'Reign': Everyone Learns to Settle in Love

Thursday's Reign, "Toy Soldiers," saw some big political moves, and a tiny bit of actual history. France has to decide how much support (if any) to offer Mary's mother in Scotland when she's under attack. England declares that Elizabeth will be its next ruler, not Mary, Queen of Scots. But even huge historical and political moments take a backseat to love and drama because, well, it's Reign . That's okay, though, since Mary's ladies-in-waiting were in dire need of a little character development.

Unfortunately for those ladies, its hard to tell if the developments are good or just a little sad. Love lives took center stage tonight, with every girl learning to love the man she's stuck with and give up on the man we thought she loved or what she's claimed to want (insert slanty-frown emoticon here).

Kenna

Bash decides that he's over not being into his marriage to Kenna. Instead of moping around like two people forced into marriage, they're going to make the most of it! Instead of fretting over her past lovers (namely, his father, the King of France), he's going to be the best lover she's ever had (EVER) and make her forget everyone else even existed. Though I applaud Bash's very conscious decision to work through his jealousy issues in regards to Kenna's past, it's hard to tell if he's being sexy-pillow-talk-guy or creepy-possessive-guy when he says forgetting her lovers isn't enough and he needs her to forget every man who's so much as smiled at her.

For what it's worth, Bash's super lover approach works. He's generous in bed with her. He cares about her sexual needs. But when it comes time to fulfill her emotional needs and promise that he's totally with her (read between the lines: Not. With. Mary.) when they make love, you can definitely sense the lie. Still, props to Bash and Kenna for trying to work it out, considering nothing else is really isn't on the table for them, given the circumstances. Also, they make a hotter couple than you might expect, once they stop obsessing about the royals they can't have. If they can really let go of the people they thought they wanted, they might just have a chance at happiness.

Greer

Greer has lost the presumed love of her life, castle servant boy Leith, and agreed to marry the wealthy and kind, but older and not super attractive, Lord Castleroy. This week, her love for Castleroy blooms as he proves just how dedicated he is to treating her fairly and providing for her family, particularly her sisters. Basically, Greer's family plans to marry off as many of the female children as possible to wealthy suitors to improve their position. Greer has something like four younger sisters that will be married off after her. Castleroy offers to fund their dowries (which will lead to better, wealthier husbands) on the condition that Greer has the final say in who they marry, instead of their father. This, he says, will ensure that they get to marry for love and not just be sold off to the man who will help their family the most.

Naturally, Greer is moved by this act of kindness, which is kind of huge for the time. He also gives her her own marriage contract to approve and she realizes she loves him a little bit after all.

The question: Is this romantic love or the appreciative kind of platonic love you'd feel for anyone who did you such a kindness? Only time will tell, but Greer has always been so certain of her (lack of) feelings for Castleroy that it's a little hard to believe.

Mary

Mary and Francis ended last week's episode in an epic fight that concluded with Mary locked in a tower. This week's episode starts a month later and things have cooled down, but they're still not great. Marriage hasn't been the best for Frary's relationship. She's having a hard time conceiving and she doesn't feel that he takes her leadership or her country as seriously as he should. Underneath it all, they both seem determined to make the relationship work, but the innocence and purity of their love has definitely been replaced by the very real problems that come along with being not just husband and wife, but king and queen as well. Mary's settling might be of a different kind – if she ever stops fighting with Francis about Scotland for the sake of her marriage (and at the expense of her country).

Lola

And as for Lola, she's still pregnant and still happy enough. Her marriage problems run deeper than false feelings or even important fights. We know that her husband has a big secret and a habit for losing wives. Eek.

Image: The CW