Whilst I was trying to decide what to use as title for this recap (and I picked The King Of France before I realised it is pretty much the same as the episode's title), I was marvelling at how many vivid characters this show has. In this episode alone, we have Giovanni Sforza (cruel lord and husband, proud, considered by other Sforzas as somewhat lesser variety), King Ferrante of Naples (widely known for his ruthlessness and his grotesque supper table, now an invalid), Prince Alfonso (dancing between madness and practical leadership, fond of his family), King Charles of France (plainspoken, steely, clear-eyed in matters of war, an experienced military commander) --- and these are just the lords and leaders. In the previous episode, there was Ludovico of Milan, who kept his nephew shackled and caged, and at one point peed on him. There are also quite a number of auxiliary characters, along with the Borgias themselves, and of course Micheletto. It is to the show's credit that it manages to juggle all these different personalities, each with their own voices and idiosyncrasies, and weave a coherent, engaging narrative for each episode.
This episode is packed with multiple storylines, crisscrossing through different localities. I can imagine that a viewer new to The Borgias may find this episode tricky. There are also, curiously, quite a number of s#x scenes in this episode. The Borgias does not really have too many s#x scenes,; it is just that, at this point of the narrative, all the Borgias seem to be getting some. Rodrigo is with Giulia, Lucrezia is with Paolo, Cesare is with Ursula, Juan is with Sancia, then Sancia is with young Gioffre.
Whilst on the subject of s#x scenes --- The Borgias may never have shown anything along the lines of the meereenese knot in Game Of Thrones, but some of its s#x scenes are memorable in their own right. Perhaps the most notable is the congress between siblings Cesare and Lucrezia in the third season. I never even wanted the two of them to be l0vers, but their s#x scene was a mesmerising blend of tenderness and passion. There was also the time when Lucrezia had to consummate her marriage to Prince Alfonso in front of Cesare and the King of Naples, also in the third season. Lucrezia and Cesare locked eyes during the act, and a scene that was already uncomfortably intimate gathered a dangerous edge in the dark passion in Cesare's face, and Lucrezia's acceptance of his distant caress.
This first season saw several brutal s#x scenes involving Lucrezia and her husband Giovanni Sforza. The most disturbing s#x scene in this episode (for me, more disturbing that Juan and Sancia's l0vemaking on King Ferrante's grotesque supper table) is the implied wedding night of Sancia and young Gioffre. Not only did Juan sh@g Sancia in the room next door, Gioffre is also so very young, one who still drinks milk before bedtime. Rodrgio's ambition knows no limits, his children mere chess pieces, no matter what the cause to their emotional well-being. I can only hope that Sancia will be, as Juan asked, nice to Gioffre.
As odd as it may be, given that he sh@gged his brother's wife, I do believe Juan is genuinely fond of his family, and in this episode, concerned for young Gioffre. In his mind, his actions (and he does plenty of atrocious things, especially in the second season) are fully justified because they are done to protect his family. Juan also seems to be the most touchy at the subject of the family's humble origins. He beats up Vanozza's ex husband Theo, driven to violence by the whispers that one of the Borgia children was fathered not by the pope. Rodrigo berates Juan, brings up talk that Cesare is better suited to Juan's stature, assures Juan there is no truth to the whispers that Theo fathered one of the Borgia children, and slaps his wayward son.
In Pesaro, Lucrezia carves a niche of happiness for herself with her husband's injury and the attentions of Paolo. Lucrezia's tender ministrations wins her a modicum of civility from Giovanni Sforza (he forgives her for being a Borgia), as though for the first time, in his own way, he is looking at her as a human being. Yet Giovanni is blind to the triumph in Lucrezia's eyes. With Giovanni confined to small quarters in the ground floor of the castle because he cannot mount the stairs, Lucrezia brings her l0ver Paolo to the bedchambers she shares in unhappy times with her husband.
Cesare, too, finds three weeks of bliss with Ursula, until the bloated body of the Baron washes up and is identified. Overwhelmed by guilt, knowing that the three weeks she spent with Cesare were bought with her husband's blood, Ursula pledges to spend the rest of her life in a nunnery. Cesare vows to find her.
Young Gioffre's wedding to Sancia of Naples briefly reunite Cesare and Lucrezia, both now carrying burdens in their hearts. Lucrezia chooses not to tell her brother of the treatment she has gotten in the hands of Giovanni Sforza. For Lucrezia, her coming of age includes keeping silent of her deepest pain.
In France, Cardinal Della Rovere persuades King Charles to invade Italy, seat the cardinal in the papal throne and, in exchange, take control of Naples. The king demonstrates the destructive power of chained cannon balls, and lectures the cardinal on the ugliness of war. A veteran of many battles, the king minces no words on the reality of war, one that the cardinal may not entirely comprehend. In the end, King Charles agrees to take his army to Italy, on the condition that no one will question the behaviour of his men. This war the cardinal wanted will be fought on French terms.
This episode is packed with multiple storylines, crisscrossing through different localities. I can imagine that a viewer new to The Borgias may find this episode tricky. There are also, curiously, quite a number of s#x scenes in this episode. The Borgias does not really have too many s#x scenes,; it is just that, at this point of the narrative, all the Borgias seem to be getting some. Rodrigo is with Giulia, Lucrezia is with Paolo, Cesare is with Ursula, Juan is with Sancia, then Sancia is with young Gioffre.
Whilst on the subject of s#x scenes --- The Borgias may never have shown anything along the lines of the meereenese knot in Game Of Thrones, but some of its s#x scenes are memorable in their own right. Perhaps the most notable is the congress between siblings Cesare and Lucrezia in the third season. I never even wanted the two of them to be l0vers, but their s#x scene was a mesmerising blend of tenderness and passion. There was also the time when Lucrezia had to consummate her marriage to Prince Alfonso in front of Cesare and the King of Naples, also in the third season. Lucrezia and Cesare locked eyes during the act, and a scene that was already uncomfortably intimate gathered a dangerous edge in the dark passion in Cesare's face, and Lucrezia's acceptance of his distant caress.
This first season saw several brutal s#x scenes involving Lucrezia and her husband Giovanni Sforza. The most disturbing s#x scene in this episode (for me, more disturbing that Juan and Sancia's l0vemaking on King Ferrante's grotesque supper table) is the implied wedding night of Sancia and young Gioffre. Not only did Juan sh@g Sancia in the room next door, Gioffre is also so very young, one who still drinks milk before bedtime. Rodrgio's ambition knows no limits, his children mere chess pieces, no matter what the cause to their emotional well-being. I can only hope that Sancia will be, as Juan asked, nice to Gioffre.
As odd as it may be, given that he sh@gged his brother's wife, I do believe Juan is genuinely fond of his family, and in this episode, concerned for young Gioffre. In his mind, his actions (and he does plenty of atrocious things, especially in the second season) are fully justified because they are done to protect his family. Juan also seems to be the most touchy at the subject of the family's humble origins. He beats up Vanozza's ex husband Theo, driven to violence by the whispers that one of the Borgia children was fathered not by the pope. Rodrigo berates Juan, brings up talk that Cesare is better suited to Juan's stature, assures Juan there is no truth to the whispers that Theo fathered one of the Borgia children, and slaps his wayward son.
In Pesaro, Lucrezia carves a niche of happiness for herself with her husband's injury and the attentions of Paolo. Lucrezia's tender ministrations wins her a modicum of civility from Giovanni Sforza (he forgives her for being a Borgia), as though for the first time, in his own way, he is looking at her as a human being. Yet Giovanni is blind to the triumph in Lucrezia's eyes. With Giovanni confined to small quarters in the ground floor of the castle because he cannot mount the stairs, Lucrezia brings her l0ver Paolo to the bedchambers she shares in unhappy times with her husband.
Cesare, too, finds three weeks of bliss with Ursula, until the bloated body of the Baron washes up and is identified. Overwhelmed by guilt, knowing that the three weeks she spent with Cesare were bought with her husband's blood, Ursula pledges to spend the rest of her life in a nunnery. Cesare vows to find her.
Young Gioffre's wedding to Sancia of Naples briefly reunite Cesare and Lucrezia, both now carrying burdens in their hearts. Lucrezia chooses not to tell her brother of the treatment she has gotten in the hands of Giovanni Sforza. For Lucrezia, her coming of age includes keeping silent of her deepest pain.
In France, Cardinal Della Rovere persuades King Charles to invade Italy, seat the cardinal in the papal throne and, in exchange, take control of Naples. The king demonstrates the destructive power of chained cannon balls, and lectures the cardinal on the ugliness of war. A veteran of many battles, the king minces no words on the reality of war, one that the cardinal may not entirely comprehend. In the end, King Charles agrees to take his army to Italy, on the condition that no one will question the behaviour of his men. This war the cardinal wanted will be fought on French terms.
Strays
■ Silly Giovanni Sforza thinks he is being nice when he tells his wife, 'I see now that nobility springs from the soul, not from the blood. I forgive you the accident of your family name.' To borrow Tyrion Lannister's words, she would have made him a good wife, if only he had had the sense to love her.
■ When Giovanni, sleeping downstairs because of his broken leg, wakes to the sound of Lucrezia and Paolo's l0vemaking, the maid Francesca hurriedly stirs butter to cover the true source of the sound.
■ It was nice to see Prince Alfonso again, however briefly. True to his entertainingly mad character, Prince Alfonso feeds his father chicken whilst hosting Juan in Naples.
■ Thank you, Show, for the shirtless Cesare scene.
■ I have written a lot of the chemistry between Cesare and Lucrezia, but the entire Borgia family is really quite well cast, and have excellent chemistry. I love an early scene in this episode, when Juan teasingly alludes to Ursula (causing Cesare to look uncomfortable), and Rodrigo laughs, obviously also aware of Cesare's married love.
Quotes
Ursula: 'You make me hope. And I'm afraid of hope.'
King Charles: 'War is ugly, Cardinal. Far uglier than I could ever be.'
King Charles: 'No war is just. War is chaos, brute force mustered against brute force until one side is destroyed, utterly.'
King Charles: 'There is no honour in war... There is blood, death, armour against armour, until one side surrenders in death or domination. Be careful what you pray for, Cardinal. If you pray for war you will find yourself in a place beyond prayer itself.'
King Charles: 'He is old, this Ferrante, and uglier than me.'
Ursula: 'You have not given me a future. You have given me a lifelong penance. I am party to your crime.'
Cesare: 'I was born with a stain. A mark. Like the mark of Cain. But it is the mark of my father, my family. The mark of Borgia. I have tried to be other than I am, and I have failed.'
Ursula: 'You have the devil's insight, Cardinal. You read what my heart wanted, and you gave it to me. You gave me joy, through a crime I could not have conceived of, and now I must live my life in penance, praying for forgiveness.'
Cesare: 'I will search you out. Like Abelard and Héloïse. You may find a nunnery cell, but you will never be free of me!'
■ Silly Giovanni Sforza thinks he is being nice when he tells his wife, 'I see now that nobility springs from the soul, not from the blood. I forgive you the accident of your family name.' To borrow Tyrion Lannister's words, she would have made him a good wife, if only he had had the sense to love her.
■ When Giovanni, sleeping downstairs because of his broken leg, wakes to the sound of Lucrezia and Paolo's l0vemaking, the maid Francesca hurriedly stirs butter to cover the true source of the sound.
■ It was nice to see Prince Alfonso again, however briefly. True to his entertainingly mad character, Prince Alfonso feeds his father chicken whilst hosting Juan in Naples.
■ Thank you, Show, for the shirtless Cesare scene.
■ I have written a lot of the chemistry between Cesare and Lucrezia, but the entire Borgia family is really quite well cast, and have excellent chemistry. I love an early scene in this episode, when Juan teasingly alludes to Ursula (causing Cesare to look uncomfortable), and Rodrigo laughs, obviously also aware of Cesare's married love.
Quotes
Ursula: 'You make me hope. And I'm afraid of hope.'
King Charles: 'War is ugly, Cardinal. Far uglier than I could ever be.'
King Charles: 'No war is just. War is chaos, brute force mustered against brute force until one side is destroyed, utterly.'
King Charles: 'There is no honour in war... There is blood, death, armour against armour, until one side surrenders in death or domination. Be careful what you pray for, Cardinal. If you pray for war you will find yourself in a place beyond prayer itself.'
King Charles: 'He is old, this Ferrante, and uglier than me.'
Ursula: 'You have not given me a future. You have given me a lifelong penance. I am party to your crime.'
Cesare: 'I was born with a stain. A mark. Like the mark of Cain. But it is the mark of my father, my family. The mark of Borgia. I have tried to be other than I am, and I have failed.'
Ursula: 'You have the devil's insight, Cardinal. You read what my heart wanted, and you gave it to me. You gave me joy, through a crime I could not have conceived of, and now I must live my life in penance, praying for forgiveness.'
Cesare: 'I will search you out. Like Abelard and Héloïse. You may find a nunnery cell, but you will never be free of me!'
Show: The Borgias (Showtime)
Season: One
Episode Number in Season: Six
Episode Number in Series: Six
Episode Title: The French King
Episode Writer: Neil Jordan
Episode Director: John Maybury
Original Air Date: May 1, 2011
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