Reign may be a not-so-historical young adult drama in a period setting, but it does address victim-blaming, the trauma that follows rape and the complications it may cause when revealed to public eye. The reason why I'm writing about this (as opposed to Tess of D'Urberville or another 'serious' period drama, is precisely because it is a teen drama. This is what a girl aged 17-20 might find on her to watch list - and inevitably she is given a certain perspective on one of the most controversial topics in the world right now.
So, how well does the show portray these issues?
S1x1 "Pilot": attempted rape, victim blaming & spoilt reputation
In the very first episode of the series the following happens.
Lola's fiance, a Scottish young man called Colin, kisses Mary's hand, looking smitten by her, and offers her a glass of wine that actually has a drug in it. Thanks to the mysterious warning, she doesn't drink. While awkwardly thanking Colin, she notices Lola's jealousy: her lady-in-waiting assumes that a) Colin's fallen in love with Mary; or b) Mary actively flirts with her fiance.
Without having done anything apart from being nice to a fellow Scot, Mary receives a cold shoulder and is suspected of leading him on. What makes it worse is that it is her best friend who immediately jumps to the conclusion. If Lola is ready to assume the worst... well, what can we say about strangers who can only see a beautiful teenage queen?
Next, Colin sneaks into Mary's room and attempts to rape her. Mary wakes up, screams and pushes him off her.
Her lady-in-waiting spells out the ground rules of society:
«They'll question her virtue. If she's not a virgin, then she'll never be the queen of France».
The fact alone that there was a man present in her bedroom would be enough to ruin Mary's reputation - or any young woman's, for that matter, never mind a member of royalty. Catherine de Medici's cunning plan worked - even if Mary remained a virgin, her reputation could be ruined, and that would happen overnight, with no hard evidence, of no fault of her own.
If Colin had succeeded, she would not only survive a terrible psychological trauma and physical abuse while unable to stop him (if she was drugged), Mary overnight would have lost any prospect of future marriage, her virginity - the most valuable asset for a young woman in 16th century, - respect of her people, her friends, her position... as well as her alliance with France, a place where she could live safely. And without all these things how much is a teenage queen only in name capable of doing? In a foreign country, with her honour stained and her value ripped to shreds?
Back to the series now: straight after the attempted murder Lola goes to her fiance to ask why. She trusts him that he was forced - clearly, without a hint of doubt - and goes back to Mary to explain the situation. Of course, in real life it's hard to blackmail a man into raping a woman, especially when he knows it will most certainly lead to his death. But it's Reign, and in the mystical world of that series anything is possible, I suppose.
What happens next?
Self-imposed victim blaming. Even if for the sake of saving an innocent(ish) man.
Mary proceeds to speak to the French king and queen and ask to speak to Colin.
«If there was a misunderstanding... if I sent the wrong message in my joy at the wedding...»
«Take care, child», - she is told. Even Catherine de Medici, who organised the whole thing, warns Mary from making her own situation worse - because Mary did exactly what women have done for centuries. They often excuse a man's behavior by their own 'mistakes': looking too beautiful (meaning 'a man can't resist', so he's not to blame), leading him on (by simply being nice and not giving him a cold shoulder - so a man takes it for an invitation).
«Gossip poisons too. It can ruin a young queen's reputation».
Oh, it can, Catherine.
The society still jumps to victim blaming in a lot of rape cases even in 21st century. What's more, a lot of women assume it is the woman who let it happen. In more traditional countries, such as Russia, women actively speak against rape survivors and those who now accuse their co-workers of sexual abuse. Predominantly it is older women who say: «If you didn't want his attention, you would have found a way to stop him».
Reign, however, provides Mary's perspective on things: what it's like to be a young attractive woman put into this situation, where not only is she a victim of attempted rape (yet even her friends don't care about how she feels about it - it's all about her reputation and virginity as a valuable asset). She immediately faces judgement - from her jealous friend who assumed it was Mary's fault at first; from the society portrayed by the royal couple; from even herself.
In her attempt to clear Colin's name, Mary places herself in the most vulnerable position - she admits to the possibility that she did something wrong (which in reality, she didn't).
«You may have behaved foolishly, but you are not responsible for your countryman's actions».
This phrase, surprisingly, comes from a man. Although he is quick to agree that it was initially Mary's fault (since she suggested it herself), but at least he doesn't shift the whole blame on her.
After this the plot smoothly diverges towards politics and secrets, with only one comment coming from the person who organised it: «It was not an act of passion, it was treason».
Catherine de Medici knows well enough what rape means to a woman. What it means to be raped and disgraced is in fact more important than the physical abuse - unfortunately, it is somewhat true to this day.
Although in 21st century women can still find jobs and marry even after they'd been raped, it remains a stigma that is very relatable when watching a period piece. Reign basically applied modern rules and expectations, while in reality, if that had happened to Mary Stuart, the gossip would have been much more impactful on her reputation and that alone would be enough to stall her marriage for a while. In reality, any teenage woman would have stayed very cautious and wary of young men for a while - which unfortunately isn't addressed in the series until later on.
So, how did Reign portray all of these issues?
First of all, it reflected neatly enough the way society still sees rape - through Lola's eyes and awkward dialogue the characters address the idea that it's usually a woman's fault. The good thing is that everyone, including the characters, know the truth. It serves as a weak, but still a reminder that jumping to that conclusion is wrong and we as a society should stop with that assumption. If the woman if beautiful and friendly, it doesn't mean she invites the first man who smiles at her to sleep with her.
However, the writers and makers of that episode clearly didn't go out of their way to address that issue. In an attempt to white wash Colin's character (granted, he isn't a malicious rapist...) they reinforced a very, very dangerous belief: that a woman should reassess her own behavior and look for 'reasons' within herself. Yeah, Colin did it because he was forced to. How does that mean it's ok for Mary to say 'oh I encouraged him'?! NO, this is not a good thing to casually drop in a tv series with this sort of plot.
Although the show tries to reinforce how difficult it is for a woman - she has to stay cautious and might end up in danger even if she doesn't do anything wrong... It's not exactly done right from a filmmaking point of view. The only 'consequence' was Lola's initial jealousy - everything else, the 'society blaming' and 'her reputation could be destroyed' was portrayed through some very basic, straight to the point dialogue.
If I was writing the story and had to work out what to do with the plot twist, I'd choose to make it impactful on the overall story. Even if Colin failed, why not create extra tension between Mary and Francis as a result of gossip? Why not give de Medici to postpone the wedding? Why not have her doubt Mary's word and convince the court that she was to blame?
Not only would that create the amount of tension to sustain the series for a few episodes (hence no need to come up with more unbelievable plots), but it would actually portrait how difficult it could be to deal with the consequences. It would point out that even attempted rape is not something to be brushed aside so easily - and that it impacts a woman's life for much longer than one day.
If that same plotline was adapted in a series set in modern day, the show would have been torn apart for it. As it stands with the pseudo-historical setting, we forgive the characters for not knowing any better (yet we give them a very modern perspective and self-awareness).