The Borgias

Plot overview

The series follows the rise of the Borgia family to the pinnacle of the Catholic Church and their struggles to maintain their grip on power. The beginning of the first season depicts the election of Rodrigo Borgia to the papacy through simony and bribery, with the help of his sons, Cesare and Juan. Upon winning the election, Rodrigo Borgia becomes Pope Alexander VI.

He and his family are thrust deeply into the murky heart of politics in fifteenth-century Europe: from shifting loyalties within the College of Cardinals to the ambitions of the kings of Europe to the venomous rivalries between the noble families of Italy at the time.

Meanwhile, enraged by his loss of the election to Borgia, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere travels across Italy and France, seeking allies to depose or kill Alexander: this would force another papal conclave and race for Pope, which della Rovere is convinced he would win without Borgia to oppose him.

The series also follows the complicated sibling relationships among Cesare, Juan, and Lucrezia. Between Cesare and Juan, there is deep rivalry, with jealousy and resentment on Cesare's side; inferiority and aggression on Juan's. Juan's descent into addiction, illness, malice, and madness in the second season leads to a shocking confrontation between him and Cesare that forever changes the family. Cesare and Lucrezia have an abiding intimacy and closeness which devolves into incest in Season 3. This is the show's exploration of the persistent rumors about the historical siblings. Their youngest sibling, Gioffre, is a minor player in the first season, not seen at all in the second, and does not become a major plot point until the third and final season.

The show also addressed Lucrezia's first and second marriage, her illegitimate child, the affair between Alexander VI and Giulia "La Bella" Farnese, the rise of Girolamo Savonarola in Florence, his Bonfire of the Vanities and eventual burning for heresy.

The series cancellation prevented the death of Pope Alexander VI and the succession of Pope Julius II from being explored, and ended before the downfall of Cesare Borgia.

Cast

Main cast

Jeremy Irons as Rodrigo Borgia / Pope Alexander VI: An ambitious clergyman and patriarch of the Borgia family, he uses his position to acquire wealth, power and influence, becoming pope in 1492. Shrewd and scheming, he is utterly devoted to his family but enjoys the company of beautiful women, as well. The Pope, despite his corruption and cunning, believes he is doing what is right but often questions himself and his actions when innocents are caught in the crossfire. His favourite child is clearly shown to be Lucrezia, and he has a special fondness for her mother, Vanozza.

François Arnaud as Cesare Borgia: Oldest son of Rodrigo, he is his father's consigliere in the church. However, he desires to leave the priesthood, preferring warfare to the clergy. Self-confident, impatient, and possessing a sharp wit, Cesare quickly earns a notorious reputation. He has a violent streak, mercilessly killing anyone to help the family's cause or eliminate romantic rivals. His love and devotion to his sister Lucrezia is his one soft spot. He hardens after the torture and death of his lover, Ursula Bonadeo, and the brutal treatment of his sister by her first husband, and brings terrible vengeance to the perpetrators of both crimes. Once disinterested in the papacy, he develops a taste for power which leads him to become a brilliant warrior and shrewd leader feared by all of Europe.

Holliday Grainger as Lucrezia Borgia: Daughter of Rodrigo, she is the apple of her father's eye. Brilliant, witty, and exceedingly beautiful, Lucrezia proves to be her father's main asset time and again, single-handedly saving the Borgia papacy on several occasions. There also seems to be an abnormal relationship between Lucrezia and her father in season 1. From its onset, the series implies an emotionally incestuous relationship between her brother Cesare and her. Her first love is Prince Djem, and when he is murdered, she is truly heartbroken. Early in the series, she is betrothed at a young age to the abusive Giovanni Sforza, and suffers from an unhappy marriage. While married to Sforza, she has a passionate affair with Paolo, a servant, and has a child by him, but he, too, is murdered. When Lucrezia and Giulia are captured by the French king, she charms him with her wit and beauty to save Rome. She rejects her father's attempts to get her to remarry, before eventually accepting Alfonso of Aragon as her new husband. Their marriage is a failure, and drives her into Cesare's forbidden arms.

Joanne Whalley as Vanozza Cattaneo: Courtesan and mother of the pope's children, her position as the matriarch of the family is threatened by the Borgias' newly acquired powers and the pope's new mistress, but eventually she and Giulia form a sort of friendship, and she remains in the Pope's heart. She resides in a villa and then in a dead Cardinal's Palace.

Supporting cast

Ronan Vibert as Giovanni Sforza: The Lord of Pesaro, picked as the husband of Lucrezia by the pope in exchange for support from the Sforza clan. A cold and beastly man, he rapes Lucrezia repeatedly at the beginning of the marriage. He breaks his leg after falling off a horse thanks to a scheme by stable boy Paolo out of love for Lucrezia. The household staff all hate him and several of them side with Lucrezia and aid her in her affair with Paolo. He betrays the alliance with the Borgias by refusing to support them against the impending French invasion. He is later publicly humiliated by the Borgias, who convene the College of Cardinals to have his marriage to Lucrezia annulled on the grounds of impotence. When Sforza denies the charges, the Pope declares that he must prove it before the College and two prostitutes are brought in. Sforza, unable to bear the humiliation, declares that he is impotent and is sent from Rome in disgrace. Later, after making snide comments about Lucrezia to Cesare, who is on a visit to Forli to negotiate peace with his cousin, Caterina Sforza, Cesare attacks and kills him, igniting a war between the Borgias and Caterina.

Edward Akrout as Yves d'Alègre (c. 1450 – battle of Ravenna, 1512): an outstanding French captain who became known in the early Italian Wars (1494–1512).

Steven Berkoff as Girolamo Savonarola: An influential priest in Florence who is eventually killed for preaching against the corruption in the Church and the leadership of the Borgias.

Simon McBurney as Johannes Burchard: The Vatican Master of Ceremonies and a scholar with impeccable expertise on canon law. To keep his position (and life), Johannes remains deliberately ambiguous about his loyalties, at times assisting both Pope Alexander VI and his enemies in their scheming.

Augustus Prew as Alfonso II of Naples: The eldest son of King Ferdinand I of Naples. His father was old and senile, leaving himself as the effective ruler of Naples. In the series, he is eventually tortured to death by King Charles VIII, who blamed him for the plague that swept Naples, and his body is placed in his father's gruesome "Last Supper" as Judas Iscariot. However, the historical Alfonso fled to a Sicilian monastery, dying non-violently in 1495

Luke Pasqualino as Paolo: The young servant of Giovanni Sforza. He is outraged by his master's treatment of Lucrezia and sabotages Sforza's saddle, causing his master to suffer a serious injury. He and Lucrezia later have an affair, and he fathers a child with her. He helps her escape from the Sforza household, which cost him a violent whipping from his master. He travels to Rome to search for her, naively befriending a prostitute whom Juan Borgia employs to follow him. With the help of Cesare and Micheletto, he is reunited with Lucrezia and his child for one night. Shortly after he is murdered by Juan, who hangs him to make it look like a suicide. Lucrezia is heartbroken by his death and forces her father to give Paolo a Christian burial, while also having her revenge on Juan for Paolo's murder.

Production

The series is an international co-production, filmed in Hungary, and produced in Canada. Filming in Hungary mainly took place at the Korda Studios in Etyek, just west of Budapest.

Jordan had tried to direct a film about the Borgia reign for over a decade, and the project had many times come close to fruition, with stars such as Colin Farrell and Scarlett Johansson attached to it. In 2010, Steven Spielberg, the head of DreamWorks Pictures (now a producer of The Borgias), suggested the film be turned into a cable drama, and Jordan took the idea over to Showtime executives who, wanting to fill the void historical series The Tudors would leave after its final season, commissioned the series. Jordan has stated that the ideal would be a series of four seasons so he could span at least the period of Rodrigo Borgia's papacy (1492–1503).

For the role of Rodrigo Borgia, Jordan turned to Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons, known for playing villains and anti-heroes. The actor initially had second thoughts about his suitability to play someone historically described as an obese, dark-complexioned Spaniard, but Jordan wanted him to focus on the aspects of the character's obsession with power and life, which the actor could play to the hilt.

Episodes

The first season consists of nine episodes; the premiere encompassed two episodes, with the remaining seven episodes being first-aired each week following. The second season consisted of ten episodes, the first half of which were written by show creator Neil Jordan, whereas the latter half was written by noted English writer-director David Leland, who joined the series' staff as co-showrunner and producer and directed its last two episodes. The finale of season 2 was written by Guy Burt, who also helped storyline the season. Season 3, the show's final season, again consists of ten episodes, four of which were written by Burt, while the other six, including the final episode, were again written by Jordan.

Reception

The show's first season received generally favorable reviews in the United States, scoring 66 out of 100 based on 25 critics on Metacritic. Robert Bianco of USA Today said, "... seen from a safe distance, captured by a sterling cast led in marvelous high style by Jeremy Irons, and presented with all the brio, flair and sumptuous design TV can muster, the infamous family is almost addictively entertaining". Linda Stasi of the New York Post gave the season a 3.5/4 rating, remarking "'The Borgias' (the series) makes The Tudors look like a bunch of amateurs with bigger lips."

However, it was met with a more mixed reception in the United Kingdom. Rachel Ray of The Daily Telegraph called Irons' performance "disappointingly undiabolical". She added that the show is "for history buffs, not for viewers looking for another Godfather". Sarah Dempster of The Guardian mocked the show's dialogue and visual style: "The ridiculousness mounts. The opening double bill features impromptu palazzo brawls between priapic gadabouts in bejewelled codpieces ("Back to Spain, Borgia!") and flocks of miffed cardinals gliding along darkened corridors like motorised pepperpots". Sam Wollaston recalled the 1981 BBC miniseries of the same name, which had been widely panned, and said there was "more thought to this [2011] version, and attention to character. And Irons is proper". The Independent's Holly Williams praised Irons, but said elsewhere, "the acting and script feel about as substantial as a communion wafer. With power struggles, sex, assassinations and sibling rivalries, it should, at least, be racy and fun. Yet the storyline often feels curiously ungripping".

The second season's premiere was met with much more positive reviews, and holds a Metacritic score of 81/100, based on six reviews. Curt Wagner of RedEye has stated, "Based on the first four episodes of the new season, I'd say Jordan has figured things out. The Borgias still overflows with delicious intrigues, sex and deadly politics, but it now has an energy and constant forward momentum the first season lacked." Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter has stated, "Borgias retains the intrigue and conniving family politics that made season one such a pleasure ride, but it all has more snap now, with Jordan spinning the plates with aplomb."

Awards and nominations

The Borgias garnered 16 Emmy nominations throughout its run, and won three: twice for Outstanding Costumes for a Series (2011 & 2013) and once for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music (2011). The excellence of the costume design on the series was further recognized by the Costume Designers Guild, which twice nominated The Borgias for the Excellence in Period/Fantasy Television award (2011 & 2013).

Jeremy Irons was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 2012.