The Borgias Exclusive: François Arnaud Teases New Cesare In Season Finale June 15th, 2012 8:42 PM by Dan Forcella (T V FANATICS)

"I can assure you that Cesare's drive and anger isn't diminished in any way," François Arnaud told me over the phone earlier this week.

The star of The Borgias went on to say that his character, after murdering his brother Juan last Sunday, has "grown into the warrior that he will be."

Arnaud said that Cesare killing Juan "was a beautiful moment."  Although it was indeed the horrible act of one brother gutting the other, Arnaud believed "there is that final embrace that I think helps letting go in a way."


We will all have to let go of Juan, and the great performance by David Oakes, as Arnaud realized, "It's very hard to imagine The Borgias without him. He's been the one who drove Cesare to become what he is now."

Who is that? The aforementioned warrior? "In the finale, you see a new Cesare," Arnaud teased.
But what else can we expect this Sunday night in a season finale titled "The Confession?"


Read more tv spoilers at: http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/06/the-borgias-exclusive-franois-arnaud-teases-new-cesare-in-season/

The Borgias Exclusive: David Oakes on Juan Borgia's Rise and Fall June 12th, 2012 7:14 PM by Dan Forcella (TV FANATIC)

"The last thing I did on The Borgias, was literally throw myself off a bridge," David Oakes reminisced on Monday afternoon.  One of the stars of the Showtime series, Oakes' run as troublesome brother Juan Borgia was fantastic, but it sadly came to an end with the character's inevitable death on Sunday's penultimate episode of the year.

It was a moment that Oakes knew was coming. "I always knew I was going to die in season two," he said. "That was never in doubt, but I didn't know when I was going to die." After Juan's failure at Forli, and his subsequent syphilis, gangrenous leg, and opium addiction, everyone saw this character's end in sight.  As Oakes says, "There really wasn't much keeping him alive."


Read more tv spoilers at: http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/06/the-borgias-exclusive-david-oakes-on-juan-borgias-rise-and-fall/

The Borgias Season Finale Sneak Peeks: Lucrezia and Rodrigo Face Off Written By Shilo Adams on June 11th, 2012 at 4:26 p (TVOM)

The Borgia family has managed to survive a pretty tremendous amount of conflict in the first two seasons of The Borgias. Enemies have been dispatched, alliances have been formed, and every inter-family squabble has been swept under Rodrigo's papal robe in favor of presenting a united front and preserving the family. But that inability to face their problems and worry about their image vs. their reality has made the second season of The Borgias quite a tense affair, culminating in the shocking murder of Juan at the end of the last episode. Can The Borgia family manage to get through their hardest time yet and emerge mostly in tact?




Judging by the sneak peeks of next week's season finale, titled "The Confession", they may not be able to bounce back quite as quickly as they have in the past. Lucrezia's last confrontation with Juan only solidified her burning hatred for her brother, which had been ignited for good upon Paolo's death, and she can't quite bring herself to mourn for him. Rodrigo isn't having any of that, of course, as Juan was his favorite child and his death dashed any dreams he had of one son in armor and another in the cloth. Lucrezia has been growing away from her father during the second season of The Borgias, defying him regarding the recent marriage proposals, and this is further proof that the two may not be able to see eye to eye ever again.

READ MORE:  http://www.tvovermind.com/the-borgias/the_borgias_season_2_finale/

The Borgias “Truth and Lies” Season 2 Episode 8 (TV)

Show Summary:   THE BORGIAS is a complex, unvarnished portrait of one of history’s most intriguing and infamous dynastic families. Oscar(r)-winning actor Jeremy Irons returns in his Golden Globe(r)-nominated role as the cunning, manipulative patriarch of the Borgia family who ascends to the highest circles of power within Renaissance-era Italy to become Pope Alexander VI.

Seeking to consolidate his power, Alexander enlists his family to take an oath of revenge on the great noble houses that dared to stand against him, causing his Papacy to face political turmoil once again. But Alexander’s real problems lie with his children, all of whom are growing up and defying his authority.

Lucrezia forges an unlikely alliance between Vanozza and Giulia, and together they plot to battle Vatican corruption. The sibling rivalry between Cesare and Juan will soon turn to hatred as their father’s unwavering favoritism toward Juan triggers Cesare to engage his dark side. Elsewhere in Rome, Alexander’s old enemy Della Rovere has entered the city incognito and conspires to assassinate him.

READ MORE:  http://www.tvequals.com/2012/06/03/the-borgias-truth-and-lies-season-2-episode-8/

The Borgias Review: We're Gonna Have To Take The Boy May 20th, 2012 11:00 PM by Dan Forcella (TV FANANTIC)

Since Francois Arnaud and David Oakes have both been so fantastic during The Borgias second season, it's a shame that the series has had such a difficult time showcasing them in the same episode.  "The Siege at Forli" was yet another example of this mishap as Cesare Borgia was sidelined for the majority of the hour.

From his triumphant return, to his battlefield tactics, Juan Borgia was quite the standout once again.  It felt so good to have him back, especially when his return meant a pet panther and cigars for the pope.  I'm not sure which was more fun, watching the then unheard of cat bite the finger of Lucrezia, or watching Juan explain to Rodrigo and everyone else what the then unheard of cigars were and did.


It wasn't all panthers and puffing for the second son, though.  He also made his way to Forli to take out the great Catherina Sforza in battle.  What made his inevitable failure, and the quasi betrayal by his brother Cesare, so epic, was the feeling of superiority he and Rodrigo had going during their fireside chat early in the hour.

The father, sorry Holy Father, was proud that his boy had become a man, and truly felt that Juan was going to wipe out Catherina and take her back to Rome completely compliant.

The fact that Juan used dirty tactics in battle was awesome.  If waving the white flag in peace only to cheap shot Catherina's son, steal him, and ride away had actually worked, I would have commended the coward.  It's kill or be killed out there.  The Borgia boy's plan faced numerous problems, though.


Read more tv spoilers at: http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/05/the-borgias-review-were-gonna-have-to-take-the-boy/

The Borgias Review: Do You Perhaps Take Gold? May 13th, 2012 11:00 PM by Dan Forcella (TV FANATIC)

Similar to Sons of Anarchy at its best moments, the second season of The Borgias has done a fine job at showcasing both the outside and inside threats to its protagonistic family in concert.

While those coming from elsewhere - such as the Sforza forces or the Friar Savonarola - have been pushing the story of the season along, it is those issues close to the heart of the Borgias that has interested me most since the premiere.


The epicenter of the series' success continued to be Francis Arnaud's work as Cesare Borgia during "Day of Ashes." The eldest son of Pope Alexander kept striving towards earning the armor fit for the leader of the Papal Army, but per the usual, Rodrigo still didn't agree.

Watching Cesare use his "stray dogs" to take out the caravan, and steal all of the Medici gold, was fun, but it wasn't enough to change the Pope's mind. At the end of the day, that was all that Cesare was looking for. He wants to be the "one son in amour."

We all know that the Pope wants one in armor and one son of the cloth, but what Cesare doesn't understand is that it isn't his lack of skills in battle that is preventing him from taking control of the armies. Rather, it is Rodrigo's complete lack of faith in Juan to help in any other way than in a suit of armor.

I am hoping that this idea comes into play when Juan finally returns home. It feels like it has been forever since we have seen him.


Read more tv spoilers at: http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/05/the-borgias-review-do-you-perhaps-take-gold/

The Borgias Season Premiere Review: Sibling Rivalry April 8th, 2012 11:00 PM by Dan Forcella (TV FANATIC)

It may not have had as much pomp and circumstance, or as much energy, as the first season premiere, but "The Borgia Bull" may have been a more promising beginning for The Borgias.

The second season premiere set up a number of new situations, and began to develop in more depth the important relationships we got to know over the course of the first season.Jeremy Irons may be the name used in promoting the series, but Francois Arnaud proved to be the star of the show throughout last season and in this year's opener.

His Cesare Borgia is all kinds of engaging, a master of deception with a number of intriguing relationships. The way that Cesare and Lucrezia act together is interesting for all the wrong reasons. I mean, they are a bit too close for brother and sister, right? The way he is treated by his father continues raise questions about where their relationship may lead in the future. Will the son rise up against the father, simply rebel, or continue to obey as best he can?

I'm sure there are a number of readers aware of the history that know exactly where that is heading, but I do not. The relationship that had the most potential through season one, and was front and center in "The Borgia Bull" was the great sibling rivalry between Cesare and Juan.

Cesare wanted to be in armor, but instead was forced to be the cleric of the family. Juan, while able to have the life Cesare wanted, still knows that he is looked at as second fiddle. The way these two fought like little children in front of their father was great, but after he insisted that they got along, what did they do?


Well of course, they got into a heated, near-death sword fight! What else? Read more:  http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/04/the-borgias-review-sibling-rivalry/