The finale is here and…I feel satisfied. This show always excelled at season endings and this one is no exception. It covered everything immediate and brought the characters to a place where I am alright leaving them, although I’d rather not.
SPOILERS:
Dear Machiavelli: The man is an oracle. I dearly want a Machiavellian tarot deck now. Think about what it would be-THINK OF IT. All the Borgias would be present, of course. The ordinarily peaceful cards would involve orgies. The cups suit would be vials of poison. Pretty much anything you do with it would bring the answer, “I shouldn’t have asked that, should I?” It’d be a thing.
Dear Rodrigo: This-this-is why I love you. Yes, Cesare needs to do the actual carving and fulfill his ambitions, but once you accept that he’s there, your planning and confidence blow even him out of the water. This is the way I believe that it worked, with your twin ambitions and different abilities complementing, building, and scaring the hell out of everyone including each other. This is it.
Dear Cesare: Ah, to be young and devious. Francois Arnaud got to showcase the range of his talent here, from vulnerable and wishing his mother could fill in for his best friend to creepy tormenter to possessive lover. There was everything in that. You showed everyone just exactly how in charge and fearsome you could be, even though we don’t get to see you filling out that position, you let us already see and enjoy it. Thank you for that.
Dear Michiletto: I understand. Your affair not only ended in killing your lover, but in proving that you were not, in fact, the most trustworthy companion ever. You let down your master, yourself, and your lover. No matter what, your hometown will fall and your family have a good chance of dying. You came back to ensure that your work was finished, because “loyalty was his only code.” You are not dead, though-you are a ghost wiling away in the shadows. You can go wherever you want, take whatever you want, and disappear whenever you want, and you deserve that. In my head you wander until you meet up with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, tossing coins that turn up heads and arguing about everything. You’ll take one as a lover, convince them it’s okay to be unsure of their names, and kill off the cast of Hamlet all by yourself. It’ll be epic and haunting.
Dear Lucrezia: Your arc has differed the most from what I expected and wished for your character. I expected to see you growing in triumph, killing for the good of the family, and using your tie to your brother as leverage. In spite of that…you have completely won me over. This version walks a fine line between different tropes, but weaves them together seamlessly. And Holliday Grainger sells the hell out of it. I cannot not buy her emotions, her disillusions, her determination. There is a part of me that really wants to be upset at how defeated she winds up here, how dependent, and yet….it was just too good not to love.
Dear Alfonso: I was so afraid they wouldn’t get around to killing you! Thank you for being such a wonderful foil for everyone else.
Dear Vitelli: Well done, you! You’ve got craft, foresight, initiative, and commonsense. I foresee you going far. I’m sorry I won’t get to see you setting yourself farther up from the pack by slyly setting them up and taking their castles until Cesare finally poisons you. It’d have been fun.
Dear Caterina Sforza: You really ought to know all the weaknesses of your chosen fortress, milady. That being said, in all fairness, you had only Rufio instead of Michiletto and one cannot badass everything themselves. Although, the fact that someone was touching your wardrobe seemed an odd thing to show your claws at. The defeat was exquisite.
Dear show: The camouflage cloaks rocked! The music throughout the whole thing was just the right amount of suspenseful-enough buildup I was literally on edge, but not so much that it wore out over time. The camerawork, particularly in the confessional scene with Pope Alexander VI and Lucrezia was just beautiful. The bloody smudges on her at the end were perfect. I know you had more to give. You will be sorely missed.
wheresmytower 