A shipwreck, a traitor, and a friend would have been an excellent alternate title for Reign Season 3 Episode 16, but sure. We'll go with "Clans."
Mary, Bash, and Narcisse made it semi-safely onto the Scottish shore. Charles learned he can't always trust his highborn friends. And Lola learned the value of friendship.
The shipwreck Mary experienced was a pretty nasty one. Immediately upon waking, her eyes lit upon a group of men on the beach killing those who survived. Narcisse grabbed her and together they watched as Bash was nearly killed but then rescued by Druids.
The minute Narcisse distrusted the Druids because of their Wicker Man effigy I knew they would be the good guys in this narrative. Plus, Bash just sort of has a way of attracting the magical elements of this show, you know? His pagan roots just draw the mystical energy.
I was definitely afraid for Bash during the storm at the end of the previous episode as I didn't know if he would survive it knowing Torrance Coombs is leaving Reign. It would've been a convenient way to write the character out.
His body could've been lost at sea during the shipwreck giving Coombs the opportunity to turn up for a guest appearance at a future date.
Or he could've been dead which would've made me really sad.
But he's not dead! And is, in fact, in decent health, thanks to a snake and a healer named Senneck who saw Mary's true identity and the spirits of her ancestors in her eyes and then blessed the both of them on their journey to Edinburgh.
I'm literally thanking all the gods and goddesses that Bash finally has a central storyline again as Mary's traveling companion.
She's in peril. Again. (When is she not in peril?) So she needs someone close by whom she can trust as she endeavors to rip Munro MacFie's heart out the same way he ripped out hers. He planned an assassination and Francis was the one who ended up dying, so Mary's out for blood.
I really hope she gets what she's after in the next two episodes of Reign Season 3. Find the guy and kill him. Show no mercy, Mary Stuart!
While she's in a dangerous situation right now, Narcisse's parting words to her were perfect. Essentially, Mary always finds a way to win and that's something that, even though it confounds Narcisse, he appreciates. He knows she's going to find a way to make this happen.
It also happens to work to her advantage that Elizabeth thinks she's dead.
Ugh. Poor Lola! She got caught sending information to Mary which could've meant she'd end up in a dungeon or a tower or dead, but Elizabeth used that as an opportunity to ask Lola to be her loyal BFF and newest English subject.
I mean, really. For Elizabeth, a woman notorious for being ruthless to those who cross her, she finds out the woman she's been feeding and housing and confiding in has slipped information to her enemy and Elizabeth's response is to pardon Lola and ask her to stick around. Elizabeth needs that kind of loyalty in her life.
This can only make things more weird and more confusing for Lola. And plus, renouncing her Scottish citizenship and French ties and becoming an English subject is probably the actual fate worse than death. Certainly a fate worse than being banished from Denmark for eternity.
She's probably going to decide to accept Elizabeth's terms and become an English citizen and then Narcisse will show up. Will he have to agree to stay in England forever too? Will Lola even want to be with him again? What a mess!
Finally, Charles, as good a plan as he had, didn't expect that one of his own could be a double agent. Catherine would've planned for that. So now Charles has been kidnapped by the Red Knights and LEITH IS IN DANGER.
I repeat: LEITH IS IN DANGER!
When he was telling Claude all about his fears and how badly he wanted to be with her I was holding my breath thinking "nothing good comes from declarations such as these, you two!" Because nothing good ever does come from declarations such as those.
They were too close to having it all and he was scared and went for it anyway and did you see him go down in that battle after getting hit in what looked like the neck with an ax?
Leith can't die. That's just all there is to it. Nope. I won't allow it. Not happening.
If he dies I'm throwing rotten fruit at the TV just like the villagers threw at Charles' carriage.
What did you think of "Clans"? Scale of 1 to 10, how dumb was Charles' plan? Will Mary and Bash make it to Edinburgh in one piece?
What happens when Narcisse gets to Lola? Sound off below and don't forget you can watch Reign online to get all caught up before Reign Season 3 Episode 17 airs next week!
Miranda Wicker is a Staff Writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.