The Borgias – Juan returns with trouble in tow

Juan returns on this week’s Borgias, and the reappearance of the family’s loose cannon heralds an episode that explores the theme of innocents being used as pawns by the power players of Italy. The first bit of the episode is fun, though. Juan comes back in he grandest manner possible: ridng a horse into the Vatican. brings panther for Lucrezia–a pointed gift if ever I saw one. Juan claims he has stopped drinking–guess he went to Spanish rehab–and presents his father a convincing picture of a man grown up, as he has married and impregnated his new wife.

Juan and his new Spanish BFF Hernando go of to besiege Caterina Sforza’s stronghold at Forli, capturing her son to draw her out just when it looks like her cannon will force them to surrender. Sadly for her son, Caterina is too much of a badass to give up; not everyone  is as devoted to family above all as the Borgias are. For Caterina, leading her troops and wearing armor like a man, standing  up to the “whore of Rome” trumps all, and tugging at her motherly devotion won’t make her back down. Luckily for her son, her cousin Ludovico arrives just in time to send Juan running. Oh, Juan, you will never learn.

Back in Rome, Lucrezia is struggling with her role as a piece in Alexander’s chess game of alliances. While she is not exactly innocent, she did not ask for this role, though she comes to accept by the end that she can fulfill it and still find pleasure, if not love, on the side. As a noblewoman of marriageable age who was expected to be dutiful, Lucreziais making the interesting journey of figuring out how to be herself and wield some power over her life within the confines of the expectations places on her.

In Florence, Savonarola has enlisted children to his cause and begun the Bonfire of the Vanities. The bonfire was presented fairly accurately as far as I know. Yes, many Botticellis were sadly lost. Alexander was also willing to use a child, his grandson, to get what he wanted in a minor way in the first episode of this season, and he is willing to use his children in general to advance the family name. Juan and Caterina allowed her son to be a pawn between them. Della Rovere is willing to use a young acolyte’s faith to seek his revenge on Alexander. It makes me wonder how far these people are willing to go to take each other down.

Notes and Quotes:

• More historical stuff: Okay, past medicine is usually horrifying, but the syphilis remedy used on Juan takes the cake.  David Oakes‘ look of horrified nausea at the prospect was pitch perfect. According to Wikipedia, there was syphilis outbreak at this time, after the siege of Naples, and people were starting to be aware of it in general after the discovery of he New World. I am surprised Juan can sit on a horse at the siege after that ordeal!
• Even though Lucrezia decides to put family first, telling her father to “sell her to the highest bidder” Cesare sort of says “Ehhh” when given the chance to warn Juan of Ludovico’s attack.
• Alexander, on being presented a box of cigarros by Juan: “Turds? You travel all the way to our ancestral homeland and back again to bring us turds?
  “Juan: “Smell them.” Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
• The sequence in which Alexander first smokes the cigar as fascinated cardinals look on and then kind of takes to them is priceless. That man never met a vice he didn’t like, despite his pretended dismay that they are not “medicinal.” Then Lucrezia poking fun at him for it is great fun: “Not a turd? … Smells like one.”
• Lucrezia on her new pet: “Had he gifted me a viper I would now be in my shroud.”
• Love, Borgia style: Lucrezia is spying on her lust object, Raffaello, then using what she learns to get close to him.  I immediately like Raffaello for having the self-awareness to realize that a bored nobleman does not an artist make.
• Caterina: “The whore of Rome first sent one boy to do his work–a murderer–and now he sends another.” Boy or murderer? And later she FLASHES Juan her lady bits just to prove a point. Bad. Ass.
• Machiavelli, to Savonrola’s young henchmen: “I hve no vanities. I have only my intellect, which I am reluctant to relinquish. And as you can see with these looks,  have no vanity.” The sight of  kids threatening heaven or hell as if they’re bullying people in a schoolyard was pretty amusing.
• I am waiting and waiting for Della Rovere to make his move.  But in the meantime, Alexander is forgetting about him, so I suppose Della Rovere is smart. He also sees that Savonarola might be in big trouble.

Clacked by Christina Furtado
on May 21, 2012 @ 12:23 EST5EDT