Aired: 2013 – 2017
Network: CW Network [United States]
Production: CBS television studios
Seasons: 4
Episodes: 78
Duration: 42 minutes
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
IMDb rating: 7,6/10
My rating: 
(4,5 / 5)
On Netflix: Yes, 3 seasons
Storyline
“Chronicles the rise to power of Mary Queen of Scots (Kane) when she arrives in France as a 15-year-old, betrothed to Prince Francis, and with her four best friends as ladies-in-waiting. It details the secret history of survival at French Court amidst fierce foes, dark forces, and a world of sexual intrigue.” [IMDB]
My opinion
Usually I’m not that fond of historical TV shows, but Reign somehow managed to steal my heart. At first, I’m a big fan of the actress that plays Mary Stuart, Queen of Scott’s (which is Adelaide Kane). The way she manages to portray her character is simply amazing and I just love how the story is portrayed on screen. To be fair, I have little knowledge of historical events so that’s not something I can judge when it comes to this series, but I love Mary’s way of ruling. It’s strict but kind, with a rational way of looking at certain situations. Above all, this TV show shows a very feminist side of how queens would manage to gain power during that period as well. I’m not aware of the actual historical events that took place during that time, but simply based on the show I see a strong woman fighting for her birthrights as queen of Scott’s, which in my opinion is always a good image to portray within the media.
During the series, the show covers the complications that come along with ruling a – or actually, two – country(‘s). It shows the complicated existence being a monarch, where love and duty often clash and where your leadership is always one step away of being taken away from you. In every corner are new enemies that have to be dealt with, familiar ones or unknown, the threat can come from everyone that is displeased about you being on the throne, or so Mary learns while she’s being introduced into the French court and everything that comes along with it. Strange visions, hostile in laws and besides all of tgis also struggles among the people that she has to reign; being a monarch is far from easy and Reign shows it all from Mary’s perspective.
Personally, I really liked this series. I love how Adelaide portrays character and looking at the historical settings with the beautiful dresses and castles. It has also a really pleasant tracklist – starting with the theme song that is from the Lumineers. They often use the instrumental version of ‘popular’ songs for balls that are shown during the series, which is a really nice aspect – in my opinion. Besides all of this, it’s a really interesting and intriguing way to learn more about our history. Again, I hope that everything told within the series is historically correct (I really need to look into that someday, while writing this article I’m actually getting quite curious about which things are correct and which aren’t) because if it is, it really is a way of connecting on a new level with the ‘youth’ that never used to be that interested in history – at least fot me it worked.
