Social Media Interviews

## TVLine.com - Craig Parker

**TVLINE - I know we met Narcisse last week, but in your own words, can you introduce us to him?**
He’s incredibly rich, richer than the royals. He runs France quietly behind the scenes. When King Henry was king, Lord Narcisse worked with him, funded him, kept the crown going. He’s used to real, quiet power. He enters a new Court with the old king dead, and I think he sees the need to teach this boy how to be a king, how to run things the way he wants them to be run.
**TVLINE - And he’s no fan of Mary’s.**
Oh, of course. His child has just been murdered by Mary Stuart, so there’s a very personal agenda going on as well. The new queen is in his sights.
**TVLINE - Narcisse is being described as the “big bad” this season. Is that fair?**
I wouldn’t say he’s a villain, exactly. The lovely thing about this show is that every script adds a new layer to this person. He definitely does monstrous things and has no guilt about doing what’s necessary, but there’s also a very human side to him. You never quite know how genuine he’s being. He’s a very good liar.
**TVLINE - I’m told told Narcisse has a healthy sexual appetite. Can you confirm?**
He definitely has a heart, and he’s looking for a woman that he can love and who can love him. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of scar tissue and monstrous behavior in his past, so the woman he’s going to find that with is going to have to be rather extraordinary. It’s fascinating what happens when his heart is revealed. Right now, he’s having an interesting time with one of the wonderful actresses on the show. It’s odd; it involves a lot of bathing, which is all I can say.
**TVLINE - You sound like you’re describing Catherine to a T. What can we expect from those two?**
Well, there is a relationship there between Narcisse and Catherine. They’ve known each other for years, they’ve seen each other do terrible things and they know the other is a shark — but there’s an attraction there, as well. (Megan Follows and I) had a number of scenes together when we were on location in Ireland, and we were holding looks and trying to throw as much as we could toward the writers for them to pick up on. I think that relationship will develop, but I’m not quite sure how. I’m not sure how twisted and awful and monstrous and wrong it may be, but it will definitely be fun. They’re like two velociraptors; it’s going to be glorious.

## TVLine.com - Adelaide Kane & Laurie McCarthy

**BABY BLUES:**
Don’t be fooled by the cuteness of Francis and Lola’s baby; that thing is trouble. “As the season progresses, having the child around becomes more of an unspoken pressure for Mary Stuart as she fails to conceive,” Adelaide Kane says. “It’s a glaring reminder of her failing in what is essentially her only duty as a queen, which is to bear sons and continue the succession. The longer that takes, the more heavily it’s going to weigh on her and become a divisive factor in her relationship with Francis. … If they ever stop sharing a bed, there’s trouble on the horizon.”
**MO KASH, MO ‘PROBLEMS’:**
Expect big things — but not always good things — from Sebastian in Season 2. “He will eventually become the *King’s Deputy*, the strongman for the king, which is a great position if the king is doing really well,” Laurie McCarthy explains. “But if the king is making mistakes and you’re the muscle for those mistakes, it can be really dangerous.” As for what’ll happen between Bash and Kenna, McCarthy says the same qualities we love about Kenna — she’s “lovely, charming, warm (and) incredibly ambitious” — will also “cause some problems” for them down the line.
**GHOST WORLD:**
Speaking of Sebastian, are you wondering why he was the one to see that ghost in the premiere? McCarthy chalks it up to his exhaustion and the fact that his paganism leaves him more open to suggestion. That said, the ghost’s warning is not to be taken lightly. “The land is unstable, and people who have gotten away with murder might not get away with it for so long,” she says. (Heads up, Francis and Catherine!)
**HEY DUDES:**
The premiere’s two newcomers,

## TheWrap's “Drinking With the Stars - Adelaide Kane

"*I really want her to just pitch a fit*"
—**Adelaide Kane's** advice to Mary Stuart

During interview for a new episode of ***TheWrap‘s** Drinking With the Stars*, Adelaide Kane revealed that Mary will always try to do the right thing, but the fact that Francis *(Toby Regbo)* now has an illegitimate child with her lady-in-waiting Lola *(Anna Popplewell)* will be a source of tension for the newly-crowned rulers of France.
“It's pretty much her only job, to get pregnant and have babies,” Kane said of Mary's royal duties. “Having the baby around is almost rubbing her nose in the fact that she hasn't had a child yet, and that's going to be very painful for her.”
Meanwhile, Mary hasn't forgotten about what led to this whole mess in the first place — Francis and Lola sleeping together. “She's trying to make the best of it with Lola, Lola's still her friend,” said Kane. “It's been brought up with Francis once or twice, but I think there's still a conversation that needs to happen. Maybe a few glasses should be thrown and a casual slap across the face is required. She hasn't blown up about it yet and I really want her to!”
Mary's unrelenting nobleness in the face of all adversity has Kane wanting the queen of France and Scotland to blow off some steam. “I want to break something,” Kane joked. “Everyone else gets to break things and I never get to break anything … I want to have an episode where she's channeling Queen Catherine *(Megan Follows)* and is all sassy.”
Kane also discussed what she calls the show's “stealth feminism,” by referring to the checklist which highlights gender bias in media.
“We pass the Bechdel test almost every week!” she cheered. “Not many shows can do that, not many movies can do that, full stop. We get a lot of flack for being, essentially, a costume melodrama — we're a little soapy and campy, which is okay, I love it — *but I have to say we're like a stealth feminist show. We also have really healthy, normalized versions of female sexuality*.”
The show is also known for scenes of Mary taking charge and Francis taking a back seat, which Kane revealed she's discovered fans are really into. “There are a couple of great gifsets on Tumblr of those scenes,” she laughed. “Where Francis is like ‘So turned on right now.’ Every time Mary exercises her power, Francis is so into it! He's like, ‘Yeah, that's my woman!'”
**Reign airs every Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on M3, and Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.**