03x05 - The Holy See

Episode transcripts for the T.V. show, "Medici". Aired: 18 October 2016 – 11 December 2019.*
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A historical drama series follows the Medici family, bankers of the Pope, during Renaissance Florence.
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03x05 - The Holy See

Post by bunniefuu »

Now, over here.

Thank you.

So, this trip is for
Giovanni and Giulio.

Not because of the election.

I represent Florence.

It's for the good of the city
and the new Pope sees us well.

- Maddalena...
- Down you go.

There you are.

I've heard Riario
seeks to influence the outcome.

That he's bribing
the cardinals to do his will.

I've heard the same.

It's hardly surprising.

Since Sixtus' death,
his situation is precarious.

Less protected.

He wants a new Pope in his pocket.

So, this is your chance to
show God who you can truly be.

Make Riario stand aside.

Let the Curia vote with their
hearts, not their greed.

Let a good man be our Pope.

Not someone bought and sold by Riario.

Well, if that's what you wish...

...then pray to God that
he shows me your good man.

Close, close, close!

Thank God you're safe!

There's no order here
since the Pope passed away.

Where's Clarice?

She's gone to the chapel, for the boys.

And you did not wish to be there?

No.

You and I have a great
deal of work to do. Come.

There's no time to waste.

Oh my God...

It's a surprise there's any
gold left in Florence...

Well, it's necessary.

It will be paid back, by our
candidate once he is elected.

This is my chance to defeat
Riario once and for all.

- Carlo!
- Oh, Clarice.

You look well.

It's done...

...and you would have
been proud of them both.

I'm glad.

- They missed you.
- I'll see them later.

If we secure this election, then
the boys will be safer here in Rome.

How does it stand, Carlo?

I would say it's rather evenly divided.

Neither camp can command
a clear majority.

Some favor Cardinal Nardini...

...some favor Cardinal Raffaele.

It's close.

It's very very close.

In the past,
when the choice has been clear...

...the Curia has made its
decision within an hour.

I think this may take them days.

Cardinal Raffaele is Sixtus' nephew.

And Nardini is supposedly
another puppet.

Raffaele though, is a good man.

- He's honorable.
- Yes, but Riario is not.

And Riario is already
bribing cardinals...

...to bend this election to his will.

We need a truly independent candidate.

We'll drive a wedge...

...through the center of Rome
and when the dust has settled...

...Nardini will be one way...

...Raffaele will be the other.

And our man will be left standing.

Dare I ask who our man is?

Giovanni Battista Cybo.

Messer Peruzzi!

How was the Council?

I would have thought as Lorenzo's
deputy you would have been there.

I was detained. Bank business.

And besides, I imagine they
just spent the whole session...

...arguing over whether it
will be Nardini or Raffaele...

...to take the throne...

They don't know whether to plan
a parade or fortify the city.

Perhaps they could do both.

Is there a sense of which of
the candidates they favor?

I think there's a sense that they'd...

...favor who ever the
Medici told them to.

You've trained them well.

Good.

Don't you ever grow tired of politics?

And what else is there?

And besides, can you imagine a more...

...political moment than
selecting a new Pope?

It needn't be.

We could leave it up to the will of God.

Well, let me guess. Friar Savonarola?

He says that we should leave
matters of God in the hands of God.

Set politics aside completely.

- He said that?
- Yes.

And you think that was not political?

Why are you backing Cardinal Cybo?

Because he was a...

...a soldier, before he was a priest.

And of all the Curia, he offers...

...the best combination of
credibility and common sense.

Lorenzo...

...encouraging a vote here or there...

...I-I'm not naïve.
I know how these things work.

But if you want to win this for Cybo...

...you would have to buy the election.

Look, the-the Pope is
Christ's voice on Earth.

You cannot... buy the voice of Christ.

All I want, Carlo, is peace for Italy.

Why would God wish it otherwise?

I thought your soldiers were supposed...

...to protect men of the cloth.

I was jostled
and jeered at in the street...

...and the Papal guards
were no where to be seen.

Well, the people are frustrated.

They look for stability and
leadership, and they find none.

So put them in order.

The army's not been paid
since our uncle's death.

Once you accede the throne,
we will put everything in order.

You make it sound certain.

Are you not forgetting Nardini?

Not in the slightest.

As it stands, you and
Nardini are neck and neck...

...with four votes to the play.

All I need do is secure
you three of them...

...and your victory... is assured.

And what do you want in return?

Nothing.

Well...

Nothing apart from the
continuation of the protection...

...that Sixtus offered myself...

...and my family.

Of course...

...as Commander of the Papal
Armies, it would be my honor...

...and duty to serve
you in whatever ways...

...to whatever ends, you shall desire.

Your name must be put on the
ballot, Cardinal Cybo.

I appreciate your coming to see
me, and I'm flattered, but...

...it can't be done.

You were a m*llitary man...

...weren't you, your Eminence?

I was.

And also a father...

...until I heard the call of
God and renounced my past life.

You understand tactics...
and strategy still...

Yeah, enough to know when
a battle is already lost.

Forty percent favor Nardini,
forty percent Raffaele.

None favor me.

Well, there's a middle
ground that can be persuaded.

Persuaded?

Some people may listen
to Lorenzo de' Medici...

...because he's Lorenzo de'
Medici, but others...

...will require a more...
bankable incentive.

Which I can provide.

And if news of that becomes public...

...Riario would turn it against us.

So would Nardini.

The Medici reaching out from Florence...

...to influence an election in Rome...

So use an intermediary.

The cardinals will believe that they
owe their loyalty to you personally.

And in due course...

...well, that influence can be repaid.

Signore...

...there is something... that I feel...

...I should say, and you should hear.

If this works...

...it will be because God also wills it.

Through you, perhaps, or through me...

...but it will be God's will.

Well, we should strive to be worthy.

Your Eminence...

I'm supposed to be visiting cardinals...

...and you're supposed
to be at your devotions.

I looked everywhere for you.

Forgive me.

Clarice?

Clarice...

Sandro...

- It's good to see you.
- And you.

It's good to see you
creating such wonders.

Thank you.

Giovanni...

Giovanni! What's... all this?

I'm to be a priest.

So you are!

Well, the better for us
all, I should think.

Welcome to my workshop.

I had heard you were coming to Rome.

It's so beautiful.

Well, when you follow God's path...

...you will be surrounded
by such beauty.

Indeed.

Which would you rather?

Be surrounded by beauty...
or be allowed to create it?

Well-well, your father and I
had a similar conversation once.

If you become a powerful enough man...

...you can tell an artist what you...

...want, and he'll paint it for you.

It's a kind of creation, isn't it?

And you will become a very powerful...

...and very great man.
Of that I have no doubt.

Like my father, you mean.

Order must be restored.

I want examples made.

Find me twenty deserters...

...and have them flogged to
death at the Campo de' Fiori.

Sir!

Come on, men! Follow me!

Ah, two Medici priests.

You do your family great credit.

And I'm sure you'll continue
to do the same in the future.

There are cooled drinks in
the great hall. Go along.

Thank you, Eminence.

You must call me Latino.

We're family, after all.

Has your husband lost his mind?

I really do not believe so.

As it stands, no matter which
way the election falls...

...Riario will have his hand
in how Rome is governed.

Not anymore.

Riario is backing Raffaele.

It's not public yet, but it's the case.

Nardini is furious.

Now, we could be the
first to move to his aid.

When he's elected...
he'll remember who his friends were.

Do-do you trust him to do that?

Do you trust him at all?

I have delivered Giulio...

...and Giovanni, my own son,
to the Church here in Rome.

Is the best we can hope for a Pope
that we may or may not trust?

That may or may not betray us all?

Please...

...please...

...speak to the family and
see if you can change their minds.

Alright. I'll do what I can.

You should speak with Cardinal Bianco.

He's always been a friend to us.

Start there.

Send her out.

What is it?

What's the matter?

Nothing that need concern you.

But it does concern me.

All the time I spend
licking the asses...

...and greasing the
palms of the Curia...

...and my army falls
apart behind my back!

They haven't been paid in weeks!
And without that army...

...everything is lost.

That is what is the matter!

Did you know Lorenzo
de' Medici is in Rome?

Of course I know.

Then you'll know his wife, Clarice...

...Cardinal Orsini's niece...
is with him.

Lorenzo talks to one cardinal...

...she to another.

He to some bankers...

...she to her cousins
and family friends.

She's very graceful and charming...
so I've been told.

"So you've been told?"

I like to know what's
happening in the city.

Sometimes I hear things
about the cardinals.

What one likes that he shouldn't like.

What little secret one has that
would much rather not share.

Some of it's quite scandalous.

And I was thinking...

...why pay for what you want...

...when you can just ask?

Together we can defeat Lorenzo.

Well?

You wished to speak
about Friar Savonarola?

He's saying the hand of God...

...should choose the next Pope.

Do others feel the same?

Judging by the crowds...

...who come to hear him speak, yes.

Greater and greater numbers.

He's having trouble fitting
them all in San Marco.

Or so I've heard.

And I've heard these are
not just the common throng.

Men like Messer Peruzzi now
attend the congregation.

Is this a problem?

I'm not certain, but...

...I think it could become one.

Depending on who is there and
where their sympathies lie.

You understand me?

I thought perhaps you could go along...

...see for yourself.

Of course.

Nico?

A list of names may prove convenient.

Not everyone, you understand.

Just those of interest.

Uncle?

Giulio What are you doing here?

Looking for you.

I'm sorry I was not at the ceremony...

Sometimes one can't do
everything that one wants.

Oh, you were busy.

Suits you.

I didn't think it would.

No.

Nor did I.

I'm surprised, I think.

That you've chosen this path.

I'm surprised myself.

Why did you do it?

I don't know.

But when I pray...

...I feel close to my mother.

And my grandmother.

When you were young...

...you asked me for a Kn*fe for
the man that k*lled your mother.

Do you still want one?

I was a child then.

Now what I want is for God
to take away that anger.

Thank you for your time, Cardinal.

Always pleasure, Madonna.

Madonna de' Medici...

...we haven't met...
but I know you, of course.

I'm Caterina Sforza-Riario.

It would seem we are both
disposed on similar business.

I suppose so.

It would seem also that I'm too late.

I was going to offer his Carmelite
brethren a donation, but...

...not much point
trying to contend with...

...the Medici fortune.

And not much point fluttering my
eyes at Cardinal Bianco either.

Best...

...I think, to save my efforts
for where they'll do more good.

Your husband came to my wedding.

I remember thinking him very dashing.

I was only a child.

Of course. Too young.

Really.

After I heard you were
married, I thought...

...to myself, perhaps one
day I'll be to my husband...

...as Clarice de' Medici
must be to hers.

More than just a wife, I mean.

Well... it's been an honor to meet you.

Please give your husband
my kindest regards.

If that's allowed, of course.

We find ourselves...
in a different church today.

Not as comfortable.

But more spacious.

You may think it a poor church.

A church of bare brick and stone
where beggars come to pray.

Where are the glorious frescoes?

Where is the golden
chalice for the sacrament?

And yet...

...we are all welcome.

Do you think our Lord Christ
drank from a golden chalice?

At a gilded alter...

...looked over by stained-glass saints?

I tell you...

...a true man of God...
would drink from a cup of wood...

...melt down his gold...

...and with it...
feed a hundred beggars.

Savonarola's audience, of course...

...not all of them agree with him.

Some come to criticize,
some just for curiosity.

But whatever the reason, they come.

His words drip in their ears...

...go home with them...
spread throughout the city.

Tommaso Peruzzi would seem
to be in regular attendance.

What about you?

Were you convinced?

Did you find yourself wavering?

It's simple stuff.

Too simple for my taste.

He's either dangerously naïve
or dangerously clever.

Then either way, he is dangerous.

So Bianco will follow the Orsini
lead and vote for Cardinal Cybo.

That's what he said.

Caterina Sforza-Riario
was there to see him also.

Don't worry,
she left without speaking to him.

- She asked to be remembered to you.
- You spoke with her?

- She did most of the talking.
- No, you mustn't.

She'll find a way to twist
your words and your sympathies.

You must keep away from her.

The gold we brought...

...Is Cybo putting it to use?

Yes. Not directly, but...

...through an intermediary,
as we decided.

And when the election is done,
he will pay it all back...?

You think of it as a loan drawn
out on the Papal account...

This is how a Pope is chosen.

You call it God's will,
working through us...

Is that how you see it?

Well... you have a very long way to go.

We.

Latino has invited us to dine
with him this evening, and...

...I'll see to it that a number
of undecided cardinals attend.

We must lay ourselves out to
be accommodating. All of us.

Tell me you have good news.

We should be ahead.

By how much?

One vote.

One vote?

A breath of bad wind could
change that to a loss.

We need two more.

It is one vote more
than you had yesterday.

Give me time.

We don't have time.

I went to the Curia to
see Clarice de' Medici.

Why?

It's important to have
looked your enemy in the eye.

What? A message, Messer.

Go.

What is it?

Cardinal Latino Orsini...
is having a party.

A chance to look my enemy in the eye.

Well, it's tighter than I
would have liked, but...

...I believe we've made good progress.

In large part thanks to you.

Do you think we'll win?

- We've spent so much.
- I know, I know.

But yes, I do, I think we'll win.

You know, I have to confess that...
when my mother d*ed, I feared...

...for the future of the bank, but...

...you've done so well. Really.

Lorenzo...

Your mother...

What is it?

Lorenzo?

Your uncle lied to you.

- I'll talk to him.
- No, no, it won't do any good.

He's made his choice.
Orsini's betrayed us.

Come with me.

I'll talk to him.

Leave me the carriage.

Madonna.

Are you alright?

I'm quite well, thank you.

Please, excuse me.

- Uncle...
- I'm sorry.

Sorry is not enough.

It's all I have.

Cybo is losing votes left and right.

- Raffaele has support.
- Yes, Riario's support.

Yes, and it's going to make him Pope.

We cannot afford...

...to make an enemy of this man.
He's already our enemy...

...and you've given him this election.

Go back to Florence.
You'll be safe there.

I'll look after the boys.

- I'll put them under my protection.
- Your protection?

Well, what a threadbare cloth that is.

To think I trusted you...

You're back so soon?

Orsini has turned his back on us.

He's thrown in his lot
with Riario and Raffaele.

Stop the horses!

Vanni!

- Out you get! Move!
- Let me go!

There's not enough to buy one
cardinal, let alone twenty.

Lorenzo, go to Raffaele, please.

Say that you made a mistake
backing Cybo. He will listen...

I will not tie my fate to that
man's family! Do you understand?

Well, how else do you intend to buy...

...your own fate if you've got no money?

Vanni!

Vanni!

What?

It's your wife.

- She's been taken.
- I'm sorry.

Search the city.
Every street, every alley.

Please. Drink some wine.

- You'll feel better.
- You can k*ll me if you like...

...but I will not betray my family.

No-one is going to k*ll you.

You have nothing to fear.
These men are loyal to me alone.

When we met before,
it seemed to me that we were...

...in some ways alike.

That perhaps, did this feud
not stand between us...

...we might have been friends.

This is not how friends
usually meet each other.

These are not usual times.

It's strange, isn't it?

Being a woman in a world of men.

All the things you can lose.
Your home...

...your family...

...your body.

And you cannot console
yourself with notions...

...of glory, or... hope of high office.

You must ask yourself, I think...
what's truly important.

What truly matters.

Nobody saw where they took her.

She could be anywhere by now.

I've failed her.

Lorenzo, come home.

We can regroup...
reassess what we know...

...we can keep watch and we
do not give up hope. Alright?

Come home.

Come.

If my husband wins this
election for Raffaele...

...will our families then be at peace?

No.

He would use his power and
come for us. You know that.

Well then, if you and...

...Lorenzo de' Medici win
the election, what then?

Would that bring us to peace?

Or would it leave Riario
like a wounded dog...

...with nothing to lose,
and twice as dangerous for it?

Tell me why I'm here.

Because we are both clever...

...and we are both strong.
And because as things stand...

...no matter who wins...

...our husbands will
drag all of Italy...

...into a w*r through their hatred.

I told you I was a child when I married.

And that I dreamed of being to
my husband more than a wife.

I also dreamed of love.

Of finding love... growing between us.

That dream was...

...ground out of me.

I no longer look for love.

What do you look for?

Power.

Your candidate is
Giovanni Battista Cybo.

Yes.

That's clever.

And some of the cardinals
you've approached can be bought.

Not with the sums that we have.

Forget gold.

There are other currencies.

The secrets the cardinals keep.

They are guilty of
all sorts of misdeeds.

Some have mistresses kept in secret.

Some have bastard children
sequestered in the countryside.

And some are covering debts.

With funds stolen from their benefices.

Everything is there...

Names, dates...

...places, amounts...

It must have taken months
to accumulate all of this.

Years.

That's how long I've been
waiting for my chance.

- But he's your husband.
- He lives for w*r.

He lusts after w*r more
than he lusts after me.

And I will not bring my child...

...perhaps my daughter, into that world.

Not when I have a choice.

And I do.

We both do.

Vanni! Gather all our men.

We're going to the Castel Sant'Angelo.

Yes, Messer.

Are you alright?

I'm fine.

What is it?

The way to win.

These are the men running our Church.

Telling us how to lead our
lives when they themselves...

...are steeped in filth.

The question is,
can we trust any of this?

Caterina Sforza has played
people false before.

If-if she had come to you...

...to bargain with my
life in the balance...

...would you have
relinquished the election for me?

Yes.

Of course.

I think she knew that.

But she let me go...

...therefore she does not want
us to relinquish the election.

She wants us win it.

And I think we should do so.

We must tell the
cardinals what we know...

...immediately.

I will draft the letters.

Where's my wife?

Waiting, my lord.

Cardinal Raffaele...

...won't talk to me in public.

Only behind closed doors.

Now he has Orsini in his
pocket, he snubs me...

as if I am not honorable enough for him.

They'll see.

When you win.

And you?

With your plots and plans and schemes?

What of them?

Everything is in hand.

Everything?

My plots and schemes.

Believe me.

The election is already decided.

I will have my Pope.

I will command Rome, its armies...
and all of Italy.

I will leave the Medici in the dust.

And you...

you will be my queen.

Yes.

The Curia will vote any minute.

This is where the gold is to go.
In these quantities.

Very well.

But not all the cardinals can
be persuaded by money alone.

I can be very persuasive.

You're an interesting man, Messer.

You consider me a friend?

Of course.

And yet I hear you favored Father
Girolamo Savonarola's election...

...as Prior of the San Marco convent.

You have very good hearing.

He believes the papacy is corrupt.

It's good to have friends
with different opinions...

Forgive the intrusion, Eminence.

You're called to conclave.

Well, let's win this election.

Good day, Messer...
And God be with us both.

They've been called to the conclave now.

We'll know soon enough.

What is it?

Something I have to tell you.

That, uhm...
I should have told you long before.

What?

You said that I've done
well with the bank.

And you have.

Even mother could not
have done a better job.

But your mother did not do so well.
There were...

There were gaps in the books and she
found these ways of filling them.

How?

A little from here, a little from there.

The city funds mainly, and...

Well, I helped her.

The money is not ours to give,
and we've given all of it to Cybo.

Listen. Listen to me.

Had we not spent it, we would
have stood no chance of winning.

We did this we did this to
secure our city and our place.

All we have to do... is get the money...

...back, and no one will be the wiser.

Do you understand?

No one will know.

He'll be the Pope of Rome...

...and I'll speak to him...
after he's won. It will be alright.

Madonna de' Medici.

I wonder, could you convey...

...to your husband a message?

Of course, your Eminence.

Having considered at length,
I find my conscience...

...no longer directs me to
favor Latino Orsini's candidate.

I find instead that I
favor Cardinal Cybo.

I'm delighted to hear it, your Eminence.

Who would have thought so fair a face...

...could conceal so
cold-hearted a witch?

He has my vote. Tell your husband.

- Well?
- It's done.

Cardinal Cybo has won!

Men, with me!

Go back!

Messer de' Medici...

...my lady, Caterina Sforza, wishes
you to see that justice is served.

If you'd care to come with me.

Ricci?

It's Cybo.

Cardinal Cibo has won.

Go!

Return to your posts!

Go!

You see? Already they disobey me.

Get the horses.

Stay with the horses.

Caterina?

Caterina!

Open the door.

Open the door!

It's fallen to Cybo.

To Cybo!

The one thing the one thing I
asked of you, the one simple job!

And you've failed me.

You failed!

I trusted you.

That was your mistake.

I would have made you my queen.

But I would have been your queen.

Sir, you have to surrender
your sword and follow us.

Riario, stop!

The castle is surrounded! We must hurry!

I could never forget your face.

You've been in my nightmares for years.

Our future is in good
hands, I would say.

Thank you, father.

You both make us very proud.

And you both look so handsome.

Excuse me, boys.

Are you going back to Florence?

But we'll see each other very soon.

And until then?

What should we do?

Be true to each other.

It's over.

Yes.

It's over and we've won.

And you've made your
peace with the cost?

I'll see to it that the
money comes back to us.

I did not mean the money.

Have you seen the way
that Giulio looks at you?

Giulio, take good care
of your cousin. Will you?

He's safe because of me.

We all are.

My family...

...Florence.

- All of Italy come to that.
- Yes...

How have you done that?

Through bribery...

...and blackmail...

...threats...

...and m*rder.

And we have won.

Messer Medici... you are most welcome.

Holy Father.

On behalf of my family, may we
offer our sincere congratulations?

What can we do for you?

The Papal accounts with which we
are honored to be entrusted...

It would be of great convenience
to me and to my family...

...if we could settle those accounts.

We understand you perfectly.

But Messer Medici,
you too must understand...

...the Papal armies have not been paid.

The upkeep of the city
has not been attended.

His Holiness, my predecessor...

...left behind him a... lamentable...

...rat's nest of debt and deferment.

In short...

...our absolute priority
at this time must be Rome.

But Holy Father...

We shall not forget, Messer.

But our first loyalty must
be to our own people, here.

Surely, you have coffers
full of gold back in Florence.

That is what a bank is...

...is it not?

Of course, Holy Father.

Then let us hear no more of this.

We thank you for your kind attendance...

...Signore de' Medici.
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