Hi guys
I haven't fully caught up with every post I missed yet, but I had a quick glance at your replies and I just wanted to post this image, to back up what I was saying about the Juan / Lucrezia / Cesare sibling tension in the show.
(I just want to point out that even though I'll be discussing Juan, it will be in the context of Cesare and Lucrezia's relationship, so it's not off-topic.
)
This kind of promotional image is very revealing. Cesare's holding onto Lucrezia and keeping Juan at arm's length. Juan is holding Lucrezia by the neck and literally trying to pull her away from Cesare. Lucrezia is caught in the middle, holding onto Cesare but letting Juan hold her.
I think the dynamics here are all very interesting.
A lot of things can be interpreted from it. Think about the episode where Juan has Paolo killed. The episode begins with Lucrezia on very loving terms with Juan and Cesare - she asks for Cesare's blessing to meet Paolo, she walks through the streets proudly with Juan, and he actually looks happy and calm for the very last time in Season 2. Then Cesare quietly warns Lucrezia that Juan is suspicious of her lover, also tenderly telling Juan to hold back from confronting Lucrezia about it... And all hell breaks loose.
2x03 is equally captivating. Cesare spends the whole episode focused on Lucrezia and her child's well-being. He acts more like her husband here than anyone else Lucrezia has ever been romantically linked to.
And there's the shocking climactic scene, where she rigs the chandelier to fall on Juan, who had literally just been walking around naked in front of her, almost daring her to fall to ~ The Dark, Depraved Side ~ like he has clearly done... And Juan's actions have brought out the darkness in Lucrezia. This was the beginning of Lucrezia becoming a woman in her own right. She stopped following her brothers and her father, and insisted on doing her own thing.
Say what you will about Juan's shocking behavior, but he ignited a change in Lucrezia that ultimately brought her closer together with Cesare.
And I think Juan hated that. His goal was to make his family feel as miserable and isolated as he had done his entire life. What does it accomplish? His death and his siblings becoming lovers.
