If you’re fond of watching historical drama involving the royal family, intrigue, betrayal, and more, then you’ll definitely enjoy watching The CW’s Reign. Or perhaps you’ve already seen it before and are wondering what’s coming next. Either way, you’ve definitely come to the right place because, in this article, we’ll be talking Reign extensively.
There are many reasons why many people are fond of this drama, aside from the beautiful cast of characters. It has everything you could want in a historical drama, and it even has a sprinkle of mystery in some episodes. So, when fans finished Season 4, they waited for any news regarding the show. Specifically, they were looking forward to the announcement revealing that Reign would be renewed for another season.
Unfortunately, the announcement they accepted to hear never came. Today, we’ll be discussing what Reign is all about and whether a Season 5 is still in the works.
Overview of Reign
Reign is a historical drama series by Laurie McCarthy and Stephanie SenGupta. The show was created for and aired on The CW, a popular broadcast television network. Set some time within the late-16th century, Reign follows the life and story of Mary Stuart otherwise known as the Queen of Scots, and how she was able to rise to power within the French court despite being such a young girl during that time.
The show’s first season begins in 1557, where it was shown that the young Mary was living in one of France’s convents. However, she had to go back to the castle quickly, where she was to wait for the commencement of her marriage to Prince Francis—whom she had been engaged to ever since they were six years old.
Being back at the castle meant that Mary had no choice except to adapt to changing politics and power plays, which is definitely expected in a royal household. Not only that, but she not only had to contend with her growing feelings towards the dauphin, but she also had to deal with the romantic attentions of Bash, the half-brother of Francis.
On the other hand, Francis’ mother, Catherine de Medici, secretly tried to sabotage the wedding after Nostradamus predicted that Francis and Mary’s union would lead to his death. The show also followed the love affairs of Mary’s Scottish handmaidens, namely Greer, Kenna, Lola, and Aylee, as they tried searching for their own husbands within the French court. These four were based on “the Four Marys,” the real-life ladies-in-waiting for the actual Queen of Scots back in the day.
Reign Season 2 begins after the death of King Henry II. As you’d expect, this season is all about the ascension of Francis and Mary to King and Queen of both France and Scotland. They are both left with a huge responsibility, as they have to balance their marriage as well as their roles as rulers. Not only that, there’s a booming religious conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics, which they have to quell. Plus, the rival House of Bourbon is making an effort to steal the throne of France for themselves.
This season was a true challenge to the two monarchs and was full of drama and romance. The third installment was just as enthralling, as this season was all about the steadily declining health of King Francis, ultimately leading to his death. Halfway through the season, Queen Mary was left a widow and struggled to find her place, as she no longer had any obligation to France as a ruler.
Charles, Francis’ brother, was crowned as the new under-aged king. As such, Queen Catherine was made regent. Season 3 also introduced to the viewers’ Queen Elizabeth of England’s court. She’s a major character not only in history but in the show as well, as she made an effort to plot against Mary. Just like in history, Queen Elizabeth continuously fended off any suitors and marital prospects, yet continued to have a secret love affair with Robert Dudley, the first Earl of Leicester.
Moving on to the fourth season, Queen Mary returned to Scotland in an effort to try and take back her power in her homeland. As you can expect, it was a challenge for her, as she had to manage her allies and ensure they remain on her side, including her older half-brother James. She also had to contend with people who were against her, such as the Protestant preacher known as John Knox.
Tensions continued to rise between Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Mary, especially since Mary married the English Catholic Lord Darnley, a claimant to the English throne, as she tried to take England.
Are We Getting a Season 5?
Compared to other popular broadcast networks such as CBS and NBC, The CW has much lower expectations when it comes to ratings. But of course, there’s always a limit to how bad a show’s ratings can get, even for The CW. As such, the broadcast network had to pull the plug on the period drama after barely hanging on by a thread for three seasons.
Unfortunately for the avid fans, it has been officially confirmed that Reign Season 4 is the final season and there won’t be a fifth. Fortunately, the cast and crew were informed ahead of time about the cancelation, which allowed the writers to give the fans a satisfying ending that didn’t have any loose ends.
That being said, it’s highly possible that the show’s writers already planned out the show’s ending from the beginning. This is because the show consistently had low ratings with every season that got aired, so there was never really a guarantee that the show would be renewed for a long time.
Still, the fact that Reign is based on history could mean that Laurie McCarthy already had a good idea of where to direct the show and how it could end. Even though the showrunners chose to add their own ideas to the show, making it completely different than what truly happened in history, they still kept key moments such as King Francis’ death.
Conclusion
It’s truly unfortunate that Reign had to come to an end, but given its low ratings, it doesn’t come as a surprise either. On the bright side, Reign had a satisfying series finale that was able to tie all the loose ends, unlike many other canceled shows out there.
