Reign CW Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Reign CW Wiki
Treat them as friends until they prove themselves foes.

Snakes in the Garden is the second episode of Season One and the second episode of Reign overall. It aired on October 24th, 2013.

Synopsis

MARY DOESN'T KNOW WHO SHE CAN TRUST - When Simon, an English envoy, tells Mary that the English are aware of her fragile engagement to Francis, Mary and Francis put on a show to protect their alliance. Meanwhile, when Queen Catherine learns that Colin who knows about her plot to destroy Mary is still alive, she stops at nothing to make sure they are silenced for good. Bash, Henry, Lola, Kenna, Greer, and Aylee also appear.

Plot

Mary is a bit concerned that so many people seem to be plotting her demise. Sure, she knows that the English want her country and her crown, but Colin told Lola that someone at the French court forced him into her bedroom.

In the presence chamber, Queen Catherine is telling her son Charles about his intended bride. When it is mentioned that his young bride, Madeleine, who is only ten, is nervous about the journey to meet him, Mary volunteers to go since she thinks she’ll be able to reassure her given that she, too, was sent away from her family as a child. Queen Catherine and Nostradamus agree, and Mary is sent on her way. When Mary, Francis, and Charles arrive at the coast to await the young Lady Madeline they are greeted not by a friendly French ship, but by an English war ship. Francis panics and demands that Mary be scurried away just as Bash arrives to tell them that it isn’t an enemy ship, but rather a helping hand. The French ship carrying Madeleine took on water, and the English ship rescued them and continued them on their journey.

Fortunately, there is a party to take her mind of things. Unfortunately, she meets English envoy Simon who, besides questioning the strength of her engagement to Francis, also takes credit for the nun poisoning from the pilot. Before Mary totally loses it, her betrothed comes to the rescue, convincing the shaken sovereign to act as if their relationship was more solid then rumors made it appear. “Can you do this?” He asks Mary, extending her hand. “Absolutely.” She replies. The next day,  Queen Catherine tells Mary that Colin was working with the English in an attempt to sabotage her. The Queen also informs Mary that she is well-protected at court, and that the French guards are out in force looking for him. Mary requests that once Colin is found he is brought directly to her so that she may speak with him. Outside, Mary and Francis are watching Charlie and Madeleine play a game when Mary tells Francis that she feels “endangered” at the French court. She also tells him that Colin said his orders came from someone at court with enough power to order him executed and that she doesn’t think it was The King. Francis becomes insulted that she would imagine that his mother would put her in harms way. A bit later Mary goes in search of Charles. When she finds him he’s whispering into a darkened doorway, and tells her that he’s speaking with his friend who “knows things” and “goes where she wants,” but doesn’t like most people. Eventually he tells Mary that his friend’s name is Clarissa, and Mary confesses that she thinks Clarissa may have visited her once. Back in her room Mary sees a woman trying on one of her gowns. The woman begins profusely apologizing and says that the tailor asked that she return it to her room and she just couldn’t resist trying it on. As she explains, Mary begins to smile, and it looks like Mary’s about to reassure her when the woman starts screaming for Mary to stay back, and that she thinks the dress is poisoned. The woman then begins writhing on the ground screaming and clawing at the dress while Mary runs screaming from the room, shrieking for help.

When Mary returns to her room with help the woman is missing. Francis, who has joined Mary, determines that the assassin must have absconded with the body of the dead woman, and sends the guards to search the castle and the grounds. Mary wonders if the assassin could have left through the passage in her room, and shows Francis the door she discovered. He says that he doesn’t think so, since most of the passageways are dead ends since the castle has been built up, but says he’ll have the guards check them anyway. When Mary is told that none of the guards saw anyone leaving her room or walking through the halls with a body, or any suspicious actions at all, Mary takes to the passageways. She rolls some beads down the passageway and asks Clarissa if she’s in danger, and if she knows who is behind it, and the beads come back again. Mary then asks Clarissa who is after her, if it’s the English or if it’s Queen Catherine, but both beads come back and Mary can hear Clarissa running down the passage away from her. Back at the castle, Mary slips into a room to find Simon… and the woman from earlier. She accuses Simon of staging the woman’s poisoning to terrorize her and tells him that she isn’t scared, because she’s used to the English terrorizing her. She tells Simon that she knows that the English are afraid that she will become Queen of England. Mary also hypothesizes that Simon and the English have Queen Catherine’s support in their endeavor to terrorize her out of France, but he says if he had her support it would make it much easier for her.

Sebastian, searching in the woods for Colin, comes across blood on branches and continues to follow the trail. Blood is seen dripping onto white petals on the ground and onto Sebastian’s face. He looks up, and there is a body strung from the tree by its ankle. Sebastian hears someone approaching when he is getting the body situated to bring back to the castle. He hides, taking out a knife, but realizes it is Francis. He questions how Francis found him, and Francis says that it was Sebastian who taught Francis how to track. They hear people in the woods around them, and while Francis thinks it is guards who will not hurt them, Sebastian knows the truth. Sebastian calls out “We take what’s ours, not yours. Even dead men answer to the king.” He calls out in another language, while cutting his hand and bleeding onto the white petals on the ground. He tells Francis that the people are leaving and they need to get Colin’s body back to the castle.

Later, Francis stands up to his mother and gives her a warning about trying to murder Mary. Then Queen Catherine is seen entering her chamber, telling her servants that she'll ready herself for bed; as she removes her jewelry one of her guards is telling her about Colin being found stung up in the woods; as she removes her crown the guard leaves, and Catherine takes off her over dress and heads for her bed; as she climbs into bed and pulls back her covers she is greeted by the sight of a giant red X painted in her sheets. This terrifies her as she leaps back cupping her hands to her mouth to silence her scream as she breathes heavily.

Immediately after Nostradamus is seen in the dungeons cleaning red paint off a door, and he mentions something about the X being painted on the wrong door, and reference to the "castle ghost".

Elsewhere, Mary and Francis are having a heart-to-heart. Mary has told Francis that although she has no tangible proof she is absolutely positive that his mother is trying to terrorize her. He tells her that he will be by her side, she has his loyalty, and that her can protect her. Then he holds her hand as the episode ends.


Cast

Main

Recurring

Guest

Soundtrack

Gallery

Trivia

See Also

Advertisement