For fans of political intrigue and historical dramas, Borgia offers a darker, more European counterpoint to Showtime’s The Borgias . While both shows cover the same family, Borgia is often praised for its greater willingness to engage with the violent, chaotic, and morally complex reality of Renaissance Italy. Episode three serves as a compelling introduction to this world: corrupt, beautiful, and devastatingly human.

This episode reveals the depth of Cesare's ruthless ambition. Convinced that a bastard child will be an obstacle to his future as a prince of the church, he makes the heart-wrenching choice to abandon the newborn, offering the infant up "as a sacrifice to God." It's a shocking act of emotional violence that illustrates how, in the Borgia world, even the most innocent life is secondary to the pursuit of power.

: The dynamic between the arrogant Juan and the Turkish Prince provides both tension and a glimpse into the Borgias' role as international power players.

Rodrigo, alongside his brilliant and terrifying son Cesare (Mark Ryder), orchestrates a campaign of simony (the buying of church offices) that is breathtaking in its audacity. We watch as Rodrigo offers bribes—a cardinalate here, a lucrative diocese there—not with shame, but with the weary pragmatism of a man who believes that God helps those who help themselves.

Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (Colm Feore), hiding in exile, turns to the fire-and-brimstone preacher Girolamo Savonarola. Della Rovere plants the seed that the Borgia Pope is a heretic and a pagan. This subplot is chilling because it sets up the religious warfare that will consume Rome for the rest of the season. Savonarola’s sermons about God’s wrath are juxtaposed with Rodrigo’s actual, desperate prayers, blurring the line between who is truly holy.

The third episode of Borgia, titled " Cesare", picks up where the previous episode left off, with the Borgia family navigating the complex politics of Rome. Pope Alexander VI (played by Jeremy Irons) continues to consolidate his power, while his children, Cesare (played by John Dacio) and Lucrezia (played by Sarah Polley), find themselves entangled in a web of their own making.

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