| The Plague | |
| Season Two, Episode 1 | |
 | |
| Air date | October 2, 2014 |
| Written by | Laurie McCarthy |
| Directed by | Fred Gerber |
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| previous Slaughter Of Innocence |
next Drawn and Quartered |
- "A favour for a favour, and it keeps you on the throne"
- —Queen Catherine
Synopsis
First released still
Plague Rocks The Kingdom
The new King and Queen of France, Francis and Mary Stuart are plummeted into chaos after The Black Plague ravages the land and creeps inside the castle, threatening lives and the stability of their new rule. Francis finds himself on the wrong side of the quarantined gates, with Lola, as they try to make their way back to safety. New and murderous foes are introduced as nobles grasp for power, pressuring Mary — and Catherine — even as the death count rises. Meanwhile, Kenna and Bash find themselves separated; Kenna’s life endangered as she risks all to save their young ward. Greer is forced to watch Leith move on with a new love and is shocked to realize he’s involved with her fiancé’s daughter. The CW
"The Black Plague lands at Court with a vengeance. Not everyone will survive it, among our people as well as a percentage of the regional population.” - Laurie McCarthy
The second season begins with Mary and Francis on the throne of a nation burning. France is rocked by the aftereffects of the plague -- a disease that creeps inside the castle walls, taking thousands upon thousands of lives across the land, and ravages the stability of a nation. From the ashes, powerful lords will rise, carrying out personal, religious and political vendettas, taking lives, and tearing at Mary and Francis’s commitment to each other, and their people. Friendships will be tested, loved ones murdered and betrayed. Meanwhile, a mysterious and deadly threat snatches victims from village streets and castle corridors; leaving evidence of savagery that looks like the work of monsters; mythical creatures who are the subject of nightmares, but who walk among us, doing the Devil’s bidding. - The CW
“We talk about this being the haunted season a lot on the writing staff,” McCarthy said. “They’re people who are born of such privilege, but they’re haunted by their responsibility and they’ve all made choices that have spilled a lot of blood. If you’ve committed a lot of sins, you may be haunted by nightmares or visions.”
“When you have people with so much power, they can influence others,” she added. “But when they influence, the outcome can be shocking. And if you have people who are mercurial in these positions of power, they can make enormous things happen and I’m excited about everyone seeing that. This season is going to be just as scary and sweeping and epic, but more complex — and there will be surprising twists and turns.” - Laurie McCarthy
Quotes
Queen Catherine: A favour for a favour, and it keeps you on the throne.
King Francis: I know you, Lola. We shared more than a bed in Paris.
King Francis: The truth is, that child is whoever I say he is.
Queen Catherine: Is that all?! didn’t you look inside?
Nostradamus: I’m immune to the plauge my Queen, but not fire.
Queen Mary: I won’t allow you, when Francis returns-
Queen Catherine: He will thank me for saving him realm form his very young, naive queen!
Narcisse: Water your horses, then yourselves.
Sebastian: Stay back! I'm surly infected too.
Queen Catherine: There’s something else you should know: I didn’t want to be me either. But I blame Henry, because being a queen unloved by your king is excruciating — and dangerous.
Queen Mary: Henry loved you.
Queen Catherine: Some. Once...Not enough. Not the way Francis loves you.
Queen Catherine: Don’t let Lola come between you, because you are nothing but a guest in this court without the support of your king.
Conde: I know what it is, to make a mess of love.
Queen Mary: I am the Queen of France. And you are my subject.
Eduard Narcisse: my father will free me!
Queen Mary: No, he won’t. Because he’ll never find you.
King Francis: You can’t leave on that boat. You won’t take away my son.
Eduard Narcisse: There is nothing older, or stronger than Royal Blood!
Notes
- Queen Catherine offered to murder Lord Purvilon on Mary's behalf.
- 14 member of the castle died from the plague within the first 24 hours of it being discovered.
- The plague enters the castle thought a man who decided to sleep with a prostitute from outside the castle.
- Lord Julien was mentioned, but does not appear.
- Yvette Castleroy
- Pascal
- Eduard Narcisse
- The Purvilon Family
- 14 members of the French Court
- Hundred's of Country citizens
Trivia
- Filming for the episode began July 7th, and the episode title was announced June 9, 2014. Both were released by the writers on twitter.
- Toby Regbo said that he will be wearing his father's crown in the first episode, however it's to big for him and needs to be re-sized to fit around his ears.
- Screencaps from the trailer for Season Two
- Ratings The Plague landed 1.05 million viewers and a 0.4/1 rating in the target demo, which was down from the Series Premiere (0.8) but matched the Season One Finale.
- Rossif Sutherland shaved his beard for Season Two because of another role.
Historical Notes
- There were no outbreaks in Europe in 1558, the closes dates to that time frame were the outbreaks in 1544–1548 and 1563–1566. [3]
- The Plague killed 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia during it's time.[4]
- During the 16th and 17th centuries, the plague was present in Paris about 30% of the time
- France alone lost almost a million people to the plague in the epidemic of 1628–1631
Characters
- Credit Order
| Actor | Character | |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Kane | Mary Stuart | |
| Megan Follows | Queen Catherine | |
| Torrance Coombs | Sebastian | |
| Toby Regbo | King Francis | |
| Celina Sinden | Greer Kinross | |
| Caitlin Stasey | Lady Kenna | |
| Anna Popplewell | Lady Lola | |
| Jonathan Keltz | Leith Bayard | |
| Sean Teale | Conde | |
| Guest Staring | ||
| Rossif Sutherland | Nostradamus | |
| Craig Parker | Narcisse | |
| Michael Therriault | Lord Castleroy | |
| Sarah Winter | Yvette Castleroy | |
| Lucius Hoyos | Pascal | |
| Cameo | ||
| Kjartan Hewitt | Eduard Narcisse | |
| Camille Stopps | Estelle | |
| Jason Gray | Ignorant Noble | |
| Brendan Wall | Doomed Noble | |
| Elicia MacKenzie | Courtesan | |
| Ella Ballentine | Little Girl | |
| Jesse Griffiths | Armed Man | |
| Passing Guard | Brandon Crone | |
| Barricaded Woman | Adrian Morningstar | |
| Adrian Morningstar | Groom | |
| Rafferty Blumberg | George | |
| Stephen Guy-McGrath | Hallway Guard #1 | |
| Scott Walker | Hallway Guard #2 | |
| Jennifer Pogue | Female Servant | |
| Barrett Morrison | Mary's Guard | |
| Jayme Desjardins | Plague Victim | |
| Character debut | |
| Speaking debut | |
| Episode debut |
Videos
CTV - Heroes Within Trailer
CW 2014 Fall Sizzle-1
Reign - Seize the Throne Clip-1
Reign - Feel Alive Trailer-1
Reign - The Plague Trailer-0
Reign - Plague Lands Interview-1
M3 Reign Stars Toby Regbo & Torrance Coombs Discuss Season 2
A chat with Reign's Torrance Coombs (aka Bash)
References
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