The newest episode of Reign gave us the most tragic of the series thus far.

Reign is a historical fiction drama based on the reign of monarchs around Europe, but specifically on the reign of Mary Queen of Scots. The series is known for taking many freedoms with the historical facts it has to work with, but is enjoyable for those who can get past the slight historical alterations.

The setting stayed firmly planted on French soil this episode, with no scenes of the English court or Queen Elizabeth. Although, Queen Elizabeth was still mentioned a few times and played a major role in making Mary face some tough choices, the main focus of this episode was Mary and Francis, who are making the most of their lives together after plenty of hardships in their past. “Frary,” as the Reign fanbase has dubbed the pair, is utterly adorable to watch and plenty believable because of the splendid acting of Toby Regbo and Adelaide Kane who have amazing chemistry on screen. Watching this young couple sail together and support one another emotionally and politically makes up for the lack of supporting characters and subplots in this episode.

The pace of the episode itself was fast, even for a Reign episode. The episode switched from one powerful scene to another so quickly that one barely had time to digest what had occurred, let alone come to terms with that occurrence, and then another powerful scene would be thrust upon the already fragile viewer. You could not blink or you’d miss something huge, but Reign does it with such refinement that you can forgive the crowded script and enjoy the individual scenes regardless. Threads woven from the very first episode of the series are connected to finally reach a point of no return for some; prophecies are fulfilled.

In the most emotionally charged episode of the series, Regbo and Kane shine together and independently, delivering realistic and moving performances for a heartbreaking episode (I’ll admit, I bawled like a baby because of the emotional pull these two amazing actors brought to these characters). Prepare by having tissues nearby, but also be ready to thoroughly enjoy this episode, as it delivers on the quality of acting and storyline that die-hard Reign fans have come to expect.