#i haven't gotten around to joyful yet so i can't comment

[irregularbillcipher]

i'm still coping

[thelostpocket]

Finally gotten around to watching The Borgias (and I haven't finished it yet so this Longpost could all mean nothing) but currently ruminating on the way Lucrezia and her illigitimate son, Giovanni, are treated by her family. Like she tells Cesare she's pregnant and, oops, her husband isn't the father and... no anger, no screams of whoredom, no threats of punishment. Cesare's instant reaction is concern for her health/welfare and to find her somewhere safe, with full medical support (for the time), to get through the pregnancy. Although this is before Cesare and Lucrezia get very VERY chummy, it's clear their love for and dedication to one another is something apart - but Cesare looks at Paolo (lucrezia's baby daddy) and, no matter what he might be feeling, treats him not as an enemy, but with respect as someone Lucrezia loves. The same with baby Giovanni - Cesare adores the baby and cares deeply for it because it's a part of Lucrezia, whom Cesare loves more than anything else in his life. In a time where I, at least, was expecting wild jealously towards paolo and cold indifference to the child of another man, Cesare looks first for what he loves: Lucrezia.

And as far as we see, it's the same with lucrezia's father, Rodrigo - no matter what might have happened 'behind the scenes', what we DO see is: Rodrigo helping Lucrezia get an annulment from her great steaming turd of a husband (on the grounds of impotence, even though we can plainly see that she is pregnant at the time of the trial, suggesting that Rodrigo knew that the baby wasn't the product of a borgia-sforza union); Rodrigo eagerly and lovingly welcoming the birth of his first grandchild, and in fact attending when comments from his family suggest he wasn't supposed to; Rodrigo taking an active and joyful role in the care of the baby, including carrying it to his papal throne (bearing in mind the child's humble parentage on the father's side); AND, when Cesare says something very like "you married her to a brute who misused her and pushed her into the arms of a stable boy for affection", Rodrigo not only does not disagree or try to defend that decision, but he allows it to persuade him to break a Big Catholic Rule (giving a suicide a Christian burial), all for the sake of his daughter and grandson's wellbeing.

Like, say what you will about them (although, again, I haven't finished it, so who's to say if this will change), but that's actually really kind of admirable. There are families about today who wouldn't behave so amicably and open-mindedly in such a situation.

I don't really know where I'm going with this, but I just kept expecting someone to come down like a ton of bricks on her (I mean I guess juan did but he's fucked off to Spain and hasn't come back yet and as far as I'm concerned he can stay there) - like expecting some jealous row with Cesare. But no, he says your new Borgia baby? OUR Borgia baby, sis. Or expecting Reprimands and Off To A Nunnery hypocrisy from the holy daddy. But no, he's just happy the family is growing and, hey, you know what, while myself and all my holy boyz are off on tour dealing with this mess with France, I'm going to leave Lucrezia, the only person we can wholeheartedly trust, in my place as pope in loco parents while I'm gone. Oh, sorry, what's that, she's a woman and I can't do that? Too late, already done, and I'm already out the door, so I guess you can take your complaints to God or his right-hand-woman, sitting on that golden throne right in front of you, k bye. Giulia Farnese, la Bella Farnese, the Other Powerful Woman in the show and Lucrezia's life? Surely she'll make a move, try to use her absence or most recent mistake to manipulate her into something? But no. She helps Lucrezia escape her cruel husband the second she works out lucrezia's pregnant, encourages lucrezia's political aptitude, and seeks her out as a co-conspirator (alongside the pope's former mistress, lucrezia's mother, whom Giulia replaced) in her schemes to Keep The Cardinals Under Control Honest.

Like, there's an awful lot about this show and this family that's. . . Dicey. . .and I know there's more (and worse) to come. . . But this, right in these longer-than-i'd-expected paragraphs above? I can really respect that.