BORGIA {BORGIA: FAITH AND FEAR}: A SACRED VOW (TV)

Summary

One in this historical drama series set in Renaissance Italy about the notorious Borgia family and its patriarch, Pope Alexander VI. In this episode, set in August 1492, Cesare and Juan observe the many peasants rioters' dead bodies, while elsewhere Rodrigo and Giovanni pray over Pope Innocent's body. Rodrigo then sends his young mistress Giulia back to her loathsome husband, reminding her that he himself can never marry her and growing furious when she hints that he could poison the man, as he is rumored to do. Juan hides Prince Djem in a room above the Sistine Chapel, assuring him that Gacet will help him to escape Rome if Rodrigo is not elected Pope. Cesare and Alessandro head back to Pisa for school, and Rodrigo and della Rovere debate which nine cardinals will perform the nine requiem masses for Innocent, noting that one of the nine will almost definitely be the next pope. Lucrezia, growing ill with fever, is sent south to an abbey in Subiaco, where she observes the preserved head of St. Petronilla, martyred for refusing to marry a pagan. Gacet introduces Rodrigo to Petronio, a valet-cum-spy who promises to aid him in gaining the necessary cardinal votes. Rodrigo then visits the elderly Ardicino della Porta and tries to persuade him to become a cardinal again for the vote, promising that he will enact positive change, though della Porta seems pessimistic about the church's "moral standards."

In Pisa, Cesare sneaks off to meet with Fiametta, his pregnant lover, then confessing to his friends that Rodrigo made a vow that he, Cesare, would live a pious and celibate life in exchange for his, Rodrigo's, one day becoming Pope. The nine cardinals perform the requiem masses, and as Rodrigo preaches about improving the church's morality, three suns seem to appear in the sky. della Rovere complains that the people will take it as an omen, and the cardinals are sequestered for the duration of the Papal conclave. Rodrigo is upset to learn that Carafa has betrayed him and does not intend to support him at all, and della Porta begins to panic about his choice to return. Cesare and a classmate debate the moral relativity of guilt in class, and Vannozza defies orders and visits her ailing daughter at the abbey. Petronio reports back to Rodrigo about the status of the votes, though San Severino balks at the idea of supporting Rodrigo, pointing out that he stole the treasury. The men argue furiously throughout the day, and Sforza declares that they should limit the number of cardinals ordained at a given time as Djem listens from above. The first ballots are drawn, but no decision is reached. da Costa urges Rodrigo to recuse himself, and Rodrigo tries to convinces him of his worthiness. Elsewhere, Cesare is excited to learn that he now has a son who shares his name, and Lucrezia is persuaded to kiss the lips of the saint's head in order to recover from her fever.

della Rovere then produces a letter from Pope Pius, given to him by Piccolomini, rebuking Rodrigo for participating in an orgy decades ago, but Rodrigo denounces it as a forgery and accuses della Rovere of accepting bribes. Cesare tells Alessandro about his son, concluding that he must make "the ultimate sacrifice" in order to support his father. Don Gaspare sneaks the abbey and attempts to cure Lucrezia's illness with "the potion of love," though he quickly hides when Vannozza appears in the morning. San Severino then produces a letter given to him by Rodrigo declaring that the King of France "bought" both della Rovere and Piccolomini's loyalty, and Giovanni is forced to intervene when della Rovere furiously attacks Rodrigo. Despite his maneuvering, Rodrigo fails to gain the necessary additional votes in the next count, but he remains confident of his eventual success. In Pisa, Cesare muses about Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac and then leaves his infant son to die on a cliff, much to his friends' horror.

Details

NETWORK: Sky Italia
DATE: September 9, 2011
RUNNING TIME: 0:53:55
COLOR/B&W: Color
CATALOG ID: 106981
GENRE: Drama, historical
SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; Religion
SERIES RUN: Sky Italia - TV series, 2011-2014
COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

Anne Thomopoulos … Executive Producer
Steven Bawol … Executive Producer
Takis Candilis … Executive Producer
Klaus Zimmermann … Executive Producer
Ferdinand Dohna … Executive Producer
Barry Levinson … Executive Producer
Tom Fontana … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
Michael Schwarz … Producer
Petr Moravec … Producer
Aaron Seliquini … Co-Producer
Oliver Hirschbiegel … Director
Frank Pugliese … Writer
Brant Englestein … Writer
Cyril Morin … Music by
John Doman … Cast, Rodrigo Borgia
Mark Ryder … Cast, Cesare Borgia
Stanley Weber … Cast, Juan Borgia
Isolda Dychauk … Cast, Lucrezia Borgia
Marta Gastini … Cast, Giulia Farnese
Diarmuid Noyes … Cast, Alessandro Farnese
Andrea Sawatzki … Cast, Adriana de Mila
Art Malik … Cast, Francesc Gacet
Assumpta Serna … Cast, Vannozza Cattanei
Christian McKay … Cast, Ascanio Sforza
Scott Winters … Cast, Rafaele Riario-Sansoni
Nicolas Belmonte … Cast, Shahzadeh Djem
Predrag Bjelac … Cast, Francesco Piccolomini
John Bradley … Cast, Giovanni de Medici
Sean Campion … Cast, Virginio Orsini
Dejan Cukic … Cast, Giuliano della Rovere
Karel Dobry … Cast, Giovanni Colonna
Michael Fitzgerald … Cast, Oliviero Carafa
Vadim Glowna … Cast, Jorge da Costa
James Greene … Cast, Maffeo Gherardo
Peter Hosking … Cast, Giovanni Savelli
Josef Jelinek … Cast, Federigo San Severino
Jiri Madl … Cast, Francesco Remolino
Jiri Ornest … Cast, Ardicino della Porta
Victor Schefe … Cast, Johann Burchard
Miroslav Taborsky … Cast, Gianbattista Orsini
Benjamin Gur … Cast, Petronio
Robert Nebrensky … Cast, Deacon
Andrej Polak … Cast, Sforza's valet
Robert Russel … Cast, Filippo Decio
Matej Stropnicky … Cast, Don Gaspare de Procida
Tereza Voriskova … Cast, Fiametta Michaelis