Filling the Renaissance boots that The Tudors left, Showtime is broadcasting The Borgias, a drama about the conspiring and scandalous papal family of Pope Alexander VI. In this lavish Canadian-Hungarian-Irish co-production, viewers trade foxy Irishman Jonathan Rhys-Meyers for venerable English actor Jeremy Irons. When watching The Borgias, it helps to have a love of history (though not historical accuracy) and a healthy (or unhealthy) skepticism toward the Catholic Church.
Irons plays Rodrigo Borgia, a Spaniard who has elevated himself to vice-chancellor before buying votes to become pope (a type of simony) in 1492. As written in the first few seconds of the series, the pope at that time had the power to crown kings and Rodrigo plans on using his status as a kingmaker to control the Italian provinces, maybe all of Christendom. He and his son Cesare (François Arnaud) also have to deal with plots to dethrone him (especially by Giuliano della Rovere, the future Pope Julius II), all while fornicating and professing shady views on God and sin. The acting is superb, the costumes are sumptuous, and the music (especially in the theme) is stirring.
The show definitely takes pot shots at religion. Rodrigo and Cesare repeatedly break their vows of celibacy. When Cesare questions whether or not his is fit for the clergy because of their numerous sins, Rodrigo says, “God will forgive us.” But despite his paradoxical views on sin, Rodrigo is actually a forward-thinking pope. He corrects his sons by saying Jesus was killed by Romans, not Jews, and that “Moors” aren’t heathens because worshipping a different god is still religion. Of course, it pays to be tolerant when they pay to live in Rome. “God knows we need the cash,” he says anachronistically.
The violence on this show is vivid, yet not cartoonish most of the time. When Michelotto cuts the throat of a guard in a public bath, only the guard’s face is shown but it is then hidden by blood, which quickly cuts to a shot of red-robed cardinals pledging to spill their blood for Catholicism. Michelotto, a plain-faced, cold-blooded assassin does most of the really dirty work. Sean Harris pulls off the matter of fact tone of someone who has no feeling about taking life — except when critiquing the level of skill. In one chilling moment when convincing Cesare of his supremacy as an assassin, he says, “I’ve smothered infants in their beds, but only when the parents paid me.”
As with all historical fiction, The Borgias plays fast and loose with the facts. With the exception of Rodrigo’s daughter Lucrezia telling her husband Giovanni Sforza she would “fain” hear his voice, the dialogue isn’t Shakespearian to the point of obscurity. However, the politics are a bit hard to follow at times. And the way the shows plays with ages is disturbing. Cesare is supposed to be 16, which would make his promotion to cardinal even more nakedly nepotistic. Also, Lucrezia is supposed to be 12. She is 14 on the show, but before that was revealed, I wondered if the character played by 23-year-old Holliday Grainger was supposed to be slow. Giovanni Sforza was 26 at the time of their wedding, still sickening but far less nauseating than the middle-aged character in the series.
Showtime hopes that everyone who watched The Tudors will watch The Borgias, but it doesn’t quite work like that. When it comes to costume dramas, the farther the setting from our own, the less appeal there is. Henry VIII is one of the most well-known English monarchs. How many have heard of the Borgias? Viewers can tune in for the sex and violence and power plays, but to enjoy the show, they have to love history. Mad Men benefits from, besides its high quality, Americans more or less knowing what happened in the 1960s. It wouldn’t be the same show if it was set in 1960s France.
The Borgias is a good show that’s already been picked up for a second season, but I wonder if this will be another Rome. You can watch it on Sundays at 10 p.m.
