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Season Four Episode
A Bride. A Box. A Body.
Season 4, Episode 14
A Bride. A Box. A Body
Air date June 2, 2017
Written by April Blair
Robert D. Doty
Directed by Andy Mikita
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Coup de Grace

* GALLERY

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Blood in the Water
"Revenge is not meant to be justice, it is meant to balance the scales."
Lord Narcisse

Synopsis[]

Mary Sets Out For Revenge and Justice
Mary pursues her quest for justice as she launches a counter attack on her conspirators. Elizabeth suffers a major setback that turns her world upside down.

Plot[]

The heavily pregnant Mary is preparing to lead a charge of her men on Edinburgh castle, but she promises to Bothwell to remain at a cautious for the sake of her unborn child.

Lord Ruthven is alerted to hundreds of heavily armed clansmen descending on the castle and when he orders the privy council be gathered at once, he is told that they have all fled. Bothwell and his men demmand that Ruthven surrender, and upon seeing Mary's vast army, he does.

After they recapture the castle, Ruthven is sentenced to hang by his queen. Mary offers to spare his family lands, however, if he testifies against John Knox. He refuses and defends his actions, after which he is promptly swung from the rope.

Two months pass, but no privy council members have been found. Mary has had John Knox tailed for any suspicious activity, but to no avail so far. Knox comes to Mary to demand that she call off his guards, but she reminds him that he is in no position to make demands. Knox proceeds to insult her and remind her that he isn't her greatest threat - her husband, King Darnley, is.

In France, Knox is brought up in a conversation between Narcisse and Catherine. Narcisse is getting ready to leave for Scotland to "put an end" to Knox once and for all, though Catherine worries that Nicole will be less manageable with him away.

Meanwhile, Nicole and Henri take a room at a village-inn to continue their illicit affair. Unbeknown to them, Luc Narcisse sees them kissing.

After her meeting with Knox, Mary is resolved to find Darnley, who she believes is moving against her in a number of ways. She vows to seek an out of her marriage, and when she does, she tells Bothwell she would like to be with him.

In England, Elizabeth has grown closer to the Archduke of Austria, and they are now quietly engaged. In order to ensure her fiancée and her lover don't meet, Elizabeth has been sending Gideon on futile diplomatic missions for the past two months. But he is back, and the Archduke won't take kindly to Gideon's return, especially as Elizabeth promised to expel him from court. Using her skill of persuasion, Elizabeth convinces the Archduke to allow Gideon to stay.

In the inn, Henri climbs out of bed so as not to wake up Nicole. He begins trying on earrings and seeing how they look on him, all the while not noticing that Nicole has woken up and is watching him do so. When she finally asks him about it, Henri bristles at her for commenting on it and cuts their meeting short.

At the castle, King Charles is being presented with potraits of marriage candidates as part of his agreement with Spain that as soon as he chooses a bride approved by King Philip, Spain will finally support his reign. However, Charles finds fault in every one of them.

Bothwell informs Mary that one of the conspirators involved in the coup has been found - and she'll never believe who turned him. As it turns out, it was Darnley. He claims he has put his mistakes behind him and would like a chance to meet his child. In return, Darnley vows to help Mary and Bothwell find the remaining privy council members. While Mary agrees, she later confesses to Bothwell that once Darnley leads them to the privy council, she will have them all arrested, including King Darnley.

Meanwhile, Gideon reports back to Elizabeth about his travels, each more pointless than the last. He is pale with anger and unwell, but he understands why Elizabeth keeps sending him away: she doesn't want the Archduke to suspect anything. In order to make it up to him, Elizabeth invites Gideon to her chambers that night.

Claude is summoned to the throne room to find her mother and Luc there. Luc has apprised Catherine of the affair between Henri and Nicole, and since Claude knows her brothers better than anyone and Luc is a good man who speaks from the heart, Catherine believes the couple can talk Henri into ending his tryst with the king's favourite.

As Gideon makes his way over to Elizabeth's chambers, he comes across the Archduke, who is also waiting by Elizabeth's door. The Archduke's boasting about how intimate he is with Elizabeth makes Gideon change his mind and he promptly walks away. When Elizabeth later confronts Gideon about why he didn't come, he tells her about his uncomfortable encounter with the Archduke during which he realised that she has been lying to them both. Gideon feels betrayed and tells his queen that they're finished.

At Edinburgh castle, Narcisse is granted an audience with the queen, during which he reveals that he has come to avenge Lola. He has long waited to punish Knox, and now that "all the pieces are in place", he only needs Mary's consent. However, Mary doesn't grant it to him, as Knox's followers would be quick to blame her if something happened to him, even after he reassures her that there would be no repercussions for her reign. But Mary does have a plan in motion to convict John Knox in a court of law.

Darnley finds one of the conspirators and, using a story about how Elizabeth is willing to grant safe harbor to all involved in the coup attempt, convinces him to gather the entire privy council by tonight.

In France, Luc and Claude are persuading Henri to break up with Nicole, but it seems like Henri has already made up his mind about ending it with her as she's getting "too attached". The intervention ends there and Henri leaves. As Luc is about to leave as well, Claude blurts out that she has missed him and wants him to stay for the party.

The next day, Darnley and Bothwell find the lodge where the privy council gathered last night burned to the ground. Bothwell believes it was Darnley who did it - he had a motive and it wouldn't be his first time setting something on fire in order to get what he wanted. He has Darnley brought to the castle and Mary gives an order to have him arrested.

Henri goes to break it off with Nicole, but she doesn't let him get that far. She reveals that it wasn't the first time she'd seen him with her jewelry and that she has also seen corset marks on him. Henri defiantly tells her he likes wearing women's clothing, expecting her to be repelled. However, Nicole gives him her earrings as a sign of acceptance, and instead of calling it off, he declares that he loves her.

After making love, Nicole steps out of Henri's chambers and bumps into Charles. He bemoans how he has to find a wife and Nicole lies, telling him that it pains her too much to see the man she loves with another. She claims to need space and time and asks Charles to respect that.

Jane, who is now Elizabeth's firm confidante, brings Gideon to an abandoned chapel where Elizabeth is already waiting for him. There she confesses that she loves him and that she told the Archduke she wouldn't give Gideon up. The two bind themselves to each other with a piece of fabric from Elizabeth's mother in a touching ceremony.

Bothwell continues interrogating Darnley and apprising Mary of it, who insists they do not harm him. Narcisse comes by, but Mary has bad news for him - Knox has evaded justice yet again. Fed up, Narcisse takes matters into his own hands. He kidnaps and ties Knox to a wooded plank, and when Knox awakes, Narcisse reveals what score has to settle with him. He notes that Lola was just a pawn in his political schemes, her death a mere byproduct, but he loved her more than life itself. Narcisse teaches Knox that there are consequences for taking from a man what he holds most dear.

While taking a stroll in the countryside, an increasingly-ill Gideon falls to the ground and though Elizabeth wants to get help, she ends up staying at Gideon's side while he takes his last breath, crying and calling out for him.

At French court, a reception is being hosted where Charles is to announce his new fiancée once he makes a choice. Catherine reassures the Spanish ambassador that Charles will make his choice soon and volunteers Claude to talk to the ambassador about his study of astronomy. Claude excuses herself to go dance with her husband, but as they begin dance intimately, Claude freezes up, apologises and runs away.

Luc is so certain his marriage to Claude is over that he asks Charles to support their annulment. He believes that though he loves Claude, her heart still belongs to Leith. Luc's speech about how he won't stand in the way of Claude being with the man she truly loves turns out to be just the encouragement Charles needed to announce his bride-to-be the the court. Except instead of it being a bride approved by Spain, it is Nicole.

Meanwhile, Jane tries to get Elizabeth to leave Gideon before anyone sees her with him. Elizabeth listens to her, but before she goes, she vows to avenge Gideon by finding whoever killed him.

Narcisse comes to Mary with a parting gift: John Knox's genitals. Mary falls back in shock and calls Narcisse a monster, but Narcisse doesn't see himself as such, only as a man who wanted revenge. He continues that everyone who played a part in Lola's death could feel his pain now, out of which Mary deduces that Narcisse was responsible for the poisoning of Gideon Blackburn. Because of that, Mary banishes Narcisse from court.

Bothwell hears Mary screaming and runs to her, asking her what the matter is. Mary has an epiphany - she cannot keep living in an endless cycle of bitterness. Instead, she must find peace in her life and her marriage. As such, she has Darnley set free.

In the final scene, Lady Lennox has come to visit Darnley, only to find him abnormally pleased with himself. He reveals that he did burn down the house with all the conspirators in it – because Keira told him to. Lady Lennox is horrified at the realisation that her son has gone mad.

Quotes[]

Queen Elizabeth: I'm the queen of England. I represent something glorious for everyone. And if you want to banish every person who is dazzled by me, we'll be a nation of mainly women. And even then our ranks may be depleted.

Queen Catherine: Select one of these marginally acceptable creatures, or risk losing the backing of Spain, and your throne along with it!

Gideon Blackburn: You've put a sea between us. You didn't have to send me to a three-year-old's birthday party in Prague to do it.

Queen Mary: He will hang. And I will enjoy watching him die.

Princess Claude: I've missed you. Perhaps that's reason enough for you to stop being an ass and stay for the party.

Prince Henri: Though I have to hide it from narrow minds, I won't deny myself the feeling it brings. Power, excitement, pleasure. Liberation from a world determined to tell me who to be. I am who I am. I want what I want. And I take what I want. If that scares you, if it repels you, then you're with the wrong man.

Queen Elizabeth: You are more precious to me than my nation, and if I could give up England for you and survive, I would.

Queen Elizabeth: I will always, always be yours.

Lord Narcisse: Everyone will pay in their own way.

Lord Narcisse: Mary, revenge is not meant to ease pain. It is meant to balance the scales.

King Darnley: Have you been well?
Lady Lennox: I've not been in a dungeon, as you have.

Notes[]

Death Toll [3][4]
- Lord Ruthven
- 12 Scottish Council Members
- Gideon Blackburn

Trivia[]

Historical Notes[]

  • Two days after David Rizzio's murder, a disillusioned King Darnley switched sides, and Mary, Queen of Scots received her brother, James Stuart, at Holyrood Palace. On the night of March 11/12, Darnley and Mary escaped from the palace and took temporary refuge in Dunbar Castle before returning to Edinburgh, on 18 March. The former rebels James Stuart, Argyll and Glencairn were restored to the council.
  • Mary, Queen of Scots and King Darnley escaped from (and returned to) Holyrood Palace, not Edinburgh Castle like in the show. However, they are just over a mile apart.
  • Lord Ruthven fled to England and lived there under Queen Elizabeth protection. However, he died three months later.
  • Henry III of France was thought to be gay, but this is more widely believed to be a rumour.
  • Queen Elizabeth was never in a romantic relationship with the Archduke of Austria. He was still married to his first wife and would be for another 15 years until 1580.
  • King Charles IX never had a mistress named 'Nicole'. However, he did have a mistress named Marie Touchet, who would be 16 at the time and was born a farm girl before coming to French Court. They had a son together 8 years later in 1573.
    • Nicole has not been given a last name, but considering her resemblance to Marie Touchet, her surname, birthplace, and age are mimicked after hers.
  • There is no Lady Alina of Spain or anyone with that name related to Philip II of Spain.

Gallery[]

Characters[]

Actor Character
Adelaide Kane Queen Mary
Megan Follows Queen Catherine
Rachel Skarsten Queen Elizabeth
Craig Parker Lord Narcisse
Rose Williams Princess Claude
Ben Geurens Gideon Blackburn
Jonathan Goad John Knox
Spencer MacPherson King Charles
Will Kemp King Darnley
Guest Staring
Adam Croasdell Lord Bothwell
Steve Byers Archduke of Austria
Nola Augustson Lady Lennox
Nick Slater Prince Henri
Ann Pirvu Nicole Touchet
Megan Hutchings Jane
Steve Lund Luc Narcisse
John Ralston Lord Ruthven
Graham Abbey Lord Fraser
Cameo
Character debut
Speaking debut
Episode debut


References[]

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