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Catherine to Mary in Safe Passage


The relationship between Mary Stuart and Catherine de' Medici.

Overview[]

At the beginning of the series, Catherine wanted Mary gone because according to Nostradamus' vision, she would cost Francis his life. During the series, Catherine seems to have met her match as Mary manages to always overcome her schemes. After Clarissa's death, Nostradamus' visions began to change into Mary and Francis having a future together causing Catherine to go to Mary and help her decide on whom Mary should marry. Catherine allows Mary to decide what is truly in Mary's heart which is Francis. They soon began to bond, possibly having a loving mother-daughter relationship.

Their positive relationship soon coming to a head as Mary refused to listen to her on how to rule the French Court. Later on, Catherine discovered Mary's affair with Louis Condé and her plan to return to Scotland which would betray Francis. Catherine was furious to find these things out, and she planned to stop Mary's betrayal of her son.

Their relationship had taken a dramatic turn as both queens mourned together the loss of Francis, after he died from head trauma he sustained while saving Mary from a gang of assassins. They both decide to work together for the sake of Francis, causing them to grow closer.

History[]

When Mary, at age six came to France for protection, for a while Catherine was close to her and became quite caring of her and treated Mary like her own daughter.

Season One[]

When Mary arrives at the French Court in the Pilot, Queen Catherine learns from Nostradamus that Mary will cost Francis his life. She makes a plan for Colin to rape Mary so that she will be ruined before she can even have the chance to marry Francis.

In Snakes in the Garden, Catherine learns that Colin is still alive, and plots to find him and kill him, before Mary can find out.

In Kissed, Catherine is pleased that Tomás has taken a liking in Mary.

In Hearts and Minds, Catherine is more eager than ever to get rid of Mary after Nostradamus' visions become more vivid.

In A Chill in the Air, When Catherine catches Aylee "stealing" Mary's ring, she blackmails her so that she can get her hands on the letters between Mary and her mother, Marie de Guise.

Mary Catherine 106

Mary and Catherine

In Chosen, When Mary awakes to find a stag's head hanging over her bed, Catherine sets out to discover who is responsible; by threatening the servants with the burning of their homes if no one speaks up. Thanks to a servant Catherine realizes that her guard Robert is a heretic, and the one responsible for the stag's head in Mary's room.

In Left Behind, Catherine and Mary set aside their differences and work together when an Italian Count named Vincent arrives and takes the castle hostage with the intent of taking Catherine's children as ransom. Catherine inquires just how far Mary is willing to go to prove her love for Francis, after she tells her that she would go to hell for him.

In Fated, Catherine tells Mary of the prophecy and begs her to leave the French Court.

In For King and Country, Catherine tries to find a way for Mary not to wed Francis by telling her that Francis will die if she marries him.

In Sacrifice, Mary visits an imprisoned Catherine in the castle tower and accuses her of trying to kill Bash. Catherine neither admits nor denies anything. Mary has everything removed from her cell leaving Catherine in dismal surroundings.

In Royal Blood, Catherine enlists the help of Mary and Bash when she discovers her young sons have been kidnapped by Clarissa. Mary saves the boys by hitting Clarissa with a rock.

In The Consummation, Catherine helps Mary decide that it's Francis she truly loves and wants to marry by giving her a "letter" from the Vatican.

In Liege Lord, Mary discovers a secret clause in her marriage contract and attempts to blackmail Catherine, by threatening to reveal Henry's illness which would destroy France. Mary also slaps her after the slaughter of the Scots at the brothel.

In Higher Ground, Mary has Catherine kidnapped by a mercenary in an attempt to get her hands on the Queen's money to help her mother escape from Scotland. Mary later uses Catherine's cousin Cortenza as a scapegoat when she realizes Catherine suspects she was responsible for the kidnapping, and has the head delivered to the Queen's chambers.

In Long Live The King, Mary and Catherine work together to kill Henry after his madness reaches a breaking point; however they decide against this when they learn that Henry plans to kill Francis, wed Mary and take the throne of England.

In Slaughter of Innocence, Mary, Catherine, and Francis plot a coup on Henry but this stops when Mary and Catherine watch Henry become fatally injured in the joust.

Season Two[]

These next moments of your life will either define you as a victim or as a powerful Queen, untouched by failed a assassination attempt. They will define who you are perceived to be, your place in history. Do not let them win. Trust me. Trust me and let me help you. Trust that I can get you through this because I swear to you that I can.Catherine to Mary

In The Plague, Mary settles into her power as the new Queen of France while Catherine tries to school her on the importance of having a positive relationship with the nobles as they are the true power behind the throne. Mary refuses to listen instead insisting on doing things her way. Later, Mary makes Nostradamus give Catherine a potion which will make her ill to keep her out of the way. Catherine also advises Mary not to let Lola come between her and Francis.

In Coronation, Catherine confronts Mary about her actions that caused the death of Narcisse son. By the end of the episode, she watches as Francis and Mary are crowned the new King & Queen of France.

In The Lamb and the Slaughter, Catherine commends Mary for having the strength to stand by Francis during the christening/public claiming of his illegitimate son by Lola. Later she walks in on Francis and Mary, expressing her insane excitement about her new unborn grandchild. Catherine watches the christening of her grandson with Mary as his godmother.

In Three Queens, Mary and Catherine must work together once more after their carriage is attacked by a mob of angry peasants who are bent on killing royals. They escape and by removing their crowns & jewelry to appear as average women. The two queens hide in an inn where they seem to bond over their troubled marriages and Catherine tries to give Mary the benefit of her experiences. Later, the two team up to stop the impostors who were sent from England to get rid of Mary.

In Acts of War, Mary tries to convince Catherine that marrying her daughter Princess Claude to Louis Condé is a good idea, though Catherine is not happy with this proposed plan. Mary is then warned by Catherine to stay out of the planning of Claude's life as this her right and duty as her mother. Catherine later becomes a pillar of strength for Mary after she is brutally attacked and raped in her room. Since Catherine has been in this situation and survived she asks Mary to trust her and swears that she can get help her through this horrible ordeal. In Mary's chambers, Catherine comforts her daughter-in-law but leaves when Francis returns.

In Sins of the Past, Catherine walks in on Mary and Francis discussing whether or not to give Antoine money, and is dead set against it. She and Francis explain to Mary that there is much bad history between the Houses of Valois and Bourbon, because they were suspected of plotting to steal the French throne when Francis was a sickly child. Later, Mary joins Francis as a doctor examines Catherine and deduces that she may have contracted syphilis from Henry and his constant cheating.

In Tempting Fate, Catherine becomes highly suspicious of Mary when she discovers Mary's frequent visits to the castle chapel, and deduces that Mary is using the chapel to have her rendezvous with Louis Condé. Mary is quick to brush Catherine's questions off, and when she is given a message during a meeting with Catherine, Francis and a messenger; Catherine asks what the message says. However, Mary quickly talks about a hospitality issue with a visiting Duke, Duchess and their servants. Mary quickly excuses herself and runs from the room sealing Catherine's suspicions that Mary is still cheating with Conde. Later, Lord Narcisse reveals to Catherine the plan Mary and Conde have to leave France and retake Scotland, something that Catherine is not happy about since Mary is leaving her son whom she is still legally married to. Catherine also says that Mary has endured much and grown as a queen, however, as much as she cares for her smart people do make foolish decisions and in this case there is no return.

In Reversal of Fortune, Mary returns to court, and finds Catherine in Francis' room praying for her son. Catherine mentions that the physician asked her how Francis was before he collapsed if he was eating, sleeping, or seemed weak as it might help with treatment; she further says that Mary doesn't know the answers to those questions which is a wife's job. Catherine then lights into Mary for: cheating, planning to abandon Francis, and for choosing not to be a wife to Francis. She then asks Mary where she was when the King collapsed, Mary tries to lie and say that she was away from the castle but Catherine cuts her off by saying that she knows about the affair between her and Conde. Mary is in shock and Catherine is quite upset as she says that she knew the affair was fact and not rumor. When Catherine saw the look of pain in her son's eyes when he lied for Mary in order to protect the woman he loved more than anything. Mary tries to say that she and Francis had come to an agreement but Catherine cuts her off saying that she doubts this agreement involved Mary abandoning her marriage and returning to Scotland, which she knew about already. Mary has a look shock in her eyes as she listens and looks ready to burst into tears as she hears that her betrayal was the last thing Francis heard about before he collapsed. Catherine sarcastically asks Mary if she is upsetting her and if she should not have suggested that she did this to him. Catherine gets in Mary's face and tells her to make no mistake about this situation being on her head, and furthermore while Nostradamus always predicted that she would cause her son's death; however she never imagined that Mary would kill him by breaking his heart. Catherine then leaves Mary alone with Francis.

Later that day, Mary walks into the hall where Catherine is talking to two of her ladies; when one of them notices Mary and Catherine sends them off and asks Mary for a word. Mary seems quite reluctant to talk to Catherine given their earlier conversation, however, Catherine is more concerned as she tells Mary that rumors of Francis' health have begun to spread throughout French Court and she worries about the news falling into the wrong hands. Mary finishes the Queen's thought by saying that the throne room is full of potential threats: lords, diplomats, etc., all waiting for Francis to die. Unfortunately, Catherine says that she can't hide the truth from her face and when Mary tries to console her Catherine tells Mary not to touch her. Mary tells Catherine that they may never know what caused Francis' illness and if she is as responsible as has been said then she will never forgive herself. Mary then asks Catherine to let her to talk to the advisers so that she can stay with her son, saying that when he wakes up he would rather see the face of his mother than her. Catherine then walks away.

That afternoon, Catherine goes against Mary after hearing about her plans to take French soldiers help her defend Scotland from England. Catherine tells Mary in short that she will not allow Mary to steal her son's army just so she can run off with her Bourbon Prince. Mary tells her about the plan that Elizabeth is building to take Scotland and France could be next but Catherine does not believe this will happen. Mary protests that she's trying to save her country. Catherine counters that Scotland is all but lost and tells Mary to not drag France down with her. The Queen further says that while she understands Mary's desire to want to get away as soon as possible but she won't let this happen to France and while Mary may have the authority she will move heaven and earth to stop her.

Quotes[]

Mary: "You’ve had someone break into my room once before. Why don’t you tell me how it’s done?"
--Chosen
Catherine: "The first lesson I ever learned was never to wait for a man’s rescue. History is written by the survivor’s and I am surely that."
--Left Behind

Trivia[]

  • It has been said that Catherine was kind to Mary when she was a child.
  • In Fated, Mary and Catherine must work together when the castle is taken hostage.
  • In Royal Blood, Catherine admits that she owes Mary the lives of all of her sons.
  • Despite having feelings of dislike and tension, they both seem to have a mutual respect each other.
  • In Inquisition, Catherine tried to poison and kill Mary.
  • In Dirty Laundry, Catherine was helping Mary to get pregnant.
  • In Three Queens, Mary and Catherine must work together again to stop impostor rulers.
  • In Tempting Fate, Catherine discovers Mary's affair with Conde, and her plan to leave France with him to retake Scotland.
  • In Reversal of Fortune, Catherine confronts Mary about her affair with Conde and betraying Francis.
  • In Forbidden, Catherine confronted Mary about not being a wife to Francis, abandoning him, and betraying him.
  • In Burn, Catherine offers Queen Elizabeth a way to bring the downfall of Mary as she is enraged at her for being responsible for her banishment from French Court.
  • At times during Seasons 1 and 2; Catherine tried to give Mary the benefit of her experiences in areas such as: marriage, being a ruler, and being a survivor.

Gallery[]

Season One[]

Season Two[]

Season Three[]

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