‘Reign’ season 2, episode 9 reaction: Exec on controversial Mary storyline

Of course, we will start this “Reign” article right now with a MASSIVE warning, and that is this: Stop reading now if you want to avoid spoilers from Thursday night’s new episode of the show.

Now that we’ve said all of this, we have to ask the question: Was the rape scene completely necessary? It is obviously a game-changer for the Mary character, given that she is vulnerable and angry and looking for ways to channel some of her feelings. However, weren’t there other ways to do this? Storytellers should have the creative freedom to take the characters down the path of their choosing, and we’ll defend the decision to go this route with Mary for that alone.

As for whether or not it was something important to move the story forward, we’re not going to have a definitive answer to that for some time.

What we can at least tell you right now is what showrunner Laurie McCarthy had to say about how this move is going to push the story forward. Speaking to TVLine in a post-mortem for tonight’s episode, she had the following to say:

“Her sense of security is completely gone, and that’s something we’re going to follow through the season. In the short term, she’ll be traumatized, she’ll be scared, she’ll be fearful of her own safety. It’s also going to do incredible damage to her relationship with Francis because, even though it was a hideous act of hatred, it’s going to be hard for her to separate the rage people generally felt toward their rule from the choices that Francis was making.”

What did you think about this scene? Share with a comment now, and head over here to preview what is coming in the winter finale for the show. Also, sign up to score some further TV updates on all we cover per our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: The CW.)