‘The Royals’ Season 4, Episode 8 ‘In The Dead Vast in the Middle of the Night’ Recap: Preparing For Royalty [SPOILERS]

The night was split in half for the engaged royal couple in “The Royals” latest episode, titled “In The Dead Vast in the Middle of the Night.” Willow (Genevieve Gaunt) was tripping balls while her fiance had a quiet and political evening. Even with all the drama, the family is still everything to the Henstridges. That’s why Len (Alexandra Park) and Helena (Elizabeth Hurley) had their hands full with Willow on the loose. However, Liam (William Moseley) and the exiled Cyrus (Jake Maskall) have different feelings towards their kin.

A spa day turned acid trip

It takes a lot to be queen.The judging process didn’t end when Robert made his choice for his bride. Willow still has to sit in front of a tribunal to answer some questions to see if she really is queen-material. The current queen and the princess have seen how stressed she’s been and how determined she is, they arranged a spa day as her hen party.

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Even before Willow told Len what she wanted, everything was set up. A makeshift spa in one room and a gigantic chocolate fountain in another. After a relaxing afternoon, Willow planned on studying a bit more for her final question the next day. But it all went to hell with just one massage.

Cassandra (Emily Barber) is still so determined to sit on the throne that she snuck into the palace and posed as Willow’s masseuse and drugged her. She laced the massaging oil with acid and poured in all over the next queen’s body. From then, Willow spent the night causing all kinds of trouble.

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Being well-experienced with this type of situation, Len was appointed by her mother to look after Willow in exchange for a new horse. A royal would never ask for less. Len didn’t do a great job. Being stressed and generally not in a good place, Willow had a bad trip. First, her “patient” almost set herself entirely on fire, ran around the castle pretending to be a ghost and almost drowned Helena in the chocolate fountain.

After escaping Len a second time, Willow found herself in the room where the fountain was and saw Cassandra taunting her, calling her “ugly.” With her newfound strength given by the acid, she wrestled Cassandra in the fountain, accusing her of having it in for since the day they met just for the crown. When she temporarily came to her senses, Willow saw that she was plunging Helena’s face in the chocolate and not Cassandra. Len lost her chances for a new horse because of this.

Cyrus, the stag party crasher

As King of England, Robert doesn’t have the luxury of going on a wild night out with some friends to celebrate the end of his single life. He could only invite some friends and family to a have a few drinks in the palace. To make things more formal, they were all in tuxedos. There were some waitresses in barely-there outfits.

Cyrus made things a bit more interesting when he crashed the party. He wasn’t allowed on British soil, but Venezuelan soil in his shoes served as a loophole so he could enjoy and ruin the night. Robert almost threw him out, but Liam made some points that helped Cyrus stay. After all, Robert did say nothing is ever too broken that it cannot be fixed and family is essential.

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Sebastian (Toby Sandeman) and Beck (Andrew Cooper), close friends of Robert, were notably absent. However, there to celebrate with the boys was the king’s bodyguard, Jasper Frost (Tom Austen). He spent the night getting bullied by the king. But he did end up on top at some point when he humiliated Robert in a game of pool. They were both cocky, but Jasper was better at the game.

Robert bit back when he told Jasper to leave the room and guard the door because the only ones who were supposed to remain were men who earned their titles. Jasper didn’t fight and just left.

Politics is never behind

After Jasper left, Robert took things to the political side. He brought up his decision to end parliament and that the men in the room run the country. He also announced the disbandment of parliament wasn’t temporary. The right-hand seat was vacant, and Robert was about to choose who would sit beside him. He was trying to gain favor with the titled men with him at that moment.

But Cyrus ruined Robert’s speech. He said he was in Robert’s place once and he didn’t care about anyone. Robert wasn’t any different, Cyrus added. He went on and on about how the King of England was just using them to get want he wanted.

Liam ended the person who ended his brother’s speech. He broke a wine bottle and punched Cyrus unconscious. The other men broke up the brawl, and Robert let Liam sit in the vacant seat. According to Robert, that’s where Liam belonged. When he said this, Liam gave a very small but menacing grin.

Surprise, surprise from “The Royals.”

Leave it to “The Royals” to end the episode with colossal bomb drops. First, Willow surprised us with her tribunal. It was partly Len’s outfit choice for Willow that took the tribunal by surprise. Leather skirt, band shirt, and thigh-high boots aren’t what Willow was used to. But her post-trip phase limited her thinking ability. But it also helped her with her confidence to answer the question that could well be in Miss Universe.

Helena asked, “Why would you make a great queen?” She put her feelings for Robert on the top of her list. To her, how they looked at her couldn’t compare to how he saw her. But if it will take becoming queen to be with him, she will try her best to become one.

When she excused herself to be with her fiance, Helena’s smile was sending mixed signals. It could be because she was proud of Willow’s frank answer or because she knows Willow did badly, and she isn’t the next queen of England.

Willow’s action when she visited Robert was a contradiction to her answer. She was cold and distant. When she ended their conversation with “No more secrets,” she ducked away from Robert’s embrace.

Another surprise the episode gave at the end was the still standing alliance between Liam and Cyrus. Apparently, everything that happened at the stag party was all a ruse. They still want to prove Robert’s guilt to the blackout. Plus, they have some help. Aston Lang (Tom Crowley), Cyrus new friend, has a few tricks up his sleeve to bring Robert down.

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Liam is great at pretending because the last surprise was Kathryn (Christina Wolfe). The episode ended with Kathryn meeting with Liam and repeating everything she said to Robert on the night they were “caught.” She was only pretending all for Liam’s schemes. Their love must be real if she’s willing to join him on his mission.

“The Royals” continues next Sunday, May 6th, with “Foul Deeds Will Rise” at 10/9c on E!