Pt. 2-A Defense of Reign's Mary Queen of Scots-Romanticism, Whimsy and the Need for Recklessness

 

 



In part one, I discussed how Royal Court was a viper's den, where practicality and pragmatism ruled the day. You didn't dare make a rash decision, especially if based on love and compassion. Decisions would foremost be linked to survival and calculation.
 
Mary and Francis were able to fight this (Catherine had once called them different, 'moral'), so long as they had each other. So long as they respected one another, and worked together against their common enemies.
 
With Francis's betrayal to Mary, with fighting (and losing) to a cunning enemy without Mary's help, it sealed the fate for distrust to fester in their relationship. He did not trust their love to be able to conquer this threat, that is if their love could have solved it at the end of the day. But the route of not confiding in her didn't prove to be a good road either.
 
Now, many viewers are going to hate Mary for stepping out on Francis. I don't particularly agree with her decision to do it, though I understand it.
 
Like I said in Part 1, Mary's innocent view of changing the world was tarnished, as she was tarnished by all the dangerous and deadly plotting and scheming going on around her, and that same plotting and scheming that Francis inevitably found himself in.
 
Cue Conde.
 
He does some plotting and scheming of his own (to his chagrin), but he firmly points out to Mary that it did not put her in danger like Francis's.
 
He represents a breath of fresh air to her, to a more and more stifling environment. Of lip service to duty and honor, as things seem to steadily fall apart.
Never did Mary and Francis get a break from the treachery and political intrigue of royal court in order to mend their relationship, as there was always a problem facing them and this mending and healing was put on the back burner and never occurred.
 
Maybe she also got tired of putting other peoples' needs above her own and breaking inside as the person she knew.
 
Anyway, Conde seems to disdain court; he seems to see it as a routine check-up at the dentist. It's necessary, but not his whole life. It's Mary's whole life, but he shows her it doesn't have to be.
 
This is very interesting.
 
Practicality in this deadly serious world is seen as lifeless, breathless, as pleasant as having a tooth removed at a dentist, but it's seen as a necessity to living, although it only provides people with deadened eyes, hearts, and souls, and a few pieces of bread and coin. Barely alive, like a zombie.
 
 


What is practicality?
 
Tried and true methods, a path many people have gone down. If Mary and Francis had stayed together, happy monarchs forever trusting and loving of one another-something that was not common back then among monarchs-they would have still largely been operating in a world consumed by ruthless practicality but they would have found a reprieve in their relationship, a break from all of that in each other.
 
 
Conde presents more of a departure from ruthless practicality. He's a dangerous choice for Mary because Conde is something that is off-limits to her. She is a married queen, though estranged from her marriage. What Conde and Mary are planning, which is to leave France for Scotland to be together and rule together, is a dream for them and much of the world.
 
 
But because in history there have been scandals involving monarchs, they have served as cautionary tales never to be repeated, but its hard not to repeat it when the same ruthless practicality is forcing these people to see if the grass is indeed greener on the other side-If romanticism, whimsy and recklessness really could bring them freedom from the 'survival of the fittest' mentality that seemed to pervade all of life.
 
Yes, romanticism, whimsy, and recklessness is not the best way to build a foundation for the future, but its something that brings hope for something better.
 
If the world of ruthless practicality were diminished, if Francis had never felt threatened and the life of Mary and his family had never been threatened, he would have never betrayed the one he loved. If there was more balance, whatever that balance looks like, of romanticism and practicality, maybe things would've ended up differently.

A Defense of Reign's Mary Queen of Scots

“Life is not a song, sweetling.
Someday you may learn that, to your sorrow.”
― George R.R. Martin



And Mary Queen of Scots has learned this to her sorrow.

I'm not condoning all of Mary's actions in Tempting Fate, or her other missteps in the prior episodes that set the framework for Tempting Fate, but I would encourage you to find sympathy in the tragedy of her circumstances and character.

This is why:

I'm going to throw another quote out, as wiser men have said it best....

 “These violet delights have violent ends. And in their triumph die, like fire and powder. Which, as they kiss, consume."

I will explain both these quotes in relation to Mary. Later.

Mary has done some deplorable things.

She's drowning in her pain, and refusing to see the pain of  the others around her. Some of this pain Mary herself is causing.

In the first season, Mary was often seen putting the needs of others before herself, because not only did she care for them, she is a queen; she had a duty and responsibility to keep the peace among her friends, family, and her kingdom.

I think the traumatic experience Mary suffered made her feel vulnerable for the first time in her young life, unable to find the strength she was so used to drawing from in times of need.

The world seemed scary. She felt broken.
Hardly a source of strength for her people, so she retreated. To her, no one can understand her suffering.

If I could guess, I'd say her hopeful view of the world from season 1, the innocent view of being able to change the world, was shattered as well. It was slowly being chipped away at, but her assault was possibly the thing that killed it.

It makes sense, as she was viciously assaulted as a result of Francis's ill decisions from his being blackmailed. Mary probably felt more betrayed than anything; Francis didn't let her know. In season 1, viewers were so accustomed to Francis and Mary working together. It was basically a prototype of an equal relationship. They found out information together and defeated their enemies with it, even if the odds seemed insurmountable. Mary was right in saying to Francis that, 'you never gave us a chance' as she learned that Francis's decisions up until then to mark and brutalize protestants groups was due to blackmail, which caused the assault on the castle and the subsequent rape of Mary. And now, we will never know if they could have fought Narcisse, that blackmailing royal.

We have to remember the time this is set in, which will put everything in context and explain Mary's dangerous moves, as well as the dangerous moves of other characters.

Royal court was a viper's den. There was nothing particularly romantic or whimsical about it. It's an insane asylum for wealthy people scared of loosing their wealth and the protection it created from the wilderness of the world and frantic to gain some more wealth, in a time where the villages outside the castles were thought of in horror, as something unknown and scary and better left forgotten. Royal court is also a chess game. A big chess game. In this world, it is difficult to trust anyone.

This is where the quotes come in. In a place where its difficult to trust anyone, difficult to even breathe because everyone is watching you and waiting for you to fail, there's hardly any time for compassion, sweetness, love, or anything nurturing for a person. It is hard to continue to remain strong in the face of all the treachery just waiting around the corner. The fact that Mary and Francis fell in love in such an environment speaks to their youth, and the fact that they were probably shielded from the worst of royal court. They had something that few royals possessed, and that was each other. A partner that wouldn't turn on them, and the love that came from it.

PART 2 COMING SOON.....
In Defense of Reign's Mary Queen of Scots-Romanticism, Whimsy, and the Need for Recklessness