The Borgias 3.08
In which Neil Jordan takes up the writing pen again, which means we get s1 call backs. Also a time jump.
Because now it's 1500, when it was 1499 last episode, so I suppose, given that Federico gets crowned here, meaning it can't have been much later than the last episode, we're to assume the last ep took place in November or December? Anyway. Year of the Jubilee, and the indulgence trade is out in full force, which is incredibly depressing to watch despite or because of being a crucial historical fact. (Though I don't think it was handled in quite this way; as far as I recall from school, it was more like you bought the indulgences instead of entering the confessional, not in there.) Good lord, in more than one sense. Did they ever need the wake up call of the Reformation.
Caterina presenting an alternate relic and using it to lure Cesare into another assassination attempt: you know, I'm a bit dissappointed that the last few eps have left Caterina do little more than plot assassionation attempts which are promptly foiled. When they made her the main antagonist of the season, I thought we'd be getting battle strategy competion, which is her strenght. Not the "curses, foiled again!" type of hits which we already had back when Not-Pope-Yet Giuliano della Rovere was the main antagonist.
On the bright side: Micheletto and his Catullus-quoting boyfriend-plus-spy. I'm glad they didn't drag out Micheletto's figuring out the truth, because he's supposed to be super competent at his trade, and the scenes with his boyfriend, while going the expected way, were genuinely touching.
Also: Rodrigo gets more scenes with the Rabbi, and we get a Neil Jordan written reminder of something the first season brought up in three different episodes, i.e.that their enemies loved to call the Borgias "Marranos", i.e. converted Jews who secretly still practice. (This had no foundation - I mean, I've read novels where the Borgias actually did have some Jewish blood, but no biography where this was treated as plausible - but in the age where the Reconquista had just been completed was a truly vicious insult, especially among Spaniards.) It's interesting that when back in s1 Juan brings it up Rodrigo responds with "don't worry, it's not true", but when the Rabbi here brings up he says "careful", but doesn't bother with a denial.
Naples: you know, I saw that coming (see last review). Lucrezia finds out that she backed the wrong brother and is now a soon-to-be-handed-over-to-the-Sforzas hostage. I loved her scene with the old woman again - "a splendid witch such as you" - Lucrezia finding allies among overlooked servants (and peasants) being another s1 callback, but I'm not really into this storyline because it really smacks of what I was afraid of the entire season, heroifying Cesare, both because he now gets to rescue her (unless there's a twist) and because it provides him for yet another excuse re: a soon to be undertaken historical murder. Also, as mentioned in previous posts, I wanted Cesare and Lucrezia to clash about Naples, not to be allies.
A truly horrible possibility has occured to me of which I shan't speak out of fear it might come true until further notice, and it has to do with this tendency to make Cesare look better by either shifting his historically unromantic traits on other characters (like giving Juan his Syphilis last season - incidentally, by 1500, the historical Cesare definitely had it, but given this is the season with the incest scenes, I never expected them to remind the audience of that fact) or provide circumstances that excuse said actions. And it with what I've been wondering all along, how they'll end show...
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/904588.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
Because now it's 1500, when it was 1499 last episode, so I suppose, given that Federico gets crowned here, meaning it can't have been much later than the last episode, we're to assume the last ep took place in November or December? Anyway. Year of the Jubilee, and the indulgence trade is out in full force, which is incredibly depressing to watch despite or because of being a crucial historical fact. (Though I don't think it was handled in quite this way; as far as I recall from school, it was more like you bought the indulgences instead of entering the confessional, not in there.) Good lord, in more than one sense. Did they ever need the wake up call of the Reformation.
Caterina presenting an alternate relic and using it to lure Cesare into another assassination attempt: you know, I'm a bit dissappointed that the last few eps have left Caterina do little more than plot assassionation attempts which are promptly foiled. When they made her the main antagonist of the season, I thought we'd be getting battle strategy competion, which is her strenght. Not the "curses, foiled again!" type of hits which we already had back when Not-Pope-Yet Giuliano della Rovere was the main antagonist.
On the bright side: Micheletto and his Catullus-quoting boyfriend-plus-spy. I'm glad they didn't drag out Micheletto's figuring out the truth, because he's supposed to be super competent at his trade, and the scenes with his boyfriend, while going the expected way, were genuinely touching.
Also: Rodrigo gets more scenes with the Rabbi, and we get a Neil Jordan written reminder of something the first season brought up in three different episodes, i.e.that their enemies loved to call the Borgias "Marranos", i.e. converted Jews who secretly still practice. (This had no foundation - I mean, I've read novels where the Borgias actually did have some Jewish blood, but no biography where this was treated as plausible - but in the age where the Reconquista had just been completed was a truly vicious insult, especially among Spaniards.) It's interesting that when back in s1 Juan brings it up Rodrigo responds with "don't worry, it's not true", but when the Rabbi here brings up he says "careful", but doesn't bother with a denial.
Naples: you know, I saw that coming (see last review). Lucrezia finds out that she backed the wrong brother and is now a soon-to-be-handed-over-to-the-Sforzas hostage. I loved her scene with the old woman again - "a splendid witch such as you" - Lucrezia finding allies among overlooked servants (and peasants) being another s1 callback, but I'm not really into this storyline because it really smacks of what I was afraid of the entire season, heroifying Cesare, both because he now gets to rescue her (unless there's a twist) and because it provides him for yet another excuse re: a soon to be undertaken historical murder. Also, as mentioned in previous posts, I wanted Cesare and Lucrezia to clash about Naples, not to be allies.
A truly horrible possibility has occured to me of which I shan't speak out of fear it might come true until further notice, and it has to do with this tendency to make Cesare look better by either shifting his historically unromantic traits on other characters (like giving Juan his Syphilis last season - incidentally, by 1500, the historical Cesare definitely had it, but given this is the season with the incest scenes, I never expected them to remind the audience of that fact) or provide circumstances that excuse said actions. And it with what I've been wondering all along, how they'll end show...
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/904588.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.