'The Borgias', when on my re-watch binge recently, may have struck me as a slow starter (especially in the pacing and writing, which were both uneven but both improved a lot over-time). At the same time, it was truly absorbing and difficult to look away from. One can find much to criticise with the historical inaccuracies and some of the pacing and writing, but there are a lot of things that are brilliant about 'The Borgias' in my view, such as the production values, music, opening titles, Jeremy Irons and some very memorable scenes.
It got off to a very promising but also flawed start with "The Poisoned Chalice", a standard that was seen also in "The Assassin" for the same reasons good and bad. Both also with some very memorable scenes, especially "The Assassin". Things did to me show signs of improving with "The Moor", where the characters did become more interesting and the pace did improve with more going on. Found "Lucrezia's Wedding" to be a slight disappointment while having so many great things. A couple of improvements over "The Moor" though, it didn't at least have Augustus Prew or the increasing ridiculousness of the public swimming bath scene.
"Lucrezia's Wedding", as to be expected with 'The Borgias' is visually stunning. It is just so exquisitely shot, whether in more intimate scenes or the more expansive ones. The costumes, interiors and scenery left me in awe in their rich colours and attention to detail, as well as their authenticity. Having the feel of stepping into a Renaissance painting. A big standout in this regard was the wedding procession, which was one of my favourite scenes visually of the first season. The music also adds a lot, and it becomes a beautiful marriage of visuals and music and enough to bring tears to my eyes. The dynamic filming of the dancing also stands out. The music in general leaves a big impact on me in 'The Borgias', it's characteristically beautiful and sometimes intense in "Lucrezia's Wedding" and blends well. How it's performed adds a lot, very angelic in the aforementioned scene.
Cannot get enough of the opening titles sequence, one of my favourite opening titles sequences of all time (film and television). The main theme is incredible, the sheer intensity, grandeur and drama (already sending chills down the spine and induces goosebumps before the episode's even begun) makes it one of my favourite main themes for any show. Matched by splendidly and cleverly designed visuals. In terms of memorable scenes, the wedding procession is up there as is the interaction between Rodrigo and Vanozza. Lucrezia's outrage and hurt is understandable, while the dancing is beautifully choreographed and the ending (preparing us for one of the most interesting historical periods) really unsettles. My favourite was the scene between Rodrigo and Gioffre, both in interaction and dialogue and certainly wouldn't mind being taught history/geography by Jeremy Irons as it would be a good way of concentrating more.
Irons adds an enormous amount to 'The Borgias' appeal. He may look absolutely nothing like the real Rodrigo Borgia, but elsewhere his strengths as an actor are really brought out and it makes for one of not enough roles post-'Lolita' to do him justice. The gravitas and menace are especially nailed, and it's not just the relished line delivery in that wonderful distinctive voice Irons has but also how telling his facial expressions are, like his shock and fury at Vanozza's wedding appearance. Francois Arnaud, as at this point the show's most interesting character, brings the right amount of intensity, and Holliday Grainger is growing as Lucrezia (though the character has yet to be properly interesting). Joanne Whalley makes one feel for Vanozza, and she avoids histrionics, while Lotte Verbeek is luminous and really liked her sympathetic chemistry with Grainger. Steven Berkoff's scenery chewing, a not-so-common example of that term being meant in a good way, is delicious.
However, "Lucrezia's Wedding" is let down namely by the Della Rovere subplot, which was for my tastes very dull and lacked the required tension. That scene between him, De Medici and Machiavelli should have intrigued, 'The Borgias' so far had actually done very well delivering on the political intrigue and plotting, but instead that scene has always made me lose focus/attention and it still does. Della Rovere is also bland here, despite Colm Feore's best efforts, and that confessional booth scene was just asking for really bad consequences and the last thing one should do with that much opposition against him.
Dialogue is still uneven. Enough of it is entertaining and thought-provoking, like with Rodrigo and Gioffre (Aidan Alexander is very appealing in the role, very beyond his years). But some of it is rather melodramatic and over-archaic and would sound bad even said today, especially in Lucrezia and Giulia's conversation about Djem, "my dusky friend inhabits my dreams" primarily.
Also think more tension could have brought out regarding Giulia being Rodrigo's mistress, something that one thinks would cause an outrage but not much of a disapproving eye-lid is raised.
On the whole, slightly disappointing but good. 7/10
It got off to a very promising but also flawed start with "The Poisoned Chalice", a standard that was seen also in "The Assassin" for the same reasons good and bad. Both also with some very memorable scenes, especially "The Assassin". Things did to me show signs of improving with "The Moor", where the characters did become more interesting and the pace did improve with more going on. Found "Lucrezia's Wedding" to be a slight disappointment while having so many great things. A couple of improvements over "The Moor" though, it didn't at least have Augustus Prew or the increasing ridiculousness of the public swimming bath scene.
"Lucrezia's Wedding", as to be expected with 'The Borgias' is visually stunning. It is just so exquisitely shot, whether in more intimate scenes or the more expansive ones. The costumes, interiors and scenery left me in awe in their rich colours and attention to detail, as well as their authenticity. Having the feel of stepping into a Renaissance painting. A big standout in this regard was the wedding procession, which was one of my favourite scenes visually of the first season. The music also adds a lot, and it becomes a beautiful marriage of visuals and music and enough to bring tears to my eyes. The dynamic filming of the dancing also stands out. The music in general leaves a big impact on me in 'The Borgias', it's characteristically beautiful and sometimes intense in "Lucrezia's Wedding" and blends well. How it's performed adds a lot, very angelic in the aforementioned scene.
Cannot get enough of the opening titles sequence, one of my favourite opening titles sequences of all time (film and television). The main theme is incredible, the sheer intensity, grandeur and drama (already sending chills down the spine and induces goosebumps before the episode's even begun) makes it one of my favourite main themes for any show. Matched by splendidly and cleverly designed visuals. In terms of memorable scenes, the wedding procession is up there as is the interaction between Rodrigo and Vanozza. Lucrezia's outrage and hurt is understandable, while the dancing is beautifully choreographed and the ending (preparing us for one of the most interesting historical periods) really unsettles. My favourite was the scene between Rodrigo and Gioffre, both in interaction and dialogue and certainly wouldn't mind being taught history/geography by Jeremy Irons as it would be a good way of concentrating more.
Irons adds an enormous amount to 'The Borgias' appeal. He may look absolutely nothing like the real Rodrigo Borgia, but elsewhere his strengths as an actor are really brought out and it makes for one of not enough roles post-'Lolita' to do him justice. The gravitas and menace are especially nailed, and it's not just the relished line delivery in that wonderful distinctive voice Irons has but also how telling his facial expressions are, like his shock and fury at Vanozza's wedding appearance. Francois Arnaud, as at this point the show's most interesting character, brings the right amount of intensity, and Holliday Grainger is growing as Lucrezia (though the character has yet to be properly interesting). Joanne Whalley makes one feel for Vanozza, and she avoids histrionics, while Lotte Verbeek is luminous and really liked her sympathetic chemistry with Grainger. Steven Berkoff's scenery chewing, a not-so-common example of that term being meant in a good way, is delicious.
However, "Lucrezia's Wedding" is let down namely by the Della Rovere subplot, which was for my tastes very dull and lacked the required tension. That scene between him, De Medici and Machiavelli should have intrigued, 'The Borgias' so far had actually done very well delivering on the political intrigue and plotting, but instead that scene has always made me lose focus/attention and it still does. Della Rovere is also bland here, despite Colm Feore's best efforts, and that confessional booth scene was just asking for really bad consequences and the last thing one should do with that much opposition against him.
Dialogue is still uneven. Enough of it is entertaining and thought-provoking, like with Rodrigo and Gioffre (Aidan Alexander is very appealing in the role, very beyond his years). But some of it is rather melodramatic and over-archaic and would sound bad even said today, especially in Lucrezia and Giulia's conversation about Djem, "my dusky friend inhabits my dreams" primarily.
Also think more tension could have brought out regarding Giulia being Rodrigo's mistress, something that one thinks would cause an outrage but not much of a disapproving eye-lid is raised.
On the whole, slightly disappointing but good. 7/10