Power, politics, religion... does it ever change?

 As you should know by now, I watch a lot of TV. For the past season and this one, I have been watching The Borgias on Showtime. Not just because of the wanton nudity, sex, and violence (though it is...uh... tastefully done) but because I tend to like just about anything Jeremy Irons is in. Especially when the character is a dastardly villain. In this case, his character is more complex than a super criminal or egotistical maniac.

Yes, the flesh and sex and violence are plentiful. We must have our diversions, mustn't we? But the intrigue and the twists and turns of the politics of the time are what holds our attention episode after episode.

Irons plays the patriarch, Rodrigo Borgia (aka Pope Alexander VI) superbly. Corrupt at his core, he seeks and gains the power of the Papal Throne.  But it is his family, particularly Cesare and Lucrezia, who make us anticipate each episode.


Historical accuracy is, of course, a casualty of drama but this feels right somehow. Perhaps because the writers and the director see  politics and Church intrigue of the time period as I do. History should not be dry and boring and it should be applicable to our own time. Man, after all, does not change all that much. Especially when it comes to the pursuit of power.


I highly recommend it.