Riario is back to visions and eye-drugs and general
despair and someone/thing calling him “the monster of Italy” and generally not
being well. Except Leo who is apparently trying to cure him.
Curing him involves chaining Riario up for his own sake
and for the sake of the whole of Florence and having Leo of all people trying
to bring him to lucidity. Leo has seen through Riario claiming he’s not part
the Labyrinth along with an epic rant of having nothing to do with the Turks,
Sons of Mithras, Labyrinth or anyone else demanding obedience and destruction
in the name of god (who he doesn’t even think exists but think would be
thoroughly disgusted if he did).
There follows some theological discussion with Leo
thinking humanity is too terrible to be designed with Free Will while Riario
defends it (an interesting twist. Personally I think free will + commandments
on pain of pain = dubious free will anyway). Leo doubles down – Riario is the embodiment
of man’s struggle between good and evil since he seeks piety and is a murderer.
He says this while accusing Riario of the recent serial killings in Rome and
Florence (including Clarice and Dragonetti). Riario splutters and tries to deny
it while panting and hyperventilating and confused and lost.
The Labyrinth has damaged him, along with his doubts of
them that stops him ever being “one” with them. Though he puts this down to his
flaws, not the Labyrinth’s. He also saved Leo because, after everything they’ve
endured, he couldn’t let Leo die – which Leo takes as a sign that Riario is
redeemable. Riario of course starts ranting and lashing out with all a full on
multiple-personality rant about how Leo broke him by introducing guilt and
shame.
Time for chemistry (including with poison arrow frogs? What
did he bring them back from South America? When? Why?) and more multiple
personality rambling from Evil!Riario talking about… uh… Also-Evil!Riario.
Of course, this scene is starting to be about Riario – we
have to quickly change it to be about Leo and he accuses Leo of being terribad
evil and even worse than him because of all Leo’s shiny war machines.
Zoroaster and Leo had a field trip planned for research
but Leo has to hastily cancel with Riario ranting and rambling and cackling
away in the background (and
this show really really should never ever try to make gay jokes under any
circumstances).
Leo does some psychoanalysing of Riario and his tragic
childhood while Zoroaster would rather just kill him and be done with it –
especially with everyone trying to kill him. But Leo needs him for the fun
crusade to stop the Ottomans, including Sixtus feeling he can come to Florence
for the big pageant rather than running away from the serial killer. Riario
would also quite like to be executed for his crimes – but Leo continues to
refuse. And he has a plan
Over to Vanessa mourns for Dragonetti’s death while Laura
decides to tastelessly push Florence into war over the body resting in state
and calling on Florence to make allies. Vanessa pushes against this idea, even
as Laura decides all she is is the Mother of her child and Florence and she now
exists to serve and protect.
She also witnesses the mob targeting any foreigners
assuming they are the murderers – they don’t have the same protection Leo
grants Riario. Laura is there to twist the knife (everyone assumes the killer
is a Turk) - but Nico outmanoeuvres them by suggesting a new captain of the
guard chosen by the new Councilwoman: the brothel keeper Madam Singh.
Nico and Madam Singh’s men apparently catch the supposed
serial killer –Nico actually leading the charge and shooting him. Yes, it’s all
a ruse and the “killer” is Zoroaster in a crafty bait and switch. And lo,
Florence has a killer to persecute.
So we can go back to analysing Riario’s mind in between
experimental pharmacology.
While Vanessa hosts… Pope Sixtus. He promptly tries to intimidate
Vanessa into joining the Crusade painting an image of a terrifying Ottomans overrunning
Italy and no-one helping Florence
Laura still frets about Riario’s absence – and Laura has
Venetian forces looking for him. They find him when Evil!Riaro rants and raves –
they free him after incapacitating Zoroaster and he then kills the Venetians.
He leaves Zoroaster alone because of Main Character shields and escapes.
Riario goes to the little demonstration Leo is putting on
for Sixtus – Leo, Zoroaster and Nico are duly worried and Nico gets Vanessa to
safety while Leo puts on his demonstration of his shiny new –weapon – a very
impressive cannon. Riario disappears during the display and Leo has to chase
him down where he has Laura hostage
Leo decides to try and get through to him by sharing his
own feelings of his machines killing – that a part of him was hugely impressed
by how powerful his machines where and how terribad guilty that made him feel.
He tries plan B – Riario’s mummy-issues. He then encourages Riario to strangle
Laura like he did his mother, then invokes Free Will and waking up. Apparently
waking up works because Riario drops his weapons and lets Laura go.
Back to Lucrezia is still captured by Lupo with some
other innocents –one of whom seems to have visions and wants to be taken to see
Leo
Does anyone on this show NOT hallucinate? Seriously, someone needs to test Italy’s groundwater.
Hallucinating girl is taken by Lupo to do his book
reading. He shows her the page. She seems almost able to while Lupo is all
terrifying when they’re interrupted – Lucrezia has managed to escape and
promptly dumps Lupo in his own cage before running to rescue the girl.
Lucrezia urges the girl to go to hide and run to Florence
when she can while Lucrezia faces Gedik, her father and the Sons of Mithras who
have predicted that Lucrezia will find the page of the Book of Leaves. Lucrezia
claims the page was destroyed
The girl escapes – with the page.
Leo anti-free-will while Riario is for it? I can see it –
because it rests on the practical absence of free will in their world (and
generally) whether divinely granted or not. It’s alright saying “man has the
chance to be a saint or sinner” from Riario with his wealth and power and
influence and control – because the men around him DO have that chance and
Riario is both making a plea for that influence and an excuse for how they
abuse it. Conversely those who don’t have that power and influence are seeing
these mighty forces using their “free will” to commit atrocities in the name of
god (and demolishing the “free will” of anyone caught in their way).
In part because of this I object to the idea Riario is torn
between “piety” and murder because it goes against the very concept of piety as
has been established here and how piety can be abused – piety and murder are
not mutually exclusive. Or is it just because these latest victims’ deaths are
not “piously justified”?
That could be an interesting element to examine – what deaths
are worth grieving to these people? Which are sinful? And which is “necessary
evil” which people like Riario commits without apparent guilt out of duty while
still being tortured by it?
Sadly, it’s unsurprisingly that we have, yet again, a
depiction of a vicious serial killer as mentally
ill, yet again. And that mental illness comes with full on deranged,
wild-eyed ranting. It’s not even trying to fit the mental illness to what
Riario has gone through or actual Multiple Personalities – let’s just have big
loopy grins and wild eyes and rambling and cackling. Ok this does come with an
attempt to, well, find method in his madness as well as a lot of assurances
that everything is not Riario’s fault… but the cackling was not necessary.
Vanessa has been unfailingly awesome for a few episodes
now – but I dislike both the reducing her to ”think of your baby” (and, of
course, she can’t possibly seek power and wealth for her own sake! Oh no,
perish the thought!) and Nico outmaneuvering her. Nico as an ally is awesome.
Nico going behind her back? No.
