Reign (season 3)

The third season of Reign, an American historical fantasy, consisted of 18 episodes which aired between October 9, 2015 and June 20, 2016. The series, created by Stephanie SenGupta and Laurie McCarthy, aired on The CW.

Reign
Season 3
Season 3 DVD Cover
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes18
Release
Original networkThe CW
Original releaseOctober 9, 2015 (2015-10-09) –
June 20, 2016 (2016-06-20)
Season chronology

On January 11, 2015, The CW renewed the series for a third season. At The CW's 2015-16 Upfront, it was announced that the series would be moving to a different night, airing on Fridays at 8/7c, instead of Thursdays at 9/8c.[1] The latter half of the season, from episode 11 onward, returned on April 25 in a new Monday timeslot before Jane the Virgin.[2]

Season overview

The season follows Francis' declining health and death partway through the season, leaving Mary a widow and struggling to find new footing since she's no longer bound to France as its queen. Francis' brother Charles is crowned the new underaged king, with Catherine as regent. The third season also introduces the court of Queen Elizabeth of England, who plots against Mary, fends off marital prospects, and deals with her secret love affair with Robert Dudley.

Cast and characters

Episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
451"Three Queens, Two Tigers"Holly DaleLaurie McCarthyOctober 9, 2015 (2015-10-09)0.95[3]
In England, Catherine and Elizabeth send messengers to Rome to expose Mary's affair with Louis, but the messengers are quietly assassinated by the Vatican. Mary and 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. Elizabeth, as advised by Catherine, sends a proposal to France for her marriage to Francis's younger brother Charles (Spencer MacPherson). Francis refuses and reveals to Mary that he is dying, so Charles will soon become the new King of France. However, Mary and Francis pretend to accept the proposal, providing a diversion so their spies can kidnap Catherine and bring her back to France for imprisonment. Elizabeth is having an affair with her subject, commoner Robert Dudley (Charlie Carrick), while Robert's wife, Amy (Clara Pasieka) starts an affair with Elizabeth's adviser William (Tom Everett Scott) as part of a plan to get her husband back. Narcisse wants to court Lola but is forbidden by Francis. Delphine, still a fugitive, tells Bash that she's innocent of the murder she's accused of, and that the true murderer is still in the castle.
462"Betrothed"Fred GerberLisa RandolphOctober 16, 2015 (2015-10-16)1.00[4]
Mary and Francis prepare for the transition of power by telling Claude, Charles and Bash that Francis is dying, and asking Charles to marry Mary after Francis's 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 won't be made ambassador. Elizabeth chooses her "retired" spy, Nicholas (Nick Lee) to be her new ambassador to France. Claude and Leith grow close, and Leith learns that Francis is dying. Mary tells Lola that Francis is dying, and warns her to be wary of Narcisse. Narcisse tricks Lola into believing that Catherine wants to destroy her; Lola, thinking Narcisse can protect her, starts an affair with him. Bash continues to investigate Delphine and mysterious murders in the village.
473"Extreme Measures"Holly DaleDrew Lindo & Wendy RissOctober 23, 2015 (2015-10-23)0.90[5]
Francis has another collapse, and the news spreads to various parties, including Antoine of Navarre and Nicholas, newly-arrived ambassador of England. Antoine has come to Francis to ask for help, and is told to sign away his claim to the French throne in return. Mary releases Catherine from prison to help block Nicholas's attempts to interfere; they are successful and Antoine signs away his claim. Charles accidentally causes his friend, Constance (Jordan Monaghan), to overdose on opium, but she is saved with Claude and Narcisse's help. 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's afraid of developing feelings for her. Mary realizes that the alliance with Scotland is too damaging to France, so she decides not to marry Charles after Francis dies, but sets her sights on Don Carlos of Spain. Francis and Mary decide it's best that Catherine be the regent after Francis's death.
484"The Price"Nathaniel GoodmanApril Blair & Robert DotyNovember 6, 2015 (2015-11-06)0.94[6]
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 Marie. Don Carlos of Spain (Mark Ghanimé) visits England to court Elizabeth, but is rejected when he demands she disprove a rumour that she's secretly a man. 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 Elizabeth. Bash tracks down and saves Delphine from being tortured by nuns. Charles, having learned of Delphine's powers, orders her to revive Francis, who has died in Mary's arms. Mary agrees to Delphine's price of a life for a life, but when Francis awakens, Marie de Guise dies in Scotland. Catherine figures out that Narcisse tricked Lola into marrying him. Lola is suspicious that Narcisse is still keeping secrets from her.
495"In a Clearing"Deborah ChowShannon GossNovember 13, 2015 (2015-11-13)1.03[7]
March 1560[8] 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's 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 Mary is kidnapped by bandits. Francis comes to her rescue but is hurt in the melee. Francis, dying, asks 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 Mary's arms. Mary, suspecting that Elizabeth was behind the bandits, confronts Nicholas in a rage 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.
506"Fight or Flight"Charles BinaméLisa RandolphNovember 20, 2015 (2015-11-20)1.09[9]
Late April, 1560[10] 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 Mary and Catherine. For the sake of inspiring support for Catherine, 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.
517"The Hound and the Hare"Anne WheelerBo Yeon Kim & Erika LippoldtDecember 4, 2015 (2015-12-04)1.04[11]
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're 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, 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.
528"Our Undoing"Lee RoseGretchen J. Berg & Aaron HarbertsJanuary 8, 2016 (2016-01-08)1.10[12]
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 Catherine at the urging of a secret party; upon his failure, the cardinal 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. Lola discovers the truth of how Narcisse manipulated her into marrying him; she leaves him and goes to Elizabeth's court to save her family.
539"Wedlock"Norma BaileyWendy Riss & Drew LindoJanuary 15, 2016 (2016-01-15)1.10[13]
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. Mary tricks Don Carlos into confessing his intentions to all, and the wedding is cancelled. Mary also learns that Gideon is being blackmailed by Elizabeth, who is holding Gideon's daughter hostage. Elizabeth is pregnant with Robert's child, so she pressures Robert to divorce Amy and marry her. When Amy learns of this, she goes mad and frames Robert for murder by killing herself. Catherine continues her affair with Christophe and has him elevated to a member of the King's Guard. 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.
5410"Bruises That Lie"Megan FollowsP.K. SimmonsJanuary 22, 2016 (2016-01-22)1.24[14]
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 Claude, Charles forces the Privy Council to remove Narcisse as regent and appoint Catherine instead. Unknown to them, Catherine secretly bribed Boinel to strike Claude, setting those events in motion. Claude's marriage is annulled, and Leith promises to rise in station until he's worthy of marrying her. Lola arrives at English court and learns that Elizabeth has no intention of releasing her family. Elizabeth is poisoned and miscarries her baby. Martin returns to France and learns that Greer is pregnant with his child, and that she's planning to give it away to her married sister, Ellen (Lyla Porter-Follows).
5511"Succession"Charles BinaméApril BlairApril 25, 2016 (2016-04-25)0.92[15]
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's 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 daughter, Agatha. Mary learns that the misogynist 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 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.
5612"No Way Out"Fred GerberWendy Riss GatsiounisMay 2, 2016 (2016-05-02)0.96[16]
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 Mary. When Elizabeth sees how much Robert is hated in England, she makes him Earl of Leicester and commands him to sail to France and wed Mary, hoping to save his life. Lola reaches out to the heartbroken Elizabeth. Mary asks if Greer will return with her to Scotland, but Greer declines. Catherine is threatened by the mysterious thirteen Red Knights who seek revenge for the wrongful execution of thirteen knights by King Henry many years ago.
5713"Strange Bedfellows"Norma BaileyShannon GossMay 9, 2016 (2016-05-09)0.78[17]
Robert arrives in France and Mary agrees to marry him. Mary and Gideon discover that although the Vatican wish to put Mary on the English throne, they're 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. Elizabeth executes Joseph and declares that she will have no successor; Robert and Mary's engagement is cancelled as well. Mary arranges for Gideon to return to England to save him from the Vatican's retribution, and the pair bid their goodbyes. 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 Francis. Catherine reconciles with Narcisse in her preparation to fight back. Greer breaks ties with Ellen and her husband because of their duplicity. Claude offers to financially help Leith start a new business, and he accepts.
5814"To the Death"Michael McGowanLily SparksMay 16, 2016 (2016-05-16)0.76[18]
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 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're paid, so to frame Catherine and Charles for the massacre. Elizabeth conspires with Lola to punish Beatrice Somerset, a lady who testified against Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn, which lead to Anne's execution. 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 didn't give him a son. Elizabeth pardons Beatrice and rewards Lola's loyalty by bringing Jean-Philippe to her.
5915"Safe Passage"Stuart GillardDrew LindoMay 23, 2016 (2016-05-23)0.95[19]
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. 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.
6016"Clans"Fred GerberGretchen J. Berg & Aaron HarbertsJune 6, 2016 (2016-06-06)0.96[20]
Mary's ship sinks in a storm, though Mary, 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 Mary with Bash. The McFee attack and slaughter the druids, so Mary and Bash pretend to be sibling merchants in order to survive. Mary and Bash also agree to travel with the McFee — this clan was behind the attack that killed Francis, so Mary hopes to meet their leader and exact revenge. Elizabeth and Lola entertain the Prince of Denmark (Kyle Gatehouse), a potential suitor for Elizabeth, and avoid an international mishap due to Lola's quick thinking. Elizabeth learns of Mary's ship sinking and, believing that Mary is dead, invites Lola to join English court permanently. Charles, hoping to assert his power and be granted full kingship, pursues his own plan to stop the Red Knights, but is betrayed by one of his friends and captured.
6117"Intruders"Lee RoseApril Blair & Drew LindoJune 13, 2016 (2016-06-13)0.81[21]
Catherine, working with Leith, traps and kills most of the Red Knights, but is unable to find Charles, who has fled captivity on his own. John Knox (Jonathan Goad) learns of Mary's presumed death, and pressures Mary's bastard half-brother James Stewart (Dan Jeannotte) to dissolve the Scottish monarchy. Mary and Bash are brought to Munro (John Barrowman), leader of the McFee; Munro figures out who Mary is, but she kills him. Mary and Bash flee to Edinburgh, where Mary makes a triumphant entrance before the Scottish nobles. 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 Lola, but before Lola can escape with him, she receives a coded letter supposedly from Mary ordering her to assassinate Elizabeth.
6218"Spiders in a Jar"Deborah ChowLaurie McCarthyJune 20, 2016 (2016-06-20)0.93[22]
Lola conspires with a Scottish assassin to kill Elizabeth, but the assassination attempt fails and both are captured. 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 Mary learns of Lola's execution, she vows to take Elizabeth's throne, and asks Gideon to help her. James figures out that John Knox was behind the order to assassinate Elizabeth, but has no evidence. Bash leaves Mary in order to join the druids and hone his supernatural powers. 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 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 Claude's. Elizabeth asks Robert to marry her, but is dismayed to learn that he has married Lettice Knollys.
gollark: RASPBERRY PI OS POSSIBLY BAD?
gollark: I don't think it's in the arch repos.
gollark: Ah, thank you. However, it remains incorrect.
gollark: I can't read that, but it's probably wrong.
gollark: Alternatively Void.

References
  1. Andreeva, Nellie. "The CW Fall 2015 Schedule: Vampire Block On Thursday, Comedies On Monday, 'Reign' Moves To Friday". Deadline. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  2. Berman, Marc (2016-02-11). "The CW Announces Midseason Changes". ProgrammingInsider.com. Retrieved 2016-02-12.
  3. Porter, Rick (October 12, 2015). "Friday final ratings: 'Blue Bloods' adjusted up; 'Reign,' 'Undateable' and other originals hold". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  4. Porter, Rick (October 19, 2015). "Friday final ratings: 'Shark Tank' and 'Hawaii Five-0' adjusted up, 'Truth Be Told' premiere holds". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  5. Porter, Rick (October 26, 2015). "Friday final ratings: 'The Amazing Race' and 'Top Model' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  6. Porter, Rick (November 9, 2015). "Friday final ratings:Friday final ratings: 'Blue Bloods' adjusts up, everything else holds". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  7. Porter, Rick (November 16, 2015). "Friday final ratings: 'Reign' keeps season high, 'World's Funniest' adjusts down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  8. In Our Undoing, 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.
  9. Porter, Rick (November 23, 2015). "Friday final ratings: No adjustments on a quiet night". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  10. It's been three weeks since Francis died -- and, according to Episode 8, he was received by the embalmer on the 29th March, 1560. This means Episode 6 is set in the third or fourth week of April.
  11. Porter, Rick (December 7, 2015). "Friday final ratings: 'Top Model' finale and everything else holds". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  12. Porter, Rick (January 11, 2016). "Friday final ratings: 'Hawaii Five-0' adjusts up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  13. Porter, Rick (January 19, 2016). "Friday final ratings: 'Reign' and 'Dr. Ken' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  14. Porter, Rick (January 25, 2016). "Friday final ratings: 'Blue Bloods,' 'Reign' and 'Masterchef Junior' hold at season highs". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  15. Porter, Rick (April 26, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'The Voice' adjusts down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  16. Porter, Rick (May 3, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'NCIS: LA' finale and all others hold". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  17. Porter, Rick (May 10, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'Blindspot' and 'Reign' adjust down". TVbytheNumbers. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  18. Porter, Rick (May 17, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'Mike & Molly' finale and 'The Voice' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  19. Porter, Rick (May 24, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'The Bachelorette' premiere, all others hold". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  20. Porter, Rick (June 7, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'Mistresses' adjusts down, plus final NHL numbers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  21. Porter, Rick (June 14, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'So You Think You Can Dance' adjusts up, 'Reign' and 'Whose Line' ajdust down, final NBA numbers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  22. Porter, Rick (June 21, 2016). "Monday final ratings: 'Bachelorette' adjusts up, 'Spartan' and 'Mistresses' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
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