CW’s “Reign” has Mary ruling France without husband Francis and her portrayer Adelaide Kane is pretty upset about it.
During interview for a new episode of TheWrap‘s “Drinking With the Stars,” Kane revealed that Mary will always try to do the right thing, but the fact that Francis (Toby Regbo) now has an illegitimate child with her lady-in-waiting Lola (Anna Popplewell) will be a source of tension for the newly-crowned rulers of France.
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“It’s pretty much her only job, to get pregnant and have babies,” Kane said of Mary’s royal duties. “Having the baby around is almost rubbing her nose in the fact that she hasn’t had a child yet, and that’s going to be very painful for her.”
Meanwhile, Mary hasn’t forgotten about what led to this whole mess in the first place — Francis and Lola sleeping together. “She’s trying to make the best of it with Lola, Lola’s still her friend,” said Kane. “It’s been brought up with Francis once or twice, but I think there’s still a conversation that needs to happen. Maybe a few glasses should be thrown and a casual slap across the face is required. She hasn’t blown up about it yet and I really want her to!”
Mary’s unrelenting nobleness in the face of all adversity has Kane wanting the queen of France and Scotland to blow off some steam. “I want to break something,” Kane joked. “Everyone else gets to break things and I never get to break anything … I want to have an episode where she’s channeling Queen Catherine [Megan Follows] and is all sassy.”
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Kane also discussed what she calls the show’s “stealth feminism,” by referring to the checklist which highlights gender bias in media.
“We pass the Bechdel test almost every week!” she cheered. “Not many shows can do that, not many movies can do that, full stop. We get a lot of flack for being, essentially, a costume melodrama — we’re a little soapy and campy, which is okay, I love it — but I have to say we’re like a stealth feminist show. We also have really healthy, normalized versions of female sexuality.”
The show is also known for scenes of Mary taking charge and Francis taking a back seat, which Kane revealed she’s discovered fans are really into. “There are a couple of great gifsets on Tumblr of those scenes,” she laughed. “Where Francis is like ‘So turned on right now.’ Every time Mary exercises her power, Francis is so into it! He’s like, ‘Yeah, that’s my woman!’”
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“Reign” airs every Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.
Watch part one of the interview above, then part two below.