Da Vinci's Demons

Plot

A fictionalised story based on historical persons, the series explores the early life of Leonardo da Vinci during the Renaissance in Italy. He is an eccentric genius who has struggled to deal with his inner demons and unruly imagination, as he yearns for acceptance from his estranged father. Their sometimes antagonistic relationship results in Leonardo's working for the House of Medici. While doing so, he becomes embroiled in a political scheme to control Florence, as he hunts for a spy who is revealing information to the Catholic Church and the Pazzi family. He also begins an affair with Lucrezia Donati, Lorenzo de' Medici's mistress. The series depicts many of Leonardo's inventions and subsequent works as a military engineer for the Duke of Milan and the Borgias.

These events coincide with Leonardo's quest to uncover the Book of Leaves, which a mysterious cult known as the Sons of Mithras also consider very important. Mystics and the cult guide him to unlock the 'hidden areas of his mind' by accessing the Fountain of Memory, and inform him that he has the power to see the future and also to shape it.

Cast and characters

Main

• Tom Riley as Leonardo da Vinci
• Laura Haddock as Lucrezia Donati
• Blake Ritson as Count Girolamo Riario
• Elliot Cowan as Lorenzo de' Medici
• Lara Pulver as Clarice Orsini
• James Faulkner as Pope Sixtus IV – Francesco & Alessandro della Rovere (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1)
• Gregg Chillin as Zoroaster da Peretola (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2)

Recurring

• Hera Hilmar as Vanessa Moschella, outspoken Florentine barmaid and occasional model for Leonardo
• Eros Vlahos as Nico, apprentice to Leonardo
• David Schofield as Piero da Vinci, notary to Lorenzo and father to Leonardo
• Alexander Siddig as Aslan Al-Rahim, "The Turk"
• Tom Bateman as Giuliano de' Medici, brother to Lorenzo (seasons 1–2)
• Allan Corduner as Andrea Verrocchio (seasons 1–2)
• Michael Elwyn as Gentile Becchi (season 1)
• Michael Culkin as Jacopo Pazzi (seasons 1–2)
• Nick Dunning as Cardinal Lupo Mercuri, Curator of the Vatican Secret Archives
• Elliot Levey as Francesco de' Pazzi (seasons 1–2)
• Paul Rhys as Vlad Tepes (seasons 1, 3)
• Shaun Parkes as Solomon Ogbai, "The Abyssinian" (seasons 1–2)
• Vincent Riotta as Duke Federico da Montefeltro (seasons 1–2)
• Estella Daniels as Zita (supporting season 1; principal season 2)
• Carolina Guerra as Ima, High Priestess of the Children of the Sun (season 2)
• Ian Pirie as Captain Nazzareno Dragonetti (supporting season 1; principal seasons 2–3)
• Raoul Trujillo as the Sapa Inca (season 2)
• Kieran Bew as Alfonso, Duke of Calabria (seasons 2–3)
• Lee Boardman as Amerigo Vespucci (season 2)
• Matthew Marsh as Ferdinand I of Naples, "Ferrante" (season 2)
• Ray Fearon as Carlo de' Medici, illegitimate son of Cosimo de' Medici, "The Magician" (seasons 2–3)
• Richard Sammel as Hartweg (season 2)
• Jeany Spark as Ippolita Maria Sforza, Duchess of Calabria (season 2)
• Sasha Behar as The Seer / Caterina, Leonardo's mother (supporting season 2; principal season 3)
• Akin Gazi as Bayezid II (supporting season 2; principal season 3)
• Simone Lahbib as Laura Cereta (season 3)
• Paul Freeman as The Architect / Asterion (season 3)
• Jude Wright as Andrea da Vinci (dream-sequence) (season 3)
• Dafydd Emyr as Captain of the Labyrinth (dream-sequence) (season 3)
• Sabrina Bartlett as Sophia (season 3)

Guest and cameo

• Ross O'Hennessy as Commander Quattrone (seasons 1–2)
• David Sturzaker as Bernardo Baroncelli (season 1)
• Simon Armstrong as Scarpa (season 1)
• Hugh Bonneville as Galeazzo Maria Sforza (cameo season 1)
• Tom Wu as Quon Shan (season 2)
• Ieuan Rhys as Councilman De'Rossi (season 3)
• Paul Rhys as Vlad the Impaler (four episodes)
• Ruby Stokes as Amelia (two episodes)
• Porcelain Delaney as Handmaiden (one episode)

Casting

Tom Riley was the first actor to be cast in the series, as The Hollywood Reporter announced he had landed the role of Leonardo da Vinci. Goyer and managing director Carmi Zlotnik revealed he was cast as he could portray the character with many dimensions that would appeal to a worldwide audience. They later reported that Laura Haddock had been cast in the female lead as Lucrezia Donati.

Production

The series marks the first collaboration between Starz and BBC Worldwide, following a new production agreement. Fox International Channels picked up the series for global distribution. The show was created by Goyer, who directed the first two episodes and wrote several others along writers such as Scott Gimple, Brian Nelson and Joe Ahearne.

Filming for the series took place in the United Kingdom, at Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot and Margam Castle in Wales. A 265,000 sqft studio in Swansea Gate Business Park was also used and several sets were built to resemble 15th-century Florence. Annie Symons was brought on board as the lead costume designer. Bear McCreary composed the score for the series, and orchestrated the main theme to reflect Leonardo's use of mirror writing. Goyer had a scene in episode five depicting a kiss between Leonardo and Jacopo Saltarelli filmed in secret as he feared network interference.

Goyer revealed to USA Today at the New York Comic Con that season two would also be set in South America and would feature Machu Picchu and the Inca Empire. Goyer claimed that this was justified by "new research" that has revealed Chinese and European explorers may have arrived in the New World earlier than was originally believed.

Sexuality of Leonardo

There is widespread belief that Leonardo was primarily if not exclusively sexually attracted to and involved with men. Goyer acknowledged this and said that the show would not shy away from the subject. Riley cited that because the speculation exists it is something that should be honoured.

In a later interview with the gay-interest website The Backlot, Riley expressed his hope that "The Tower" episode would address concerns about the show's depiction of Leonardo's sexuality in a way that was satisfactory and respectful to any historical beliefs.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2013)

da Vinci is serving as Lorenzo's war engineer.

da Vinci discovers an ergot infection as the cause of demonic convulsions among nuns.

da Vinci travels to Wallachia where he meets Dracula. Dracula needs weapons to fight Sultan Mehmed II.

At the end of the episode, Lucrezia Donati stabs Giuliano de' Medici in a river.

This final episode of this first season concludes with the Pazzi conspiracy inside a church in April 1478. The Pazzi family and their allies had Rome's Sixtus IV on their side.

Season 2 (2014)

In the meantime, Riario and the Pazzi attempt to take over Florence. Clarice and her children barricade themselves in the Medici palazzo. Zoroaster and Lucrezia attempt to commandeer the Basilisk to find the Book of Leaves, but Riario captures them and takes the ship for himself.

With Lorenzo back in power, Leonardo says he must leave to find a ship to continue his search for the Book and his mother. Lorenzo gives his blessing, and, to signify their new bond, gives him the smaller of the two Medici longswords, cleverly hidden within the larger one by Cosimo.

Da Vinci has a rendez-vous with Amerigo Vespucci.

Back at Florence, the Medici bank associates plot to displace Clarice as the bank's leader with the help of Carlo de' Medici, Cosimo's long-lost bastard son. Leonardo and his crew are captured by locals and are brought to Machu Picchu, where their arrival has been expected by a mysterious priestess, Ima. Back in Florence, Carlo turns the tables on the Bank associates and reinforces Clarice's position; that night, they give in to their attraction.

Lucrezia Donati, along with her bodyguard, meets with Bayezid II.

Meanwhile, Lucrezia is interrogated by the Sultan's soothsayer, who after learning the truth of Lucrezia's parentage explains that her father wants to start a war between Christendom and the Ottoman Empire. Riario, now wanting to follow the true Pope, asks for absolution, but the real Sixtus angrily rejects him. Later, in Naples, Ferrante is assassinated, thus putting Lorenzo at the Pope's mercy.

The Sultan's son Bayezid II returns to Italy with a large fleet seeking revenge, prompting Naples, Florence and Rome form an unlikely alliance when Lucrezia delivers an ultimatum from the Sultan demanding Otranto. Just as it looks like Leonardo might save the day again, a shocked Piero reveals that the Sultan's soothsayer is Leonardo's mother.

Season 3 (2015)

On 24 October 2015, Starz released the full third season of Da Vinci's Demons on-demand.

The next day, the Turks unveil advanced technology and resume their attack with an overwhelming advantage. Duke Alfonso is killed and the city is occupied. Lorenzo, Leonardo, Piero, Zoroaster, and several other survivors manage to hide themselves in an abandoned building and are confronted with a fully functioning Turkish version of Leonardo's tank design.

Leo is banished from Florence by Lorenzo, while Zoroaster and Nico join him to seek Vlad the Impaler. Lucrezia finds Leo's mother and a secret about her latest friend, Sophia, is discovered.

Sophia (possible half-sister of Leonardo da Vinci) treats Leonardo for his wounds and attempts to read the Book of Leaves, which they realize must be read under moonlight so they return to the special place and discover some of its characteristics. In the moonlight, Sophia and Leonardo see very different perspectives of the page that combine into a weapon that is as powerful as it is uncontrolled. Vanessa Moschella offers Lorenzo intimacy.

Reception

Season 1 has received favourable reviews from critics. It holds a 75% approval rating on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 32 collected critic reviews, with an average score of 6.1/10. The sites consensus reads: "Despite its preposterous plotting and lack of historical accuracy, Da Vinci's Demons is energetic, enjoyable escapist television." It also holds a Metacritic score of 62 out of 100, based on 27 critics reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

Da Vinci's Demons received three nominations for Outstanding Main Title Design, Outstanding Main Title Theme Music and Outstanding Special Visual Effects at the 65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The series won Main Title Design and Main Title Theme Music, but lost Visual Effects to the Cinemax series Banshee.

Home media

References

References

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