User reviews

It's 1557 France. Mary (Adelaide Kane), Queen of Scots, has been hidden away at a convent for her safety since age 9. She is engaged to childhood friend Prince Francis, the future King of France. After a failed assassination attempt, she is sent to the French court. King Henry II is tyrannical. Queen Catherine de' Medici (Megan Follows) is a scheming survivor. Nostradamus is her adviser. Sebastian 'Bash' de Poitiers is the King's bastard son. Mary is joined by her friends from Scotland; Aylee, Greer Norwood, Kenna, and Lola. Mary has to navigate the royal court intrigue and the bubbling conflict between Protestants and Catholics. There is the scheming Lord Narcisse, the self-obsessed Princess Claude, and finally Queen Elizabeth of England.

The initial complaint is the myriad of historical inaccuracies. At some point, accuracy be damn. It's a YA romantic drama dressed up in historical costumes. Along with the beautiful and capable younger cast, the show is anchored by veterans Megan Follows and Alan van Sprang. After the departure of van Sprang, others are able to fill the vacuum. Adelaide Kane proves to be a very engaging lead. Eventually, the show does run out of steam and quite frankly history. While it lasted, it has 4 full years of great romantic melodrama.

Some parts of this are way too painful to watch. I began watching it because I love Mary, Queen of Scots, but soon found that the historical accuracy of this was blown way out of proportion. Clothing (especially the dresses) - WRONG. Food - WRONG. Dance style - WRONG. Names of Mary's friends - WRONG. It seemed like I had a permanent grimace on my face for the beginning of it.

But then there's my affection for the characters. I love Francis and Mary's relationship (and Toby is such an adorable actor :), I love Bash, I love Catherine (though seeing Anne Shirley on screen put me into shock for a while...had to pause it for a moment...), and I love that strangely mysterious person that keeps giving people hints. I FEEL SO HORRIBLE FOR LETTING SUCH A HISTORICALLY INEPT SHOW SUCK ME IN, BUT I LOVE IT AT THE SAME TIME!

tl;dr: Let's just say it's a fantasy show that just so happens to have the same names as historical figures.

I'll start by saying I'm Scottish with a reasonable knowledge of the times in the drama and this is bunkum BUT it is enjoyable bunkum with a very beautiful Mary and some of the best music I've heard on a TV show since the new Battlestar Galactica. Think 'The Borgia's' without Jeremy Iron's pope and you will be on the right lines when you imagine what 'Reign' is like. It's actually so pretty, and the music is so great, that I really want them to dump the historical narrative altogether and disappear off into a fantasy world where they can make up their own ending and create their own marriages and alliances as they go along. Adelaide Kane is a gorgeous Mary - in fact I keep forgetting it's supposed to be Mary Queen of Scots and getting confused with 'Snow White'. That girl was just born to wear red roses in her hair. Her young French prince is the ringer for the younger of the Borgia sons and is very easy on the eye - and talking about eyes, the 'bastard' brother to the French prince is another honey. And then we get on to the pagans in the woods, the conspiring Queen and the enemies all around. It's quite sumptuous. As I say, it's nonsense; it's absolutely not to be taken seriously, but I will carry on watching it because it is all just so darned enjoyable and glorious in it's wrongness. And the soundtrack is just breathtaking.

For all of the people complaining about the historical accuracy please stop. You want exact history go watch a documentary or a read history book. This show is awesome has a little bit of everything. At first i wasn't into it until a few episodes went by and then i got hooked on it. Great characters and good story line. I like it just as much as the Tudors series. Romance, politics, drama, betrayal, and great characters. Hate to see it ending at season 4.

Reign is a show aimed at girls, there's no arguing about that. It's fiction, doesn't claim to be otherwise.

Season 1 is very light and full of spiralling dresses, and love stories. So light you might loose interest at some point but somehow, I always wanted to give it one more episode. Just one more to convince me to drop it. But just like you stuck with Gossip Girl for Blair & Chuck, you stick with Reign for Marie & Francis. Marie is regal and steals the screen while Francis is honest, and endearing. I have to admit Francis grew in me, wasn't such a fan at first.

Season 2 however, gets much more political (and we thank you for it). The plot twists are unpredictable (at least less predictable than the first season), you will feel thorn by the various love stories that are stretched by politics. You will find matches you're rooting for, and others you hate. Following Marie's ladies from their teenage crushes to their marriages, you will see what life has planned for them. While it still revolves very much around the love stories, the intrigue is not only accessory in this season, it is fully part of the story.

Can't wait to see season 3!

If you want historical accuracy do not watch Reign. I repeat. DO NOT WATCH. At no point does this show ever try to be faithful to its settings or historical figures. Instead, it very clearly tries to put Gossip Girl in a 16th century setting. The lavish parties, prom-like dresses, troubled romances, catty behaviour, model actors/actresses - it's all very 90210- esque. However, I must admit it succeeds at doing just that. No matter how laughable the costumes were, I can't say I wasn't at least mildly entertained. It's quite nice to look at and some of the characters are interesting (if completely inaccurate). And with a supernatural twist, it's quite clear that the creators are simply using the characters and setting as a starting point to tell their own stories. I might keep watching, only to see something different from the CW.

People complained incessantly about the "historical inaccuracy" of A Knight's Tale, too. No, they absolutely didn't play Queen at jousting matches in those days or dance to David Bowie, and the young princess probably wouldn't have worn see-through dresses and post-modern hats. Heath Ledger's character wouldn't have been able to pose as a knight. You guys, it's a FANTASY! It's historical FICTION. It's not a documentary!! I loved A Knight's Tale and I love this show so far. It moves a little slowly, but it's GORGEOUS and I love the modern take on the 1550's. I love the hair, and the makeup, and the music! I think all of the elements blend together well and I'm totally hooked. I'll be really interested to see where they take it, and I love the characters. I love the mix of old and new, and the mix of fact and fiction. All in all, I think it's stellar! Again: it's NOT A DOCUMENTARY, people. It's a TV show. And a very pretty one.

The history buff within me reviles this show. The female costumes are so off from what was worn in 16th century Europe; they look more like a 21st century dream of the Renaissance. The melodrama is over-the-top and sometimes silly. The characters are all,of course, much more attractive than they were in real life.

But in the end, I don't care. This show is fun. The costumes, while inaccurate to the point of hilarity, are gorgeous. The music is ethereal and contemporary, somehow integrating well with the faux-history of this story. The atmosphere is perfect. And the actors do a fantastic job, even with all of the hokum they play with.

All in all, a great guilty pleasure of mine. Long may it reign.

As long as you watch it for entertainment purposes and not to give you history lessons, you'll be ok! Lots of 'raunch n debauch' , great sets and costumes, intrigue galore + lots of hunky men in it... What's not to like?! 😉

This show is not historically accurate at all. The costumes are modernized. The accents are painfully inaccurate. If you are looking for a show to learn about Mary, Queen of Scots, move along.

But personally, this show is my new guilty pleasure. Would I gush to my friends about how good it is and how hot so-and-so is? No. Would I complain to other people how historically inaccurate it is, and that shows like this are the downfall of modern television? No. Would I lie in bed with a bag of popcorn at the end of a long day at work and enjoy it in private? Yes. And I do.

The costumes, however inaccurate, are beautiful. The sets and scenery are stunning. The acting is so-so.

I didn't have high expectations for the show to begin with, so I wasn't disappointed. I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I'm keeping my expectations low, but the first two episodes have me hooked.

I was intrigued and excited by the ads running up to the debut of this series. The first few minutes of the initial episode promised historical authenticity. It quickly veered into a disappointingly predictable teen soap opera.

Mary Stuart's life, even if only while at the court of Henry II, is filled with enough sex, intrigue and blood to fill several seasons of a series. Catherine De Medici was her mother-in-law. Diane De Poitiers, the kings mistress was 20 years his senior! The war of the Reformation was literally being fought beneath her balcony at times, with heads rolling and bond fires blazing.

Yet, the writers fail to mine the rich, actual story connected to Mary,Queen of Scots and prance into ridiculous plot lines, conversations, and clothing fit more for a 21st century adolescent drama than the story around a girl whose existence made several countries unstable for decades.

The production values are high, and it's a delightful show visually. If the story had been made without any pretense of basis on historical characters it could have been sold as fantasy, and I'd have had no problem with it. I just couldn't get past the anachronisms week after week: the roles of women in that society; the clothing and hair styles, while beautiful today, that would have been grounds for being burned alive; "Diane is shopping in Paris";pagan blood rituals....

It's frustrating to see such obviously high production capital put into such a poorly written show.

This year season was absolutely fantastic. This is the BEST program by far. Already sad to see this season coming to end. The cast collectively have created such a wonderful program. The story line in every weekly show had enough drama, intrigue and suspense. The final scene clearly complemented the seasons turmoil by having Francis and Mary back together. However, the thought of King Francis dying saddens me already...but absolutely willing to wait and see. Now the future storyline with Catherine and Queen Elizabeth to attack Mary is devious and can't wait for the season to return...hoping it includes a miracle for King Francis to continue forever. Best, Best, Best show !!!!!

I liked the first season much better than the second. Year two turned into the season of the wimps. This season begins with King Francis allowing himself to be compromised; with the first half or so devoted to that storyline. This whole plot line seemed contrived given that a King, even one as considered and "just" as he is written, would have a relatively simple solution to his little "problem". The provided justification for inaction seemed pretty lame (as well as flimsy) compared to the costs and simply wasn't consistent with the character they've developed over the first season. They had already established that he is perfectly capable (if reluctantly) of being ruthless and his horrific concessions went against everything established about the character. I didn't buy it.

Then after a traumatic incident, the writers further undermined established characters by compromising our Queen Mary, and turning HER into a whiny little wuss. I felt her behavior over the course of the season was completely out of character--she and her King have known each other for their whole lives; and aside from being a political marriage, were known to be a love-match. It was absolutely ridiculous that THIS individual, no matter how traumatized, would simply give in to her fears--not when she's been built up all along as someone that doesn't let anything or anyone stand in the way of duty or love. BOTH of our main characters have been turned into plot devices this season instead of being supported as the forceful and strong-willed, resolute and implacable Monarchs of season one; so deeply in love that nothing would ever break them apart and too formidable to compromise their principles. Big mistake. I would much rather have seen her as someone working to come back to her life over the arc of the season than as someone giving up and giving in. There were a few hints pointing towards recovery, but far too few and none that spoke to her strength of character nor her avowed devotion to her husband. I never got how she could blame her husband, the King--how she could associate him so directly with her trauma (just because he wasn't there?). Never bought it, and that was a BIG part of the problem.

Exploring THIS kind of struggle would have been far more in character and much more interesting; it's the strength in these characters that makes them enticing. This season was just tedious. The show's real hook isn't the romantic entanglements; it isn't even the court's intrigues; it is their struggle to live as they do while they fight against the forces that try to turn them from each other, and from their righteous principles. That is what they lost this season.

While the show always had it's share of soulful confessions and long-winded declarations, the second season had waaaay too much of it and not enough action or genuine intrigue; it turned into a contrived soap opera. Anyone who had grown up at court cut their teeth on intrigue and manipulation. The behavior of the two main characters and their story arc were completely inconsistent with their portrayals of the first season. And while not downplaying the lingering trauma of Mary's experience, the writer's missed a golden opportunity to firmly establish Mary's strength of character and perseverance and instead chose to show her as a spineless victim who unfairly (and illogically) blamed the one person she supposedly loved beyond anything else. I can forgive a lot, but not stupidity in characters that are supposed to be brilliant or whiny weakness in characters written to be indomitable. I really hope that the third season is more like the first season and our Monarchs go back to acting like Kings and Queens. This season has been very disappointing.

Having seen the beauty of THE TUDORS and the WHITE QUEEN ,and other similar historical dramas, I was looking forward to this account of Mary , Queen of Scots. I was disappointed within 5 minutes but sat through this drivel for the entire Pilot so I could give at least an objective critic. Let me say I enjoy a wee bit of creativity, and flexibility with historical "facts" but this is beyond that and has made a fairy tale story for the TV . If I was an American teenage girl I would probably love this ,but I am a middle aged English man who enjoys his history to be based on history and not some fantasy tale with overtones of some teen romance which seems to dominate TV these days , I was waiting for the vampire to appear. I was cringing the entire 45 minutes and this will be the last I see of this series. I really wanted to enjoy this , but the costumes and modern music just took all the enjoyment away and devalued such a fantastic story. They could of had Scottish music at the dance, even a modern take of Scottish , but instead ....

The CW's new show about the teen years of doomed royal Mary, Queen of Scots,played by Teen Wolf's Adelaide Kane. We see the power struggles and confused sexual longing of any teen drama writ large, transplanted onto a background of plotting and intrigue as she arrives in France in the 16th century.

For those of us who are looking for an over-the-top costume drama by the people who brought you 90210, welcome to your new favorite show.

Reign is like Game of Thrones meets Gossip Girl,a mash up you never knew you wanted, but now might not be able to live without.

the hour long episode was quite intriguing,as it takes you through different levels of feelings the,Juicy love triangle + epic costumes x political intrigue = one of the interesting new shows of the season!

my all time top favorite TV shows! #frary no words can explain (because spoilers) amazing plot and storyline, soundtrack that'll have you searching to download it the second the episode is over, talented actors, and trend setting-pinterest-tumblr-material WARDROBE!!! Oh and the location is as well, serene, magical and authentic. The wardrobe is everything I would wish for, I wish my prom would have a 'reign' theme this year. The everyday emotions everyone experiences is felt in every glance as the actors are so very surreal. I even got myself made, a #frary bumper sticker to add to my car. Back to the wardrobe, like oh m god, it's a period drama version of gossip girl and high fashion with the hottest new trends in every garment and look. I first started the series when I got sick and stayed home from school watching Netflix by the end of 2014 and randomly decided to watch this interesting title. BAM. HOOKED. Every single episode had me on a non-stop marathon mode! The whole everything of the universe of reign is 100% phenomenal. It's like a whole other world or you know, some other life you wish you could live.

Season One: 8.5/10

Themes: Historical, Romance, French Court, Royalty, Psychic Abilities, Mystery & Marriage.

Top three characters: 1) Mary Stuart, 2) Catherine de' Medici and 3) Kenna de Poitiers.

The first season of the series was very good. It had everything a series should have. Mystery, passion, drama, a great love, everything. It was pleasant for us to see and I personally, was looking forward to see the episodes and I was waiting for the day the episode airs to watch it. Francis and Mary were a great couple. In second season until almost the half of it, the series was also great. But from the second half the series is not as it was. It became boring and it has lost our interest. There are characters that shouldn't be in the series. I believe that these characters had destroyed the whole series. I would really like to see the main couple as the protagonists and their love as the main theme, rather than see all the others and more and especially see characters that don't deserve the role they have, be in the center of the series. The character of Mary is a very passionate young woman but she makes wrong choices all along the second season. Somehow this has to stop. We don't really like the way it has turned out (all this thing with Mary). She should find herself soon. We really want to see her reasonable again. Thank you!

It's been three days later and I'm still obsessing over the premiere of Reign. I recorded it with my DVR and I've watched it three times. It's romantic, mysterious, and the characters are so perfectly imperfect. It's sad because the ratings weren't as high as NBC would have liked, and I'm scared that this show will be over long before I'm ready. No, logistically, this show doesn't make sense, and it's not that historically accurate, but it's so addictive that I'm impatiently waiting for Thursday to come again. I can't remember the last time a show has captivated me so completely. I pray that this show survives. I love the idea that hints at a love triangle and the drama that unfolds in the lives of Mary's ladies in waiting. I NEED THIS SHOW TO SURVIVE. I' haven't been this excited to watch a new show since The Vampire Diaries first aired on the CW.

Reign feels like a well-funded high school production, which makes a sad sort of TV-land sense, since high school girls are obviously its intended audience. This oh-so-twee tale of the young Mary Queen of Scots got the country, France, and the century, the 16th, right. After that, you are on your own. Four or more times every episode, the sound track inexplicably blares out a pop tune. It's like having Barry Manilow suddenly pop up in the middle of "Game of Thrones." Ugh. The only thing missing to make the disaster complete: vampires. Maybe they can sneak one or two in during the pop songs. Many reviewers argue that Reign is historical fiction. They're half right. It's fiction. If they are going to do something this many parsecs from reality, why not use purely fictional characters, rather than drag history into an alley and beat it beyond recognition?

If a man is reading this, I'm sorry this show is not for you. But for all of the ladies, you will love this show.

There's romance, mystery, and drama all set in the 1500s at the French Court. The shows seems like a mash up of Pride & Prejudice, Gossip Girl, and Vampire Diaries. I've only watched the first episode and I am completely hooked.

This show isn't like other dull teen series that drag on; there is a love triangle, deception, magic, political struggle, death, and beautiful costumes all introduced in the pilot episode.

Bottom line, I would recommend this show to any woman I know.