The Borgias (2011)

This is a series about the Pope who ruled at the end of the Italian Renaissance and while Columbus was sailing to the Americas--a man who is credited with being possibly the worst Pope to date, and his family. But do not mess with him. Who are the Borgias? There is the patriarch, Rodrigo (Jeremy Irons), who by the end of the first hour of the first season becomes Pope Alexander VI through a combination of usury and bribery. Then there are his beloved illegitimate children (I warned you--not the model religious man) and their mother, a former courtesan (Joanne Whalley). Eldest son Juan (David Oakes) is a somewhat arrogant soldier who gets into brawls and thinks very highly of himself and his skills, without much to back that up. Middle son and family fixer Cesare (pronounced Chesare, and played by the broodingly handsome Francois Arnaud) has been forced to follow his father into the Church--he would rather take up the sword and get out of the gowns--which do not keep him from following his father's footsteps into the beds of women. Sister Lucrezia and brother Cesare have what appears to be an incestuous affection for each other. She gets married off to a brute in the interest of political alliances--which do not appear when they are needed so her misery is without political value in the end. Hence is the role of women on the dawn of the sixteenth century. We encounter the family at the end of a period of relative peace, before Dad grabs the miter and becomes two men — Rodrigo and Alexander, person and pope, confusing God's work with his own family fortunes and pet projects — and the strains and stresses of power complicate their days. That is pretty much the whole argument for our sympathy, for though the Borgias are understandable in human terms, it's hard to deeply care for them. Although the opposite side in the conflict leaves a lot to be desired as well. No one is without sin. That, more than the story — which is easy to anticipate, so clear are everyone's intentions and options — is what makes this series worth your while. Irons, an actor who seems draped in the accumulated vices of the odd ducks he's played over the years, lies back and steals the show with the music of his worn, woody bassoon of a voice, soothing in a way that also alerts you to be on guard against it. It is high class period soap opera at it's best.