#ugh i love you duke of gandia aka failboy of all time 🙄😤

[earlgodwin]

Hi, so this question suddenly popped up in my mind and I can't stop thinking about it. And since you're my favourite The Borgias blogger, I've decided to ask you.

Do you think Juan ever learned any details about Lucrezia's first marriage? Did he know or suspect what a horrible experience it was for her? Like, the way her divorce with Sforza was brought to pass, he should've had some questions, right? I just wonder... Did he try to talk to Lucrezia and she refused? Did it became another point of disconnect between them & on contrast with her and Cesare becoming even closer no less? It must've hurt him a great deal.

I don't know where I'm going with this, it's just a speculation really but I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Thanks <333

first, it makes me happy that i'm one of your favorite borgia blogs anon so thank you <33

now let's get into the answer;

i don't think juan ever knew tbh? aside from that interesting moment when he and cesare were welcoming sforza to the vatican, and juan couldn't even hide his disgust while he was saying the part "and our sister shall soon be yours" to giovanni, which says a lot that he's as displeased as cesare with lucrezia's marriage, but they have no choice but obey their father, obviously lol

also, knowing how protective juan gets and always in attack mode when someone wrongs or tries to have their way with her or their mother, even with misguided notions. for instance, he attacked his mother's husband after he called her 'dear', because he took it as an offense and triggered his fight-or-flight instinct to protect her and defend the family's honor (likely also to cover up his insecurity about potentially not being a borgia, but born of a peasant).

similarly, when juan and lucrezia were hanging out and paolo got very close to her, juan felt defensive of his, to quote juan, "angelic sister", like a guard dog. his aggressiveness is also because he was forced into the role of the family's protector and took it to the extreme to prove himself a true borgia. he rightfully saw paolo as a threat who wanted to sabotage his sister and cause her a scandal, unlike cesare who knew that paolo was a source of solace to lucrezia while she was suffering from her husband's abuse.

now let's circle back to if juan knew about giovanni sforza and how he treated lucrezia or or not. i don't think he ever did because lucrezia doesn't confide in anyone but cesare. everything juan does for lucrezia to make her happy just, unfortunately, backfires - like the play he directed for her wedding that ended up making her husband angry and assaulting her, or his attempt to protect her from someone he thought wanted to take advantage of her, or the panther he brought her to win her respect but that ended up biting her. their disconnection is a main theme about their dynamic.

he adores his mother and she seems fond of him, but she doesn't see her son's pain as they're not that connected, unlike how vanozza is with lucrezia and cesare. and his father indulges him only to use him as someone whom he relives his youth through, yet keeps him out of everything while pressuring him with massive expectations and threatening him with cesare's hypercompetence. he's always clashing with cesare, yet tried to elicit some sort of admission or expression of brotherly love from him, only to be told directly that he doesn't like him much.

at the end of the day, juan is a very lonely and sad person who has fallen into hedonism as an escape from his misery, because he does not feel genuinely liked or included by his family for who he is since he doesn't measure up to his family's standards no matter how hard he tries. to reference what david oakes said, his family were just picking up on him and hypocritically judging him when he genuinely does what he thinks is right for the people he loves so much and wanted to be included with; he always had their best interests at heart, but they've always pushed him away.

he was obviously very flawed as a person, and sometimes he's short-sighted and a dangerous combination of reactive behaviors and rage. also, losing his sister's respect forever for something he thought was good for her made him lose all faith in love, compassion, and even sanity, since he considered her an ideal of those terms. and when he tried one last time to confess to his brother and give his heart to him, he met his untimely fate.