The new trailer starts with the end of Mary Stuart's story - her execution after 19 years of captivity in England. What a plot twist it could have been for those who have never heard of Mary, Queen of Scots and her rivalry with Elizabeth I (and by that I mean mainstream audiences, people from outside the UK who never studied British history in depth and those who don't remember much about Medieval Britain).
Now, the trailer reveals almost everything: Mary's intentions for keeping peace (with the help of her army in case Elizabeth doesn't agree voluntary to keep it), Elizabeth's doubts and hesitation to be rid of sister monarch, the English queen manipulated by her own advisors, the birth of James (spoiler alert: who later did become the first ruler of both England and Scotland), Mary's bitter relationship with her second husband Lord Darnley, and the Protestant leader John Knox opposing her as a Catholic queen on Scottish throne.
The trailer does touch on the unrest in both countries regarding the queens' communication and seemingly peace making arrangements - the advisors, primarily on Elizabeth's side, convince their monarchs that there'll be no peace in either country unless one of them submits to the other. It's clear that Mary, as a wedded queen with a husband and male heir, is a threat to Elizabeth's rule - yet what of Mary's religion?
We have a scourge upon our land - the woman with a crown.
This is John Knox (played by David Tennant) - devout Protestant and reformist who was forced to flee England when Edward VI was replaced by his Catholic half-sister Mary Tudor. John Knox's disapproval of reigning women, open to public through his work (The First Blast of the Trumpet: Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, 1558) and personal letters, was no accident. By criticising the reigning queens and their religions, he made enemies of all four that ruled England and Scotland during his life time - first Bloody Mary in England, then Mary of Guise in Scotland, then even Protestant Elizabeth I and, finally, Catholic Mary Stuart.
Another brief appearances is a man being stabbed - it could be Mary's French secretary David Rizzio, who was killed before Mary Stuart's eyes when she was six months pregnant. The murder was organised by Mary's husband Lord Darnley (played by Jack Lowden), his relatives, her half-brother James Stuart, Earl of Moray, and other lords who united against their new queen.
It seems like the film will deliver a lot of details of intrigue and politics of Mary's life in Britain - the film, it seems, aims to cover 27 years of her life, although the 19 years on captivity in England might be overlooked or done very briefly, as the focus will be on the first years since her arrival to Scotland.
Although it's reassuring that a lot of key figures will play an important part in the story and the filmmakers are trying hard to make it work and keep the characters consistent... Maybe it was better to not reveal all that? Or was it an attempt to mend the damage done by focusing the first trailer on the mysterious meeting between the queens?
Mary, Queen of Scots marries in Edinburgh, History Today
Deadly Rivals: Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots, History Extra
Mary, Queen of Scots, BBC
Mary, Queen of Scots, Tudor Times
John Knox and Mary Queen of Scots, History Scotland
John Knox: Life Story, Tudor Times
