Season 2 Episode 4
The fourth episode of The Magnificent explored the tragedy of Volterra, said to be a stain in the legacy of Lorenzo de Medici. The writers also used the episode to explore Clarice’s growing unhappiness in the marriage, due to Lorenzo’s affair with Lucrezia. Clarice promised Lorenzo that she would remain a dutiful wife, though her heart would remain closed to him for as long as he carried on with his affair. When Lorenzo was at his lowest point, horrified that his efforts to avoid war ended in the sacking of Volterra, Clarice came to him, tenderly bathing the dirt and blood off of him, speaking words of comfort. ‘I’ve been a fool’, Lorenzo murmured, as he realised how his wife quietly helped him with his problem with Venice, as he looked at the woman he married as though he was seeing her for the first time. Deeply devout, without the sexual experience of Lucrezia, Clarice nonetheless continued the string of strong, fiercely intelligent women who married into the Medici family (Lorenzo’s grandmother Contessina and mother Lucrezia). It was also a nice mirror of how, in Masters of Florence, Cosimo and Contessina’s hands would find each other when faced with trials. Just as with Cosimo and Contessina, Lorenzo and Clarice’s arranged marriage had flowered into a union of genuine respect and affection.
The fourth episode of The Magnificent explored the tragedy of Volterra, said to be a stain in the legacy of Lorenzo de Medici. The writers also used the episode to explore Clarice’s growing unhappiness in the marriage, due to Lorenzo’s affair with Lucrezia. Clarice promised Lorenzo that she would remain a dutiful wife, though her heart would remain closed to him for as long as he carried on with his affair. When Lorenzo was at his lowest point, horrified that his efforts to avoid war ended in the sacking of Volterra, Clarice came to him, tenderly bathing the dirt and blood off of him, speaking words of comfort. ‘I’ve been a fool’, Lorenzo murmured, as he realised how his wife quietly helped him with his problem with Venice, as he looked at the woman he married as though he was seeing her for the first time. Deeply devout, without the sexual experience of Lucrezia, Clarice nonetheless continued the string of strong, fiercely intelligent women who married into the Medici family (Lorenzo’s grandmother Contessina and mother Lucrezia). It was also a nice mirror of how, in Masters of Florence, Cosimo and Contessina’s hands would find each other when faced with trials. Just as with Cosimo and Contessina, Lorenzo and Clarice’s arranged marriage had flowered into a union of genuine respect and affection.
Volterra was a city under Florentine protection. When a large deposit of valuable alum was discovered in the city, the merchant guild feared war. The Pope controlled the trade of the alum; textile makers in Europe purchased from the Pope's suppliers. If the Volterrans were to flood the market, the price would significantly drop, which would force the Pope to act, perhaps to put Volterra under military control and seize their deposits. To avoid war, Lorenzo made a deal with the Volterrans; the Medici bank would purchase the alum from the merchants and sell them, thereby controlling the price and not giving the Pope a reason to attack.
One of the Volterrans, unhappy with the Medici interference which meant less money for him, went to Jacopo de Pazzi. Jacopo helped the Volterran sell the alum at a lower price, a move that, when Lorenzo found out, convinced him would provoke the Pope. Lorenzo ordered his ally in Volterra to announce that no alum was to leave the city. In response to his decree, his ally was murdered. Jacopo roused the Priore in Florence to attack Volterra. An army of mercenaries was assembled, but Giuliano rode with them to stop them from attacking whilst Lorenzo, with the help of Francesco de Pazzi, tried to find evidence of Jacopo’s manipulation of the Volterra situation. Giuliano could not stop the army, however. Volterra was sacked, many of its citizens murdered.
Lorenzo came home with his conscience heavy with guilt. Florence celebrated the victory against Volterra, but it was a horror Lorenzo never intended to unleash on the city he meant to protect. Clarice came to him, his dutiful wife, and through the haze of his grief, he saw the woman he has been turning away from all this time.
Lorenzo’s mother Lucrezia encouraged Clarice to give her son time to give up his mistress of his own accord. Clarice, before speaking to her husband, spoke to his mistress Lucrezia; Lucrezia refused to push Lorenzo away from her bed. Even Giuliano saw Clarice’s unhappiness, and he encouraged her to talk to Lorenzo. Clarice’s wifely indignation, her protest at the humiliation she suffered as his wife, fell on deaf ears. It was not until he came back from Volterra that Lorenzo appeared to see what his wife had to offer, a partner, an equal.
Lorenzo also tried to make an alliance with Venice, traditionally a rival of Florence. A Venician nobleman, Andrea Foscari, wanted a husband for his daughter, and Lorenzo tried to persuade Giuliano to step up. Already determined to pursue the beautiful Simonetta, Giuliano refused. It was Clarice who recognised the attraction between Francesco de Pazzi and Foscari's daughter Novella. It was Clarice who pointed Foscari to Francesco’s direction.
This episode showed a thawing in the relationship between Lorenzo and Francesco. They were friends when they were children, but after Francesco and Guglielmo were orphaned, Jacopo took over as their guardian, and raised them with enmity against the Medici. Still, Lorenzo offered Francesco a cut in the Volterra business, an offer that Jacopo angrily rejected. When Lorenzo needed help with Volterra, it was to Francesco he turned to; Francesco snuck into his uncle’s mansion and found proof of the Volterran merchant who sold the cheap alum. Francesco rode with Lorenzo to Volterra, and with him saw the carnage. I like Matteo Martari, and it is nice to see Francesco on Lorenzo’s side.
The tragedy in Volterra also prompted Simonetta to lay down the pretence of annoyance and show Giuliano that she returned his affection. Giuliano and Simonetta have been spending time together as models for Sandro Botticelli. When a bloody and shell shocked Giuliano rode into Florence from Volterra, Simonetta greeted him with a kiss. Have you Googled these historical figures already? If you haven’t yet, it is best to Google after you have seen the rest of the season.
A nice balance of politics and personal ties, Blood with Blood showed Lorenzo de Medici losing for the first time. Florence won, but Lorenzo lost, for the bloodshed he worked to avoid happened anyway. A foot smarter than everyone around him, Lorenzo had to learn that the world did not always bend to his will. Yet in that loss, there was victory too, a realisation that he need not bear his burden alone. Clarice did not have Contessina’s fiery temper, but in her quiet way, she was every bit a strong Medici bride.
Strays
♕ I didn't catch the name of young Lorenzo's wise bodyguard. Sometimes I think of him as an older Marco Bello.
♕ I am not in love with Daniel Sharman. I am not in love with Daniel Sharman. I am not in love with Daniel Sharman. There. I almost convinced myself that's true.
♕ Clarice staring at Lorenzo's empty seat and golden plate was both sad and a potent reminder of just how wealthy these historical figures were.
Strays
♕ I didn't catch the name of young Lorenzo's wise bodyguard. Sometimes I think of him as an older Marco Bello.
♕ I am not in love with Daniel Sharman. I am not in love with Daniel Sharman. I am not in love with Daniel Sharman. There. I almost convinced myself that's true.
♕ Clarice staring at Lorenzo's empty seat and golden plate was both sad and a potent reminder of just how wealthy these historical figures were.
♕ Jacopo de Pazzi: 'This is not about the bank! This is about power... We will wipe them out! And we will take our rightful place as masters of Florence once and for all.' Nice callback to the title of the first season.
♕ Clarice: 'I can forgo love but not respect.'
♕ Lorenzo: 'I'm privileged to call you my wife.'
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