As this blog moves into the twenty-first century, Mary Stuart's historical narrative continues to be re-shaped and examined in a more modern lens. As this blog has discussed, Mary Stuart has been at the forefront of cultural depictions in all different mediums throughout the centuries. The twenty-first century is no exception, especially with the development of "historical" TV dramas. Early modern figures have been the basis for popular TV shows. There have been numerous shows produced within the last twenty years that utilize early modern history for entertainment: Showtime's series The Tudors (2007-2010) and The Borgias (2011-2013), even Netflix's series Medici: Master of Florence -- later known as Medici: The Magnificent -- (2016-2019). These shows follow early modern figures like Henry VIII and his wives, the powerful Pope Alexander VI and his family, and Cosimo de' Medici as he transforms Florence -- all with a modern, sexy flare of entertainment. This entertainment, however, lends itself to highly fictionalized accounts of the past. These fictionalized accounts pose as a threat for many historians, as they redirect the historical narrative from the evidence-based historical consensus. The CW's Reign (2013-2017) is no exception to this fictionalized past presented globally on television screens. Despite the historical inaccuracies, Reign brings to the table the beginning of a new refreshing narrative for Mary Stuart. This blog post will examine the portrayal of women in Reign and how they have influenced the show’s popularity. In addition this post will consider the effect this series had on Mary Stuart's historical narrative using television reviews and Elena Woodacre’s chapter “Early Modern Queens on Screen: Victors, Victims, Villains, Virgins, and Viragoes.”
(Trailer for season one of Reign --beginning at 0:42 ending at 4:39-- , found on YouTube.com)
Reign is categorized as an American historical romantic TV drama. It first aired in 2013 and stars Adelaide Kaine (Mary Stuart), Toby Regbo (Francis II of France), and Megan Follows (Catherine de' Medici). Reign showcases the life of a young Mary Stuart -- as a review by T.L Stanley puts it --as "she leaves a country convent and heads to the French royal court, where an arranged marriage to Prince Francis awaits her. She’ll also find sexy palace intrigue, a prickly mother-in-law and a handsome distraction, Francis’ illegitimate half brother."¹ In four seasons, the CW exploited the early modern queen to create a fictionalized account of her life that is full of romance, drama, and even a little bit of magic. Tim Goodman's review of the show from The Hollywood Reporter describes the show as follows: "Reign brings historical absurdism to new levels and reveals just how dumb The CW must think its audience is to accept such fantasy as fact because real history is "hard" -- especially for a girl. In short, The CW is ruining the country."² “Some reviewers and viewers may grapple with the obvious fact that Reign is not an accurate representation of Mary Stuart's life. From the sexy depiction of Nostradamus reciting prophecies about the royals, to the flashy prom dresses that the women in the show are seen sporting as Renaissance dress, it is clear that the show was not meant to be considered an accurate historical recreation. The show received mixed reviews, but nonetheless carried a huge following -- especially among young girls -- until it's end in 2017. There was even a petition circulating the internet to renew the show after the announcement of its cancellation. So why, despite the shows large inaccuracies, did the show succeed the way that it did?
(image: Reign TV Poster, found on IMDb.com)
The success can be found in the modern depiction of Mary Stuart and the female figures around her. Reign has a largely female cast: from Mary Stuart herself, Catherine de' Medici, Mary's ladies-in-waiting (Kenna, Lola, and Greer), and even Queen Elizabeth I of England in the later seasons. The plot focuses almost entirely on these women, with the men -- Francis II, his fictionalized bastard brother Sebastian, and King Henry III -- simply adding flare to the plots. Reign sets itself apart from other 'historical' dramas, like The Tudors, The Borgias, and The Medici, simply because of its prominent female characters. Catherine Maw describes this aspect of the show in her review titled "Year of the Woman – Reign". Maw states, "Reign mixes a delicious amount of fantasy with history which makes it impossible to resist. Most importantly, it’s a show that celebrates the strength, resilience and solidarity between its female characters."³ The influence of early third-wave feminism is apparent in Reign. Compared to the earlier depictions discussed in this blog of Mary Stuart, Reign stands out in its effort to show Mary as a woman with agency. Mary Stuart is shown as an independent and intelligent young woman who is constantly exercising her free will. Her ladies-in-waiting offer Mary a support group and a sense of sisterhood. Reign does not leave out the issues that plagued women in the Renaissance like the inability to own property, finding a husband, and even having significant control over ones future. Reign does, however, showcase these women coming out on top of their struggles. Lacy Baugher's review "The Most Important Thing That The CW’s Reign Got Right: Its Women," describes that these women are three-dimensional characters and "it embraced the depiction of women as powerful political players, in a world where history is generally written by men."⁴ This sense of independence and agency appeals to a younger audience -- especially young girls -- which kept the show alive. In addition to this, the women even convey an attitude of sexual freedom and sexual power.
Early modern ruling queens were often presented as sexual objects in a way that was not experienced by male rulers. The Tudors and The Borgias are no exceptions to this. Both shows convey countless scenes of nudity and sex that is often reduced to the sexualization of the women involved. They are often objects present to curb men's desires. Reign, however, uses sex in a different way. Reign does convey sexual relationships between the characters. The characters go about their relationships freely without much of an involvement of reputation or religion that is often associated with depictions of early modern women. The sexual romances present are used as tools for entertainment and appeal to the fantasy of love, rather than used as way degrade a woman's character in the show. Mary Stuart is seen having a complex love-triangle between Francis II and his half-brother Sebastian, however the show does not use this as a way to degrade Mary's character. Rather, the use of romance and sex is expertly designed by the directors to appeal to a young audience who might be more apt to fantasize about love and romance. The sexual freedom given to Mary and those around her offer a more subdued and whimsical interpretation of sex and relationships in the Renaissance. In other words, the relationships between the women and the men are more equal and the romance is reciprocated, which promotes a more empowered message for a younger audiences who are becoming curious about relationships.
Unlike The Tudors and The Borgias, Reign does not show any nudity, which saves the female characters from being reduced to a sexualized version of themselves. The women in the show cannot be sexualized thus lending themselves to more agency. More importantly, Mary Stuart appears using her attractive nature as a powerful tool to gain power. The biggest example of this can be seen in season four when Mary and Elizabeth are both fighting for Lord Darnley's hand in marriage. However, Mary is not fighting for love, but rather access to Darnley’s position in the line of succession to English throne. Elena Woodacre discusses this power dynamic with the female body in her chapter "Early Modern Queens on Screen: Victors, Victims, Villains, Virgins, and Viragoes." Woodacre states that "a woman's possession of an attractive and highly sexualized body can be seen as both a source of power and a questionable asset that is under constant scrutiny and criticism by others"⁵ Reign challenges the idea that the female body is criticized by others by representing the women in a strong position. Mary Stuart is not seen utilizing her body to gain the attention of a male figure or be subservient to a man's power, rather she is seen using her attractiveness to further her political power. Reign promotes this idea of empowerment with Mary Stuart and the women around her by showing the audience that women can use their sexuality as a source of freedom and power, rather than as a tool to conform to male power.
The CW's Reign signals a new, transforming narrative of Mary Stuart that is refreshingly new for young girls as this blog moves into the twenty-first century. Mary Stuart is presented as a young women just entering adulthood as she learns to navigate the political world of queenhood, appealing to the audience of high school and college-aged girls who may be trying to navigate within their own realm of adulthood and responsibility. The predominately female cast and the depiction of strong, female leading characters cultivated the TV show’s success. Mary Stuart's narrative has shifted from a character full of patriarchal tragedy and one that begs for audiences sympathy, to a narrative that is strongly independent, full of agency and sisterhood. Although Reign is hardly historically accurate, it provides the basic narrative from her marriage to Francis II, her relationship to Queen Elizabeth, and even ending in her execution. However, the lack of accuracy can be disregarded as Reign paved the way for a new narrative that positions early modern queens like Mary Stuart as figures that cultivate feminist thinking in young girls and convey a positive message of historical female empowerment. Just as Jean Plaidy and Philippa Gregory’s novels do, for young girls interested in the lives of queens, Reign offers an entertaining way to engage interest without relying on a sexist or degrading image of ruling women. Notably, Reign’s narrative presenting Mary Stuart as a strong willed queen full of agency continues to evolve and appears again in the latest modern depictions of her.
Endnotes:
¹ T.L Stanley, "Reign hopes to seduce teens with its tales of Mary Queen of Scots," Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2013. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-reign-mary-queen-of-scotts-20130915-story.html
² Tim Goodman, "Reign: TV Review", The Hollywood Reporter, October 14, 2013. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/reign-tv-review-648214
³ Catherine Maw, "Year of the Woman -- Regin," The Courier, March 5, 2018. http://www.thecourieronline.co.uk/year-of-the-woman-reign/
⁴ Lacy Baugher, "The Most Important Thing That The CW’s Reign Got Right: Its Women," The Mary Sue, May 10, 2017. https://www.themarysue.com/what-reign-got-right/
⁵ Elena Woodacre, "Early Modern Queens on Screen: Victors, Victims, Villians, Virgins, and Viragoes," in Premodern Rulers and Postmodern Viewers Gender, Sex, and Power in Popular Culture (Cham, CH: Palgrave Macmillin, 2018) 39.
Comments