The Borgias Recap 'Siblings'

Image from The Borgias, streamed via iFlix

Season 3 Episode 3

It has been quite a while since I last watched an episode of The Borgias and wrote a recap. I have been wanting to recap the third episode of the third season, the only The Borgias episode I have yet to recap, yet my real life responsibilities pulled me away from this blog for too long. I am back now, as you can see from the number of new posts of late. I intend to continue trying to figure out a way to balance my full time job and blogging.

My resolve to continue blogging notwithstanding, I felt more than a little lost when I played this episode. I had to skim through a few of my old recaps because I had forgotten the names of some of the cardinals. A few minutes in, however, and I could well remember why The Borgias was one of the first shows I decided to recap when I began this blog. An absorbing tale of family and power, The Borgias is one of those shows that deserved a much larger audience than it had whilst it aired.

The third episode of its final season saw the family busy with preparations for Lucrezia's wedding. The Pope's daughter was to marry Alfonso of Naples, and Cesare was dispatched to negotiate the final treaty. Cesare was decidedly unimpressed with Naples, which appeared to have been laid to waste by the French occupation. King Ferdinand boasted of an army of ten thousand, yet Micheletto saw only junk in their armoury. Cesare threatened to sever the alliance when the King refused Lucrezia's desire to keep her child Giovanni by her side after her marriage.

The marriage pushed through, however. In a show of strength, King Ferdinand invited Caterina Sforza to the wedding, along with other personalities who were known enemies to the Borgias. None of the political infighting should have registered with Lucrezia, who was marrying Alfonso, a man who truly loved her. Just as they were about to consummate their marriage, however, Alfonso saw that Cesare added a question mark to his name, in a table that divided Borgia allies and enemies. Hurt, the groom left the bride on their wedding night. Hurt, too, Lucrezia climbed naked to her brother's bed. People already spoke of them as lovers, she reasoned out. Why not engage in the pleasure they were already accused of partaking?

Francois Arnaud and Holliday Grainger have such phenomenal chemistry, and they deployed that to full effect here. Their lovemaking was tender, full of trust and sweetness. I did not even want Cesare and Lucrezia to actually get together (I thought their tragedy was an unfulfilled love) but I am at a loss on how else this scene could have been done better. It would break my heart if these two never worked together again.

Rewatching this episode made me miss The Borgias all over again. I am comforted by the thought that the show ended on a high note. I am grateful to have this blog where I am able to share my thoughts and communicate with fellow fans through here and Twitter. Though I often necessarily disappear into my real life work, I feel privileged to have met you all.

Strays

■ Rodrigo continued stripping Cardinals of their properties and annexing them to Rome's coffers.

■ Cesare wanted command of Rome's ill-equipped army.

■ The French ambassador was in Court to seek an annulment for his King. After Lucrezia's wedding, Rodrigo wanted Cesare to go to France and secure himself a wife.

■ Rufio tried to convince other families to stand against the Borgias by showing them the poor state of the papal armies, in a report purportedly commissioned by Cesare himself.

■ I might have shivered a little when Cesare got Lucrezia's attention by lightly touching her earring from behind. I cannot think of any other on screen couple with this jaw-dropping chemistry.

■ Caterina to Cesare: 'You could sink your steel into me. To the hilt, if you wish.' Naughty, naughty.