Mary Crosses Battle Lines on 'Reign,' White Wedding Turns Red on 'Vampire Diaries'

Reign: “The Siege” | Conde laid siege to the castle and demanded Francis hand over his crown, before Mary went behind enemy lines to drop a bombshell. As the royal family prepared to leave the castle for their own safety, Catherine stayed behind to support her son and wreak a little havoc on Narcisse. The big question looming over the hour was whose side Mary was really on, her (quasi)ex-lover or her husband’s. The lead up to the last-minute reveal shocker tipped its hand a little early, as small anvils swung with subtle discretion.


Mary’s reasoning in the tent as to why she was making her chosen move was a contradiction of Francis’ character and her own. There’s no way he wouldn’t shelter her, even in the face of her latest back stab. While, she’s been relentless in her betrayal of Francis this season, what she was suggesting to Conde went beyond the bounds of redemption. If this is indeed true and her plea is legitimate, there would be no saving this character.

Catherine’s crafty and beyond wicked vengeance on Narcisse was surprisingly malicious, even by her standards. She did get her message across though: no more Lola. Hearing of his tender goodbye with Lola had sent the Queen Mother into an unapologetic frenzy and if anyone thinks her retribution on Narcisse was harsh, wait until she gets her hands on Mary. The current Queen should be very anxious about Catherine, especially when she believes she’s crossed her son. It can only end badly for Mary.

Side Notes/Burning Questions: Claude and Leith have the makings for a truly entertaining pairing. How deranged is Bash’s new girlfriend? How did Kenna not sniff the crazy wafting off this girl? She’s always seemed more perceptive than that. Will Francis survive the season finale? Will Conde ever leave the show? Mary's costume in this episode was absolutely exquisite. The team of costume designers for this series deserves Emmy recognition.

The Vampire Diaries: “I’ll Wed You in the Golden Summertime” | Stefan and Elena cooked up one ridiculous hypothetical reason after another to convince Damon not to turn back into a human. Among the many poor excuses offered were that Elena would be too busy to have time for Damon, thus leading to a divorce. Damon would be drunk and depressed all the time so their spark would fade and my personal favorite, financial duress would make them turn against each other to the point of ending their relationship. When all of that didn’t work, Stefan brought out the big guns, Elena dying and Damon being left all alone as a human. Dun-Dun-Dun! Well none of it worked and Damon stayed the course. 

Interestingly in none of these hypothetical lives, were Damon and Elena ever happy nor did they have any kids, which was one of the top items on Elena’s to-do list. So that was either wishfully omitted thinking on Stefan’s part or left out by the writers to avoid giving Delena shippers a vision of any happiness for the pair. Remember when Stefan and Elena cooked up their life together and it was all rainbows, kids and butterflies? What happened to that when it was Damon’s turn? Oh well. At least Damon and Elena had one last roll in the hay, literally.

By episode’s end, Elena appeared to have been impaled by a chandelier and her life hung in the balance. As fans know the season finale will be the exit episode of series star Nina Dobrev. As annoying as Elena has sometimes been through the years, it’s hard to imagine the show without her. Nina Dobrev’s growth as an actress over the last 6 years has been amazing to watch and she has surmounted any storyline that’s been thrown her way. Whatever becomes of Elena, without her and Dobrev, the show will never be the same.

Side Notes/Burning Questions: Will Jo live? Will Elena die? Will Elena regret her decision to become human when she realizes she only got to be one again for 48 hours? Was it really worth it? Every character on the show props being human but what has their mortality ever gotten them? Will Alaric ever be allowed happiness for more than a few episodes?

Is the show basically saying that if Damon weren’t a vampire he’d be an alcoholic? Quite frankly, he pretty much is one currently. This brings to mind another question, why does Damon continually drink when he can’t feel the effects? Since when do the Salvatores need to worry about money? Stefan laid low earlier this season and had no trouble making ends meet. It’s called a trust fund.