#the theme itself goes too hard as well like...foundational fratricide that led him to become the perfect prince™? 10/10 groundbreaking ✨️

[borgialucrezia]

what i find so interesting is that after juan's death, it wasn't just cesare's physical features that began to echo his brother's appearance more strikingly than they ever had during juan's lifetime, but certain aspects of juan's personality also began to manifest in cesare as well! after rodrigo shared his long-planned dream of creating a papal bloodline to be passed down to cesare, cesare's perspective shifted, and he became increasingly preoccupied with the perceptions of others, leading him to adopt a more classist mindset. he even felt ashamed of his own mother when she offered him counsel and the opportunity to join him in battle, rejecting her due to her former occupation as a 'whore.' this is just one of the chilling examples of how juan's aftermath continued to impact cesare long after his death throughout the show.

[borgialucrezia]

"There is that final embrace that I think helps with letting his brother go in a way. Juan has been the one who drove Cesare to become what he is now, and I think Cesare is building walls around his heart. You do get colder and less sentimental when you take that path. He has to go on and he can't mourn him forever, especially since he's responsible for his death. He's not making excuses for what he is anymore, and what he wants to be. He ultimately feels that it's the right thing for himself. It's something that he focused on and I think he can control his mind into having no second thoughts. And that's the only way you can rule in that era, really." — FRANÇOIS ARNAUD

[borgialucrezia]

coming back to this post just to add that juan borgia is a great example of an impactful dead character in media because his death and aftermath shaped the rest of cesare's story 'til the end. he was the one who drove his brother to finally become the cesare borgia he was meant to be and take the path he always wanted without making excuses for what he is anymore. the theme itself goes too hard as well like...foundational fratricide that led him to become the perfect prince™? 10/10 groundbreaking.

...and such a one may, one day, make the perfect prince.