Laurie McCarthy says it didn't bother them that people signed a petition asking them not to move forward with the tragic twist, claiming they 'treat the storyline with the respect and dignity.'
- Dec 5, 2014
AceShowbiz - Months ago when it was reported that "Reign" would include a rape storyline that involved Mary, fans started a petition asking writers to stop the scene from being filmed. But that apparently didn't affect the show's crew since the said scene was featured in the latest episode of The CW's historical drama.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Laurie McCarthy explains why they planned such storyline. "It really started from the end of last season when we made the choice to have Francis kill his father. Even though it was a righteous action, I always felt like it would be something that just had to haunt him... (and) haunt his rule as well," she says.
"And then since we're playing the civil unrest in the nation, which is historically accurate, we thought, 'What could be one of the worst things that could happen that would really affect the person he loves the most?' And that's Mary. So we looked at it originally through the prism of Francis, and then we looked at it through the prism of Mary, and I couldn't imagine any other character-other than Catherine-who could experience something like this and that we would be able to then take on a journey of healing, somebody who could truly rise above this but who also would be in the worst possible situation to have something like this happen to her as a queen, as a woman, as a new wife."
Admitting that "it's excruciating" to see, McCarthy notes that cruel things did happen to real royal people. She says, "These are [real] people, the royals, who experienced kidnappings and assassinations and there are many rumors as to whether Mary Queen of Scots was raped in her lifetime and frankly, how many times, so we've just kind of plucked events from history."
The writers and producers did know about people'e protest about the rape scene, but it didn't change their mind. "Because we were always going to be incredibly careful about it," she explains, "We were always going treat the storyline with the respect and dignity and time it deserved, not just in our attention to detail, but in terms of servicing it and honoring it for the rest of the season. It was something that we built up to from the end of last season, so I didn't need to see a hashtag to make me think not just twice but maybe 100 times about whether or not this was the right thing to do."
McCarthy reveals there were discusions with the studio, the network as well as Adelaide Kane who plays Mary, but "it didn't change anything." He admits, "It made me upset that a storyline was leaked out of context. It didn't surprise me or concern me that people said, 'Please don't do this.' It would really concern me if they said, 'Please do.' "
McCarthy thinks people's actual question is, "Could you have done it to another character and someone other than the lead of your show?" and her response is, "Why is it okay for some other female character?" But she believes such thing won't ruin Mary, adding, "I'm very much looking forward to a story of seeing Mary find her strength again and find her sense of security and also her ability to love and experience intimacy again."
"It becomes a turning point for Mary," she continues. "It becomes a turning point for her and her relationship with Francis; we'll see them struggle to get past it, but it really is going to change everything. She's somebody who was aware of the threats to her before, but she's going to feel very vulnerable for the rest of the season... It's going to really affect their rule moving forward."
Despite some complaints that may arise from the slow-motion and close-up takes on the rape scene, McCarthy says she made sure that "it was really portrayed as an act of violence." She claims, "It was very important to me that it wasn't eroticized in any way, shape, or form, that it really was an act of hatred and violence and really powerlessness and rage."
After the episode, The CW aired a PSA starring Adelaide Kane who urges people to seek help if such horrible thing happens to anyone in real life.
