungeon with plague victim bodies. Outside the castle, King Francis II finds Lola and their newly-born son, and they are aided by Francis's cousin, Louis of Condé ( Sean Teale ).

Louis offers to send Lola and her baby away on a boat, headed for the Netherlands, but King Francis refuses, as he wants to keep his son close to him. Bash is exposed to the plague, and although he doesn't fall sick, he sees the ghost of a young Voland girl ( Ella Ballentine ), who warns him that the others who have died are angry and that there will be a "reckoning". Lady Kenna tries to protect Pascal, but he is exposed to the Black Death and is claimed by it.

2. Drawn and Quartered

King Francis, Louis, Lady Lola and her illegitimate child arrive safely at the castle. Queen Mary is discomfited by the baby, but gives King Francis her blessing to claim him. Eduard's father, Stéphane Narcisse ( Craig Parker ), arrives to investigate his son's death, and arrests Nostradamus to take the fall for Mary's decision. Catherine and Nostradamus have a falling out when she refuses to help him escape, and Nostradamus hints that Clarissa is very much alive, meaning that King Francis is still destined to die young by Queen Mary's unintentional hand.

Working together, Queen Mary and King Francis discover that Eduard and his father Narcisse killed Voland to cover up their crimes. In order to get Narcisse to drop the charges, King Francis gives him the lands he had previously bestowed to Leith. Queen Mary helps Nostradamus leave the castle, avoiding Queen Catherine. King Francis has an encounter with a servant named Caroline (Jane Spidell) who is seemingly possessed by the spirit of the late King Henry. Castleroy blames Leith for Yvette's death and, furious and heartbroken, abandons Lady Greer at court.

3. Coronation

Preparations are underway for Francis and Mary's coronation, but the pair are preoccupied with a food shortage manufactured by Narcisse. Francis has a summoner ( Romano Orzari ) confirm that Caroline is possessed by the restless spirit of King Henry, who accuses King Francis of killing him.

While King Francis is busy, Queen Mary makes a deal with Herr Schuler (David Jansen), a German duke, who offers grain in return for the release of Protestant prisoners. King Francis is angered by Queen Mary's move, as it undermines his authority in front of the nobility, but they later reconcile and present a united front when the plan is a success, forcing Lord Narcisse to concede defeat. Queen Mary convinces Prince Louis to help them in this conflict, gaining his respect. Bash, now Prince Francis's deputy, investigates a possible murder but is thwarted when Kenna, fearful for his life, burns the evidence. The coronation takes place successfully.

4. The Lamb and the Slaughter

A grand christening is held for King Francis and Lady Lola's illegitimate son. Because King Francis wanted to publicly claim his son, he is named John Phillip Valois- Angouleme. Previous to the ceremony, Queen Mary tells King Francis that she's pregnant. Estelle (Camille Stopps), the young village girl who helped Lady Lola give birth, goes to Lady Lola for help because she wants to be freed of her new marriage to Lord Narcisse. Believing the Lord to be abusive, Lady Lola and Queen Mary sneak Estelle out of the castle, but Estelle later jumps off a cliff to her death.

Lord Narcisse tells Lady Lola that the stories of abuse were untrue and that he was overprotective of Estelle because she was suicidal. Bash and Prince Louis investigate stories of three cloaked riders who are branding people in order to claim their souls. A shepherd (Steven McCarthy) who was marked by the riders goes crazy and kills his family. Prince Louis is skeptical, but Bash believes that restless and raging spirits of the departed are staying behind to exact either justice or vengeance, which secretly worries King Francis. After bleeding severely at John's christening, Queen Mary tragically loses her newborn child. Leith returns to court, which triggers Greer into seeking Castleroy out to tell him that he's a better match for her than Leith will ever be; Lady Greer and Lord Castleroy then end up having sex.

5. Blood for Blood

Strong discord and hatred are rising between Catholics and Protestants, and in one confrontation Prince Louis's Protestant nephew Emile is killed. The revelation is that Caroline has been in the pay of Lord Narcisse; that she had fabricated being possessed by Henry II of France 's spiritual essence in order to get the King into confessing to his father's murder. Lord Narcisse hears this confession and blackmails King Francis into letting the Catholic murderers of Emile go free. When Queen Mary questions him, King Francis lies that he believes she will never give him an heir, which deeply hurts her. Lady Greer learns that Lord Castleroy is close to converting to Protestantism, but she accepts it and the pair are wed. Lady Lola is surprised when she's approached by none other than Lord Narcisse, with the intent of pursuing her as a sexual partner.

6. Three Queens

Queen Mary joins Queen Catherine on a trip away from the castle, but their carriage is attacked, forcing them to escape disguised as commoners. They encounter a pair of actors, Roger ( Ari Millen ) and Jenny (Charlotte Hegele), who are pretending to be the King Francis and Queen Mary. Roger and Jenny have been terrorizing the locals, thus ruining the reputation of the King and Queen. The two queens are eventually caught by Gifford ( Noam Jenkins ), the mastermind of the plot, who reveals that he was sent by Queen Elizabeth as retaliation for her distant cousin's publicly staking claim to the English throne.

Roger and Jenny are killed by Gifford, but Queen Mary overpowers Gifford just as King Francis arrives to rescue them. Queen Catherine learns that Queen Mary wanted to go to Beauvais, because of her recent miscarriage, decides to see a fertility doctor. Lady Lola is disowned by her family after they learn of her having King Francis's illegitimate child. Lady Lola resolves to become independent and tries to recover her dowry, but is only successful when Narcisse helps her. The pair grow closer through flirtation and court games, though Lady Lola is still cautious of his reputation.

7. The Prince of the Blood

See also: Amboise conspiracy Lord Narcisse demands that King Francis sign an edict that will force everyone in France to openly declare their religion. King Francis turns to Bash for help, confessing the truth that it was he who had murdered their father. Lady Lola is tasked by King Francis to plant false evidence that would get Narcisse arrested as a traitor but she claims she was unable to go through with it.

Queen Mary, who is kept out of the loop, goes to Louis for help. Inspired by Queen Mary's bravery, Prince Louis protests the edict by falsely claiming to be Protestant, though his protest causes other real Protestant nobles to speak up. King Francis is fearful for the lives of his dearest loved ones and signs the edict anyway, inciting the disappointment and fury of his wife and queen. King Francis's younger sister, Princess Claude (Rose Williams) returns to court. Lady Kenna tries to befriend Princess Claude but is rebuffed, because Princess Claude wants Bash for herself. Queen Catherine sees the spirits of her two daughters, Princess Henriette and Princess Emone, who threaten to hurt their elder sister.

8. Terror of the Faithful

Queen Mary and King Francis's relationship continues to be strained. As a result of Francis' Edict of Romorantin, Cardinal Vasari ( Salvatore Antonio ) from Rome is torturing suspected Protestants. A Protestant Minister (Douglas Nyback) threatens Francis with a fake claim that he has set explosives somewhere to kill Catholics, so King Francis has him arrested. While in royal custody, the Minister is killed by his fellow Protestants to make him a martyr for the Protestant cause, and this ignites open fighting. Lady Lola reveals to King Francis that she did plant the evidence on Lord Narcisse. However, it had been removed and Lord Narcisse is aware of her treachery.

Queen Catherine tries to send her surviving daughter away by marrying her off to the son of a Bavarian count, but the Princess sabotages this by making public sexual overtures on Lord Narcisse. One of Queen Catherine's suppressed memories reveal that royal fraternal twins, Henriette and Emone, had mysteriously perished as infants. And that she believed that the young Princess Claude was responsible.

9. Acts of War

Queen Mary suggests that Princess Claude, who is Catholic, and Prince Louis, who has converted to Protestantism, be wed as a symbol of interfaith relations. King Francis accepts this suggestion, but only so that it will distress Lord Narcisse and trick him into revealing where he's hiding Montgomery, the last witness who knows that King Francis had killed his own father of his own will.

Prince Louis seemingly agrees to the engagement with Princess Claude, but leaves a letter for Mary and quits the castle. While King Francis and Bash are away in an attempt to destroy Sir Montgomery, a group of Protestant assassins sneak into the castle.

Frustrated at being unable to find King Francis, one of the assassins rapes Queen Mary. After she is comforted by her mother-in-law, who helps her hide the evidence and present a strong front to the people of France. King Francis, when he returns, is distraught and blames himself. Castleroy and Lady Greer discover that their charity donations were used to fund the assassination attempt. Lord Narcisse confides to Lady Lola that he is appalled at the Protestants' desperation and regrets to have brought things this far.

10. Mercy

In the search for Queen Mary's attackers, numerous Protestants, including Castleroy, are imprisoned. King Francis has a dozen Protestants publicly hanged, throws Narcisse into the dungeon, and finally confesses to Queen Mary that Lord Narcisse has been blackmailing him over his regicide. Mary and Louis follow a lead to her attackers, eventually finding them and burning them to death. Mary remains shaken from recent events and asks Francis that they be husband and wife in name only. Castleroy is released due to Leith's petitioning, and Lady Greer tells him to leave court without her.

In addition to seeing her twin daughters as nine-year-olds, as she had imagined them many times before, Queen Catherine starts seeing the spirit of her husband, who advises her to kill their living daughter to appease the two who had perished as mere infants. Prince Louis receives a visit from his brother Antoine ( Ben Aldridge ), King of Navarre, who reminds him not to sympathize with Queen Mary because they have their own agenda. Queen Mary receives Prince Louis's delayed letter where he confesses his love for her.

11. Getaway

The bodies of the recently-executed Protestants bear the marks of the dark riders, so Cardinal Perazzo (Bruce Ramsay) concludes that Protestants have this mark to declare their extremism. He orders Louis's arrest since he has the mark, so Queen Mary helps the Prince escape to Antoine's estate. Antoine tells Prince Louis that their agenda is best served if Prince Louis seduces Queen Mary, but he refuses.

When the Cardinal's men arrive to arrest Prince Louis, Queen Mary and Leith have the mark burned away. King Francis and Bash work together to undermine Cardinal Perazzo by putting the mark on his lover, forcing the Cardinal to recant his stance on the mark's meaning. Lady Kenna investigates her suspicion that Queen Catherine is poisoning Princess Claude, and learns that the Princess and Bash were once lovers. Princess Claude confronts her mother, who confesses to the poisoning because she believes that Claude killed her infant younger sisters, but Princess Claude claims that she did no such thing. Queen Mary remains distant from King Francis, despite his efforts to offer comfort and peace.

12. Banished

King Francis and Prince Louis come to blows over Mary — Francis is jealous of Louis's closeness with Queen Mary, while Louis blames Francis for Mary's rape. Lola accepts Mary's request that she offer herself as a companion for Louis, so to deflect court gossip over Louis's obvious feelings for Queen Mary. When Greer and Castleroy's connection to the radical Protestants is revealed, Greer is stripped of her title and wealth, and sent away from court. Bash investigates the late Princess Emone and Princess Henriette's very premature demise, discovering that they were killed when his own mother, Lady Diane, had left the nursery window open by shattering it in sheer outrage she had felt towards King Henry II.

Queen Catherine almost freezes to death when the restless spirits of King Henry, and nine-year-old Princess Henriette and Princess Emone encourage her to leave her earthly family for her "real one", but she is saved by Bash. The Queen Mother finally confronts the spirits, telling her twin daughters' to leave and wait for her when her time finally does come, and banishing King Henry's essence away for all of the harm and suffering he has caused during his reign. She then takes out her bitter vengeance on them by striking her lifelong rival with a fireplace poker and strangling her to death.

13. Sins of the Past

King Francis and Queen Mary learn that King Antoine is thinking of allying with their enemy, Queen Elizabeth of England as he believes that Bash had killed his and Prince Louis's elder brother, Prince Marcus, during the Italian Wars, and wants vengeance, either by killing Bash or seducing Lady Kenna. Bash investigates a man (Greg Calderone) who had supposedly returned to the Underworld by a mysteriously woman in white. Queen Catherine has a prophetic vision of her eldest son's death. However, King Francis, Queen Mary and the royal doctors attribute this to syphilis, which she has symptoms of.

Queen Catherine, with Lord Narcisse's help, discovers that she is actually being slowly poisoned by the pages of the late King Henry's old Bible, which they conclude was directly responsible for gradually turning King Henry insane. Queen Mary attempts to renew her relationship with King Francis but finds it too difficult, so she gives him permission to find someone new to love.

14. The End of Mourning

Queen Catherine informs King Francis, Queen Mary and Bash about King Henry II's poisoned Bible, which kicks off an investigation into who was truly responsible for the madness of the late king, and all of the extremely difficult problems that had followed.

King Francis, Bash and Queen Mary find evidence implicating Prince Louis, but Lord Narcisse finds stronger evidence that it was the doing of Queen Mary's maternal uncle, François, Duke of Guise. However, King Antoine really was behind the poisoning, and he had bribed Lord Narcisse into framing and killing the Duke of Guise before he could be questioned. King Francis still wishes to reconcile with Queen Mary, but she has secretly grown attached to Prince Louis. Lady Greer struggles to find a livelihood for herself as an exile, and befriends Sharlene (Linzee Barclay), a prostitute, and helps set her up with a customer.

15. Forbidden

Queen Marie de Guise visits French court to attend the funeral of her brother. While there, she pressures Mary to conceive an heir and gives her opiates to help her relax. Mary agrees, but she and Francis are still unable to have sex, and Francis learns about Mary's tentative feelings for Louis.

Queen Marie de Guise reveals to her daughter that she is dying, so Queen Mary decides she should return to Scotland soon, and asks Prince Louis to join her. Prince Louis is conflicted because his elder brother has obtained a secret marriage proposal for Prince Louis with Queen Elizabeth I. Lady Kenna feels neglected by Bash, and this gives King Antoine the opportunity to try to seduce her. Bash investigates the woman in white, Sister Delphine ( Alexandra Ordolis ), after hearing more of her "healing miracles" that come with a high price. King Francis arranges a marriage for his and Lady Lola's illegitimate son with the Habsburgs, but it's sabotaged when Lady Lola meets them while high on Queen Marie's opiates. Greer helps Sharlene and her other new prostitute friends by teaching them how to act like ladies and sending them to a party at French court.

16. Tasting Revenge

News is out that Queen Mary and King Francis are estranged, so various nobles parade their daughters at court in the hopes of Francis taking one as his mistress. When Queen Mary turns down another of King Francis's attempts to reconcile, he has sex with Narcisse's niece, Amelie ( Siobhan Williams ). King Francis, as advised by Lady Lola, tells Queen Mary that she can be with Prince Louis as long as she is discreet. Queen Mary and Prince Louis sneak out of the castle on their way to Scotland, but are seen by King Antoine and turn back.

King Antoine, believing an alliance with England is better, successfully gets Louis to a secret meeting with Queen Elizabeth I's envoy, Lord Burgess ( Rob Stewart ). King Antoine pressures Kenna to leave Bash for him, but she turns him down when she uncovers his true intentions. Bash is still hurt when he learns that Lady Kenna considered Prince Antoine's proposal. Leith finds Greer to tell her that Castleroy is in prison for his connection to the radicals, and discovers that she has become a madam. When he accepts this, the pair renew their relationship and have sex.

17. Tempting Fate

See also: Treaty of Hampton Court (1562) Queen Mary's agent, Ridley ( Jonathan Watton ), is killed while preparing her route to Scotland, and his letters from Queen Mary are stolen. Prince Louis confesses to Mary about his meetings with Burgess. Although angered at first, Queen Mary works with Louis to manipulate Burgess into giving them information they need on the safe routes to Scotland. Queen Mary demands that Louis choose between her and Queen Elizabeth; Louis chooses Queen Mary, and they have sex. Bash and Lady Kenna separate. While investigating a case, Bash is mortally wounded, but is saved by Delphine when he begs her to, despite her reminder that her miracles come with a price.

Unknown to Mary, her letters outlining her plans to abandon France were taken by General Renaude (Vince Nappo), who passes them to Narcisse, who informs Catherine. When Catherine tells Francis, he collapses, and blood drips from his ear. Catherine fears that this means Nostradamous's prophecy is coming true; Narcisse comforts her and they have sex. When Catherine learns that Claude is trying to seduce Narcisse, she orders Leith to become Claude's bodyguard. Leith attempts to get an annulment for Greer, and meets a cardinal ( Pascal Langdale ) who is intrigued by his case.

18. Reversal of Fortune

Francis remains unconscious and is feared to be dying. In 1560, Mary receives news that her loyalists in Scotland are under attack by Protestants in the Siege of Leith. She tries to send French soldiers to the cause but is blocked by Queen Catherine and Lord Narcisse. Bash fears that King Francis's sickness is the cost of his being revived by Delphine. He discovers Clarissa alive in a village and poisons her, hoping her death will save King Francis. Soon after, King Francis wakes up while his wife is by his side.

Despite his mother's protests, King Francis gives Queen Mary the soldiers she needs, citing France's alliance with Scotland. However, King Francis tells Queen Mary that he can never trust her again. Kenna meets Renaude, who is drawn to her until he learns that she's married. Greer's prostitution business continues to grow, and Leith secretly performs acts of thuggery for the cardinal to obtain Greer's annulment. Prince Louis is frustrated when Queen Mary gives up on their plan to leave for Scotland.

19. Abandoned

Protestant radicals take a monastery hostage in retaliation for Francis's sending troops to Scotland, but Bash and Renaude recover it successfully. When Catherine and Narcisse try to frame Louis for the hostage situation, Louis asks Mary to leave France with him, but she refuses. Louis fears he's no longer safe in France, so when he's approached by another English envoy, Lord Akers ( Vincent Gale ), he accepts Elizabeth's proposal. Louis immediately takes part in a secret proxy wedding, making him King consort of England and a traitor to France. The day after, all participants in the ceremony aside from Louis and Akers are mysteriously killed and evidence of the wedding destroyed.

Akers, uncertain whether the marriage is still valid, abandons Louis to return to England. Mary learns about the wedding and is heartbroken. Lola and Kenna visit Greer's brothel and are surprised by her success. Bash has seemingly moved on to another woman, enabling Kenna and Renaude to grow closer. Catherine and Narcisse's sexual relationship continues, though Catherine is concerned when she learns that Lord Narcisse still flirts with Lady Lola.

20. Fugitive

Prince Louis is captured by Renaude while trying to flee France with travel papers given by Mary. Akers returns to rescue Prince Louis, informing him that Elizabeth still wishes to marry him, and wants him to take the crown of France for her. Prince Louis, with Akers's encouragement, starts gathering a Protestant army in readiness to attack King Francis. Queen Mary realizes the ramifications of her helping Prince Louis and tries to reconcile with King Francis. Queen Catherine tells Lord Narcisse to prove his loyalty by hurting Lady Lola deeply; he is successful, but is angered at being forced to do it.

Lady Kenna pursues Renaude, and they have sex. Princess Claude catches Leith trying to steal for the cardinal, but when she sees how much Leith loves Lady Greer, she gives him her diamond earrings. Leith proposes to Lady Greer, but she refuses, saying she wants to keep her new independence.

21. The Siege

Louis's army continues to grow, and he coerces Renaude into joining his side by using Renaude's son as leverage. Renaude and his men attack Francis's castle in a first wave but are defeated, and Renaude is captured. After the rest of Louis's army surrounds the castle, Louis asks Francis to surrender — promising that in doing so, Louis will protect Mary from Elizabeth. Francis refuses and decides to make a stand. In anticipation for the oncoming battle, Narcisse kisses Lola; Catherine hears about it and in retaliation tricks Narcisse into eating steak made from his beloved horse.

Leith protects Princess Claude from Prince Louis's soldiers by hiding in the castle tunnels, where Claude sees a mysterious figure in the shadows. Princess Claude is touched by Leith's commitment to protecting her, and Leith tells her that his relationship with Greer has ended. Bash starts a romantic relationship with Delphine and brings her to the castle, hoping that she can replace Nostradamus as a court seer. On the eve of the attack, Delphine performs a sexual pagan ritual with a servant boy. Queen Mary sneaks out of the castle to go to Prince Louis, asking that he protect her because she's pregnant with his love child.

22. Burn

Queen Mary's going to Prince Louis is a ruse; she has Lady Greer's prostitutes poison Louis's soldiers, and stabs Louis in the stomach. King Francis rides out with his soldiers to capture Louis and clear the rest of Louis's scattered army, ending the coup. Catherine wants Louis to be executed but Francis refuses, not wanting to make Louis a Protestant martyr. Frustrated, Catherine has Lola kidnapped and her son seemingly murdered, so to frame Louis. Louis is to be executed but escapes thanks to Elizabeth's agents. Narcisse uncovers Catherine's plot and saves Lola and her son; Francis is angered at his mother's actions and has Catherine exiled from court.

Renaude is executed for treason. Kenna tries to reconcile with Bash, but is rejected when Bash learns that she's pregnant with Renaude's child. Kenna leaves court to have her child outside France, and on her journey meets the young King of Imereti. Queen Mary and King Francis renew their relationship and make love. Afterward, the King meets Nostradamus, whom he has been seeing in secret; Francis is still dying and Nostradamus has been giving him medicine to stave off the symptoms. Delphine is blamed for the presence of a "monster" in the castle, and is arrested after being found with the bloodied corpse of the servant she had sex with.

Bash learns that his and Delphine's souls are bound together due to the ritual Delphine performed. Delphine is tied to a burning stake for her execution as a witch, but she escapes. Catherine blames Mary for her situation and travels to England, where she offers Queen Elizabeth ( Rachel Skarsten ) her help in destroying Queen Mary for good.

Season 3

1. Three Queens, Two Tigers

In England, Catherine and Queen Elizabeth send messengers to Rome to expose Queen Mary's affair with Prince Louis, but the messengers are quietly assassinated by the Vatican. Queen Mary and King Francis are in need of resources, and engage a privateer named Martin (Sameer Usmani) to steal for them. Martin tricks Greer, who has returned to court, into having sex with him. Queen Elizabeth, as advised by Queen Catherine, sends a proposal to France for her marriage to King Francis's younger brother Prince Charles (Spencer MacPherson). King Francis refuses and reveals to queen Mary that he is surely dying gradually.

However, Queen Mary and King Francis pretend to accept the proposal, providing a diversion so their spies can kidnap Queen Catherine and bring her back to France for imprisonment. Queen Elizabeth is having an affair with her subject, commoner Robert Dudley (Charlie Carrick), while Lord Robert's wife, Amy (Clara Pasieka) starts an affair with Queen Elizabeth's adviser William ( Tom Everett Scott ) as part of a plan to get her husband back. Lord Narcisse wants to court Lady Lola but is forbidden by King Francis. Delphine, still a fugitive, tells Bash that she is innocent of the murder she's accused of, and that the true murderer is still in the castle.

2. Betrothed

Queen Mary and King Francis prepare for the transition of power by telling Princess Claude, Crown Prince Charles and Bash that King Francis is slowly dying, and asking Charles to marry his wife after his death. Charles initially refuses and sides with Catherine, but changes his mind when Catherine uses him in an attempt to assassinate the Bourbons. Under pressure from the Privy Council, Elizabeth sacrifices her friend Donatella ( Cristina Rosato ) to take the blame for Catherine's machinations in England, and insults Robert Dudley in front of the Council so he will not be made ambassador.

Queen Elizabeth chooses her "retired" spy, Nicholas Throckmorton ( Nick Lee ) to be her new ambassador to France. Princess Claude and Leith grow close, and Leith learns that Francis is dying. Mary tells Lady Lola that King Francis is dying, and warns her to be wary of Narcisse. Narcisse tricks Lola into believing that Catherine wants to destroy her; Lady Lola, thinking Lord Narcisse can truly protect her now, starts an affair with him. Bash continues to investigate Delphine and mysterious murders in the village.

3. Extreme Measures

King Francis has another collapse, and the news spreads to various parties, including King Antoine of Navarre and Nicholas, newly-arrived ambassador of England. King Antoine has come to King Francis to ask for help, and is told to sign away his claim to the French throne in return. Queen Mary releases her mother-in-law from prison to help block Nicholas's attempts to interfere; they are successful and King Antoine signs away his claim. Prince Charles accidentally causes his friend, Constance (Jordan Monaghan), to overdose on opium, but she is saved with Princess Claude and Lord Narcisse's help.

King Francis learns of Narcisse's helping Charles and gives his blessing for Narcisse and Lola to wed immediately. Leith lets it slip to Claude that he is afraid of developing feelings for her. Mary realizes that the alliance with Scotland is too damaging to France, so she decides not to marry Prince Charles after King Francis dies, but sets her sights on Don Carlos of Spain. King Francis and Queen Mary decide it is best that Queen Catherine be the regent after King Francis's death.

4. The Price

The ailing Queen Marie de Guise needs help evading the English-backed Protestants in Scotland, so Mary and Francis manipulate Nicholas into giving false intelligence to Elizabeth, ultimately enraging the English queen and saving Queen Marie. Don Carlos of Spain ( Mark Ghanimé ) visits England to court Queen Elizabeth, but is rejected when he demands she disprove a rumour that she's secretly a man. Queen Elizabeth tells Robert her suspicion that Amy is responsible for the rumour; Robert assaults Amy but is quickly remorseful and promises to end his affair with Queen Elizabeth.

Bash tracks down and saves Delphine from being tortured by nuns. Prince Charles, having learned of Delphine's extraordinary abilities in healing, orders her to revive his half-brother, who has died in Queen Mary's arms. Queen Mary agrees to Delphine's price of a life for a life, but when King Francis awakens, Queen Marie de Guise simultaneously dies in Scotland. Queen Catherine figures out that Lord Narcisse tricked Lola into marrying him. Lady Lola is suspicious that Lord Narcisse is still keeping secrets from her.

5. In a Clearing

March 1560: Queen Catherine reads the letter from the embalmer that states the date when he received Francis's body. The note reads "March 29th, 1560" as when Francis's body was received; Sebastian also mentions that Francis was put in his coffin just "two days" later, meaning Francis's death is around the end of March 1560. Francis has been seemingly cured of all ills thanks to Delphine. Mary agrees to a new proposal of peace from Elizabeth and signs an accord to give up her claim to the English throne. However, Nostradamus returns to warn Catherine and Francis that he has had another vision of Francis's death.

Francis agrees to take precautions, but leaves the castle with Mary on a trip to Paris. Along the way they stop to swim in a lake, and Queen Mary is kidnapped by bandits. Francis comes to her rescue but is hurt in the melee. King Francis, dying, asks Queen Mary to stay in France until Charles is king and the regency is secured, and professes his wish that Mary fall in love again one day. Francis then dies in Queen Mary's arms. Queen Mary, suspecting that Elizabeth was behind the bandits, confronts Nicholas in a sheer fury and burns the accord.

Later Mary learns that the bandits were Scottish Protestants hoping to assassinate her. Bash and Delphine break the spell that was binding them together, and investigate the mysterious murders, tracking them down to a man that rips out people's hearts.

6. Fight or Flight

Late April, 1560: Three weeks have passed since Francis's death, but Catherine has been unable to rally support from the Privy Council to be voted regent. Lord Grenier ( Ted Whittall ), a war profiteer, attempts to manipulate the council and become regent, but is blocked by Queen Mary and Queen Catherine. For the sake of inspiring support for Queen Catherine, Queen Mary dissolves the costly French-Scottish alliance in Catherine's name and prepares to return to Scotland. At Charles's urging, Mary decides to stay in France until she has made a new alliance, and sends word to Don Carlos for a possible new marriage.

Catherine seduces Narcisse, with the double goals of destroying his marriage with Lola, and getting his possibly crucial vote for the regency. Elizabeth, disappointed with Nicholas's failures, replaces him as ambassador to France with Gideon Blackburn ( Ben Geurens ), whom Elizabeth instructs to seduce Mary and sabotage her marriage prospects. Elizabeth summons Robert and Amy back to court, but Amy fakes an illness so that she and Robert can move to Cornwall for her "health". Claude and Leith spend more time together, despite Leith's wariness of their difference in status.

7. The Hound and the Hare

Queen Catherine believes that Narcisse will help her become regent, especially when he makes her leave her servant lover, Christophe (Nathaniel Middleton), for him. However on the day of the vote, Cardinal Morel (Blair Williams) presents a blackened liver that supposedly belonged to Francis, "proving" that the king was poisoned and Catherine the likely culprit. Narcisse, with the council's support, is declared regent. Bash and Delphine expect the killer they are investigating to attack Greer next, but the killer attacks Delphine instead. Delphine is spared when she temporarily absorbs the killer's murderous instinct, but is unable to identify him.

Mary and Don Carlos are close to an engagement, but are stalled by Gideon Blackburn, who claims that Don Carlos has a "dark secret". Upon investigation, Queen Mary learns that Don Carlos is a masochist who desires to be flogged. Mary is reluctant, but she and Catherine stage a secret flogging session for Don Carlos which ends badly — Don Carlos falls and cracks his skull, but survives and wanders out of the room.

8. Our Undoing

Don Carlos survives his injury but is brain-damaged. Fadrique, Duke of Alba ( Richard De Klerk ) investigates the accident, but Mary and Catherine escape being implicated. Narcisse holds an inquest into Catherine's possible poisoning of Francis, but with Bash's help, Catherine exhumes Francis's intact corpse, proving that the blackened liver was from someone else. Unknown to all, Cardinal Morel was behind the attempt to frame Queen Catherine at the urging of a secret party; upon his failure, he is killed. Lord Cunningham ( Giles Panton ), a Scottish Lord, brings Mary news of famine in Scotland, and that Elizabeth has taken Lola's family hostage and wants Lola to travel to her court in exchange for their freedom.

At Catherine's advice, Mary gets engaged to the child-like Don Carlos, who is smitten with Mary and sends grain to Scotland at her urging. Lady Lola discovers the truth of how Narcisse manipulated her into marrying him; she leaves him and goes to Queen Elizabeth's court to save her family.

9. Wedlock

Queen Mary's wedding to Don Carlos approaches. Don Carlos secretly regains his memory, and seeks his revenge on Mary by asking for the crown matrimonial of Scotland. Mary is suspicious and asks Gideon for help; he learns that Don Carlos plans to assassinate Mary after the wedding. Queen Mary tricks Don Carlos into confessing his intentions to all, and the wedding is cancelled. Queen Mary also learns that Gideon is being blackmailed by Queen Elizabeth, who is holding Lord Gideon's daughter hostage. Queen Elizabeth is pregnant with Robert's child, so she pressures Robert to divorce Amy and marry her.

When Lady Amy learns of this, she goes stark mad and frames Robert for murder by killing herself. Queen Catherine continues her affair with Christophe and has him elevated to a member of the King's Guard. Princess Claude and Leith consummate their relationship. Soon afterward Narcisse announces that Claude will be married off to a wealthy Duke, so her dowry can be used to pay some of the French crown's debts. Delphine fears that the murderer's killing instinct is inside her, and the murderer kills again.

10. Bruises That Lie

Queen Mary allies with Gideon against Elizabeth; together they fool Elizabeth's spies by making it appear that Gideon has seduced Mary, thus securing the release of Gideon's daughter, Agatha. However, Gideon has developed real feelings for Mary. Claude is married to Duke Boinel, who hits her on their wedding night, but she hits him back and runs away.

Angered by what happened to Princess Claude, Prince Charles forces the Privy Council to remove Lord Narcisse as regent and appoint Queen Catherine instead. Unbeknownst to them, Queen Catherine had secretly bribed Duke Boinel to strike Claude, setting those events in motion. Princess Claude's marriage is annulled, and Leith promises to rise in station until he is worthy of marrying her. Lady Lola arrives at English court and learns that Queen Elizabeth has no intention of releasing her family. Queen Elizabeth is poisoned and miscarries her baby. Martin returns to France and learns that Greer is pregnant with his illegitimate child, and that she's planning to give it away to her married sister, Lady Ellen (Lyla Porter-Follows).

11. Succession

Prince Charles's coronation is marred by the discovery of dead bodies in the castle, victims of the same murderer Bash has been tracking. With Christophe's help, Bash finds evidence that the castle butcher ( Christopher Jacot ) is responsible, and he is hanged. However, Catherine learns that Christophe is the true murderer, but he blackmails her into keeping his secret. Mary spends time with Gideon and his young daughter Agatha. There is some discussion of the proposal of Eric XIV of Sweden to marry Mary. Queen Mary learns that the Protestant preacher John Knox is leading the persecution of Catholics in Scotland, and calls upon the Vatican for help raising an army against him.

Elizabeth presses Lola for information on Queen Mary, but Lola refuses to comply. Instead Lola tells Elizabeth her new discovery that William has been paying courtesans to dress up as Elizabeth for his pleasure. Elizabeth uses this lead to uncover that William is in love with her and poisoned her, causing her miscarriage; she banishes him from court for good.

12. No Way Out

Queen Elizabeth publicly names Mary as her successor, on the condition that Elizabeth choose Mary's next husband. Mary has Rome's approval to raise an army, and is ordered by Archbishop Ridolfi ( Juan Chioran ) to accept Elizabeth's terms, as they plan to assassinate Elizabeth and have Mary become queen of England. Mary asks Gideon for help finding a way to protect Elizabeth, and has sex with him; soon after, Gideon kills his servant to protect Queen Mary. When Queen Elizabeth sees how much Robert is hated in England, she makes him Earl of Leicester and commands him to sail to France and wed Queen Mary, hoping to save his life.

Lola reaches out to the heartbroken Queen Elizabeth. Queen Mary asks if Greer will return with her to Scotland, but Greer declines. Queen Catherine is threatened by the mysterious thirteen Red Knights who seek vengeance for the wrongful execution of thirteen knights by King Henry II (actually it was Philip IV ) many years ago for allegedly worshipping Baphomet.

13. Strange Bedfellows

Robert arrives in France and Queen Mary agrees to marry him. She and Gideon discover that although the Vatican wish to put Queen Mary on the English throne, they are going to replace her with a distant Catholic cousin, Joseph Tudor. Gideon kidnaps Joseph but is arrested by Archbishop Ridolfi before he can expose the plot, so he passes the task of warning Elizabeth to Robert. Robert returns to England with Joseph and is hailed a hero. Queen Elizabeth executes Joseph and declares that she will have no successor; Robert and Queen Mary's engagement is cancelled as well.

Queen Mary arranges for Gideon to return to England to save him from the Vatican's retribution, and the pair bid their goodbyes. Queen Catherine, with Bash and Christophe's help, learns that the Red Knights are a movement to destroy the House of Valois, and were behind the attempt to frame her for poisoning King Francis. Queen Catherine reconciles with Lord Narcisse in her preparation to fight back. Greer breaks ties with Ellen and her husband because of their duplicity. Princess Claude offers to financially help Leith start a new business, and he accepts.

14. To the Death

Queen Mary discovers that Greer is pregnant, and uses her new Vatican-funded army to free Aloysius Castleroy, Greer's husband, from prison. Greer and Aloysius reconcile, and leave to start a new life elsewhere. Bash confesses to Queen Mary that his feelings for her never fully went away, and promises to go to Scotland with her. Charles and Narcisse secretly go to a high-stakes casino to win money to pay the royal soldiers. However, the Red Knights poison all the royal generals just before they are paid, so to frame Catherine and Charles for the massacre.

Queen Elizabeth conspires with Lola to punish Beatrice Somerset, a lady who testified against Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn, which led to Anne's execution. Queen Elizabeth learns that the accusation of incest against Anne was true, but Anne only resorted to it because she feared her husband King Henry VIII would kill her if she did not give him a son. Elizabeth pardons Beatrice and rewards Lola's loyalty by bringing Jean-Philippe to her.

15. Safe Passage

News of the massacre gets out and defenders of the generals rise up against Catherine and Charles. Delphine is brought back to court by Charles to help flush out the Red Knights, but is killed by Christophe when she recognizes him. Bash figures out that Christophe killed Delphine and kills him. Bash also learns of Catherine's other misdeeds — protecting Christophe, killing Bash's mother, and having Claude beaten to win the Regency — and resigns as Deputy of France. Queen Mary uses her mercenary army to protect Catherine and Charles from an uprising of their soldiers, and then leaves for Scotland for good.

Narcisse and Bash join Mary on her ship; Narcisse wants to save Lola, and Bash wants to protect Mary. Catherine falls out with Charles and Claude when they learn what she did to earn the Regency. Lola meets with Gideon, who is searching for a way to free her.

16. Clans

Queen Mary's ship sinks in a storm, though she, Narcisse and Bash are washed ashore in northern Scotland. Mary and Narcisse narrowly escape being killed by a local clan, the McFee, while Bash is taken by druids to be healed. Narcisse leaves for England after helping reunite Queen Mary with Bash. The McFee attack and slaughter the druids, so Mary and Bash pretend to be sibling merchants in order to survive. Queen Mary and Bash also agree to travel with the McFee — this clan was behind the attack that killed King Francis, so Mary hopes to meet their leader and exact revenge.

Mary is confounded with the Wulvers. Queen Elizabeth and Lady Lola entertain the Prince Magnus, Duke of Holstein of Denmark (Kyle Gatehouse), a potential suitor for Elizabeth, and avoid an international mishap due to Lola's quick thinking. Elizabeth learns of Queen Mary's ship sinking and, believing that Queen Mary is dead, invites Lady Lola to join English court permanently. King Charles, hoping to assert his power and be granted full kingship, pursues his own plan to stop the Red Knights in Orsay, but is betrayed by one of his friends and captured.

17. Intruders

Queen Mother Catherine, working with Leith, traps and kills most of the Red Knights, but is unable to find King Charles, who has fled captivity on his own. John Knox (Jonathan Goad) learns of Queen Mary's presumed death, and pressures Queen Mary's bastard younger half-brother James Stewart (Dan Jeannotte) to dissolve the Scottish monarchy. Queen Mary and Bash are brought to Munro ( John Barrowman ), leader of the McFee; Munro figures out who Mary is, but she kills him. Queen Mary and Bash flee to Edinburgh, where she makes a triumphant entrance before the Scottish nobles.

Queen Elizabeth sends her troops to invade Scotland and take the throne, and refuses to recall them even when she hears Mary may be alive. Narcisse manages to sneak into Elizabeth's palace to reconcile with Lady Lola, but before Lady Lola can escape with him, she receives a coded letter supposedly from Queen Mary ordering her to assassinate Queen Elizabeth.

18. Spiders in a Jar

Lady Lola conspires with a Scottish assassin to kill Queen Elizabeth Tudor, but the assassination attempt fails and both are captured. Queen Elizabeth has Lola executed by public beheading, which Narcisse is there to witness. Mary consolidates her power in Scotland, and successfully uses the suicide of a Catholic priest as propaganda in gaining support. Gideon arrives in Scotland as part of an English delegation, and he and Mary resume their affair. When Queen Mary learns of Lady Lola's execution, she vows to take Queen Elizabeth's throne, and asks Gideon to help her.

James figures out that John Knox was behind the order to assassinate Elizabeth, but he has no evidence. Bash leaves Queen Mary in order to join the druids and hone his own supernatural gifts, as Nostradamus and Delphine had with theirs. King Charles safely returns to French court and ousts Catherine as regent. Catherine retaliates by parading her third son, Henry, who is next in line to the throne. Catherine gives her blessing to Princess Claude and Leith to get married, but Leith is betrayed and killed by the machinations of Martel de Guise (Lewis Kirk), a jealous former lover of Princess Claude's. Queen Elizabeth asks Robert to marry her, but she is dismayed to learn that he has married Lettice Knollys.

Season 4

1. With Friends Like These

The Earl of Clan Gordon (Stewart Arnott) kidnaps Queen Mary in the hopes of forcing her to marry his son George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly. Mary escapes, and foils John Knox's attempts to manipulate the situation. Queen Leeza ( Anastasia Phillips ), eldest daughter of Catherine and wife of Philip II of Spain, arrives at French court, where her pro-Spain policies cause her to clash with Queen Mother Catherine and Princess Claude. Princess Claude discovers that Martel was behind Leith's death, and works with her mother to stage Martel's "suicide". Gideon discovers that John Knox was behind the assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth, and informs both Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary.

Despite James's concerns, Queen Mary wants to marry Darnley ( Will Kemp ), an English Catholic with a claim on the English throne. Darnley's mother, Lady Lennox (Nola Augustson), has been working behind Elizabeth's back for the match, but Darnley promises Queen Elizabeth that he will stay away from Scotland if she arranges for him to marry Keira (Sara Garcia), the woman he loves. Greer arrives in Scotland to comfort Queen Mary over Lady Lola's death.

2. A Grain of Deception

Mary and James clash when they disagree over how to handle a leak among her advisors. Mary orders James to seduce John Knox's wife, Emily (Claire Hunter), for information but he refuses. John Knox visits English court, where he narrowly escapes being entrapped by Elizabeth, Gideon and Narcisse. Narcisse, angered at being unable to avenge Lola, sabotages Elizabeth's attempt to allow Darnley to marry Keira. At French court, Charles is increasingly absent from his royal duties, forcing Catherine to block Leeza's attempts to bring Spanish influence there. Unknown to all, Charles is suffering from an illness. Mary asks Greer to move to Scotland permanently, and to manage Lola's family's estates.

3. Leaps of Faith

Elizabeth is scared that if Darnley, a Stuart cousin of Mary, marries Mary, then their offspring would have an undeniable claim to the throne of England since both Mary and Darnley have the same paternal grandmother of the House of Tudor and both of the child's parents would be Tudor/Stuart royals. Gideon, with Elizabeth's blessing, goes to Mary with a proposal: if Mary marries him and abdicates, Elizabeth will make their firstborn son heir to the throne of a united England and Scotland. (However, Gideon has secretly promised to Elizabeth that his marriage to Mary would attenuate her claim to the English throne since Gideon is a commoner.) Mary is ready to accept, but changes her mind after meeting Lady Lennox, who shares her past experience of being Elizabeth's prisoner.

Lady Lennox (daughter of Margaret Tudor) also sabotages Darnley's attempts to be with Keira, who is married off to someone else. Narcisse returns to French court and works with Catherine to remove Leeza's Spanish choice for Chancellor of France. Catherine and Narcisse send a young woman, Bianca (Sofia Banzhaf), to Charles in the hopes of rejuvenating him, but she disappears. Claude finds solace in religion in the wake of Leith's death. James pursues an affair with Emily Knox (based on Margaret Knox ).

4. Playing with Fire

Queen Mary and Darnley meet; Darnley is openly ambitious and accepts Mary's terms of marriage. Mary is impressed when Darnley rescues a child from a fire, though she later receives a letter from a "Loyal Watchman" claiming that Darnley staged the rescue. Leeza tries to have Claude sent to a nunnery for adultery but Catherine intervenes, arranging for Claude's marriage to Narcisse's son, Luc (Steve Lund) instead. On Claude's wedding night, Leith returns to French court, still alive, but is arrested by Narcisse before he can announce his presence. Bianca is found alive, but Charles continues to act erratically. Elizabeth works to get Lord Maxford (Ted Dykstra) on her side, so to gain lumber for ships to protect England from a rumored Spanish fleet. Greer confesses to Mary that her marriage with Castleroy is troubled.

5. Highland Games

Queen Mary and Darnley's engagement is announced, but Scottish noble Lord Taylor ( Chad Connell ) accuses Darnley of being as dishonorable as his father and challenges him to a boxing match. Mary confronts Darnley about the fire rescue, and he admits that he staged it. Mary and Darnley reach an understanding, and work together to win the match and gain the nobles' support. James investigates the identity of the "Loyal Watchman". Leith's return is revealed to all, but Luc is unable to annul his marriage due to Narcisse's manipulations, and so offers Claude an open marriage instead. Catherine learns that Charles's behaviour is due to his trauma from his time fleeing from the Red Knights. Castleroy and Rose arrive in Scotland, but Castleroy tells Greer that he's fallen in love with another.

6. Love & Death

Queen Elizabeth I sends Ambassador Richards (Philip Riccio) to bring Darnley back to England, but he is rebuffed by Mary and Darnley. Mary is warned by the "Loyal Watchman" that an assassin has been sent to kill Darnley, but Darnley successfully defends himself against the assassin. Mary and Darnley's relationship deepens, and they have sex, but Keira arrives in Scotland soon after, hoping to reunite with Darnley. Leith is unable to cope with Claude and Luc being married, so he demands payment from Narcisse to leave for good. Claude tells Leith to meet her a year in the future, after she has given Luc the heir he needs. Elizabeth brings in a physician to treat Gideon's daughter, but he is unable to help her. Leeza discovers that Charles has fled, and vows that Spain will take control of France.

7. Hanging Swords

Mary struggles to mediate between Darnley and James, whose dislike of each other deepens. Mary learns from the "Loyal Watchman" that Darnley has resumed his affair with Keira and confronts him — heartbroken, she vows that their marriage will never be more than political. Mary meets and has a battle of wits with Lord Bothwell ( Adam Croasdell ). Catherine and Narcisse find Charles living happily with a peasant family and having grown attached to the family's daughter, Nicole (Ann Pirvu). Charles returns to court with Nicole by his side, and reveals to Catherine, Narcisse and Leeza that he has found purpose in Protestantism. Leeza leaves for Spain after extracting a promise from Catherine to replace Charles with his devoutly Catholic younger brother, Henry. Narcisse warns Catherine that Nicole is power-hungry. Elizabeth prepares to invade Scotland, but changes her mind after spending time with Gideon's daughter before she dies.

8. Uncharted Waters

Preparations are underway for Mary and Darnley's wedding, but Darnley's careless behavior causes a minor crisis with Lucrezia de Medici. Bothwell helps Mary manage the crisis, and tries to convince her not to wed Darnley; Bothwell is the "Loyal Watchman" and promised Marie de Guise to protect Mary. Mary meets David Rizzio (Andrew Shaver), who relays a prophecy from Bash: Mary may have love, or an heir to a united Scotland and England, but not both. James, on Mary's orders, tries to have Keira thrown out, but Keira is fatally injured in an accident, and Darnley blames Mary. Catherine arrives in Scotland for the wedding, and comforts a distraught Mary. Elizabeth meets John Hawkins (Max Lloyd-Jones), and commissions him to explore the New World for England. Luc gains King Charles's ear and manages to convince him to re-embrace Catholicism, but King Charles's behavior is still erratic.

9. Pulling Strings

Bothwell kisses Mary and tries to convince her to marry him instead, but she refuses because she's already pregnant with Darnley's child. Darnley conspires with Cardinal Odomo (Paulino Nunes) to usurp Mary's power, but is caught by Mary thanks to the help of Catherine, David, and James. Martin arrives in Scotland for the wedding and spends time with Rose. James grows close to Greer and learns that Martin is Rose's father. John Knox confronts Emily about her affair with James, and reduces her to a servant. Mary and Darnley are successfully wed despite their mutual animosity. Elizabeth is angered when a number of Catholic border towns switch from English to Scottish in support of Queen Mary and Darnley; Gideon comforts her and they have sex.

10. A Better Man

Queen Mary and Lord Darnley clash over her attempt to ally with Lord Hamilton ( Tyrone Savage ), Darnley's family enemy, but they tentatively reconcile when Mary tells him that she's pregnant. Greer and James kiss. Emily feeds James false information from John Knox, causing a misunderstanding that leads to Hamilton's death and James's willing exile from Scotland to protect Mary's reputation. Elizabeth seeks a husband and shows interest in Archduke Ferdinand of Austria ( Steve Byers ); at the same time, Gideon accepts Elizabeth's request to try to get her pregnant, testing her fertility before any potential marriage. Queen Catherine successfully pressures Narcisse into starting an affair with Nicole, so to better control her and King Charles. Charles finally accepts responsibility of being king, just when his younger brother, Henry (Nick Slater), returns to court.

11. Dead of Night

Queen Mary and Lord Darnley send loyalist Lord Barrett ( James Gilbert ) on a secret mission to invade England and capture Queen Elizabeth. Darnley asks Mary for the crown matrimonial; when she refuses, he threatens to tell Queen Elizabeth of the plot. Queen Mary sends Bothwell and Rizzio to meet with Gideon and stop the mission entirely, and they are successful. Mary swears to Gideon that she'll not threaten Elizabeth's throne ever again. Gideon tells Queen Elizabeth of the failed coup, in the hopes of encouraging her to marry Ferdinand and protect England. Mary appoints Bothwell her bodyguard and Rizzio her advisor, so to shut Darnley out from power. Henry purposely antagonizes King Charles, though his behaviour causes Narcisse to switch allegiances to him. Queen Catherine casts a spell in the hopes of helping King Charles.

12. The Shakedown

Mary and Darnley's relationship deteriorates further. Mary learns of Darnley's underhanded attempts to gain support from the Scottish nobles against her; she shares this with Bothwell, who advises her to consider killing Darnley. Darnley's tactics gain the attention of John Knox, who offers a secret alliance to depose Mary as queen. Gideon takes Elizabeth to a secret getaway, but they are caught by Elizabeth's servant Jane (Megan Hutchings); Elizabeth spares Jane, but Jane secretly writes a letter of her discovery to an unknown person. Charles grows more aggressive, but confesses to Catherine that his actions are due to his fear of his weakness as king. Claude realizes she's developed feelings for Luc, but Luc discovers Claude's promise to reunite with Leith and says that their marriage will be purely a political one.

13. Coup de Grâce

Darnley and John Knox conspire to depose Mary by accusing her of adultery with Bothwell. Darnley leads his anti-Queen Mary allies in storming Queen Mary's chambers, but find her with Rizzio instead of Lord Bothwell; Lord Darnley loses control of the situation and Lord Ruthven ( John Ralston ) incites the others to collectively stab Rizzio to death. They put Queen Mary under house arrest, but she convinces Darnley that he's being used, and they escape the castle together. After Lord Darnley flees to save himself, Mary meets up with Bothwell and their pro-Mary allies, and vows to take back Edinburgh castle by force.

Gideon travels to French court to settle a diplomatic issue; while he is away, Ferdinand confronts Queen Elizabeth about her affair with Gideon and gets her to promise to end it. Lord Henry shows Nicole that Narcisse has only been using her, and the pair have sex. Narcisse resumes his affair with Queen Mother Catherine.

14. A Bride. A Box. A Body.

Mary, Bothwell, and their allies take back Edinburgh castle, but are only able to capture Lord Ruthven, who is hanged. Darnley returns to Mary, and helps her track down the other anti-Mary nobles, but the nobles are killed in a fire before they can be arrested. Although Bothwell suspects Darnley caused the fire to save himself, Mary decides to reconcile with Darnley for the sake of peace. Lady Lennox learns that Darnley did cause fire, at the urging of "Keira". Catherine, Claude and Luc try to convince Henry to end his affair with Nicole, but are unsuccessful.

Charles is supposed to choose a Spanish bride, but announces that he'll marry Nicole instead. Luc asks Charles to support the annulment of his marriage to Claude. Narcisse pursues his revenge for Lola's death — he castrates John Knox, and has Gideon poisoned to hurt Queen Elizabeth I. Gideon suddenly dies in her arms.

15. Blood in the Water

Queen Mary survives a difficult birth to a son, thanks to the help of Bothwell and Greer. While Queen Mary is in labour, Lady Lennox manipulates Darnley into taking over the Privy Council and ousting Queen Mary from power. Mary writes to Elizabeth in kinship, asking her to protect her son and accept him as heir to a united Scotland and England. Darnley is mentally unstable due to syphilis; he hallucinates Keira, and flees the castle with his son. Leeza visits French court and revives the conflict between Charles and Henry.

Although Catherine finds a resolution, Charles is determined to kill Henry over Nicole. Queen Elizabeth believes that Ferdinand killed Gideon, and has naval commander Francis Drake ( Richard Fleeshman ) steal a cargo ship heading for Austria. Drake is successful, but is forced to engage Spanish warships, triggering a potential war with Spain. Elizabeth eventually suspects Jane and has her arrested; Jane is Narcisse's spy, and was the one who poisoned Gideon. Luc gives Claude permission to go to Leith, but she returns to court when she discovers that Leith is engaged to someone else.

16. All It Cost Her

Darnley abandons his son at the urging of "Keira". James returns to Scottish court and helps recover the baby; in commemoration, Mary names her son James after her brother. Mary finally allows Bothwell to assassinate Darnley. Bothwell and his allies blow up Darnley's house with gunpowder, but Darnley escapes, necessitating Bothwell's strangling Darnley to death. John Knox leads the accusation of regicide on Mary and Bothwell, and they are arrested. Elizabeth has Jane killed, breaks her engagement with Ferdinand, and vows to withstand any Spanish attack. Catherine engages a witch, Emmanuelle (Catherine Bérubé) to murder Nicole.

They are successful, and with the murder blamed on Spain, Charles and Henry reconcile. However, Emmanuelle warns Catherine that her sons will be the downfall of the Valois house, and that Catherine is to keep her youngest daughter Margot ( Rebecca Liddiard ) close by her side. Twenty-one years later, Mary is under house arrest in England, having fled her enemies in Scotland following a broken promise from Elizabeth to protect her. Mary's son, King James VI of Scotland (Jake Foy), begs Elizabeth to spare Mary's life, but ultimately concedes that England and Scotland can never be united as long as Mary is alive, and accepts Elizabeth's offer to be her heir. Queen Mary is executed via axe, and awakens in the afterlife with King Francis by her side.