Distributor: Warner Home Video
Episodes: 18
Duration: 40 min. (per episode)
Reign: Season 3 (DVD) – Series Review
It hasn’t been that long since the second season of Reign was released on DVD, and now, roughly four months later we already have the chance to present you with our opinion of the third season, which didn’t do all too well when it came to viewer ratings. Nonetheless, don’t worry, this isn’t the last season (yet) as the creators are able to continue the adventure of Mary, queen of Scots in a fourth season, albeit with a longer pause between the seasons, and it will only be aired when no other major series is airing. That being said, you will still have the third season on DVD to make the wait more manageable.
Mary (Adelaide Kane) has found herself reborn now that she and Francis (Toby Regbo) have decided to leave the past behind them and move forward again as one loving and happy team. Of course, this doesn’t mean that all problems have been solved, as Catherine (Megan Follows) is currently aiding the English queen Elizabeth (Rachel Skarsten) to conquer Scotland, thus taking away Mary’s power. This new alliance doesn’t really last that long, seeing Catherine ends up in the dungeons at French court rather quickly when she resurfaces on French soil.
Even though everything seems to be heading towards the right direction for the beloved royal couple, Francis is still ill, and it seems he has an incurable disease, thus his time left on this Earth is quite limited. Not wanting to give up, Mary looks for remedies or healers who might be able to help her beloved husband. Meanwhile Catherine is still trying to influence people from the depths of the dungeons. Nonetheless, Narcisse (Craig Parker) decides to finally make his move on Lola (Anna Popplewell) now that Catherine is out of the picture. Even though Narcisse had a thing for Lola in the past, he went for ‘pleasuring’ Catherine, in order to profit from her power, as he was stripped of his by Francis due to his dubious practices.
All of this goes accompanied by the hunt for a murderer who has killed countless people, forcing Bash (Torrance Coombs) to request the aid of Delphine (Alexandra Ordolis) who has strange powers. Finding Delphine might prove difficult, as she is currently being hunted because people think she’s a witch and a murderer.
The flow of this season is rather fast and chaotic, as there were four episodes less to wrap up the season, compared to the first two seasons of the show. Nonetheless, this quicker flow is quite likeable, as there is more suspense, a lot more events going on, which boosts the series, which was not bad for the most part, but sometimes a bit too slow and dull. Even though it’s clear that this season revolves around Mary and the problems in Scotland, the ‘side stories’ are all tied together with the main plot, and they prove to be extremely exciting. Overall these eighteen episodes feel more brutal, more adult and simply a lot more interesting. One thing proves to be an issue though, as this season suffers from the same problem that pestered The Vampire Diaries at a certain time, where sex seemed to be a lot more important than story value.
Acting performances remain constant in comparison with the previous seasons, as there haven’t been any significant changes cast wise. Only Rachel Skarsten is getting a lot more screen time this season, and she plays out her role as queen Elizabeth quite admirably. She does a great job in portraying a whimsical, ruthless and determined character. Craig Parker, who plays Narcisse, also becomes a lot more relevant again, as he is gaining more and more power again, perhaps even more than he originally had. Of course, the rest of the cast still provides very entertaining performances.
The DVD release of the third season of Reign comes with absolutely no extras, which is a downright shame. Even though the series itself stands decently on its own, the previous boxes had fun additional content about how the series was filmed, how a day on the set was like, interesting featurettes about the many beautiful costumes used, or even the décor building, which makes it feel as if there was a lot more of the series to explore, rather than offer nothing that would add some extra value to your purchase.
Conclusion
Reign: Season 3 takes a pinch of what made Season 2 slightly better than the first one, and shows that series can become better over time, rather than lose its momentum. You’ll be treated to a lot of interesting relations, many bloody battles, murderers, the occult and of course, a beautiful lead actress who knows what she is doing. The only setback of this last release is the fact that is comes with no extra features. Nonetheless, if you loved the previous seasons, this one will not disappoint.
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