Iloverrary

I love F/B being brothers again. It was a beautiful sight to see.

sourburst

I love how

b4dark

exactly.

Regbo Girl

I love that they're back to the relationship of trust they had at the beginning

sourburst

I just love the dynamics of these two

b4dark

We're close to the Pilot dynamic, finally! Except now they're not carefree anymore, and married! I loved this episode so much. Hope we have more moments like these

firewall

Yes! They're able to commiserate about their respective wives and be honest about their troubles. No hint of worry or jealousy from Francis. His faith in his big brother has been fully restored.

It's really great to see their relationship mended. I hope it's never broken again.

Honestly--and I know I'll get dirty looks for saying this--that scene made me think that in the future Francis might ask Bash to "take care" of Mary in the event of his death.

b4dark

Hmm never thought of this possibility, I know this show is fast but I don't know how it can play in the remaining 4 episodes. Unless Francis has to go somewhere.

It would be interesting since Bash wouldn't want to hurt Kenna and yet would still try to do the right thing by his brother.

sourburst

From who? That seems very likely as Bash is the only one who can.

lemon tart

Why, Rachel? A request like that isn't necessarily meant to be romantic, in fact it's usually not. It's about him trusting Bash again with what is most precious to him on this earth and that's Mary. Especially as Bash's likely married to Kenna.

To me a request like that's about family.

sourburst

It's still a big possibility though.

lemon tart

If he's still married? I doubt it, given he's falling for Kenna currently and will very likely soon love her. Plus, Francis knows if he dies Mary will more than likely go back to Scotland. Which Bash & Kenna could do, given she's from there, her family still lives there and such.

I mean I don't care if Mary & Bash choose to become romantically involved if Francis and Kenna are dead. But the point wasn't about romance, it was about asking someone to look after someone you love after you die, and that's generally not a romantic request. It has a lot more to do with trust in the person you're making the request of and love of the person you're making the request about. Which I think Francis could very well do.

I mean he can see - as the audience can - that Bash has (a) moved past his fixation on Mary - and fixation is mild language given Bash was trying to ruin MF marriage at the first opportunity and accusing Francis of trying to murder him without having bothered to investigate anything. As Francis said, he was a convenient villain since that justified all of Bash's other resentments. But Bash is over that and accepts the truth and wants to move on, as he told Francis in 16. (B) Francis now can see Bash actually moving on and beginning to fall for his own wife - Kenna - in the last episode. Francis knows all too well finding a person irritating is part of the process of falling in love - it's about them effecting you.

Clearly Francis no longer feels at all jealous or threatened by Bash re Mary, or he wouldn't talk about her or their relationship with Bash. But he did, about problems, even.

I mean I wouldn't be surprised if when Francis heads off to war in 20 - as the TVGuide blurb indicates he does - if he asks Bash to look after Mary. Does that mean that he's asking Bash to sleep with his wife? Or make romantic overtures to her while he's away at war? No. It means he knows she'll be worried about him, that he could actually be killed causing Mary grief and pain. It's about trust - trusting someone enough to entrust the care of the person who matters most to you into their hands. Which says something profound about Francis & Bash's relationship, not Mary & Bash's.

Frankly I don't think Francis would care if Mary & Bash were romantically involved after his death. He loves Mary enough to want her to live a happy life even if he's not the one to share it - as we've already seen. I doubt he would want her to grieve him the rest of her life - though we know from history she did.

firewall

Sorry to be controversial. It was because of the "that's why she wanted to marry you" conversation. The result of that is that Francis knows that Bash would be the perfect candidate to look out for Mary if Francis wasn't around to do it himself. In a world where her life is constantly in danger and everyone wants something from her, who better than someone who would put her first and never ask for anything in return? If Francis ever knew his death was imminent I could totally see this moment happening because A) I initially assumed that Bash's purpose was to be there post-Francis (although, as it turns out he had a more immediate purpose in allowing Mary a choice), B) it's an oft-used trope C) it'd make anything that happened between MB thereafter more palatable because they'd have "Francis' blessing" and D) Francis is that type of guy, who loves Mary enough to ensure her happiness and safety even when he's not there to provide it, personally.

And I didn't mean it in the strictly romantic sense, but a statement like that could surely hold romantic undertones. Pushing two people together, even platonically, can often result in them becoming romantic. So, as I said, if Francis ever made this statement, he'd be giving his blessing in a way. But, since Bash is married to Kenna, it probably would have to be presented as a platonic thing. And it would add drama to KB's relationship either way, which this show thrives on, so it's even more sure why I think they'd go there.

Exactly. See my reason "D" above. It'd be very much in Francis' nature to want Mary with someone who would keep her safe and look out for her wellbeing. Someone who wouldn't have a political agenda for her.

Unfortunately, even if this does happen on the show, we know Francis' wishes wouldn't be upheld because Mary would end up with Darnley and then Bothwell, both of whom most certainly do NOT have Mary's best interests at heart. She is destined to live a dark and tragic life post-Francis and there's nothing Bash or anyone else can do to change that..

Freckles87

I've just realized that I'm not on the list, can I be added, please? I love these 2 idiots.

b4dark

I didn't think your statement is controversial it is pretty logical even; Francis knows his life is constantly at risk, and so is Mary's. If he has to leave her/knows he is dying, he knows Bash is the person who loves her the most after him and he is also Mary's second best. So of course, he'd want him beside her.

Since Bash is married now, it will be awkward, comfort is a tricky thing. I doubt this show will last long enough to move to Scotland, but the way they fly through storylines we might see Mary's second and third husband in s2

I can see the show ending with Mary choosing a political marriage (Bothwell) over Bash, because she would do anything for Scotland.