meridian_rose

For the a_war_of_roses "Fandom History 101" challenge; 2/5 The Borgias



Title: The Borgias
Format: TV Show
Era/Location: 16th century Italy
Brief Summary: When Rodrigo Borgia finagles his way to the Papacy, his son Cesare is forced to become a cardinal rather than the warrior he wants to be, younger son Juan becomes a lacklustre leader, and, to Cesare's horror, Lucrezia is forced into a violent marriage with a Sforza for political reasons. Cesare forms an alliance with assassin Micheletto and they do their best to protect the family from the myriad threats, and Rome from her enemies.
Why you like it/would recommend it: Cesare (Francois Arnaud) is amazing and the chemistry he has with Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) is off the charts. Cesare's character development is second only to Lucrezia's as she goes from naïve young woman to ruthless opponent, while Juan's selfishness, cruelty, and short-sightedness proves his downfall. Rodrigo is an interesting character – sometimes genuinely spiritual, sometimes pure plotter, and willing to put women in positions of great power. The triumvirate of Lucrezia, her mother, and her father's mistress Farnese is a high point when they work for the good of the Roman poor, and the relationships between Cesare and Lucrezia, Lucrezia and Micheletto, Micheletto and Cesare, are convincing and a pleasure to watch, and Micheletto is a canonically gay character.*
Another one not for historical purists but a show built around fascinating characters.

(*arguably bisexual but the only woman we see him bed is one he does so before killing her to frame a third party for the murder; it was business and not pleasure)

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submitted to the landcomm challenge post and cross-posted to my history/historical fantasy comm historyisalie/historyisalie, my tumblr and The Borgias sideblog