Speechless.
That's basically what we were at the end ofReign's Dec. 4 episode, which included the headline-making series' most controversial and shocking storyline yet.
Warning, major spoilers ahead.
In the CW hit's episode "Act of War," Queen Mary (Adelaide Kane) was attacked and raped by a group of Protestant soldiers who invaded the castle in a truly horrifying scene that was difficult to watch. After holding her hostage while attempting to find Francis (Toby Regbo), one man, whose child died in last week's episode, raped Mary while another soldier held her down.
Eventually, she was able to grab one of their weapons and escape before the second man could also sexually assault her. But still, viewers witnessed the rape in its entirety, leading us to wonder if Reign went too far.
There have been reports that the real Mary, Queen of Scots, was raped during her rule in the 16th Century, and Reign wouldn't be the first series to tackle the sensitive subject matter (Sons of Anarchy, Scandal, Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey are some of the more recent shows), but viewers seem particularly upset with the way Reign chose to film the scene (slow-mo with close-ups) and handle the assault's aftermath.
Though she chose to share what had happened to her with Francis and Catherine (Megan Follows), Mary otherwise chose to remain silent about her assault, though she asked Francis to find the men responsible and kill them. Instead, she put her people and countries before herself, due in large part to a powerful speech from Catherine.
"Do this for you and for Francis and for Scotland and for France," the former Queen told her, adding that the men "tried to diminish a king tonight by degrading a queen."
Mary then stood before her subjects, letting them know the Protestants had failed and she was untouched. (Let us take a moment to bow down to Adelaide Kane for her performance in this episode. What a force she is.)
Word of the controversial storyline leaked online a few months ago, with fans calling forReign to remove the scene from the episode. A petition, called "No Rape on Reign," was even started.
"It didn't surprise me or concern me that people said, 'Please don't do this.' It would really concern me if they said, 'Please do,'" showrunner Laurie McCarthy toldEW.com. "Really, what are people going to say about a character that they love? I love her too. I do, I love her too! And I love her strength, but I also feel that the heart of this show really lies in how much power they have and how vulnerable they are."
Do you think Reign went too far in tonight's episode? Sound off in the comments now.
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