Was not sure at first whether to write this review for this final episode of 'The Borgias', with my enjoyment of reviewing having dwindled by quite a bit overtime and especially recently because of feeling that all my hard work, with a lot of care and thought, has gone to waste and has been for nothing. But decided to do so anyway, then the person/people responsible for making me feel this way are ordered to leave me alone, having done nothing to warrant their persecution of me.
Even though it may not have been perfect, am still immensely fond of 'The Borgias' and it is one of not many shows where more than one episode has been watched in one night. That's how addictive it has always been for me and how easily it got me hooked. So much about it is great, and any other fans of Jeremy Irons should find themselves more than satisfied, despite not being a close physical resemblance to the real Rodrigo on the dramatic front it is to me one of Irons' best roles.
"The Prince" is a great episode on its own, as an episode of 'The Borgias' and an episode for anything, and quality-wise it is one of Season 3's best episodes. It works well for a season finale, as there are things that have a sense of resolution, like the Forli battle and Micheletto. But for a show finale one can't help feeling that it could have been more and wishing that it had lasted for another season like intended, but with production costs being too expensive and the show being aired alongside stiff competition that were given more accessible time slots and marketed more that wasn't to be.
It didn't have any problems for me until the very end, where one can see that this was not intended to be the final season and it does make me mad that 'The Borgias' wasn't given enough of a chance and didn't last longer. It was not fair for it to end on this abrupt and incomplete a note with too many loose ends with only Caterina, Micheletto and Lucrezia having anything as close to character arc closure, whereas everybody else was left unresolved or completely neglected. Sorry about it sounding like a big song and dance, not intended, but just can't help feeling annoyed.
Visually, "The Prince" looks wonderful as always for 'The Borgias'. Love the costumes and scenery, while the larger-scale/battles don't look cheap and there is a beautifully shot and lit scene where Rodrigo talks of the want to get rid of what got him into power in the first place, which is pretty shocking also to hear. The music is as fantastic as ever, so stirring and haunting with the main theme being the very meaning of hair-raisingly epic.
Writing is thought-provoking and intriguing, with enough tension and pathos. The story feels a little rushed in spots with so much to pack in, but it never felt dull to me with lots of tension in the battle of Forli, with scintillating chemistry between Cesare and Caterina (living up to her "tigress of Forli" nickname) reminiscent of that in "The Choice", emotional power with Lucrezia. And that scene with Cesare and Micheletto, talk about bittersweet. There is some clever direction from Neil Jordan, especially that aforementioned scene with Rodrigo. Machiavelli is a wry-humoured joy in this episode as well, and will admit to having a good laugh at Rodrigo's "we address an empty bed! We have never realized it would provide such sport".
All the performances far from disappoint, with a typically darkly intense Francois Arnaud and Gina McKee perfectly cast as Caterina. Cannot find anything to fault Irons for either, although he is a little underused here. Almost forgot to mention what one of "The Prince's" biggest strengths is how one sees the strength of the Borgia family, along with the beginning "The Face of Death" this is the episode where that has been at its strongest, after usually seeing a lot of tension and strain between them.
Summing up, a great episode but also one that disappoints because of its incomplete feel. 9/10
Even though it may not have been perfect, am still immensely fond of 'The Borgias' and it is one of not many shows where more than one episode has been watched in one night. That's how addictive it has always been for me and how easily it got me hooked. So much about it is great, and any other fans of Jeremy Irons should find themselves more than satisfied, despite not being a close physical resemblance to the real Rodrigo on the dramatic front it is to me one of Irons' best roles.
"The Prince" is a great episode on its own, as an episode of 'The Borgias' and an episode for anything, and quality-wise it is one of Season 3's best episodes. It works well for a season finale, as there are things that have a sense of resolution, like the Forli battle and Micheletto. But for a show finale one can't help feeling that it could have been more and wishing that it had lasted for another season like intended, but with production costs being too expensive and the show being aired alongside stiff competition that were given more accessible time slots and marketed more that wasn't to be.
It didn't have any problems for me until the very end, where one can see that this was not intended to be the final season and it does make me mad that 'The Borgias' wasn't given enough of a chance and didn't last longer. It was not fair for it to end on this abrupt and incomplete a note with too many loose ends with only Caterina, Micheletto and Lucrezia having anything as close to character arc closure, whereas everybody else was left unresolved or completely neglected. Sorry about it sounding like a big song and dance, not intended, but just can't help feeling annoyed.
Visually, "The Prince" looks wonderful as always for 'The Borgias'. Love the costumes and scenery, while the larger-scale/battles don't look cheap and there is a beautifully shot and lit scene where Rodrigo talks of the want to get rid of what got him into power in the first place, which is pretty shocking also to hear. The music is as fantastic as ever, so stirring and haunting with the main theme being the very meaning of hair-raisingly epic.
Writing is thought-provoking and intriguing, with enough tension and pathos. The story feels a little rushed in spots with so much to pack in, but it never felt dull to me with lots of tension in the battle of Forli, with scintillating chemistry between Cesare and Caterina (living up to her "tigress of Forli" nickname) reminiscent of that in "The Choice", emotional power with Lucrezia. And that scene with Cesare and Micheletto, talk about bittersweet. There is some clever direction from Neil Jordan, especially that aforementioned scene with Rodrigo. Machiavelli is a wry-humoured joy in this episode as well, and will admit to having a good laugh at Rodrigo's "we address an empty bed! We have never realized it would provide such sport".
All the performances far from disappoint, with a typically darkly intense Francois Arnaud and Gina McKee perfectly cast as Caterina. Cannot find anything to fault Irons for either, although he is a little underused here. Almost forgot to mention what one of "The Prince's" biggest strengths is how one sees the strength of the Borgia family, along with the beginning "The Face of Death" this is the episode where that has been at its strongest, after usually seeing a lot of tension and strain between them.
Summing up, a great episode but also one that disappoints because of its incomplete feel. 9/10
