Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Billy Wonka (A) on May 10, 2013 at 09:59:26

I liked season uno because there was some real history involved. You got a taste of the intrigue and outright violence of the 15th century. Rodrigo Borgia was only Pope for a very short period of time, comparatively, 1492 to 1506. This second season seems to have less to do with history in having transcended to a soap opera-like story line with modern day issues integrated into the script. John Doman (American) plays Rodrigo with the same identical forcefulness as season uno. The rest of the large cast returns with Cesare stepping up his prominence as a murderous and conniving son desperately clawing his way to royalty outside the church.

For me the real treat of 'Borgia' is the artistic direction and costumes. This is a very lush production filled with color and historical detail which must have been half the budget.

If you haven't seen season one I would not recommend season two. And, it is not necessarily worth your time to catch up by watching season one. This version or Borgia is much more vulgar than the Jeremy Irons version which is more like a Disney production compared to this one.