I've heard good things about the Borgias, though I don't know how ass-kicking the ladies are.
Jumping in because I've probably been one of the people flailing at Petra over The Borgias.
The ladies of The Borgias are individually and collectively awesome, though I don't think ass-kicking is the right term. It was a bit hard for women to kick ass in the Italian Renaissance, though the Borgias ladies each do a commendable job of being strong, flawed, and utterly female characters. There are a number of women on the show, but the three main women are Lucrezia Borgia, Giulia Farnese, and Vannozza dei Cattanei.
Lucrezia, of course is well known for her Femme Fatale reputation, but when we meet her, she's still quite young. Lucrezia here is fourteen, just married for the first time, and her story is all about learning what it means to not only be a Borgia during the Italian Renaissance, but what it means to be a woman during the Italian Renaissance. Her storyline is heavily saturated in violence (I can spoil more if you think necessary), but it's far from being pointless. Lucrezia takes what happens to her and begins to rebuild herself stronger. It's problematic, but not the only part of her story.
Giulia is the new Papal mistress and friend of Lucrezia, and she's quite autonomous for a 15th century widow. She exudes a quiet sort of assurance and control, which is interesting for a woman so relatively young by our standards (the historical Giulia was 18, this one is most likely in her mid-twenties). She's shown teaching Lucrezia explicitly how to use her "virtues" (beauty, cleverness, age) to exert some control over her life, and I love their scenes together. Giulia also gains a remarkable amount of influence over Rodrigo (aka Pope Alexander VI aka ASKDJFKDSLKL MARRY ME JEREMY IRONS), able to rein in his temper and (in future episodes) act as envoy for him.
Vannozza is my absolute favorite character on television in a long time. I love fierce, powerful older women who face a huge shakeup to their way of life (*cough* Laura Roslin, Iris Crowe), and Vannozza captured my heart in the scene that shot is from. Vannozza, we learn, has been Rodrigo's mistress for years, dismissed her husband (which, holy SHIT - GO HER, for being so powerful in the 15th century) and had four children with him. And when she finds out that he lied to her and said he had to be chaste, and yet plunked Giulia down in an ex-cardinal's palace and has been carrying on rather publicly with her, Vannozza does not sit at home and cry. No, she storms into the Vatican, calls him a lecher and Giulia a whore in front of a dozen cardinals, and generally lets him have it with both barrels. Vannozza loves her children just as fiercely - she lets Rodrigo have it again when he bars her from Lucrezia's wedding, she exiles Juan for being a hugely disrespectful asshat, she walks Gioffre down the aisle, and Cesare is clearly the favorite child of her manipulative little heart. I love that we get to see her both as a mother *and* as an intelligent politician in her own right.
Ahem. Sorry. But I am super in-love with this show right now, and you need to go watch it!
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Date: 2011-05-06 05:23 pm (UTC)Jumping in because I've probably been one of the people flailing at Petra over The Borgias.
The ladies of The Borgias are individually and collectively awesome, though I don't think ass-kicking is the right term. It was a bit hard for women to kick ass in the Italian Renaissance, though the Borgias ladies each do a commendable job of being strong, flawed, and utterly female characters. There are a number of women on the show, but the three main women are Lucrezia Borgia, Giulia Farnese, and Vannozza dei Cattanei.
Lucrezia, of course is well known for her Femme Fatale reputation, but when we meet her, she's still quite young. Lucrezia here is fourteen, just married for the first time, and her story is all about learning what it means to not only be a Borgia during the Italian Renaissance, but what it means to be a woman during the Italian Renaissance. Her storyline is heavily saturated in violence (I can spoil more if you think necessary), but it's far from being pointless. Lucrezia takes what happens to her and begins to rebuild herself stronger. It's problematic, but not the only part of her story.
Giulia is the new Papal mistress and friend of Lucrezia, and she's quite autonomous for a 15th century widow. She exudes a quiet sort of assurance and control, which is interesting for a woman so relatively young by our standards (the historical Giulia was 18, this one is most likely in her mid-twenties). She's shown teaching Lucrezia explicitly how to use her "virtues" (beauty, cleverness, age) to exert some control over her life, and I love their scenes together. Giulia also gains a remarkable amount of influence over Rodrigo (aka Pope Alexander VI aka ASKDJFKDSLKL MARRY ME JEREMY IRONS), able to rein in his temper and (in future episodes) act as envoy for him.
Vannozza is my absolute favorite character on television in a long time. I love fierce, powerful older women who face a huge shakeup to their way of life (*cough* Laura Roslin, Iris Crowe), and Vannozza captured my heart in the scene that shot is from. Vannozza, we learn, has been Rodrigo's mistress for years, dismissed her husband (which, holy SHIT - GO HER, for being so powerful in the 15th century) and had four children with him. And when she finds out that he lied to her and said he had to be chaste, and yet plunked Giulia down in an ex-cardinal's palace and has been carrying on rather publicly with her, Vannozza does not sit at home and cry. No, she storms into the Vatican, calls him a lecher and Giulia a whore in front of a dozen cardinals, and generally lets him have it with both barrels. Vannozza loves her children just as fiercely - she lets Rodrigo have it again when he bars her from Lucrezia's wedding, she exiles Juan for being a hugely disrespectful asshat, she walks Gioffre down the aisle, and Cesare is clearly the favorite child of her manipulative little heart. I love that we get to see her both as a mother *and* as an intelligent politician in her own right.
Ahem. Sorry. But I am super in-love with this show right now, and you need to go watch it!