THE BORGIAS: Advance Review
Jeremy Irons as Rodrigo Borgia/ Pope Alexander VI. Photo Credit: Showtime.
Thanks to Showtime generously sending me a screener, I have now viewed the first four episodes of the upcoming series The Borgias. Verdict: I want to see more. The first two hours of this period drama will air on Sunday, April 3rd at 9 PM ET/ PT on Showtime. To help you decide whether the show is for you, and to help those anticipating the series deal with the week-long wait, read on for my advance review. Caveat: History is not a spoiler!
François Arnaud as Cesare Borgia. Photo Credit: Showtime.
The Borgias was created by Academy Award winner Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Interview with a Vampire), who serves as executive producer, wrote all nine episodes of the first season, and directed the first two. The series revolves around the prominent Borgia family in Renaissance Rome, led by patriarch Rodrigo Borgia (Jeremy Irons). At the opening of the first episode it is 1492. Rodrigo is a Cardinal, but Pope Innocent VIII is dying and a new pope will soon be chosen. On his deathbed, Pope Innocent declares: “The throne of St. Peter’s was pure once. We have sullied it with our greed and lechery. Who will wash it clean?” Cardinal Borgia volunteers for the job, minus the cleaning part, and soon the “Spanish upstart” is elected Pope Alexander VI. A greed-and-lechery-free papacy is not to be.
Joanne Whalley as Vanozza. Photo Credit: Showtime.
Tales of Pope Alexander’s infamy and the scandalous acts of his family fill the history books, so the dramatized events in The Borgias may be familiar to you. As a man of the cloth, Rodrigo could not marry, but that did not stop him from having many children. The Showtime series focuses on four of these children: Cesare (François Arnaud), destined to follow in his father’s footsteps as Cardinal; Juan (David Oakes), man-in-arms and set to lead the papal armies; Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger), a fourteen year old girl who will be used as a pawn in a series of political marriages; and young boy Joffre (Aidan Alexander), whose role has not yet been realized. These four all share a mother: Vanozza (Joanne Whalley). Despite the illegitimacy of their births, they have prominent roles in society, and will aid their father in a variety of ways.
Holliday Grainger as Lucrezia Borgia. Photo Credit: Showtime.
“Sex. Power. Murder. Amen.” I think that tagline pretty much sums up The Borgias. However, in the first batch of episodes there are not as many sex scenes as you might imagine, and in fact the third episode of the series featured no sex at all. Shocking, I know. (Especially to viewers of The Tudors.) Murder abounds in each episode so far, however, so don’t you fret. Ultimately, it is really a story about power, and how the Borgia family and its rivals vie with each other to gain said power. As Rodrigo himself says, “Oh, what would Rome be without a good plot?” Chief among these rivals are Cardinal Orsini (Derek Jacobi) and Cardinal Della Rovere (Colm Feore), who object to Rodrigo’s campaigning methods, and the female company that he keeps.
David Oakes as Juan Borgia. Photo Credit: Showtime.
Additional prominent characters include Micheletto (Sean Harris), a hired assassin; Giulia Farnese (Lotte Verbeek), a member of the nobility and the Pope’s new mistress; and Johannes Burchard (Simon McBurney), an expert on Church law. Micheletto forms a partnership with Cesare Borgia, and the two engage in many a scheme together. Giulia, in addition to her liaison with Rodrigo, shares a number of scenes with Lucrezia, and the older woman provides counsel and mentorship to the young girl. There is also some understandable tension between Giulia, Rodrigo’s new mistress, and Vanozza, Rodrigo’s former mistress. Burchard has a key role as the Pope’s advisor in legal matters.
Colm Feore as Cardinal Della Rovere. Photo Credit: Showtime.
One of the major themes in the series, which is set up early on, is the rivalry between Cesare and Juan. The brothers are total opposites, with Cesare taking after his father much more closely. Juan, in contrast, is a bit of an empty-headed playboy. Cesare feels that perhaps his father favors Juan more than him, and he resents that he was forced into the Church, as he had no religious calling. Another theme is the difficulty of being a woman in this period. Through the characters of Vanozza, Giulia, and Lucrezia, we begin to see the limited options for women in Renaissance Italy. On the other hand, these characters demonstrate what could be achieved despite limitations, and the ways in which some upper-class women could maneuver to gain some control over their lives in a man’s world. There is also a continuous tension between the Borgia practicality and ambition, and the religious demands of the Holy See. How far will Rodrigo push the limits of the papacy? We shall see.
Additional Notes:
- I loved the references to St. Augustine, Terence, and Plautus, in keeping with the renaissance of ancient texts.
- The actors are just so British that sometimes hearing the Italian names coming out of their mouths makes me giggle. In fact, Jeremy Irons even pronounces “Italian” as “Eye-talian.” Sigh.
- The show is also not without more intentional humor. Exhibit A: Cesare brings a monkey to a banquet. Monkey-related hilarity ensues.
- Machiavelli (Julian Bleach) and Savanarola (Steven Berkoff) show up in episode four! Fun times ahead.
I have embedded two clips from the upcoming premiere below. For a trailer and a behind the scenes video, check out my previous post on the series.
