meridian_rose

Da Vinci's Demons S3e01 Semper Infidelis

An overview/review/my rambling thoughts

The episode opens where season 2 finished, with the battle of Otranto. Leo is about to fire on the lead ship when his father sees through a telescope that Leo's mother is onboard. He tells Leo this, tells him not to fire.

Maybe season one Leo would have listened, secure in his arrogance that he could find another way. But there's too much at stake for this more world weary Leo and he fires, sinking the ship.

This being a fantasy drama, however, and with Leo's mother clearly being mixed up with all things mystical – and the non-linear experience of time Leo has experienced - it's probably not the last we'll see of her.

Leo is understandably distraught, but not so much that he loses his wits. He later notices an unnatural amount of smoke hiding the rest of the fleet. However the jubilant celebrants refuse to acknowledge his concerns, always a recipe for disaster.

Sure enough the enemy has found a way to bring their fight to the gates of the city. We get to see ambidextrous Leo fighting with two swords.

In addition to the emotional wringer he's been put through already, Leo gets pretty banged up – this is the episode where Tom Riley talks about almost getting blown up. I wonder if the stab wound to the leg was added to help hide the limp from an ankle injury he also sustained on set.

When the immediate battle subsides, he finds a dazed Zo, and calms him, taking him to safety.
(source – seriously the whole gif set is amazing)
Why oh why was there no kiss, not even a gentle press of lips to the forehead?
For bisexual Leo, for comarades in arms in this time period, for probably bisexual Zo, for their close bond, it would have been incredibly in character. It would have given Leo/Zo shippers something to enjoy but wouldn't have crossed the line in declaring a romantic relationship. Missed opportunity, clearly one of those moments Tom Riley means where he and Gregg Chillin played it intimately with an "almost" kiss – but where it could have been a kiss.

From an earlier "I can fix this", which is pretty much Leo's catchphrase, we see him faced with something he cannot fix. It's clear that someone has stolen his designs – my money is on Lucrezia who the original spy, but it's possible there are other culprits, even future!Leo, given the twisty timelines. When Lorenzo eagerly champions Leo, insistent that Leo can fix this, Leo turns on him, almost weeping in despair. How, he wonders, can he fight himself?
(source: x)
(Source: x)

The renaissance tank fires, but Leo has, against the odds, found a way to use that to his advantage. He and his friends will live, for now.

Also on a shallower note I'm loving the hair this season.


Meanwhile, with all these goings-on, we don't get to catch up with Vanessa and Nico, ruling it up back in Florence, so we have that to look forward to in episode two.

Riario, however, well let's talk about the count. Dragged from the water after his suicide attempt last season, he's been brainwashed by the Enemies of Man to do their bidding.

I have to say a couple of things about this;
1) Blake Ritson is, as always, doing amazing work
2) There's a lot of talk about Leo/Riario this season but I don't like the idea of Leario happening only while/because he's brainwashed. It's a cop out and not a million miles away from tropes like "evil!bisexual"
3) When Riario is free from the brainwashing and/or ready to make his move all of the Enemies of Man are going to die
4) I'm not entirely sure how brainwashed he is. Riario is smart enough to fake it for the time being until he's ready to act

Even if he is brainwashed, Riario is savvy enough to sow discord with just one sentence

(source)

Also there's a killer on the loose, probably linked to the occult given the hanged man motif the body is displayed in. The Hanged Man is a recurring theme in the show, from a literal hanging in episode one, to the visions Leo experiences (Odin the Hanged Man, suffering suspended upside down in return for great wisdom), to Riario being placed in this exact position before his brainwashing begins.
(you can see larger versions here)

Riario discovers the body, reports to his handlers, and asks for more guidance. This is where I wonder if the brainwashing is wearing off, if by deliberately exposing himself to the torture he's learning to withstand it while convincing his captors that he is under their control.

I want to talk particularly about the scene with Riario and his father. The real Pope has escaped and the fake Pope is worried about what that means.

Now remember two things: one, this is Riario's father who once beat the crap out of him for daring to suggest he show mercy – in fact when Riario calls him father at the start of the scene, he yells at Riario for this slip, which Riario meekly corrects to "Holy Father".

Two, Riario's suicide attempt was precipitated when he begged the real, imprisoned, pope, for forgiveness. It was a true act of contrition, but Alessandro failed in his spiritual duty, refusing to forgive Riario and casting him out to what ought to have been his death.

Yet when his father sees the badly damaged wrists, he is shocked, and actually calls him "son."
(source)
(source)

Riario confesses he has done terrible things and his father gives Riario the comfort that he's longed for. They pray together, though Riario has lost his faith (he later finds the body when at prayer; does he believe, is he doing it as cover because that's what Riario does, or is he worshipping the Enemies of Man?).
After the abuse from both men, Riario finally receives love and respect, but is he even in his right mind enough to appreciate it? I'm on the fence about it. Certainly Riario is humbler, more emotional, more broken here – how much of that is real, how much due to the brainwashing, and how much is due to Riario played the part of the broken and docile servant? The script and Ritson's performance certainly leave me guessing, and that's a good thing. I like to be able to think and form theories, and consider AUs!

I suppose I should mention Lucrezia. She finds her father plotting with the Enemies of Man and realises that, once again, she's on the wrong side of things. She's pretty much a pawn at this point, and it would be nice to see her make a move of her own, even if it's just exiting the board (but that won't happen given that, despite canonically bisexual Leo and the UST & camaraderie between Leo/Zo and Leo/Riario compared to the meh Leo/Lucrezia, the show will keep pushing them as the OTP. Thank the gods Riley is more enlightened and happy to support alternate pairings and interpretations.)

A pretty good start to the season – I hear it gets even better next episode. But I'm not going to rush my way through these. They should be savoured like fine wine, and then later returned to in order to re-examine events with full context and to enjoy all the subtle nuances that are missed on a first viewing.

(Gifs are not mine, see in-text credits.)