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Not a great penultimate episode. Review: The Borgias “World of Wonders”

Review: The Borgias, S2, Ep. 209 – “World of Wonders”

Airdate: Sunday, June 10, 2012, 10:00PM E/P on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

 

 “Break the spell, break the man.” ~ Cesare Borgia

 

The baptism of baby Giovanni. L-R: Giulia (Lotte Verbeek), Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger), Vanozza (Joanne Whalley), and Cesare, the baby's new Godfather (Francois Arnaud)

While I enjoyed “World of Wonders,” the title doesn’t seem to be a propos to the events taking place. After a withdrawn marriage proposal from Calvino (David Alpay) is replaced by his brother Raffello’s (Tom Austen) proposal, the Pope (Jeremy Irons) seems perturbed, at best. When Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) informs her father that if she followed her heart, she probably wouldn’t have married either of them, the Pope scoffs, “So the future of this family is enthralled to your heart?” I think the future of the Borgia family is enthralled to many hearts – one embittered heart in particular, Della Rovere (Colm Feore), who has successfully implanted his man Antonello (Jesse Bostick) as the Pope’s new taster. Do you honestly think this boy will be able to successfully poison the Pope?

 

“World of Wonders” is a bit chaotic and doesn’t seem to follow a particular line in regards to coherent story telling. We go from a debauched marriage proposal to burning witches at the stake to opium dens. Then there’s the back story of the Pope’s abstinence from temptations such as wine and his mistress for Lent that seems so misplaced.

 

Observations/Thoughts:

 

The look on Micheletto’s (Sean Harris) face when they burn a woman accused of being a witch at the stake is telling. He knows he will suffer the same fate if they discover his homosexuality.

 

The shadow of doubt etched on Savonarolla’s (Steven Berkoff) face is unmistakable after Cesare (François Arnaud) challenges him, “I challenge you, here in this temple of God, as Christ our Savior walked on water, if you can walk through fire, untouched, then I will follow you into the flames.” This could backfire, literally, for Cesare. Savonarolla has had prophetic visions/dreams that have come true but his holier-than-thou act was beginning to bore me. Berkoff does an amazing job of retaining his devout demeanor throughout the ordeal. Savonarolla’s convictions seem that much more convincing through Berkoff’s impeccable portrayal.

 

Why is Machiavelli (Julian Bleach) so helpful to Cesare? What does he hope to gain from his allegiance to the Pope? We know he’s not fond of the Pope so what does he seek to gain? He’s a noted scholar, author, and teacher. His ideals were far removed from what the Borgia family was after. It will be curious to see where the writers take his story line.

 

Juan (David Oakes) glares across the balcony at his brother after his stunt with baby Giovanni

Juan (David Oakes) scolding his own genitals was quite hilarious—sad but humorous, nonetheless. He reminisces of days gone by when his ‘member’ was more…agreeable. Now, it’s causing him immense pain yet still, it rules his life. Strange, isn’t it – how many women have said men think more with their little head than the one on their shoulders?

 

During an opium induced haze, Juan speaks aloud to no one and makes a startling statement, “It’s long been my suspicion that my brother has congressed with my angelic sister. The issue with such a union would produce a demon to devour the world…and me. No one’s listening. No one’s listening.” And his presence at the grand party after baby Giovanni’s baptism bodes ill. Juan looks absolutely dreadful. We know there is a rivalry among the siblings but what he tries to do to the baby is deplorable. Think of Michael Jackson’s baby stunt on the balcony in Berlin, Germany and you’ll understand what I mean. At any rate, as much as I dislike Juan, his animosity is fuel for the fire of Cesare’s story arc. Lucrezia’s place in the family history is more predicated on her viability to be married off as her father sees fit. But Cesare—he is a Cardinal and henchman for his father but we know what his true desire is. What transpires between the brothers was quite unexpected. I think my mouth is still on the floor.

 

I will never eat anything from the Tiber River. Ever! It’s a dumping ground for everything – especially dead bodies. While I hope it’s more sanitary these days, how anyone could eat what came from that river during that time period is beyond me.

***

“World of Wonders” was the penultimate episode but was only worth watching during the final few minutes. I can only hope the writers pull some thousand pound rabbit from their hats for next week’s season finale because if it ends up being anything like this one, I’ll fear for the next season. There is too much juicy history about this family for the writers not to come up with something epic.

 

Tune in to The Borgias season finale Sunday June 17th at 10:00PM ET/PT, only on Showtime.

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Photos © 2012 Showtime Networks, a CBS Broadcasting, Inc. company. All rights reserved.

 

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.