First Published: October 24, 2013 10:49 AM EDT Credit: The CW
Caption Francis, Queen Catherine, Nostradamus and Queen Mary
TORONTO, ONT -- Things are tough for Queen Catherine de’ Medici on The CW’s “Reign.”
In the season opener, Megan Follows’ character received a chilling prediction from her seer Nostradamus — Mary (Adelaide Kane) is going to bring about the death of her beloved son Francis (Toby Regbo). And that vision will continue to motivate the rich and powerful monarch in this week’s episode as she works to keep her son, the future king of France, alive.
“To her it is her golden child,” Megan told AccessHollywood.com of Catherine’s feelings for her first born. “She deeply loves him and believes in him.”
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But there’s more than just faith in Francis. Megan said Catherine is concerned about the potential that Francis’ claim to the throne could be affected by his charming half-brother (the king’s son by his mistress Diana de…) Sebastian (Torrance Coombs).
“In our story, in this character, there is the shadow of his half-brother, this bastard, so she’s also really having to protect her line, particularly with changes that were happening in Europe at the time of other countries trying to legitimize bastards. It’s a very dangerous time,” Megan said, during a break from filming earlier this week in Toronto. “She has no title, Catherine, other than her marriage into royalty, so she’s also in a precarious situation. She has a lot of money, but she does not have a divine right to the throne. That is only guaranteed for her through her son.”
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Aside from those concerns, this week, someone finds out about Catherine’s plot to get rid of Mary, bringing the Queen yet more trouble.
“It’s very dangerous,” she teased about what’s ahead. “The only sort of ally I guess I have, or person who understands, and I can’t say they accept my actions as we saw in the pilot, is Nostradamus, so I’m in a very precarious position.
“I think that survival is the name of this game and it’s not obviously a game for her, it’s the bottom line,” Megan continued. “What I like about my character is even if my actions are unsavory or might seem really outrageous… she’s grounded in a motivation that, for her, justifies her actions. They may not justify them for everybody else (laughs), but in her mind they justify her actions.”
A threat to her dear son, another to herself, and then of course, there’s having to deal with a husband King Henry II (Alan Van Sprang) who has a rather prominent mistress (Diane de Poitiers, played by Anna Walton) who he trots out in full display of the royal court.
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“I think that there’s certainly a lot of feelings that percolate under the surface that she has to manage,” Megan told Access of Catherine’s situation. “I love that part of the story (laughs). I find it really fascinating. It’s kind of horrible and painful and delicious all sort of wrapped up in [there].”
One comfort to the queen though, is watching her rival for the king’s heart begin to squirm now that he’s got an eye for Kenna (Caitlin Stasey), one of Mary’s ladies in waiting.
“What’s fun is that even in the pilot when you saw the look on Diane, his first mistress’ face, as he’s looking at this incredible beauty that he may have access to and the look on my face says, ‘Oh, so now you’re gonna know what this feels like,’” Megan laughed.
“Reign” continues Thursday nights at 9/8c on The CW.
-- Jolie Lash
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