Season 2 Episode 2
This episode is titled after, and book ended with, a character a do not particularly care for, but it still has its charms, notably the ever reliably chilling Micheletto.
Paolo
Paolo rides to Rome in search of Lucrezia and his son. There he meets a lady of the evening with a golden heart, and Lucrezia's hot-headed brother Juan. Juan is much offended when peasant Paolo dares to address the Pope's daughter. Oh, Juan. Why so touchy about peasants? Could it be because you yourself would have been one had your Daddy not become Pope? In any case, Lucrezia tells Paolo to say a prayer at the fountain at midnight as penance for his slight against her. Lucrezia must have a really low opinion of Juan's intelligence, since she thought this would fool him.
Juan recruits a lady of the evening (not Paolo's friend) to follow Paolo around. After meeting with Paolo, Lucrezia returns home and asks Cesare's help so Paolo could meet little Giovanni. Cesare, of course, agrees.
Rather than Lucrezia, it is Micheletto who approaches Paolo by the fountain the following night. Micheletto asks the poor boy if he is expecting someone prettier than him. When Paolo cops to this, Micheletto says, 'Are you saying I'm not pretty? I've killed for less.' Heh. Sean Harris is awesome. Micheletto and Paolo have a conversation about love, which was a tad awkwardly written, but Sean Harris made it work.
What understanding mother and brother Vanozza and Cesare are; they practically stood guard while Lucrezia and Paolo sh@gged in her bedroom at Vanozza's house. Juan, on the other hand, cannot choose between the Spanish noblewomen under consideration for the enviable position of his wife, and he goes, drunk, to his mother's house. Cesare manages to talk him into leaving and not interrupting the sh@gging happening in one of the rooms.
Micheletto, because he is hyper-competent, finds Juan's spy. The poor lady of the evening actually announces she is a spy, and Micheletto kills her. Micheletto later dumps her body on a river.
Paolo makes good of his promise to leave, but he is followed by a group of men that include Juan. Juan makes Paolo's death look like suicide by hanging. I never cared for Paolo, but this is still a sad end for him, another innocent (as was the lady of the evening) caught in the tempestuous lives of the Borgias.
Rodrigo, Giulia and Vittorio/ Vittoria
With the remnants of the previous night's masked ball still being cleaned up, V/V hurries out of the Pope's bed that also has Giulia on it. I think this scene is mostly to show Rodrigo as sexually adventurous. It could also be a way to show that Giulia is willing to try anything to retain Rodrigo's affection, and the position in society it gives her. Either way, I care very little about this aspect of the episode.
Cardinal Sforza is concerned about Vatican finances while Rodrigo just wants to walk amongst the common people of Rome. This concern leads to him, Giulia and V/V, dressed in the latest commoner fashion, going on a night time stroll among the peasants. The poverty appals Rodrigo, which feels disingenuous to me because Rodrigo is not an idiot, and must surely be aware, to a certain degree, of what is happening outside his door. He says there is a branch of the Curia dedicated to helping the poor. He tells Giulia to go through the accounts to ensure the money goes to the poor, while he tackles the problem of pigeons in the city. Isn't Rodrigo supposed to be smart? Will he not feel insulted at getting the pigeon assignment? That he gave the assignment to himself is even more strange.
Anyway, the Pope approaches Cardinal Versucci, who has been in charge of the office of public works for a couple of decades, and who has built himself three palaces. He instructs the Cardinal to work with Giulia in going over the accounts, to ensure that the money for the poor goes to the poor.
I am glad Giulia will have something to do other than being the Pope's arm candy. However, I wish it had been established earlier that she was good with numbers, or has some experience in handling accounts. There must have been something in her background that led the Pope to entrust her his sensitive assignment. Was there any mention of this that I missed?
While Giulia tackles her complicated new job, the Pope lets loose a falcon to take care of the pigeon problem. Apparently, falcons eat pigeons, and so the pigeons start flying off when a single falcon arrives in the scene.
Apart from taking care of the pigeon problem, the Pope also tells Cesare he wants an ear on Naples. Prince Alfonso is dead, which the Pope thought was a shame because he would have made a good match for Lucrezia. Rodrigo, what is wrong with you? Will you not at least vet for crazy before even thinking of marrying your daughter off? Also, the Pope wants to know when King Charles leaves Naples.
Cardinal Della Rovere and His Monkey
Cardinal Della Rovere is staying with nuns and looks weak. The poisoning attempt by Cesare has left the Cardinal suspicious of food; he refuses to eat and drinks only rain water. A nun begs him to eat, and he asks for a monkey.
In a call back to the first season, the monkey tastes the food before Cardinal Della Rovere eats it. The Cardinal seems to have learnt something from Cesare. Also, the monkey is called Julius, which is to be the real life Cardinal's name as Pope.
The Cardinal leaves the nuns to go to a monastery in Perugia. He sits in a covered cart while a nun leads a donkey (?). Along the way, they are stopped by two men. The Cardinal stabs one on the neck with a piece of wood he whittled himself, and throws a knife at the other, hitting his chest. The Cardinal has gotten pretty good at killing.
Cesare
Cesare spent most of the episode immersed in Lucrezia's problem, but he did take the time to visit the Convent of St. Cecilia, where a certain Ursula Bonadeo now lives as Sister Martha. Do the other sisters not ask why Cardinal Borgia constantly asks to see Sister Martha? Anyway, Cesare forces Ursula to model for a fresco he commissioned. Cesare is notably rough with Ursula here; his dark side is very much on display, and on the woman he claims to passionately love. It is a short scene, but the way Cesare and Pinturicchio coolly survey Ursula near the end is disturbing.
Show: The Borgias (Showtime)
Season: Two
Episode Number in Series: 10
Episode Number in Season: Two
Episode Title: Paolo
Juan recruits a lady of the evening (not Paolo's friend) to follow Paolo around. After meeting with Paolo, Lucrezia returns home and asks Cesare's help so Paolo could meet little Giovanni. Cesare, of course, agrees.
Rather than Lucrezia, it is Micheletto who approaches Paolo by the fountain the following night. Micheletto asks the poor boy if he is expecting someone prettier than him. When Paolo cops to this, Micheletto says, 'Are you saying I'm not pretty? I've killed for less.' Heh. Sean Harris is awesome. Micheletto and Paolo have a conversation about love, which was a tad awkwardly written, but Sean Harris made it work.
What understanding mother and brother Vanozza and Cesare are; they practically stood guard while Lucrezia and Paolo sh@gged in her bedroom at Vanozza's house. Juan, on the other hand, cannot choose between the Spanish noblewomen under consideration for the enviable position of his wife, and he goes, drunk, to his mother's house. Cesare manages to talk him into leaving and not interrupting the sh@gging happening in one of the rooms.
Micheletto, because he is hyper-competent, finds Juan's spy. The poor lady of the evening actually announces she is a spy, and Micheletto kills her. Micheletto later dumps her body on a river.
Paolo makes good of his promise to leave, but he is followed by a group of men that include Juan. Juan makes Paolo's death look like suicide by hanging. I never cared for Paolo, but this is still a sad end for him, another innocent (as was the lady of the evening) caught in the tempestuous lives of the Borgias.
Rodrigo, Giulia and Vittorio/ Vittoria
With the remnants of the previous night's masked ball still being cleaned up, V/V hurries out of the Pope's bed that also has Giulia on it. I think this scene is mostly to show Rodrigo as sexually adventurous. It could also be a way to show that Giulia is willing to try anything to retain Rodrigo's affection, and the position in society it gives her. Either way, I care very little about this aspect of the episode.
Cardinal Sforza is concerned about Vatican finances while Rodrigo just wants to walk amongst the common people of Rome. This concern leads to him, Giulia and V/V, dressed in the latest commoner fashion, going on a night time stroll among the peasants. The poverty appals Rodrigo, which feels disingenuous to me because Rodrigo is not an idiot, and must surely be aware, to a certain degree, of what is happening outside his door. He says there is a branch of the Curia dedicated to helping the poor. He tells Giulia to go through the accounts to ensure the money goes to the poor, while he tackles the problem of pigeons in the city. Isn't Rodrigo supposed to be smart? Will he not feel insulted at getting the pigeon assignment? That he gave the assignment to himself is even more strange.
Anyway, the Pope approaches Cardinal Versucci, who has been in charge of the office of public works for a couple of decades, and who has built himself three palaces. He instructs the Cardinal to work with Giulia in going over the accounts, to ensure that the money for the poor goes to the poor.
I am glad Giulia will have something to do other than being the Pope's arm candy. However, I wish it had been established earlier that she was good with numbers, or has some experience in handling accounts. There must have been something in her background that led the Pope to entrust her his sensitive assignment. Was there any mention of this that I missed?
While Giulia tackles her complicated new job, the Pope lets loose a falcon to take care of the pigeon problem. Apparently, falcons eat pigeons, and so the pigeons start flying off when a single falcon arrives in the scene.
Apart from taking care of the pigeon problem, the Pope also tells Cesare he wants an ear on Naples. Prince Alfonso is dead, which the Pope thought was a shame because he would have made a good match for Lucrezia. Rodrigo, what is wrong with you? Will you not at least vet for crazy before even thinking of marrying your daughter off? Also, the Pope wants to know when King Charles leaves Naples.
Cardinal Della Rovere and His Monkey
Cardinal Della Rovere is staying with nuns and looks weak. The poisoning attempt by Cesare has left the Cardinal suspicious of food; he refuses to eat and drinks only rain water. A nun begs him to eat, and he asks for a monkey.
In a call back to the first season, the monkey tastes the food before Cardinal Della Rovere eats it. The Cardinal seems to have learnt something from Cesare. Also, the monkey is called Julius, which is to be the real life Cardinal's name as Pope.
The Cardinal leaves the nuns to go to a monastery in Perugia. He sits in a covered cart while a nun leads a donkey (?). Along the way, they are stopped by two men. The Cardinal stabs one on the neck with a piece of wood he whittled himself, and throws a knife at the other, hitting his chest. The Cardinal has gotten pretty good at killing.
Cesare
Cesare spent most of the episode immersed in Lucrezia's problem, but he did take the time to visit the Convent of St. Cecilia, where a certain Ursula Bonadeo now lives as Sister Martha. Do the other sisters not ask why Cardinal Borgia constantly asks to see Sister Martha? Anyway, Cesare forces Ursula to model for a fresco he commissioned. Cesare is notably rough with Ursula here; his dark side is very much on display, and on the woman he claims to passionately love. It is a short scene, but the way Cesare and Pinturicchio coolly survey Ursula near the end is disturbing.
Show: The Borgias (Showtime)
Season: Two
Episode Number in Series: 10
Episode Number in Season: Two
Episode Title: Paolo
Episode Written By: Neil Jordan
Episode Directed By: Neil Jordan
Original Air Date: April 15, 2012
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