Hi, Linda!
Sorry I didn't post here yesterday.
I was really worn out from work and slept all day.
Brought the incest to life?
Nice way of putting it.
But yes, Francois and Holliday only get half of the credit. The other half has to go to the writing, which is the reason why I don't buy any of Jordan's denials, and even Francois called him out on it. But if it weren't for the chemistry between them, I don't think it would've worked nearly as well.
But of course, Francois had chemistry with pretty much everyone on the show.
The only character I didn't like Cesare with was Ursula.
It must have just been the way she was written, but hardly any fan liked her. I'm surprised the show didn't try to get him with Sancia, since that actually did happen in the history.
There was another European version of The Borgias that had Cesare and Lucrezia having a threesome with Sancia.
I'd have paid money to see that.
Yeah, let's not bring up Francois and Sarah Ramos.
That's really boring. Sometimes shows really don't cast well, or they put characters and actors together more or less out of obligation or by committee, not because it's the right thing to do. I hate that because it ruins the creative process. Let's try to stay with Cesare and Lucrezia, although I get using the Manfred/Creek thing as an example of chemistry that doesn't work. I could think of a lot of other forced couples on TV shows, but this is not the place for it.
I think Arinna knows which ones I mean.
Jordan's excuses don't ring true to me. If he thought Francois and Holly had too much chemistry then why did he even cast them? And why write and structure their scenes together the way they did? What brother and sister lie next to each other on a grass lawn and gaze into each other's eyes? That's practically from Twilight.
And Cesare pushing Lucrezia against a wall while telling what he'd do to a husband who mistreated her while she smiles back at him gleefully is... well, not very sibling-like.
And her telling Cesare that she could never love a husband as she loves him... oh, come on, man!
He even carries Lucrezia to her bed on her wedding night, for Pete's sake!
Yep, Showtime and Jordan were very lucky to get Francois and Holly and their chemistry.
But I resent Jordan for ruining it, possibly out of spite for the show becoming something other than he may have intended, although I honestly don't know what he was thinking since Cesare and Lucrezia were the members of the family that carried on after Rodrigo's death. Hell, even the BBC version of The Borgias back in 1980 had the story end with Cesare and Lucrezia.