Marco Polo Recap 'Rendering'

Benedict Wong as Kublai Khan. Image from Marco Polo, streamed via Netflix

Season 1 Episode 8

A prisoner of the Khan at the beginning, Marco eventually found himself almost an advisor to the powerful ruler of the Mongol. Like Nergui, there was a reason why Marco did not feel a compelling need to leave; he was comfortable in his service to the Khan. He certainly did not intend to give the Chinese prisoner he spoke to false hope; Marco saw the Khan as a fair ruler, a man on whose lands people were free to worship their gods, and where they could ply their trades. As time passed, it was almost as though Marco had forgotten how the Khan himself murdered a servant for the crime of hearing Marco lie.

On the eve of the assault on the walled city of the Song, Marco witnessed the brutality that lay beneath the genial exterior of the Khan. Marco had assumed that the prisoners they took, villagers, would be kept as prisoners and eventually, given the chance to declare their allegiance to the Khan. Instead, they were horrifically murdered, their bodies dismembered to be used as weapons in the fight. So shaken was Marco that he immediately started gathering his things so he could leave.

Kokachin was in his tent, tearful and beautiful. When Tulga tried to force her to leave with him, she refused. Tulga ended up killing her faithful servant Za Bing. Kokachin herself killed her former love Tulga with an arrow. Nergui had made her choice; she wanted to remain Kokachin, to marry Prince Jingim, to live the pampered life of a princess.

Yet the death of Za Bing hit her hard. She confessed her secret to Marco. Instead of fleeing as he planned, Marco remained, and ended up in bed with Prince Jingim's future bride.

Even before the Mongol army was slaughtered in the trap Jia Sidao set, Byamba already told Marco to leave. Jingim did not trust him, and Ahmad had been fueling his mistrust. When Marco asked Byamba if he trusted him, it was almost as though Marco did not understand that in the society they lived in, Byamba's trust mattered less than the trust of the Prince. If the assault had been successful, perhaps Marco's position would be more secure. Yet, as Jingim pointed out, the attack was based on the information Marco provided. Jingim accused Marco of betraying them. 

Kokachin (Nergui) and Marco Polo. Image from Marco Polo, streamed via Netflix.

Following Kaidu's victory at Wuchang, the Khan's army seemed like a force that could not be stopped. By the end of the episode, the Khan had no choice but to give the order of retreat. Too many were slaughtered. The Khan's sons were bloody from the battle. Inside the imperial city, Ahmad supervised the painting on his wall and strengthened his twisted bond with Mei Lin. The defeat of the khanate left only one person unscathed, the Khan's adopted son who remained in his palace. Now, with the empress's permission, Ahmad dangled Ling Ling to Mei Lin, the same leverage Jia Sidao held when he tasked his sister to infiltrate Cambulac.

Strays

■ Jia Sidao read Vice Regent Yusuf correctly. Yusuf agreed with the Prince; he did not want to attack on the strength of Marco's observations from weeks ago. As Prince Jingim pointed out, Jia Sidao knew there was an attempt on his life. Whatever weakness on the wall would have already been fixed.

■ Prince Jingim failed in taking Wuchang. Kaidu did not.

■ Khutulun told her father that she has chosen Byamba. Byamba may be the son of a consort, but he was still the Khan's son. Khutulun's closeness to him fulfilled her father's instruction to remain close to the court.

■ The Dowager Empress was now Jia Sidao's prisoner.

■ During their meeting, Vice Regent Yusuf correctly surmised that Jia Sidao was still under the impression that Empress Chabi was killed by Mei Lin. The Khan presented Empress Chabi to Jia Sidao after their parley as a way to mess with his mind.

■ Jing Fei killed herself after Jia Sidao learnt of her betrayal. 

■ Empress Chabi wanted south China to be the Khan's final conquest. 

Director: John Maybury

Writer: Brett Conrad

Original Release Date: 12 December 2014