Top 10 Shocking Reign Moments

It might not be law, but it’s an unwritten rule that you’re not supposed to get with your friend’s ex. This surprising encounter happens shortly after Francis is forced to step down as heir to France. Francis runs into Lola, Mary’s lady in waiting, at a tavern, who’s there to pay off her brother’s debt. Unable to do so, Lola finds herself at risk of paying the debt with her flesh, when Francis boldly intervenes. The two end up spending the night together and things get steamy. For the lady and the ex-prince, it’s a night where they can forget their social standings in society and just be themselves.

Mary is married to Francis, but that doesn’t stop Louis, Prince of Condé, from declaring his love for the Scottish queen. What starts as friendship quickly turns into more after an attack on the castle leaves Mary feeling vulnerable. The more Mary distances herself from Francis, the closer she gets to Condé, whose own feelings for her only grow. In fact they grow to the point where Condé is willing to risk treason by consummating his and Mary’s physical relationship. All this just to prove to Mary that he is loyal to her and no one else. But hey, all’s fair in love and war.

King Henry was literally dying to participate in the jousting tournament he hosted. It was no secret that Henry was losing his marbles after he began shamelessly killing innocents by the boatload. So when he got a lance to the eye, it shocked the crowd, but many saw it as a welcome relief that the mad king was dead. Now his level-headed son would take over. What no one counted on though was that the jouster who went against Henry was not Lord Montgomery, but secretly Francis in disguise. He snuck into the tournament with the intent to kill his father to save the country from the whims of a madman. Long live the king.

The old saying ‘if you love something, set it free’ seems to hold true, at least for Mary. She fears that she’ll be the cause of Francis’s death, as Nostradamus prophesized. So in order to save him, Mary asks that royal bastard Bash be legitimized by the church so he can take Francis’ place as king of France. As unromantic as it sounds, Mary and Bash did share a brief drunken spark when Mary first arrived at French court. As Mary insists that Bash be legitimized, the sparks turn into flames and Bash proposes to Mary. Unfortunately for Bash, it only leaves him burned as Mary does return to Francis in the end.

Princess Claude’s arrival at French court causes a lot of upsets for many people, Bash being one of them. Claude toys and teases Bash with her flirtations, which make him understandably uncomfortable, as they should - considering the two are half-siblings - a fact that Bash only became aware of after he and Claude hooked up several times. Of course, he ended things as soon as he found out the truth of their lineage. But it’s something Claude likes to continuously throw in his face, especially since she knew what their real relationship to each other was the whole time. And while there’s nothing like sisterly love, this is taking things too far.

Don Carlos gets more than a kink in the neck when he tries to get kinky with Mary. Before proposing to her, Carlos reveals that he likes it rough and wants to do a test drive, to which Mary agrees. A little nervous about the whole ordeal, Mary asks Catherine to help her. When Carlos finds out, he freaks - and while running away, he falls and impales himself on his sex horse. Assumed dead, Mary and Catherine are shocked to see Carlos walking minutes later, albeit handicapped. However, Carlos recovers in secret as part of a plot to kill Mary. Fortunately Mary catches wind of the plans and tricks Carlos into revealing the truth.

Nothing says marital bliss like marriage at gunpoint, or rather... swordpoint in this case. When she first arrived at French court, Kenna immediately caught King Henry’s eye and became his mistress, causing conflict with Diane, Henry’s other mistress, and Catherine, his wife. So, in the midst of his madness, Henry finds a way to kill two birds with one stone - he has Kenna marry Bash. That way, Kenna would no longer be connected to him in anyway, and Bash, who had feelings for Mary, would no longer be a threat to Francis. While there are usually tears at a wedding, the ones shed at this ceremony have nothing to do with joy.

While moonlight flowing through your window can certainly set the mood, having your lover fall out of it is likely to kill the moment… and her. When a prominent Archduke stays at court, Henry takes his wife – the Archduchess - as a mistress. While in the throes of passion one night, Henry has his lover pinned against the window. Unfortunately, when said window opens suddenly, Henry can only watch in shock as his lover falls to her death. Now he not only has to hide an affair, but also cover up a homicide as well. In this case, he needn’t worry about his mistress talking. Her corpse however, is another story.

While loyalty is admired, it can also get you killed. When Lola receives a forged note in Mary’s handwriting asking her to kill Elizabeth, Lola agrees to do it, despite her reservations. When it fails, Lola is left as the obvious culprit and is sentenced to death. In the moments leading up to Lola’s execution, you can’t help but think that Queen Elizabeth will call it off. After all, Lola and Elizabeth did become close friends. Plus Lola has a child and Elizabeth knows firsthand the irreversible damage of beheadings, having lost her own mother the same way. But nevertheless, the axe falls and Lola’s head rolls.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Catherine’s Secret Daughter Is Revealed
“Royal Blood”

Greer Chooses Castleroy Over Leith
“Blood for Blood”

Catherine Kills Diane
“Banished”

Even a queen can fall victim to gruesome violence. When Protestants storm the castle to exact their revenge on Francis, they find Mary instead. One of the assassins pins her to the ground and rapes her before handing her to another rebel to be killed, but Mary manages to grab onto a makeshift club and fight her way free. While the writers hoped that Mary would provide a strong role model for rape victims, the scene was the subject of much criticism and drew accusations of using rape as a plot device. Whichever side of the argument you stand on… there’s no denying that this scene was downright shocking to witness.