THE BORGIAS costume appreciation: 45/∞ (costume design by Gabriella Pescucci)

— You care so much for one you hardly know? Yes. It is a puzzle. Or a mystery. Your visage is before my eyes when I'm asleep, when I wake, when I close them. I thought my eyes deceived me. Now I think, mine ears. Neither.

(requested by anon)

no no but the insanity that is showing the narcissus (you can't kiss a reflection) scene between paolo and lucrezia which I'd argue is lucrezia seeing a reflection of her brother in paolo (because he'd taken care of the sforza problem at least temporarily) back to back with cesare convincing a hesitant ursula to sleep with him by telling her she might have both his heart and body at her mercy when he really (perhaps unconsciously) means she's a surrogate for lucrezia and then cutting to lucrezia with her skirts pulled up under paolo asking if a good thing can come from a bad thing and then flipping him over, so it ends with her on top and once again it cuts back to cesare and ursula, also having sex with cesare in the dominate position. LIKE REFLECTIONS OF EACH OTHER.

Another thing I didn't remember, is that the famous "Abelard and Heloise scene" has parallel with Ursula.

L: "Do I have to marry, Cesare?" C: "No. You can take the cloth like me. You can become a nun. We'll live in sanctity and prayer, like Abelard and Eloise." L: "Did they love each other?" C: "With a love as pure and all-consuming as the love of God." L: "So, then. I shall become a nun. For I shall never love a husband as I love you, Cesare."

A comparison Lucrezia was willing to embrace, but Ursula refused, because she recongnized Cesare's possessiveness and lack of moral restraint as a sign his love could never be pure. Only all-consuming.

U: "And now I must live my life in penance, praying for forgiveness." C: "Where?" U: "You will not know where." C: "You mean a nunnery?" U: "I mean confinement." C: "I will search you out. Like Abelard and Eloise. You may find a nunnery cell, but you will never be free of me!" U: "You are right. I will never be free of you."

Lucrezia even brings out the story in the very same episode again, only to still keep the romanticised view, never questioning her brother's unwillingness to respect his lover's decision. Believing it to be an obstacle caused by outside forces.

L: "And you, Brother? What of your heart?" C: "It was broken-by a nun." L: "A nun? Like Eloise? Will you spend a lifetime writing to her?" C: "I could if I knew where she was." L: "But you can find out, surely." C: "I intend to." L: "How wonderful."

I might get back to this theme, but it would have made interesting string, if we were given that last season, with Cesare searching for Lucrezia after she disappears, guilt-ridden from her husband's (another parallel) death.

I’ve been watching The Borgias (2011, Showtime) recently, and you can see that I have already GIF-ed a few scenes on my blog. I have perused the show tags on Tumblr, and one question caught my attention - how is Cesare’s love for Ursula different from his love for Lucrezia. In the earlier episodes, I camped with those who said that Ursula was his first “serious” love, while what he felt for Lucrezia was infatuation and possessiveness rooted in their blood connection. Cesare, from the beginning, is shown to be a young, hot-blooded lad who cannot keep his emotions in check around his sister. But when Ursula enters the picture, coinciding with Lucrezia getting married and physically separating from Cesare for the first time, he does what he knows best - becomes Ursula’s saviour (not before he saves his sister one last time from the  grips of her vicious new husband). So, Cesare and Ursula go around town, not being able to keep their hands off each other, hearts racing every time they meet, and then he sleeps with her, following which, she decides to spend the rest of her life serving God. This leaves Cesare heartbroken, as much he conveys to Lucrezia when she visits for the first time after her wedding. So, we know that he was in love with Ursula briefly. It was a whirlwind romance for him, ONE THAT WAS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT HE FELT for Lucrezia.

These theories become apparent in the season 1 finale episode, when both the women come face-to-face, with Cesare in the picture. Cesare leaves Lucrezia with Ursula, now going by the name sister Martha, to help hide Lucrezia’s illegitimate pregnancy (as per her wishes). The conversation goes like:

He is focused on Ursula thus far, having met her after a long time (presumably). But when Lucrezia says this, he looks at her momentarily:

appreciating the fact that she understands the tribulations Ursula must have gone through to make this choice for herself, just like he did a few episodes earlier. THEY ARE ON THE SAME PAGE REGARDING URSULA.

Ursula then replies:

To this, Cesare’s gaze again flits from lady love to sister:

The gaze he gives to Ursula says that he is listening closely, weighing her words and interpreting her intentions all at once, but the moment she pulls in Lucrezia into the equation, his gaze softens, like as though saying “I know right, I’ve been distracted by [her beauty] for so darn long”!

Then Ursula takes Lucrezia’s hand and leads her to her room, giving her friendly advice along the way. As she does this, Cesare stops her and warns her that he will be visiting them often. They have a bit of a tensed back and forth, where he teases Ursula with his passive aggressive words and expressions (L bearing witness):

As an aside here, it is pretty interesting to see that Cesare addresses Ursula as ‘SIster’ instead of the usual ‘Sister Martha’ (even for formality sake in front of another individual), almost like there seems to be an intentional ambiguity as to whom he is relaying the message. He’s looking at Ursula, his tone is provocative, but his phrasing and the message in itself is tame, something he’d want to tell Lucrezia in private (as is evident from the jubilant smile she gives in reciprocation). It may well be that the message is for Lucrezia, and Cesare uses morose humour to indulge Ursula in the process. But I digress.

Back to the scene, he then turns to Lucrezia. Immediately, his expressions soften once again, a heavy burden descends in his heart as he realises the gravity of his sister’s condition and not knowing when he’ll see her next. Much like what he felt at the time of her wedding, a sense of déjà vu swarms over him, of his vulnerability, that led him to meet Ursula in the first place. The camera work in this moment also reinforces what truly matters to Cesare: it pans away from Ursula and lumps the siblings up together, the movement is so smooth and exquisite that we as viewers can see Cesare GRAVITATE towards Lucrezia and her receiving him whole-heartedly. This moment cements the fact that Ursula is all but a passing phase in Cesare’s life, one that he can control, while Lucrezia is... his basic instinct.

In a crowded room, Cesare and Lucrezia will somehow ALWAYS find each other and come together. They ditch all public etiquette and become IMMERSED in one another, acutely sensing what the other needs and giving/receiving without the fear of social stigmas attached to their actions. Everything is INVOLUNTARY when it comes to this duo.

The energy at this point also turns much more serious and beguiling, almost seductive (as with all their scenes), when compared to the passive aggressive banter Cesare has with Ursula moments ago. How his demeanour and expressions change between Ursula and Lucrezia is very telling of the fact that Ursula was a fleeting love, while Lucrezia is a permanent impression on his soul, like the crucifix on Jesus Christ. He loves(d) Ursula with his heart, while he loves Lucrezia with his soul.

This necklace has been used many, many times over the years. It was seen as early as 1993 in The Three Musketeers on Gabrielle Anwar as Queen Anne. In 1997 it was worn by Justine Waddell as Countess Nordston in Anna Karenina. The following year in 1998, it was seen on Gwyneth Paltrow as Viola de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love, as well as on a courtier in Ever After. In 1999 it was seen in Harem Suaré worn by Maria Gillain as Safiya, and in 2001 by Mira Sorvino as The Princess in Triumph of Love. Lindsay Duncan as Katherine wore the necklace in 2003 in Under the Tuscan Sun, and Lynn Collins was spotted wearing it as Portia in the 2004 adaptation of The Merchant of Venice. In 2005 it was worn by Diana Kent as Lady Essex in HBO’s Elizabeth I. From there, the piece would go on to be used in The Tudors at least three times, once in 2007 and twice in 2009 on Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn, Annabelle Wallis as Jane Seymour, and Rebekah Wainwright as Catherine Brandon, respectively. In 2011 the necklace was worn by Ruta Gedmintas as Ursula Bonadeo in The Borgias, and in 2019, the piece was seen again on Charlotte Hope as Katharine of Aragon in The Spanish Princess. Finally, in 2022 it was worn by Elissa Alloula as Filippa in the episode of The Serpent Queen entitled The Prince. 

Costume Credit: 66272, Maggie, Lauren, carsNcors, Stephanie, Alessia, f2473627, Samita, Pyper

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RUTH GEDMINTAS as URSULA BONADEO THE BORGIAS (2011-2013)

Some fictional women in period dramas- 

1. Morgana Pendragon- Merlin

2. Gülnihal Hatun- Muhtesem Yuzyil

3. Farya Sultan- Muhtesem Yuzyil: Kosem

4. Aybige Hatun- Muhtesem Yuzyil

5. Kalika Hatun- Muhtesem Yuzyil: Kosem

6. Queen Guinevere- Merlin

7. (Firuze) Humeyra Hatun- Muhtesem Yuzyil

8. Ursula Bonadeo- The Borgias

9. Anna (Petrovna) Hatun- Kalbimin Sultani

10. Mihrünnisa Hatun- Muhtesem Yuzyil

(Almost) Every Costume Per Episode + Ursula Bonadeo’s purple gamurra in 1x04

Ursula Bonadeo is insufferable. I don’t get it.

THE BORGIAS costume appreciation: 23/∞ (costume design by Gabriella Pescucci)

unpopular opinion: i know most of the show fans find ursula bonadeo annoying and dislike her character because cesare projected lucrezia onto her and used her as a substitute. but after many rewatches, i grew to like her. she's very pretty, and she was very sweet to lucrezia while helping her with giving birth. i feel sorry for her because she's a noble young woman who spent her life trapped with an abusive husband who beats her. and when she thought she finally found this handsome, honorable savior who could free her (even though she was indecisive about him, which i don't blame her because women back in that era didn't have many choices, and her husband would probably kill her if he found out about her and cesare), he turned out to be unhinged, as he seduces her, and manipulates her while being lustfully obsessive over her. so, she was rightfully terrified and frustrated by cesare because he eventually assaulted her and dragged her around while forcing himself on her because she didn't exactly look like the perfect image (mirror of his sister) in his head after she cut her hair. then she got a very brutal end at the hands of the french army, raping her and mutilating her. she lived most of her life being tormented by cruel men. her character makes me so sad thinking about the women who were mistreated and killed by their abusive partners and were lost and forgotten to time because of the patriarchal system since it is beyond horrible towards women.

Avatars 200x320

Ruta Gedmintas, in The Borgias

Well let me tell you. I was born with a stain. A mark. Like the mark of Cain. It is the mark of my father, of my family...the mark of Borgia. I’ve tried to be other than I am...and I have failed.

Ruta Gedmintas as Ursula Bonadeo in The Borgias (2011) [x]