Thirty Days of Medici: Parallels
British friends, sorry about the rightwing coup in your country. I’m trying to distract myself with bloody messes that are safely a few centuries away and fictionalized.
Day 15 ~ FREE DAY - Anything you’d like
Having rewatched the first season, I was struck by some pointed visual parallels/echoes. Notably between the climax of Ascendancy (1.6., not the s1 finale, but where the season takes its last key turn and twist) and Mass (the s2 finale). The first time I watched, I was only noticing the obvious parallels between the climax of Ascendancy and The Godfather (at which point it had already dawned on me that Cosimo de‘ Medici in this show basically has Michael Corleone’s arc): the intercutting of a religious ceremony with a bloody hit, with the character connecting both events having ostensively forgiven the soon-to-be-killed party but really not. In both cases, it also serves as an underlining of the main character having achieved the height of power in his world, and in both cases, said main character later lies to his wife about whether or not he’s ordered the murder after having been confronted by the widow of one of the killed.
Cosimo gets mitigating circumstances, true, in that the show wants you to believe he would probably have forgiven Rinaldo degli Albizzi for real if not for Albizzi (falsely) claiming responsibility for the murder of his father (mostly because Albizzi can’t stand Cosimo having the higher moral ground). On the other hand, Michael’s ordered hits at the end of The Godfather serve, with one exception, more of a practical purpose than vengeance - these are actual enemies still dangerous to the Corleones - while the deaths of Albizzi and his son might classify as pre-emptive killing in that they’d never ended the feud or given up, but still, they were exiled from Florence and had lost their power and thus already defanged, which heightens the moral fall. (These are not the first deaths Cosimo is responsible for in this series, but they are the first where he had a choice and explicitly ordered a murder.) That this is not the finale means we get to see the fallout for Cosimo, none of which is good, and not just a door closing.
Now, with the second season in mind, here are some of the visual and thematic echoes: To start with the most obvious, in the s2 finale, again, we have a religious ceremony intercut with a bloody hit, only this time, both take place at the same location, which is none other than the very church the Pope in Ascendancy has celebrated mass in and blessed. Cosimo, knowing he’s got murder in his heart, stands at the exact same place one of his grandsons will get murdered and the other nearly so. Giuliano, looking up as he’s dying, looks up to the famous cupola Cosimo „dreamt into being“, as the second season puts it. Both Cosimo, when he hears Albizzi’s claim and Lorenzo, hearing the three conspirators in the Palazzo Vecchio, are depicted tightly clutching a hankerchief which falls as they let go, give up on mercy and order death instead.
Considering Lorenzo has been told by his grandmother - and until my rewatch, I had forgotten the Corleone parallels go as far as letting Cosimo explicitly deny his responsibility for the Albizzi deaths to Contessina the way Michael does to Kay - to not follow his grandfather’s example of achieving good by sometimes doing evil but to be good, something he tries throughout the season to hold to but finally gives up here - there’s actually a sense of a multigeneration tragedy here, melodramatic show or not. Especially since it’s hard to see Lorenzo at that point (after his brother’s murder right in front of him) doing anything else, and yet, it also means he becomes what the Pazzi have always accused him of being - the uncontested (for now) despotic leader of Florence, judge, jury and executioner at the same time. And thus the vicious circle - also a visual that goes with the cupola - continues…
Day One ~ Picture or gif that expresses your reaction to the show.
Day 02 ~ Favourite female character
Day 03 ~ Favourite male character
Day 04 ~ Favourite antagonist
Day 05 ~ Favourite quote from The Medici
Day 06 ~ Who do you ship?
Day 07 ~ Three words that describe The Medici
Day 08 ~ Favourite moment so far.
Day 09 ~ Least favourite character
Day 10 ~ Would you rather be an artist or a banker?
Day 11 ~ Favourite outfit worn by anyone.
Day 12 ~ Historical Crackship: Who belongs together, time and space be damned?
Day 13 ~ Re-Write History: Something you wish had happened.
Day 14 ~ Re-Write History: Something you wish never happened.
Day 16 ~ Link to an interview or video you think is funny.
Day 17 ~ Favourite episode.
Day 18 ~ Give some advice to one of the characters.
Day 19 ~ Character that’s the most like you.
Day 20 ~ What do you like best about The Medici?
Day 21 ~ Link to a Medici blog.
Day 22 ~ Make or link to a graphic of your favourite ship.
Day 23 ~ (S1) Cosimo, Lorenzo, Marco Bello, (S2) Lorenzo, Giuliano, Francesco Pazzi: Shag, marry, stab - what would you do?
(Ladies edition: Contessina, Lucrezia (T, not D), Clarice)
Day 24 ~ Favourite quote about the Medici.
Day 25 ~ Good riddance: Who have you not been sorry to see killed off?
Day 26 ~ A scene you can watch over and over again.
Day 27 ~ Fightin’ words: Who would you like to see in a fight to the death?
Day 28 ~ Fancast: Who would you like to see in a role on The Medici?
Day 29 ~ Link to a fanvid you like.
Day 30 ~ How would you end the show?
This entry was originally posted at https://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1356815.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
Day 15 ~ FREE DAY - Anything you’d like
Having rewatched the first season, I was struck by some pointed visual parallels/echoes. Notably between the climax of Ascendancy (1.6., not the s1 finale, but where the season takes its last key turn and twist) and Mass (the s2 finale). The first time I watched, I was only noticing the obvious parallels between the climax of Ascendancy and The Godfather (at which point it had already dawned on me that Cosimo de‘ Medici in this show basically has Michael Corleone’s arc): the intercutting of a religious ceremony with a bloody hit, with the character connecting both events having ostensively forgiven the soon-to-be-killed party but really not. In both cases, it also serves as an underlining of the main character having achieved the height of power in his world, and in both cases, said main character later lies to his wife about whether or not he’s ordered the murder after having been confronted by the widow of one of the killed.
Cosimo gets mitigating circumstances, true, in that the show wants you to believe he would probably have forgiven Rinaldo degli Albizzi for real if not for Albizzi (falsely) claiming responsibility for the murder of his father (mostly because Albizzi can’t stand Cosimo having the higher moral ground). On the other hand, Michael’s ordered hits at the end of The Godfather serve, with one exception, more of a practical purpose than vengeance - these are actual enemies still dangerous to the Corleones - while the deaths of Albizzi and his son might classify as pre-emptive killing in that they’d never ended the feud or given up, but still, they were exiled from Florence and had lost their power and thus already defanged, which heightens the moral fall. (These are not the first deaths Cosimo is responsible for in this series, but they are the first where he had a choice and explicitly ordered a murder.) That this is not the finale means we get to see the fallout for Cosimo, none of which is good, and not just a door closing.
Now, with the second season in mind, here are some of the visual and thematic echoes: To start with the most obvious, in the s2 finale, again, we have a religious ceremony intercut with a bloody hit, only this time, both take place at the same location, which is none other than the very church the Pope in Ascendancy has celebrated mass in and blessed. Cosimo, knowing he’s got murder in his heart, stands at the exact same place one of his grandsons will get murdered and the other nearly so. Giuliano, looking up as he’s dying, looks up to the famous cupola Cosimo „dreamt into being“, as the second season puts it. Both Cosimo, when he hears Albizzi’s claim and Lorenzo, hearing the three conspirators in the Palazzo Vecchio, are depicted tightly clutching a hankerchief which falls as they let go, give up on mercy and order death instead.
Considering Lorenzo has been told by his grandmother - and until my rewatch, I had forgotten the Corleone parallels go as far as letting Cosimo explicitly deny his responsibility for the Albizzi deaths to Contessina the way Michael does to Kay - to not follow his grandfather’s example of achieving good by sometimes doing evil but to be good, something he tries throughout the season to hold to but finally gives up here - there’s actually a sense of a multigeneration tragedy here, melodramatic show or not. Especially since it’s hard to see Lorenzo at that point (after his brother’s murder right in front of him) doing anything else, and yet, it also means he becomes what the Pazzi have always accused him of being - the uncontested (for now) despotic leader of Florence, judge, jury and executioner at the same time. And thus the vicious circle - also a visual that goes with the cupola - continues…
Day One ~ Picture or gif that expresses your reaction to the show.
Day 02 ~ Favourite female character
Day 03 ~ Favourite male character
Day 04 ~ Favourite antagonist
Day 05 ~ Favourite quote from The Medici
Day 06 ~ Who do you ship?
Day 07 ~ Three words that describe The Medici
Day 08 ~ Favourite moment so far.
Day 09 ~ Least favourite character
Day 10 ~ Would you rather be an artist or a banker?
Day 11 ~ Favourite outfit worn by anyone.
Day 12 ~ Historical Crackship: Who belongs together, time and space be damned?
Day 13 ~ Re-Write History: Something you wish had happened.
Day 14 ~ Re-Write History: Something you wish never happened.
Day 16 ~ Link to an interview or video you think is funny.
Day 17 ~ Favourite episode.
Day 18 ~ Give some advice to one of the characters.
Day 19 ~ Character that’s the most like you.
Day 20 ~ What do you like best about The Medici?
Day 21 ~ Link to a Medici blog.
Day 22 ~ Make or link to a graphic of your favourite ship.
Day 23 ~ (S1) Cosimo, Lorenzo, Marco Bello, (S2) Lorenzo, Giuliano, Francesco Pazzi: Shag, marry, stab - what would you do?
(Ladies edition: Contessina, Lucrezia (T, not D), Clarice)
Day 24 ~ Favourite quote about the Medici.
Day 25 ~ Good riddance: Who have you not been sorry to see killed off?
Day 26 ~ A scene you can watch over and over again.
Day 27 ~ Fightin’ words: Who would you like to see in a fight to the death?
Day 28 ~ Fancast: Who would you like to see in a role on The Medici?
Day 29 ~ Link to a fanvid you like.
Day 30 ~ How would you end the show?
This entry was originally posted at https://selenak.dreamwidth.org/1356815.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.