In the latest Episode of Reign from EW, Season 3 Episode 3, Catherine de Medici played by Megan Follows was left in the dungeons to rot because of her treachery against France by striking a deal with Elizabeth behind Francis and Mary's back. The twist? Catherine saved the day.
When the episode opens, we see Mary talking to Charles about their future. They are set to be wed once Francis dies. Mary walks along with Charles and opens up a discussion about the France-Scotland alliance. To which Charles replies that he will make sure he and Mary will have an heir. Mary did not have a chance to correct this implication as Charles was distracted by the sight of the Duke of Toulouse's daughter, Constance, Charles' old friend from his old bachelor sans teenage party days. Fast forward a little bit, he got into trouble by accidentally poisoning Constance with Opium. Narcisse, thank goodness, was there to save the day when Claude and Charles asked for help.
Now back to the drama of it all. Antoine, King of Navarre, paid a visit to France to seek safe passage for Conde, his brother. Conde is being held by mercenaries and Antoine who would do anything for his brother tries to persuade Mary that he will convert to Catholicism and will credit Mary for it if France will help secure the path to Conde's safe return to Navarre. Mary, who wants to ensure the line to the French throne will remain within the family, presses Antoine that the only way for him to get what he wants is to absolve his claim to the French throne. Obviously, Antoine disagrees and he continues to seethe at Mary for being the woman who broke his brother's heart. He only wishes to speak to Francis.
Upon learning of this, Nicholas - the English ambassador, sneaks his way to Antoine and tells him the England will have his full support and he does not need to absolve his claim. But then that would mean Antoine would not being able to recover his brother.
Mary, seeing she has no other choice, offers to release Catherine with the only reason that Catherine will listen - Catherine must save her children. Catherine acted quickly and appeared in Nicholas' chambers. She blackmailed Nicholas into retreating as she has valuable information that may ruin Elizabeth's name. Catherine tells Nicholas of her knowledge of Elizabeth's plans to ruin Mary's name and to add some flavor to the mix, she'll also spill the beans on Elizabeth's lover - Dudley. Nicholas, seeing that he has no choice but to save his Queen's good name, retreats.
In quick haste, Mary and Francis try to recover their wits and tell Antoine that the English ambassador will not show up. Francis forces Antoine to absolve the his claim and in a moment of weakness, Francis started to bleed. Antoine now learns the truth, they are in a hurry to seal this deal because Francis is dying. What Antoine didn't know is that Francis will do anything to get this done and that includes destroying Navarre. Mary tells Antoine to remember why he was here in the first place - to save Conde. In the end, Antoine concedes.
The ending of this story? Charles learns about the responsibility his actions can cause when it comes to being a king. Catherine was only trying to be a good mother in the only way she knows how. Francis will do anything for his love for Mary. Mary continues to look for ways to save Scotland. It's just another normal day for the royal family.
