Written by Sarah Goldfinger And Corey Reed
Directed by Michael J. Bassett
Riario: “I see you escaped.”
DaVinci: “And I see a key you’ll be giving to me.”
Riario: “You best kill me first. I will follow you to the ends of the Earth to retrieve what is mine.”
Well, well, Riario. Even when he’s bound and gagged to a tree and outsmarted by both Nico and Zoroaster, he still manages to get the last word in and I don’t doubt he’ll deliver on his promise to kill one of DaVinci’s loved ones in the next episode. I suppose the question does remain as to who it will be though.
It could be both Nico and Zoroaster who managed to make a fool of him this week or maybe even Lorenzo, given another plot outlined in this episode. Lucrezia is also a viable candidate for a finale death, in fact possibly the most given her antics here but either way, I’ll be surprised if Riario doesn’t deliver on his promise to kill someone next week.
It was certainly an interesting episode for Riario, wasn’t it? The joy he seemed to take in baiting Nico was one thing but losing the second key he had been keeping from DaVinci was an oversight for him though. Still, I guess he can still use DaVinci to find the Book Of Leaves for him though, so maybe it wasn’t all bad for him this week.
Speaking of DaVinci – the scuba suit looked more like a strange fetish outfit but it did manage to do the job into sneaking into Pope Sixtus IV and the confrontation between the artist and the fanatical zealot was a highlight of this episode. For the first time, Sixtus actually came across as an interesting character rather than a one dimensional baddie for a change.
I knew his attempts of trying to entice DaVinci into becoming an explorer of the Secret Archive were more of a distraction than anything else but it did seem like for a moment, Sixtus believed he could genuinely get DaVinci on board. He even played the mother card and DaVinci still managed to stick to his guns and escape the place with some help from some ancient weaponry.
As for Lucrezia – this was her episode in a lot of ways too. While it’s been blatantly obvious from the first episode that the only reason she was a Medici spy was because Riario was holding her father captive, at least this episode confirmed it by revealing the prisoner to DaVinci who in turn realised what Lucrezia was really up to all along.
Unfortunately learning this information hasn’t done anything to make me sympathetic towards Lucrezia’s plight in the slightest. Her father might be a prisoner but seemingly one that doesn’t want to be set free and factoring both Lucrezia’s husband and aunt only reminded me of the damage her actions have caused over the last few weeks.
More to the point – Lucrezia stabbed Giuliano. While there might be a chance he’ll actually survive being stabbed by her, any sympathy I might have had for Lucrezia pretty much died in that moment. I was even feeling sorry for her when Riario’s men were inches away from killing her but not when Giuliano took his anger out on Lucrezia and she stabbed him for realising she was the traitor. I’m not sure how the show is going to be able to justify keeping Lucrezia for next season because right about now, it really does feel like she should pay the consequences for her actions over the last few weeks.
Last but not least – was anyone surprised by the assassination plotting on the Medici family? It makes sense for Francesco to come up with such a scheme whilst pretending to humour an arranged marriage with Giuliano and his sister and the fact that Dragonetti is also in cahoots with him wasn’t that great a shock either to be honest. Hopefully this does mean they’re both dispatched by the end of the finale though.
Also in “The Hierophant”
Hierophant means a person who brings religious congregants in the presence of what is deemed holy and it did seem to tie in nicely with the assassination plot of this episode.
Giuliano: “I always knew I’d pay for being me.”
Giuliano at least did manage to have sex with Vanessa in this episode. Vanessa didn’t seem adverse to the idea of becoming his mistress either.
Lucrezia (to DaVinci): “It is easier to resist in the beginning than it is in the end but then again, perhaps you’re not capable of love.”
Giuliano: “You’re a saint.”
Vanessa: “I think we disproved that last night.”
Clarice’s brother was one of the conspirators in Francesco’s meeting. He seemed a little too casual about potentially murdering her along with Giuliano and Lorenzo.
Pope Sixtus IV: “You make quite an entrance.”
DaVinci: “I had to ensure a private audience.”
Francesco: “That is how the Medicis will die – quickly. Stand with us or not at all.”
In the Secret Archives we saw a sword in a stone, a spear of destiny (which DaVinci used to kill someone) and even a manuscript that changed texts.
Pope Sixtus IV (to DaVinci): “The world needs secrets. Powerful ideas can wreak havoc if unleashed before their time.”
Zoroaster: “I wish I could see his face when he figures it out.”
Riario: “Wishes come true.”
Chronology: Not much time since “The Devil” and Lucrezia was revealed to be a Gemini in this episode, which seemed appropriate in a few ways too.
As a lead in for the finale, “The Hierophant” was definitely an interesting episode to go with. Not sure what will end up happening next week but it does look delightfully chaotic for DaVinci and company, doesn’t it?
Rating: 8 out of 10
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