Season 1 Episode 9
Upon entering the empty streets of Rome, King Charles asks Lucrezia for a private audience with her father the pope. Cardinal Della Rovere is visibly displeased with Lucrezia's sway on the French King; Lucrezia rubs salt on the cardinal's wound by handing him the reigns to her horse before escorting the King to the cathedral.
Inside, King Charles mistakes the simply-clad Rodrigo for a friar, and even apologises for interrupting his prayers. When he realises his mistake, the King falls to his knees and kisses Rodrigo's hand. King Charles is obviously surprised at finding the Pope thus attired. Wily Rodrigo skillfully establishes a common ground with the French King and speaks of the burdens of great office. When Rodrigo enquires whether King Charles has come to relieve him of the burdens of the papacy, the French King quickly denies it. Rodrigo offers to grant King Charles the papal investiture of the kingdoms of France and Naples.
Though he may have been taken by Lucrezia's charms and Rodrigo's simple clothing and talk of burdens of great office, King Charles is no fool. He forces Rodrigo to appoint Cesare as papal legate, to travel with the French army to Naples, and to remain there with the King. Cesare is angry at being a hostage. Rodrigo calmly tells his son to bring Micheletto ('For entertainment. For protection.') with him and, if the rumours of plague in Naples prove true, find his way home.
During a night time pause on the ride to Naples, Cesare and Micheletto school the two soldiers guarding them on killing. One of the soldiers asks for a demonstration of the garrote; Micheletto kills him, whilst Cesare uses a piece of wood to batter the head of the other. Cesare tells Micheletto they must ride to Pesaro, and to Giovanni Sforza.
Lucrezia has a brief reunion with Cesare in Rome; she informs her brother she is pregnant with a child who is not her husband's. Cesare takes Lucrezia to the Convent of St. Cecilia's, and leaves her in the care of Ursula. Cesare promises to get Lucrezia's marriage to Giovanni Sforza annulled.
Disguised as peasants with a vegetable cart, Cesare and Micheletto wait for Giovanni Sforza inside the walls of Pesaro. Micheletto knocks the lord of the castle unconscious, places him in a sack, and carries him to the cart where Cesare awaits. Not one of the other peasants milling about notice this. Cesare and Micheletto drive back to Rome with the bound Sforza. Cesare roughs Giovanni up a bit before presenting him to Rodrigo.
With Burchard in attendance, Rodrigo tells Giovanni of his desire to have the Lord Sforza's marriage to Lucrezia annulled. Since the only ground allowed by law for an annulment is non-consummation, a heavily pregnant Lucrezia testifies from behind a screen to the College of Cardinals that Giovanni Sforza is impotent. Giovanni asserts he can prove consummation but stops short of speaking of the wedding night; instead, he says simply that Lucrezia is lying. A demonstration of consummation between Giovanni and Lucrezia is immediately nixed; Burchard suggested that a public demonstration of Giovanni's potency with one or two willing maidens would suffice. Rodrigo magnanimously spares Giovanni the public sufferance, and says the audience of the College of Cardinals would do, in lieu of members of the public.
A mattress is brought in, followed by two overweight courtesans. Giovanni finally puts a stop to the humiliating proceeding (there is open laughter from amongst the cardinals), declares himself impotent, and asserts his marriage to Lucrezia is not consummated. Lucrezia gives birth at the convent. The episode closes with the whole Borgia clan around Lucrezia's bed side --- Rodrigo, Vanozza, Cesare, Juan, Gioffre, Giulia, Gioffre's wife Sancia, and Ursula.
Strays
■ King Charles arrives at Naples and finds stacks of bodies whose lives were claimed by the plague.
■ Rodrigo gets Burchard to find precedent for the punishment he gives the cardinals for leaving Rome: to present themselves in sackcloth and ashes at the next convention. With the members of the College of Cardinals back (and in rough brown robes and ashes on their forehead), Rodrigo calls on them one by one to kneel in front of him and show their penitence by donating large sums to the Vatican coffers.
■ Cesare offers a cessation of hostilities with Cardinal Della Rovere. Cesare recognises the cardinal as a worthy opponent whose strength Rodrigo may need. When Cardinal Della Rovere points out that Rodrigo already has Cesare, Cesare says that surely, the cardinal already knows Cesare will not be a man of the church forever. Cesare points out that he could have had the cardinal killed twice. Cardinal Della Rovere declares his opposition to the Borgia papacy will end only with his death.
■ When the French ambassador complains of the disappearance of Cesare from the French army, Rodrigo denies knowing where his son is. Rodrigo tells the ambassador that the King of France may appoint any other cardinal he wishes as papal legate, and even suggests Cardinal Sforza. At this time, of course, the Borgias are particularly displeased with the Sforzas, and an appointment as papal legate to the King of France means having to go to plague-infected Naples.
■ I wrote this recap in as straightforward a manner as I could, because my health seemed to have gotten better, then got worse again. I enjoyed my re-watch of the first season of The Borgias a lot more than I thought I would. This finale of the first season has its charms, but it is the weakest amongst the three season finales The Borgias has (so far). Curiously, one of the most hated characters when the first season aired back in 2011, Giovanni Sforza, is my pick for the most fascinating character for this episode. The morning after their horrifying wedding night, Giovanni carelessly commented on Lucrezia's virginity. When the question of consummation was raised, Giovanni could have spoken of that, or of any of the many other times he brutally asserted his marital rights on the young, suffering Lucrezia. He did not. However he may despise his wife's origins, he took the humiliation rather than saying a word of about their private time. This is not at all a defence of Giovanni Sforza's character, or an attempt to find something good in him. I do not find him sympathetic. I find him fascinating. He is a proud, cruel man, but there are outposts he refuses to cross, no matter the price. One of them is speaking of his private time with his wife. I do not think his refusal to talk of this is necessarily out of concern for Lucrezia's dignity; rather, it could more likely be that he simply thinks it is beneath him to speak in such a manner about about a lady, especially his wife. In any case, I am going back to bed, and wish you all a happy The Borgias day.:)
Quotes
King Charles: 'We smell politics. We dislike politics.'
Rodrigo: 'Display has its purpose. But simplicity must rule our hearts.'
Rodrigo: 'We did love our children, did we not, my dear?'
Vanozza: 'To a fault.'
Show: The Borgias (Showtime)
Season: One
Episode Number in Season: Nine
Episode Number in Series: Nine
Episode Title: Nessuno
Episode Writer: Neil Jordan
Episode Director: Jeremy Podeswa
Original Air Date: May 22, 2011
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