So now to lighter fare:
First, I am dedicating this episode to the insanity of the one and only Prince Alfonso of Naples, his laugh, and his sister, the Princess Sancia. Their time on screen is oh so brief, but oh so worth it!
But wow the Borgias were beyond fab tonight. Well let's begin with the boring Della Rovere; he is soooo boring. What a waste of a wonderful actor--well to make a long story short, he got the backing of Charles of France, who I might add, seems to be sane. In fact, he had some wise words in reference to war in the manner of a battle hardened general, since I think he is still fighting the English on and off. It was refreshing, since every leader in Italy seems to be out of his mind.
So, it was a great night! Everyone was having fab sex, as I hope Vanozza is now as well. I love her name! My name is Vanessa so I think of it as the exotic version of my name. Anyway, I digress, as my favorite Prince of Naples is back!! Feeding chicken to his father and letting him spit it out! Enjoying some crazy and some weird sexually charged, sarcastic banter with his stunning riveting bastard sister, Sancia. Juan is there sitting next to the charming Sancia bringing warm wishes on behalf of the Pope and Joffre, her betrothed. The Prince says this is wonderful! The Borgia name etc.., as they are needing protection these fine days. Sancia says that the Borgia name has prowess both in and outside of the bedroom. Her brother says, oh, you naughty girl you would just take this one right now, wouldn't you sis. (mmm, I sense some other brother and sister pair had an incestuous moment in their past). Sancia says that she finds being a bastard so liberating, as Juan does not like being called that name, and his father did in fact rid all of his children of such a title. During this entire conversation, Sancia was massaging Juan's thigh and leg, while telling her brother she is a bastard and will marry whomever he decides. Do they rock or what?
So, Juan, is now deeply regretting not marrying the "bastard" daughter of the King of Naples. The good Prince suggests he get the special tour and go see his fave room. Remember that room? The crazy room full of stuffed enemies of King Ferrante. So, during the "tour", this is where it seems the lovely princess decided would be the perfect place to get laid. On the table no less with the stuffed ones looking on. I love her already.
So, continuing on we have Cesare, who was so unbelievable smoking hot, that it is really hard to believe how stupid Ursula has been; or maybe not. But I have to say that my thoughts were correct: she really thought that because of the hotness that is Cesare, who is a cardinal and who she thought was "conflicted" as she says later, would be a "win-win" for her. You know, because he was a conflicted man of God, she could make excuses for having hot sex with him. I mean she is the one who said "liberate me" on her way out of the wedding, I mean really.
So there she is having well, the best sex of her life for 3 weeks, putting her oh so weak heart in danger of falling in love! She did not notice that Cesare was not acting or saying "biblical" things. In fact, scaring her with his words! I wouldn't mind Cesare calling me Venus, but that's just me. I must say, you really get a feel for how sheltered some of these women are , ie Lucrezia was this way a well. Ursula was held under lock and key by her husband, probably having bad sex; so sexy, bad boy Cesare, was looking good. But if you are going to go for it, you should woman up and know what to expect. But this will be the only time that I can defend her, because in those days, you could be just that naive; but let's not get carried away. But I will say that her similarity to Lucrezia just becomes more and more apparent.
But alas, all good things must come to an end, and Ursula's delightful husband is found afloat in the Tiber.
So where does she go, but to Cesare, fully adorned in cardinal gear, to meet in church, to accuse him of killing her husband. At first he said nothing, but than she is all whiney, you made me sin, blah,blah. He says you wanted to be free of your husband! So she says that she has broken her marriage vows (are you kidding me with this?) and because she told him he was going to Ostia for two days, she was complicit in this act. She is condemned to a life of penance for what he has done, thus ending their "love" , I mean lust. So, while she was having such a good time getting laid for 3 weeks, breaking her marriage vows, being called Venus, Cesare has destroyed her life. Buying her feelings with murder no less! And now her abusive husband, was floating in the Tiber; dead; courtesy of one Cesare Borgia. Oh, and PS Ursula, if you were so worried about being a saint, perhaps sleeping w/a cardinal, saying all your flirty, poetic crap, and asking him every five minutes if he loves you, was not the smartest thing to be doing.
So she says he has the devil in him, and now Cesare is all frustrated, said the Baron challenged him by insulting his mother, and lost; it was that simple, so it was not murder. He thought he was doing something for someone he could love, and how could that be so wrong? She asked that he liberate her and then she whines about how he had promised not to engage her husband. Cesare says that he thought that she wanted him to stay out of harms way, and says, well, she does not know him at all.
So poor Cesare, who thought he was so naive? So here he is so desperate for someone to know him like his beloved, that he comes back to reality for a moment, and realizes that she does not know him at all. How could she? So he grabs her arm and gives her a reality check; "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. And if I have failed you in the process, I am truly sorry." Cesare Borgia, episode 1.6, "The French King".
So she says she is leaving, and he asks to a convent? She says yes, and oh, the Abelard/Heloise thing again, oh poor Cesare, that line, really? It made me sad at how pathetic it sounded. At least the first time he meant it, now he was so fired up, and he was yelling she would never be free of him (scary), crying, and that he would hunt her down no matter where she went. She said he was right, she never would be free of him; the first thing she has said with strength and conviction since we met her. Too bad projecting his little Abelard/Heloise, hero fantasy did not work. It is no wonder Cesare becomes a the man we know of, he is depressed, alone, and hates his life. He knows how smart and gifted he truly is; it is like being in a cage.
I'll say this about Cesare, he is a passionate, clever man, but you can see how he is slowly becoming more dangerous as time passes. He would not have become as dangerous if he could have kept Lucrezia unmarried and with him, and his father would release him. His fantasy with Lucrezia, is Heloise and Abelard, as he did not want her married. He would have liked her to be in a convent, unmarried, and they could write love letters to each other. But he knew that would never happen, as it was out of his control.
Thankfully, Lucrezia returns home just in time, for the wedding of their brother. There is some weird scene where Lucrezia lies down next to her father and he kisses her. And then of course she goes to find her beloved. Cesare is so excited to see her; as she is just what he needed. He asks about marriage, and he wants details, but she will not tell him all the sorted details of her married life (that she was raped for nights on end; no matter how much she loves him, she might feel shame and just not want him to know). Nor does she she tell him of Paolo, her "Narcissus". I don't think that telling your boyfriend, I mean brother, about your lover would be a good idea. She and Cesare really love their myths. He looks so rejected but she takes his hand, and not in so many words tells him about her marriage. She asks how his heart is, as she could tell there was something wrong.
They naturally hold hands and sit close and she tells him that husbands are more tolerable when not around. She tells Cesare of Sforza's "accident", and he smiles; like aah, nice work. Than he tells her that he has been heart broken, by a nun. So she smiles, and says like Heloise; their special little love story. But she says that of course he will find her, and he says yes, and she says they can write books together.
Naturally they are in husband and wife position at the wedding, and it looked like he has his hand over hers, or they are leaning into each other, and speaking as equals. I love how now they are like best friends, and even more like husband and wife. I love how he looks at her when they talk, he really is in love with his sister, which is so, so sad. It just makes his crying as Ursula left even more heartbreaking, as he really needs Lucrezia's support (he thought he could get it from Ursula).
It is interesting during the wedding how Lucrezia tells Cesare that she hates Sancia because she is so beautiful, and he says than she must hate herself. Now, she has not been gone that long, and yet she seems so much older, as does Cesare. The way she is looking at Sancia is like an older woman who is no longer as beautiful, looking at one much younger and beautiful. But isn't she still fourteen, or maybe about to be 15? It shows how the rape and abuse has taken its' toll, even though she has a kind lover.
So she says she will love her then, but still hate her deep down. So there they are, two peas in a pod. She is becoming hardened, and you can see the bitterness on her face as you know she is thinking how lucky Sancha is to be marrying a 13 year old who can't rape her every night. Cesare is just completely disillusioned, and becoming depressed and angry. He is the one who says he has found you can love and hate at the same time. Lucrezia even says isn't there a poem about just that? He says yes there is, and recites the Latin title.
Oh and sidebar: her Moor is now Daenerys Targaryen's body guard and part of the Dothraki tribe on Game of Thrones! That is if you are into that series..
So now to Juan:
Foolish, self centered and reckless! I will say his moments w/his father looking at future brides are so interesting. I had read that the actor who plays Juan made a name for himself in "Pillars of the Earth" on Starz. That is one of my fave books! Yet I still need to see the mini series as it got rave reviews. Anyway I digress.....
How awesome was it when Juan, Daddy B, and Cesare are discussing Sancia, and Juan says he has heard of Cesare's adventures, ie. Ursula, and Daddy B. laughs! Like yeah you are getting some (like he didn't know that already)! Lucrezia certainly did as she was always spying on him. I always find it interesting how Cesare never lets his brother's insults get him fired up, as I personally feel, he thinks Juan is an ass.
So all the boys are dining with their mother, and Joffre asks about Sancia, and Juan starts off saying she is ugly, etc... But then he goes over and lifts him up telling him how amazing she is, an angel from heaven (hah!) and he would marry her (jokingly), and Joffre says no she is my betrothed. This is when Cesare and Mama B, give each other looks as they know Juan has been a very bad boy.
Than he is home, drunk, feeling bad about himself, and beats the crap out of Vanozza's husband, because there are rumours that he is his son. He is drunk, and his mother kicks him out. Then Daddy B calls him in for a talk, and a slap, which was well deserved. He says that people are saying that Cesare would be better in his position, as a general and leader. Leaders do not have bar room brawls in their mother's home: warning #1. Juan is mortified, since he obviously has an inferiority complex, and begs his father not to do this to him. He asks how he can make amends. Daddy B had reminded him earlier that he had taken great care to keep his mother's rep intact, so his little brawl was very, very disrespectful. Daddy B says that he should start by begging his mother's forgiveness. He also reminds him that "You are our son. Do not make us regret that fact": warning #2.
So the wedding: Vanozza looked stunning in blue, as did Lucrezia. And really does anyone care enough about Ursula to see the comparison between her becoming a nun and Joffre getting married? No, and no again. I hope she's gone far, far away and Cesare finds someone much more interesting, and that he and Lucrezia will sleep together at least once. It's gross, but hey, it would make things juicier.
Highlights: Sancia wearing white and giving Juan naughty looks in her gorgeous, gorgeous wedding dress. That's Juan to the left....
Emmanuelle Chriqui is very beautiful and I have only seen her on "Entourage". So it is great to see her in a period series, as she is excellent in this part.
So it looks like we finally got to know Juan better, and Della Rovere has gotten his wish; the French will give him his war. But Charles will run the show, no questions asked, and I have to say that the Cardinal looked a bit scared. I would too if I just condemned Lord knows how many people to die, in his bid to get rid of Papa B.
http://koft2009.livejournal.com, see tag: tv: the borgias s.1
*Images and Quotes courtesy of Showtime's "The Borgia's"
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