"Previously on The Borgias..." "The jews from Constantinople..." "more of them come every day." "You we're driven out by the Turks." "We offer you a home, a place to prosper," "And in return..." "So the King of Naples died." "Most horribly." "There are several claimers, I've heard." "Is there Alfonso among them?" "There are twoo in line in front of him." "Your Highness." "The last French invasion, ended in disaster." "Maybe if the next was under Italian leadership." "King Louis of France invades our shores without our permission?" "He has our permission." "You would bring an army into our land?" "I will eliminate the Sforza dynasty." "Ludovico first." "What is this?" "A message from lady Catherine Sforza, treating for peace." "This is a bluff." "Burn it." "Catherina Sforza has no more interest in sueing for peace than I did." "Are you sick, what's the matter?" "Plague!" "The king desires more than Naples." "Has an equal fondness for Milan." "My Lord, Sforza." "My mother was right." "Come tomorrow's dawn." "There will be revised plan." "The gates are open, My Lord." "City looks unguarded." "Welcome to Milan." "Where is Ludovico Sforza?" "Gone." " You have Milano, my lord." " No the French have Milan." "And Ludovico Sforza lives to fight another day." "Damn him!" "The Borgias" "Season 3." "Episode 7 Lucrezia's Gambit" "Milano" "How do you know of this place?" "I know Milanvery well." "I know a boy who knows a boy whom Leonardo painted." "Do you understand me?" "Who is this boy you spoke of?" "We call him, Il Saliano." "The little Devil!" "Yes, is that and more." "But Leonardo loves him, dearly." "Leonardo lovesthem all." "The more he steals from him, the more he lies to him, the more Leonardo loves him." " Why?" " Why?" "That's why." "The King of France, my lord." "Your Highness!" "So." "Ludovico's alive." "His Army is intact." "His army is no longer what I call an army." "It's scattered." "You promised me Milan." "And while the Duke Ludovico is alive, he has a claim to it." "I will hunt him down." "Excellent." "Do that!" "And when you've captured him tell your father, the Pope, I hold this city in his name." "His." "Not mine." "But you share the same name." "What is that thing?" "A Bird." "A mechanical bird." "Can it fly?" "Perhaps one day it will." "For what purpose?" "No purpose." "Maestro likes to dream." "So tell me, where does this lead us?" "Us?" "Nowhere." "Where does this affection go?" "There was no affection." "That can leads to weakness." "And I have no use for, either." "What is this?" "An aqubus." "Aqubus..." "So he's an artist and a condotieri?" "Not." "He designed the sight." "Has two notches." "Here and here." "He lined them up with the eye." "Clever!" "Your son hopes to capture Milan." "It he not your son too?" "Sometimes we wonder." "I do not." "And I should know." "Giulia Farnese has captured a suitor." "Must you, that not?" "I must, because he asked me." "She wants to present him to you." "For our approval." "Will be your blessing." "What is the named the suitor?" "Vincenzo." "Terrible name." "Can we be happy now?" "Like any family?" "This is not just "any" family." "Things have been difficult between us but I wanted to thank you for your kindness." "For your patience." "Kindness ever satisfy a Borgia?" "All I ever wanted was to be loved, by a prince like you." "You could be king one day." "Never!" "Don't you see, my love, it is the only way that we can ensure safety as a family with my beloved child." "If you rule this kingdom." "I am the Duke of Bisceglie, which means I am third in line, to the throne of Naples, and I have two cousins, who would fight to the death for that very same tron." "Prince Frederico, and prince Rafael and I have no interest in that kind of power." "But you must." "If you want to ensure your survival." "Our survival!" "Or I must!" "My Lord!" "Cardinal Cristanzo, request a post-haste." " Before I changed and bathed?" " He's in, in his palace." "He made a mention of a letter." " A letter?" " From Catherine Sforza." "Make way!" "Where is the Cardinal?" "Right in." " Show me then." " See for yourself." "My Lord, wait!" "Wear this." "Over your mouth!" "Alessandro!" "Alessandro!" "Alessandro!" "Do you recognize that?" "I commanded you burn it." "And the letter inside it." "But I didnt." "Now you must burn this palace, with me inside it." "And forgive me for disobedience." "Why must you burn for disobedience?" "There was a plague infested handkerchief." "In the box that contained her overtures of peace." "Oh my god!" "There are quicker deaths than burning." "Then throw me a blade." "And burn all that remains." "Make way, to his Holiness!" "Is this how you announce your return to Rome?" "It was a plot Holy Father." "A Plague letter, designed to your person." "Constanzo's curiosity got the better of him." "So you burned down his palace?" "Better his palace than the whole courtyard." "And whre is Constanzo now?" "Burning inside." "Your sacred person is healthy still." " Catherina Sforza?" " Who Else!" "Walk with us." "What we need to know of this matter?" "As little as possible." "But the letter was sent!" "A false overture of peace." "I ordered to be burned." "And the king of France is in possession of Milan." "Is that to be kept from us as well!" "I wanted to tell you in person." "And Ludovico Sforza is still at large." "You have heard!" "We do not live entirely in the dark, Cesare." "Is in hiding with Catherina' son, Benito." "Who it seems he is willing to hand over to us." "In exchange for a pledge of his own safe passage." "And where is he now?" "That is not for us to know." "Ask your friend, Signor Machiavelli." "It was him, who delivered Ludovico's letter to us." "And you will have your permision to..." "To deliver our pledge into the hands of Ludovico Sforza." "To lay hands on the apir of them." "And to bring them, in chains to us in Rome." "You do!" "You know Constantinople, don't you?" "Intimately." "Judea will be captured, returned to Rome." "By some miracle, perhaps." "No, we don't trade in miracles." "We are massing funds for the great crusade." "But we fear they could be needed closer to hand." "May I enquire why, Holiness?" "French have taken Milan." "Wait, your son had taken Milan!" "Is there a difference?" "Rome needs arms." "And the funds for our Constantinople endeavor, could have provided them." "We can't leave her undefended." "If I may be so bold to suggest, Holiness." "The main threat from the Turks is the shipping." "If the entire Turkish fleet can be disposed off, would not His Holiness's Crusade have served it's purpose?" "And how would we achieve that?" "After Pope is lacking funds perhaps the tribe of the Abraham could do it for him." "Again." "How?" "There are Jews in every port on the Turkish coastline." "May be a way." "If the Jews in Rome could be assured of His Holiness's favor." "Do you think he caught Us?" "He has caught the office." "Catching the man is more elusive." "And the knight moves thus." "Yes, so I imagine you knew that already." "No my lord, I am a novice to the game of them." " What was it called again?" " Do you fool on there?" "Chess." "Oh My Lord now, that was unkind." "It was meant to be." "The game is cruelty personified." "Or rather strategy personified, my lord Rafael." "You are beautiful, Lucrezia Borgia." "But even I, a simple Napolitan prince, can tell, that your beauty hides a design." "Why did you wish to be with me?" "To learn the game, of course." "The game of chess, or the game of inheritance?" "There is a difference?" "In both the rules are fixed, and have been for centuries." "And the room for maneuver is limited." "The King dies, the game begins again." "So the players are:" "my halfbrother Frederico, and I." "And there can only be one winner." "You." "That is how I intend it." "And that bastard child shall find no more favor in me, then it did with my uncle, the king." "No?" "You will be returned to Rome." "Or to a stable." "You can choose which." "I will ensure all the traditional proprieties were upheld." "And Lucrezia Borgia, shall have as little influence on the court of Naples." "As your queen on this board." "So I have a king, two bishops and a knight!" "Is there a place for a pope in this game?" "There is no pope in the game of chess." "But the game of succession has a pope." "Truly." "You." "And you." "You followed me?" "Surely it is you followed me sir." "To Rome?" "I have a friend here." "Paid for my journey." "You gentle sir, have followed me." "I am not gentle." "I remember." "Follow!" "You will tell no one of this place." "You do not ask where I go, or where I've been." "If you do not see me for a week or more, then you await." "And if you cannot, then all this," "comes to the naught" "and you wil leave." "And you will leave in silence." "And that silence you will carry to your grave." "But if you break that silence," "I will find you." "And believe me boy, that you do not want." "She writes to me." "Tells me her every move is watched." "She should wear a veil then." "Why?" "To hide her true feelings." "She loves her husband, Cesare." "She chose him." "Is it that only me he disappoints?" "You're too harsh." "When I pleaded her son's case to the King, her husband just sat there, beside me saying nothing." "Naples is not Rome." "No?" "And Naples may seem nor even be Naples." "A French presence there, would see that they did our bidding." "A French presence there, would end her marriage, for good." "She hopes to wheel some influence, Cesare." "On the next heir to the throne." " Just how will she manage that?" " Through your father." "Investiture of the crown still lies with the Pope, does it not?" "Not the choice of who wears it!" "What power has a crown without papal investiture?" "Clever girl." "It I were to die, my half brother were to die, your husband will take the throne." "Well, that's a lot of dying." "Death happens all the time, here." "By accident." "Look at my uncle." "That was a horrible accident." "Who could've thought?" "His father actually." "He had that pool stocked, for that very purpose." "Naples terrifies me." "Is terrified me ever since I learned to walk." "Little Sebastian here" "I have to feed him from my own plate." "Lest my half brother, try and poison him." "Why would he do that?" "A number of reasons." "Sport, to frighten me, or... merely to show me he can eliminate what's dear to me at will." "I know your plight, Lucrezia Borgia." "I even pleaded with King Ferdinand, to let your child live here." "But my wordsmeant little, then and will mean even less, if my brother takes the crown." "Must your brother take the crown?" "Unless he dies!" "Believe me, I am no murderer." "But the Pope must invest the new crowned king of Naples." "What of it?" "If there is any scandal, any rumor, of public ignominy, the Pope may refuse." "My brother has a heart of ice," "But only I know that heart." "The world knows a paragon of,manliness, duty and virtue." " We all have our secrets." " Indeed." "I'll be gone perhaps days, perhaps weeks." "Where are you going?" "I told you, never ask that question!" "Now you stay ignorant, you stay alive, boy." "Days, weeks, what am I to do?" "Enjoy the delights of Rome." "There's money in that jar." "Hang around Bramante's studio." "Maybe you catch his eye, no?" "If you are here when I'll return," "I would like that." "There is a quarry north of here." "It is arranged the exchange will happen there, and Ludovico will deliver the boy have no doubt." "Guide us there, Signor Machiavelli, then absent yourself." "There are complications in the air?" "No." "The outcome will be simplicity itself." "But I would recommend you keep your hands clean." "What is this place?" "A disused quarry." "Here we will meet with forces loyal to the Sforza family." "Who will escort you home, to mother." "Have no fear." "Sebastian!" "O god!" "He did have secrets." "Poisonous ones." "Poison?" "What poison?" "Would it be Cantarella, I know something of it." "The dog ate from my plate." "Forget the dog!" "Guards, anybody!" "Quickly!" " There are two sights and a double notch." " Yes." "This your invention?" "I wish I could claim so, but no." "Leonardo's." "My lord, my lord!" "It's empty." "There's no one here, Ludovico." "Well Benito, then we are the first who arrived." "I must be patient, and wait." "Half of Italy wants our heads, and you're asking me to be patient." "What happened?" "Poison!" "Cantarella." "Who did it?" "Does it matter now?" "Go and get a physician, love." "Quickly!" "You said you aligned one sight with the other?" "And the sights with your target, my lord." "What have you done?" "Water, water." "I need water!" " This is the roman cure?" " Is the only cure!" "I said, capture!" "Not kill!" "It was agreed!" "There was no mention of killing." "That dog will bite no more." "Your cure is useless." "My lady, he can not breathe!" "But if this is Cantarella, I've done this before." "It's not Cantarella, it's Galerina." "Poisonous mushroom." "He's dying of lack of breath." "It's whole throat is swollen." "What about our agreement?" "I'm guaranteed safe passage." "Now!" "I will have it now!" "I trusted you." "You barbarian!" "Ludovico." "There!" "I thank you." "He breathes." "We must hold his throat like this for two hours, until the swelling subsides." "You." "I accuse you of the murder of your brother." "How could I've killed that, which is not yet dead." "Of the poisoning of the only barrier that lies between you and the throne of Naples." "An enterprise at which I failed miserably." "Choke him with his own bile!" "I would like to see that." "Be still, cousin!" "Hold him still!" "What are you doing here?" "Checking my lady's investments." "We all need vermin like you to search out secrets." "Communicate anything that can not be held in the diplomatic pouch." "You should leave." "Now." "He could return." "He's in the north, I heard." "far from here." "Doing what?" "Are you not being paid good coin to find that out?" "I have to tread carefully with him." "Have to earn his affection." "A long game." "That will only last as long as it's love lasts." "Well, then, there is time." "Even for vermin like me." "Is it possible, have you fallen for him?" "I'm in the Devil's bed, Rufio." "Do you ever been embraced by the devil?" "Do you ever felt his touch, have you ever dared to touch him?" "I doubt it." "Yes, that's love." "It doesn't smell good." "What a dingy place for it." "But, then, certain love, thrives best in a gutter." "I see." "You come here to pass judgement." "No, I came to inhale this odor." "He is my double, here in Rome." "We will meet one day, he and I." "Stick to him." "Sooner or later, he will tell you everything." "Nothing is too small." "Remember the book." "Catullus's Carmina." "Good boy!" "Would you play more chess, my lord?" "I would be alone." "I can understand why." "You failed." "How did I failed?" "It's foolish, to attempt murder and to fail." "Better to succeed, I'm sure." "If you embark upon that course, yes, much better." "My brother has always been histrionic." "As a child he accused me of drowning his pet newt." "And did you?" "How does one drown a newt?" "There will be consequences." "And you, the Pope's bastard, will be the judge of that." "The Pope has in his gift the investiture of the kingdom of Naples." "How could he in all conscience, place a murderer on the throne." "You lack evidence, madam." "I intend to find it." "You are on dangerous ground, My Lady." "Yes, I can see that." "You have your fingers against my throat." "Failed again." "I was given word that some great lady needs a potion." "A love potion?" "Your husband sleeps between the sheets?" "I know you!" "What if my needs were more lethal?" "I only deal in cures." " I heard a different story." " I can't understand your words." "You provided certain potions to a certain party." "But I still don't understand you." "Do they burn witches in these parts?" "I am no witch, my lady." "I tend the forest, I gather its fruits." "And sell them to whoever has need of them, for good or for ill." "But the truth, might yet save you." "The truth?" " You gave the Galerina mushroom." " I gave no Galerina!" "I gave a dried powder mixed with juniper." "To whom?" "Pay me first." "To prince Raphael." "I asked you to meet with me." " To play the game again." " We could do that, too." "I asked you to meet with me to suggest that there might be two options available to you." "One, you pursue your quest for the crown, for the Pope's blessing and you will be accused of the attempted murder of your half brother." "And I repet, my brother lies!" " He has evidence." " And I've heard of your evidence:" "An old crone from the forest." "She should be burned, as a witch." "Well, who knows?" "Perhaps, one day, she will be." "What did she say?" "That she gave you a mixture of dried Galerina and Juniper berries." "Someone primed her to say that." "Find out who put the words in her mouth." "Well, who then?" "You, perhaps." "Your reputation does precede you." "Your second choice is to hand the field over to your brother, whom the Pope will happily invest." "And retire to your hunting lodges with your reputation intact." "Thank you, nurse." "Hunting is a good life." "I have a third, you know?" " What's that?" " I could poison the both of you." "All of you." "And succeed this time?" "I'll take the second choice." "If only to see you realize the folly of your stratagem." "You will lose." "You will lose most horrible." "Is very young." "Will he be faithful?" "One hopes." "Raise!" "His palace has fountains, a belvedere, extensive hunting grounds." "He hunts." "Not a good thing in a husband." "You hunted." "Rarely." "And only with you." "Then I hunt with him, then." "Well, let's get it over with." "Dearest." "Holiness." "May I present to you, Vincenzo Salvatore." "Your Holiness." "Your hands." "My hands?" "Yes, let me touch your hands." "Soft." "Never worked with land." "They toiled with a feather quill, Your Holiness." "They plow with that." "Is he deranged?" "No, Your Holiness." "He's a poet." "Poet." "So..." "deranged." "He may be another Petrarca, Holiness." "Yes." "Can you make her laugh?" "Well..." "Marry him if you will." "Our son, come closer." "What about command in regard to Ludovico Sforza?" "I executed it." "He is no more." "That was not our command." "You were to bring him to Rome in chains." "What purchase can we get with a dead Sforza?" "Two dead Sforzas." "Are you to be the one who decide Rome's future," " Dad!" " ... who shapes our fate, ... who dictates our strategies?" "Why in God's name did you kill them?" "Cause the French king demanded it." "What of our wishes?" "Who are we to trust, if not our family?" " Who are we to rely on?" " You can trust me, father." "We can." "Why?" "Because you have no alternative." "You are wonderful people." "Thank you." " So we're safe now?" " As long as this king lives." "Yes, we are safe." "I'm Catherina Sforza's eyes and ears in this nest of vipers." "And I would beg you, my liege to make no hasty moves, until my exit is secured." "Bring me my copy of Catullus." "Carmina." "Yes, Your Majesty."