The Borgias

In the season one premiere, Rodrigo successfully bribes and intimidates his way into an election as Pope Alexander VI, making him the new leader of the Catholic Church.

The new Pope wastes no time consolidating power and balancing opposition to him in the College of Cardinals by elevating his children to high office.

Rodrigo seeks funds through a profitable marriage for Lucrezia that will ally him with Milan. Micheletto is ordered to rid his patrons of the ongoing threat posed by Della Rovere.

Lucrezia's financially and politically motivated wedding to Milanese nobleman Giovanni Sforza is a disaster thanks to Juan's inappropriately bawdy play in his sister's honor, Cesare's brazen flirting with a married baroness, and the arrival of the Borgia children's illegitimate mother.

Alternately neglected and abused by her cruel husband, Lucrezia has an affair with Paolo, a handsome stable boy. Cesare strikes a bargain with Machiavell.

Della Rovere reaches France and strikes a bargain with its ruler to invade Italy and install him on the Papal throne in exchange for control of Naples. Rodrigo attempts to thwart the invasion through an alliance.

The invasion by King Charles of France and Della Rovere proceeds with victory seemingly inevitable as the French sack the city of Lucca and the Italian powers flee to their banner.

The invaders capture a fleeing and pregnant Lucrezia as they march on Rome, but she charms King Charles and is allowed to persuade her brother Juan to withdraw his hopelessly outmatched defensive troops.

Abandoned by even his cardinals, Alexander meets King Charles with humility and saves his throne. Della Rovere despairs as Charles abandons him. Lucrezia safely gives birth to a son in a convent as the Borgias secure an annulment of her marriage and plot revenge on their enemies.

Inspired by the discovery of a cache of long-lost ancient Roman artifacts, Pope Alexander VI throws a grandiose pagan-themed feast for the people of Rome. Meanwhile, Lucrezia tends to her new baby while her brothers Cesare and Juan find their mutual animosity spilling over into outright conflict, culminating in a heart-stopping bareback horse race. Alexander's mistress, Giulia Farnese, learns that the Pope has taken a new lover and turns to Vanozza for advice..who counsels that there is room for three. Elsewhere, Della Rovere, returned to the simple life of a pastoral priest and narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Cesare. In the south, the former prince of plague-ridden Naples, Alfonso, is hunted down on the slopes of Vesuvius and tortured to death by the occupying forces of a furious - and gravely sick - French King Charles VIII.

Paolo, the young stable lad from Pesaro, has made his way to Rome, determined to rejoin his one-time lover Lucrezia and the child that she bore him but he has never seen. Meanwhile Giulia, finding her feet in her new role (as part of a threesome) turns her attention to charitable works: with the Pope's new lover Vittoria as their guide, she takes Alexander out into the city in disguise to show him first-hand the plight of the poor. With the aid of good-hearted prostitute Beatrice, Paolo eventually manages to speak to Lucrezia and she begs for Cesare's help to arrange a tryst. Embittered Juan, however, jealous of Cesare and full of misguided notions of family honor, gets wind of his sister's secret rendezvous and in a drunken rage kills Paolo as he leaves the Borgia Villa the following morning and leaves a fake suicide note in the corpse's hand so he'll be mistaken for a common suicide.

When her father tells heart-broken Lucrezia that Paolo's suicide cannot be given a Christian funeral and will go to Hell, she refuses to feed either herself or her baby. Worried for his grandson, Alexander relents, but he also suspects what she has already realized: Juan murdered him. Soon however, the family faces a greater threat. The French army is marching from Naples, King Charles is eager for vengeance for having been tricked by Alexander, and what's worse, his forces are backed by those of Giovanni Sforza, Lucrezia's humiliated ex-husband, and his powerful cousin Catherina. The French lay siege to Rome once more and this time it seems the city must fall to Charles' superior artillery. But Cesare concocts an elegant plan and works with Vittoria to outwit the French once again. Meanwhile, Della Rovere has arrived in Rome unnoticed, seeking conspirators for his new plot to assassinate the Pope.

Alexander's old enemy Ludovico of Milan and the powerful Mantuan Duke Gonzaga seek the Pope's blessing for an alliance with Venice to attack the French army, which is still laying waste to the Italian countryside. Cesare learns that the retreating French have burned the nunnery of St. Cecilia and his beloved Ursula has been killed; he and Micheletto recruit a band of cut-throat killers and mercenaries to seek revenge. Leaving Lucrezia in charge at the Vatican, Alexander and Cesare travel to join the Italian forces who seem doomed in the face of the French cannon. But the dreaded artillery does not fire - either because of Alexander's fervent Papal prayers for rain or because of Cesare's hired killers' daring raid on a French ammo dump. The battle is a bloody inconclusive draw, but the wily Alexander has come out on top, seizing abandoned French booty as the price of his blessing and seeing potential enemies weakened by the slaughter. Back in Rome, Lucrezia tests her new power as she joins in Giulia's quest to fight Vatican corruption and provide charity for the poor.

Alexander is determined to deal with the twin thorns in his side: the haughty Sforza family and the rebellious Florentine friar Savonarola. He sends Cesare to Catherina Sforza's castle at Forli to demand that she swear allegiance to Rome while he himself travels to Florence in disguise to hear the increasingly powerful Savonarola preach - not knowing that Della Rovere is there too, getting Savonarola's blessing on his plot to assassinate the Pope. At Forli, Catherina receives Cesare graciously and proceeds to seduce him, but subsequently refuses to swear allegiance to the Pope. Enraged, Cesare kills her cousin Giovanni - as revenge for his brutal treatment and rape of Lucrezia during their ill-fated marriage. In Rome, Lucrezia, Vanozza and Giulia put their plan for reform into action by funding the renovation of a run-down brothel. Lightning strikes St. Peter's Basilica during a Mass and the roof collapses - Alexander is almost killed, but courageously tries to save the lives of choirboys trapped in the rubble.

Convinced that the lightning strike was a sign of God's disapproval, Alexander begins a fastidious regime of Lenten fasting. Alexander's political problems worsen: Cesare's intemperate killing of Giovanni has hardened the enmity of the powerful Sforzas, while Piero de Medici flees to Rome with news that Savonarola now rules Florence and that Papal deposits with the Bank may be lost. Desperate for new allies, Alexander recruits Vanozza to persuade a reluctant Lucrezia to marry again. Lucrezia resists and plays the diva. Meanwhile, she and her mother along with Giulia, confront Cardinals Versucci and Piccolomini and demand that they channel curia money to the poor for whom it was intended. In Florence, Cesare confronts Savonarola, but is almost killed by the friar's chilling child army. Seeking to prove to his father that he is capable of taking control of the Papal armies, Cesare and his "wild bunch" attempt a daring heist of Medici gold, but he is disappointed when he learns that Juan is coming back from Spain to take military command once again.

Juan returns from Spain, flanked by a retinue of conquistador generals led by the proud Don Hernando. Alexander is impressed by his son's newfound confidence and orders him to lead the Papal armies to besiege Catherina Sforza's castle. Lucrezia meanwhile, stalls attempts to marry her off - her father favors rich Genovese merchant prince Calvino - but Lucrezia, obstinate and deliberately perverse, proceeds to flirt with his younger (and thus inappropriate) brother Raffaello. In Florence, Cesare and Machiavelli witness Savonarola's puritan zealots strengthen their grip on power, culminating in the fevered destruction of art works and luxuries in the "Bonfire of the Vanities." Della Rovere has recruited angelic-looking young friar Antonello as the "suicide" assassin for his plot, and begins to feed the willing boy small doses of poison to create a tolerance to deadly cantarella. Meanwhile, Juan's siege of Forli reaches a stalemate until he manages to kidnap Catherina's son Benito, whom he tortures and threatens to kill in view of the castle walls. Hernando is disgusted by this ignoble behavior and Juan's true cowardly nature is revealed when he flees in terror as the siege is broken by a surprise attack by Ludovico Sforza's reinforcements.

Back in Rome, Juan flaunts a wounded leg and spins a yarn about his valiant conduct at his army's defeat at Forli. But Hernando brings the boy Benito back to Rome and Cesare is determined to have his father hear the truth of Juan's cowardice. Juan, bitter and humiliated, is now dying from syphilis and the infected wound and turns to opium addiction to dull his pain. Lucrezia, Giulia and Vanozza discover that the improvements to an orphanage they demanded from the Cardinals have not been begun, so they turn to blackmail to finish the project. Lucrezia meanwhile, still prevaricates over marriage to Calvino while flirting with his brother; Vanozza gives her some homespun advice about taking lovers; and Lucrezia seduces Raffaello. Della Rovere's assassination plan faces one last hurdle: how to replace the Pope's taster with his own agent? While Della Rovere ponders the moral dilemma of killing a good man for a greater end, his accomplice Antonello takes matters into his own hands.

It's Easter, but Alexander continues to fast. A new taster is recruited, and Antonello gets the job - Della Rovere's assassin is ready to strike. In Florence, Cesare challenges Savonarola to a trial by fire. Raffaello meanwhile, formally asks for Lucrezia's hand but Alexander sends the brothers packing. Giulia persuades Alexander that his Papacy has been a good thing, so he ends his fast and orders a celebration for the baptism of Lucrezia's baby. At the party, Antonello is ready to strike but is thwarted by Alexander's switch from water back to wine. As the party continues, Juan is completely out of control, and threatens the life of Lucrezia's child. A chilling Cesare at last comes to terms with what needs to be done.

While Alexander worries that Juan has not come home, Savonarola is tortured on the rack but will not confess. Cesare, determined to destroy his legacy as well as his body, fakes a confession and Savonarola is burned as a heretic. Meanwhile, a new suitor for Lucrezia's hand - Alfonso of Aragon - arrives in Rome. Playful Lucrezia sets out to play the minx with him as with the others, then surprises herself by falling for him. She announces she will marry him. The Pope's joy, however, is short-lived when he receives dire news, furthered by a shocking confession from Cesare. Later, during celebrations for Lucrezia's betrothal, Alexander and Cesare reunite over a cup of wine, but Antonello is there and Cesare realizes the danger too late as the Pope raises the poisoned cup to his lips..

As Pope Alexander (Jeremy Irons) fights for his life after being poisoned, the Cardinals jockey for position to take over the Papacy. Cesare (Francois Arnaud) and Micheletto (Sean Harris) trace the assassination plot back to its source, but Della Rovere (Colm Feore) is ready to make his move -- and his is not the only conspiracy. Catherina Sforza (Gina McKee) has dispatched her own personal assassin Rufio (Thure Lindhart) to dethrone the Borgia family. However, thanks to Lucrezia's quick thinking (Holliday Grainger), the family's grip on power may not be lost.

Now fully recovered, Alexander tasks Cardinal Sforza (Peter Sullivan) with instigating an "inquisition" among the Cardinals who were politicking against him when his life lay in the balance. With the "evidence" he needs, Alexander dismisses and banishes all the Cardinals he does not trust. But one of them - Cardinal Orsini (David Dencik) - does not leave quietly, forcing Alexander to handle it with his bare hands. Meanwhile, Catherina Sforza (Gina McKee) orders Rufio (Thure Lindhart) to seek support from the mercenary warlords of the Romagna families - Orsini, Vitelli and Colonna. Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) is annoyed that her in-laws to be - the royal family of Naples - will not welcome her son Giovanni at court; plus she is realizing her feelings for Cesare (Francois Arnaud) are becoming more than sexual than sisterly.

As the purged Cardinals are dismissed and stripped of their titles and wealth, one of them - Cardinal Versucci (Vernon Dobtcheff) - angrily sets the Vatican Treasury ablaze after stealing a large sum. Incensed by the new King Ferdinand's (Matias Varela) arrogant refusal to accept Giovanni as Lucrezia's (Holliday Grainger) child, Cesare (Francois Arnaud) travels to Naples to fix the problem. Later, Cesare begins to consider an alliance with the old enemy France while Alexander doggedly sticks to his plan of allying with Naples, and therefore, Spain. After Lucrezia and Alfonso's wedding, Alfonso (Sebastian De Souza) realizes that the political sands are shifting - and not in his favour. Upset, he leaves Lucrezia alone on her wedding night, driving her into the arms of her own brother at last.

Newly appointed Cardinal Farnese (Cyron Melville) - promoted at the request of his sister Giulia (Lotte Verbeek) - is placed in the Treasury and quickly discovers Versucci's theft. Micheletto (Sean Harris) is sent to find the wayward Cardinal. Meanwhile, upon hearing of Venice's request for help against Turkish pirates, Alexander (Jeremy Irons), seeing this as an opportunity to replenish the coffers, dramatically calls for a Crusade. Concerned about the loyalty of his new Cardinals, Giulia arranges an orgy for them - the "banquet of chestnuts" - but it is a trap and details of the Cardinals' sexual activities are recorded to extort their future loyalty. Elsewhere, King Ferdinand (Matias Varela) learns that Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) and Alfonso's (Sebastian De Souza) marriage has not been consummated and demands a public display of their love-making. Lucrezia is humiliated, but the experience seems to increase the incestuous attraction between her and her brother.

Cesare's (Francois Arnaud) diplomatic mission to France is a success: guided through the complexities of the French court by his old advisor Machiavelli (Julian Bleach), Cesare makes an ally of Archbishop d'Amboise, a noble wife - Charlotte d'Albert - as well as a pledge of a military alliance against Milan and the Borgias' enemies. Back in Rome, the seductive and dangerously insane Bianca (Melia Kreiling) takes her own life, prompting Alexander and Cardinal Sforza (Peter Sullivan) to conspire to repay Gonzaga's cruel plot. Lucrezia travels to Naples accompanied by her husband, with Micheletto offering protection. King Ferdinand (Matias Varela) remains steadfast in his determination that little Giovanni will not be recognised at court. Upon learning this, Lucrezia plots against him with a recipe of poisonous mushrooms, but Micheletto will handle the matter on his own.

When Cesare lands in northern Italy with a French army, Alexander is furious at what he sees as a challenge to his authority, but reluctantly accedes to Cesare's plan to destroy the Sforza dynasty, starting with Ludovico, Duke of Milan. Catherina (Gina McKee), meanwhile, has come up with a plot of her own: biological warfare. With the help of Rufio (Thure Lindhart) she sends a plague-infected cloth, wrapped around a false message of peace, to Alexander. Cesare orders it destroyed unopened, but ambitious new Cardinal Constanzo disobeys and keeps the message for his own purposes, and soon, his household is in the grip of the plague. Concerned about the lack of funds for his Crusade, Alexander imposes punitive taxes on the newly arrived Jewish community. However one clever member of the community, Mattai (Brendan Cowell) claims to be able to procure a holy relic, the long lost Spear of Longinus. Cardinals Farnese and Petrucci vie to provide the Pope with the "real" relic, but Mattai gains the Pope's respect and an unlikely alliance is born.

Cesare burns Constanzo's palace - and the Cardinal with it - in order to contain the plague, while Micheletto is love struck with the beautiful young Pascal. Lucrezia, aware that the political wind has changed towards France and away from Naples, seeks a Neapolitan power base for herself and her family. There are two candidates to replace Ferdinand as King: arrogant and hostile Prince Raphael and kind and friendly Prince Frederigo. When Frederigo is apparently poisoned and almost dies, Lucrezia finds "evidence" of Raphael's guilt and blackmails Raphael into giving up his claim. Her ally, Frederigo, is crowned King. But has she made the right choice?

Pilgrims are flooding to Rome for the Jubilee year celebrations, and the Spear of Longinus is the centerpiece of the show. However Catherina Sforza has a plan to frustrate Alexander's lucrative festival. Across the sea in Kefalonia, the Turkish fleet is destroyed by Mattai's (Brendan Cowell) Jewish contacts - Alexander shows his gratitude with a Bull exempting the community from taxes. Meanwhile, Lucrezia senses a change in newly crowned Frederigo, and realizes that she is under constant watch from the royal guard. The Borgias have walked into a trap: Lucrezia learns that Frederigo faked his near death to get Raphael out of the way, while at the same time in Rome, Cesare and Micheletto discover that the latter's lover Pascal is a spy working for Rufio (Thure Lindhart), reporting to a conspiracy of Catherina Sforza and King Frederigo of Naples. Lucrezia is not an honored princess in Naples, she is a hostage against any military moves against the Sforza family.

Devastated by his betrayal by Pascal, Micheletto kills his lover and subsequently disappears. Devastated by the loss of his loyal lieutenant, Cesare races to Naples to rescue Lucrezia, but she has already escaped her captors - with the aid of a sleeping potion. Brother and sister are reunited on the road back to Rome, and are so overjoyed to see one another that Alfonso (Sebastian De Souza) begins to suspect that their relationship seems more than that of ordinary siblings. Back in Rome, Alfonso becomes sullen and almost abusive, drinking heavily. Alexander, meanwhile, has come up with another plan with his friend Mattai (Brendan Cowell): they scheme to corner the market in Italian sulphur, thus denying anyone else the ability to manufacture gunpowder. Still, Alexander does not trust Cesare, who quickly uncovers his father's plot, but it is Mattai who persuades father and son to reconcile.

Alexander and Cesare are reconciled at last, and the Pope reveals that the Papal Armies have been strengthened and re-equipped with the money saved from the Crusade and the proceeds of the Jubilee. Now, the Borgias are ready to move against their enemies the Sforzas and are ready to take their first step towards their ultimate goal: to carve out a hereditary kingdom across the heart of Italy. Cesare marches his fearsome army to lay siege to Catherina Sforza's castle at Forli. Catherina is determined to resist despite the artillery bombardment and the danger of starvation in the bitter winter. Micheletto (Sean Harris) reappears from the shadows - his broken heart will not yet let him return to Cesare's service, but he does advise Cesare of weak spots in Forli's defences. Back in Rome, Cesare finds that Alfonso (Sebastian De Souza) has become even more aggressive and Cesare plans to murder him. But circumstances become deadly when a scuffle breas out between Cesare and a drunk Alfonso. The doctor reports that Alfonso will certainly die, slowly and painfully over several days. Devastated, Lucrezia turns to her potions to end his life painlessly with Cesare vowing that now she will be his for good.