drunkalice

I wouldn't have sent him instead of Francis, but it would have made sense for Bash to go with him. Actually it would have made sense for the King to go as well. Besides, Bash seems to be in charge of the Darkness mission and in any case I don't see how it's Kenna's fault if he's not heading to war.

firewall

From a selfish Francis-fan standpoint, I completely agree. From a logic standpoint, not so much.

But since we can all agree Francis will be coming back from this battle--probably as a hero-- I can't say I'm not extremely excited to see him out on that battlefield, leading his men.

Iloverrary

I disagree. Bash main focus is the darkness so I get what he stay behind. Also I get why the king didn't go either. Everyone knows he's going mad. So I get why francis is taking the lead with the army.

drunkalice

I know that, but apparently not everyone else does (Mary's uncle seems to have spies), and considering how conquery the king is feeling I really thought he'd at least try to go. But yeah, surely I didn't want him to.

Iloverrary

You have a good point.

makeitreign

I'm with you. I thought Bash was a soldier. Wasn't that mentioned before?

ale-la-pazza1

That's what I'm thinking

b4dark

Yes, when funky italian count sieged the castle Bash didn't go with Henry and the army; I do not think it was really a war but it was hinted by Diane or Catherine/Mary that it was weird that Bash didn't go since he used to fight alongside Henry.

Kenna really made it, I wonder if the writers did it on purpose?

Having both brothers go would have made it more plausible for me than having Francis go himself without a bodyguard/someone to look after him; But I understand they wanted to develop KB dynamic a bit, which I'm not against.

There's another reason why it bothers me: Bash appears very, very selfish: there's a major crisis in his country (he must know since he visited his castle/land) and although he had made it clear he wasn't into politics, his brother is very concerned by that. So at least a word or two about it would have been nice.

I know it's mainly because too much is crammed into each episode, and the FM angst was a big part of it but I can't get used to it, it's still frustrating.

drunkalice

While I agree it does make him appear selfish, I also think it's not too surprising: all the characters in this show seem to agree that had he been king he would have made quite an awful one. He would have probably left France to rot if Mary had asked. He's a just man, but he doesn't seem to be interested in any of this stuff.

b4dark

^ Yeah, but at that moment Francis wasn't a part of his life anymore; the crisis concerns his brother directly so I have a hard time believing he wouldn't even care and that Francis has to go ALONE too.

OH and I'd love Kenna to be involved into Bash Darkness storyline in some way. It can only draw them closer, and he will have to tell her about his pagan ties eventually.

drunkalice

Actually I've been wondering, is it what Catherine meant when she yelled at Mary that Bash was a man with secrets?

shebacs

I'm putting this out here, what if Bash tells Kenna his pagan beliefs and Kenna is converted? What if Kenna somehow involves Mary and the other ladies about it? What if Kenna tells Bash that Lola is carrying Francis' child? What will Bash do?

What if this Darkness is another noble birth that was cast away?

What if this Darkness, this man, is a malformed child of Henry and Catherine? The real firstborn of Henry and Catherine? The malformed older twin of Francis? You know, borrowing plot from Alexandre Dumas' Man in the Iron Mask?

And what if 'pagan mysticism' has touched Mary and that's why she couldn't get pregnant?

LostInTheSun

Well your imagination certainly is running wild.

enchantedstarlight

This episode was amazing. The writers really need to slow down, though. Francis' death is already looming, we do not need to get to that quickly by having all these unnecessary time jumps.

UM, so Frary was everything in this episode. "Do not talk to my wife that way. She's a queen and an ally." Francis standing up to the crazy Henry and defending his wife is And him deciding to go to Scotland and THAT KISS. And the morning after bed scene. "I think maybe when I return, you won't be the only one waiting for me." AND "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. BECAUSE I AM YOUR WIFE." AND "COME BACK TO ME." And then Francis looking back at her as he leaves.

That ends the rambling mess portion of my review.

Kennash was amazing too. Their sex scene was and I love what they were saying to each other - to forget everyone they've been with and just think of each other.

The Catherine-Henry-Francis scenes were hilarious. Henry just keeps getting crazier with each passing episode.

Peppercorn is the sweetest. Wanting to give Greer's sisters their dowry, wanting them to marry them for love, standing up to her father...

Penelope continues to be a pointless character. Did they really need to keep her around for this episode?

Ceruleannight

Loved hearing your thoughts on the episode, Amanda! I agree 100% all of it!

The writers must have felt like they needed to close out Penelope's story line or they are hoping to bring her back next season as one of Catherine's Flying squad. To give us more of a look into it... Which could be interesting but also kind of yuck. What do you think?