The Borgias · Season 1 · Showtime
The Borgias Season 1
The Borgias Season 1 is a WORTH-IT, BollyMeter 7.2/10. 9 episodes on Showtime from 3 April 2011.
Updated
What BollyAI Thinks
Season 1 launched on Showtime in April 2011 with a 76% Rotten Tomatoes score and a Metacritic score of 66. Jeremy Irons' Rodrigo Borgia is the season's anchor - Hollywood Chicago described 'an instantly-striking performance' that makes 'the multi-faceted work by Irons always fascinating.' The Hollywood Reporter called the historical-reimagining format 'a scrumptious combination of costume drama acting, soap opera theatrics and pay cable promiscuousness.' Neil Jordan's direction gave the Vatican corridors genuine menace, and the period recreation is the season's strongest asset. A debut more interested in atmosphere and performance than narrative momentum.
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The Room
“These kinds of grand historical reimaginings can be a scrumptious combination of costume drama, soap opera theatrics, and pay cable promiscuousness.”
The Hollywood Reporter
Standout Episodes
The hours worth arguing about - premieres, finales, and the turning points. BollyAI reads the room episode by episode.
- E1The Poisoned Chalice7.5
Rodrigo Borgia's election to the papacy through bribery and promise-making establishes the show's central argument: power and corruption are inseparable.
The moment: Irons' acceptance of the papal tithe and his immediate smile - the character's entire moral universe compressed into a single expression.