‘Reign’ Season 1 Spoilers: Who Is Clarissa? The Castle Ghost’s Shocking Ties Revealed In Episode 11, ‘Inquisition’ [RECAP]

Episode 11 of “Reign” was real intense. Queen Catherine isn't ready to give up her crown (or get beheaded), and Mary is standing her ground with Bash. But it wasn’t the Mary/Bash story line that took center stage during the latest episode titled “Inquisition” -- it was Queen Catherine’s dark past!

As “Reign” viewers know, Queen Catherine is bent on keeping Bash from becoming the legitimate heir to the throne of France. After King Henry promised to kill his wife if she threatened the life of Bash, Catherine took a different approach. Instead of trying to kill Bash, Queen Catherine wants to dig up secrets on Bash that are so bad that he can no longer take the throne. And unfortunately, Bash has some skeletons in his closet that need to stay hidden.

Episode 10 introduced a new threat to Bash’s crown -- his pagan cousin and her baby born out of wedlock. Mary and Bash worked together to save the baby after his cousin’s death and handed the infant over to the castle’s wet nurse. But the pair weren’t out of the clear. Before Bash’s cousin died, she marked her baby’s foot with a pagan mark that would fade over time. But would it be gone before Queen Catherine caught on?

Episode 11 found Queen Catherine’s family arriving from Italy to help her fight treason and adultery charges and to avoid execution. With their help, Queen Catherine tortured the wet nurse until she gave up the location of the baby and sent guards to retrieve it. But Catherine didn’t get the infant in time. When the baby arrived at the castle, the pagan mark on its foot was gone.

King Henry’s plan was to charge Catherine with having a relationship with Nostradamus, and he brought in an old friend, Richard, to act as the prosecutor. Henry believed that Richard, who was exiled by Catherine years ago, hates the Queen. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

While Henry works on incriminating Catherine, the Queen is verbally attacked by Clarissa, the castle ghost. “You’re going to get what you deserve,” Clarissa yells at her. “You and Nostradamus.”

Catherine is shocked to discover that Clarissa isn't really a ghost, but a girl. Catherine visits Nostradamus in his cell and questions him about Clarissa. Nostradamus reveals that she has formed a bond with Mary and views herself as Mary’s defender. But how did she get in the castle? She was delivered to Nostradamus’ father as an infant. He wanted to see if he could correct her face, which had a birthmark going up her cheek. After the villagers said she was “kissed by the devil,” her mother insisted that the mark be removed.

His father liked to experiment, but the wounds putrefied and the baby became horribly deformed. Nostradamus’ father told the mother that the baby died of natural causes and ordered that his son dispose of it in the woods. But Nostradamus couldn’t, and instead paid a couple to take the baby. When he came to the castle, he took her with him.

Queen Catherine appears to have tears running down her face after Nostradamus recounts the story of Clarissa, and a wet nurse confirms the suspicions of “Reign” fans -- Queen Catherine is the mother of Clarissa.

A wet nurse revealed to Bash and Mary that the King and Queen had difficulty getting pregnant, but Catherine did give birth to a baby with a lover. Bash and Mary bring the woman to court to tell King Henry what she knows, and upon hearing the story, the king realizes that he has seen a similar birthmark before on Richard, his friend and Catherine’s prosecutor.

“You were my friend and she was my wife,” King Henry bellows at Richard before having him taken to the prison.

With Queen Catherine’s cheating ways revealed, King Henry has everything he needs to execute his wife. But Catherine isn't ready to give up and decides to pull out the pagan card. She reveals a trinket from Diane's room and exposes Henry’s mistress and Bash as pagans. Queen Catherine is initially accused of planting the evidence in Diane's room, but a guard vouches for her innocence and ends up getting his neck sliced open by King Henry. It turns out that Diane shared her secret with Henry because she wanted to put her past behind them.

King Henry sends Catherine back to her dungeon to await execution and imparts some words of wisdom regarding Bash and Mary. “Next time you see a threat -- large or small -- you cut it down like a weed.”

Although it looks like Catherine might be defeated, she comes up with one final plan -- kill Mary. Queen Catherine enters into a room where Mary is bathing and knocks poison into the tub while holding a knife up to Mary's neck. “I promise you’ll feel no pain,” Catherine tells her as the smoke from the poison starts to take an effect on both of them.

Both Mary and Queen Catherine pass out from the poison, and Catherine collapses onto the floor while Mary sinks underwater. Mary's guardian angel is watching, and Clarissa pulls her out of the water before attempting to help Catherine escape -- but Catherine doesn’t want Clarissa’s help. Bash rescues Mary and Queen Catherine is dragged back to her cell as the guards burst into the room.

Were you shocked about Clarissa’s identity? Let us know your thoughts on episode 11 of “Reign” in the comments section or send a tweet to @AmandaTVScoop.