Medici: Masters of Florence (2016–…): Season 2, Episode 1 - Old Scores - full transcript

After ruthless patriarch Piero's death, a new generation of Medici is key to Florentine history. Piero de' Medici still incarnates honorable business, but the bank is now is too deep ...

Spread out.

Search every building.

FLORENCE, 26TH APRIL, 1478

Always looking for trouble,
aren't you?

You kill me now
and I'll become a martyr.

A martyr? You'll be forgotten.

OLD SCORES

TUSCANY, 1469

- Giuliano? Time to get up!
- Wide awake, mother.

Ah, good, you're already dressed.

- I'll get Lorenzo.
- He's not in his room.



- You're a mule, Sandro!
- And you're an ass.

Actually, you are an artist, Sandro.

And you, Poliziano,
are a philosopher.

It is another word
for saying an ass.

- I paint to honor God.
- We all know how pious you are.

You'd like me to paint
lots of pagan gods and men's penises

like those Greeks you worship?

You have much to learn
from the ancients.

Alright, you're both right
and you're both wrong.

You wish to depict
the beauty of God

and you wish to recreate
the wisdom of the ancients.

- Precisely.
- Exactly.

Does not that wisdom
come from the Lord?

Don't you get sick
of being right all the time?



Now drink up,
before my mother comes knocking.

Not mother, me.

Please don't tell me
you've been up all night drinking.

You've become more and more
like mother every day.

We have to be back in Florence
by sundown.

You'd better pray
mother doesn't smell your breath.

Let me help you with that, father.

It's a wonder you can walk, given
all the wine you've been drinking.

Forgive me, we stayed up
later than we should have.

I'd have joined you
if I'd been 20 years younger.

Enjoy the wine of youth, Lorenzo.

It's a cup
from which you only drink once.

Late night for you too, Giuliano?

One's mouth can be used for things
other than talking, brother.

- It's a fine day, isn't it?
- Glorious.

I'm going to miss this place.
It always reminds me of grandfather.

Father! Go back! Go back!

Turn around! Go! Go!

The carriage! Let's go!

Father!

Father! Father!

Take cover!

Here.

Just in time, I see.

Giuliano, tell them how I struck
that man with my stick.

You looked like a Greek god
from one of Poliziano's stories.

There, you see?
A gout-ridden Greek god.

- I'm alright.
- He's not. Fetch a surgeon.

- Let's get you to bed. - Good.
- Come, Messer Medici, let me help.

You don't look dead to me.
Hung over, more like it.

- If you die, we must tell our own
jokes. - And pay for your own wine.

- We heard you killed a man.
- He was stupidly brave doing it.

- He ran through the arrows.
- Do the Priori know?

- Jacopo Pazzi called a meeting
at his palazzo. - Why his palazzo?

To seize power behind closed doors.
We should go.

This was an act of terror,
pure and simple.

An attack on one of us
is an attack on us all.

We must act, and we must act now!

Act against whom, Messer Pazzi?

No one has taken responsibility
for this cowardly attack.

And no one will.

- He's alive!
- We are relieved to see you alive.

- Thank you, Messer Soderini.
- Your father will recover, I trust?

I pray that he will, Bastiano.

Have the men who attacked you
named their paymaster?

- They claim not to know his name.
- It must be a foreign agent.

- A Venetian opposed to our alliance
with Milan. - My thoughts precisely.

May I address
the Restricted Council?

I'm sorry, Messer Lorenzo.

Only members of this body
are afforded that privilege.

I think we can make an exception,
Gonfaloniere.

Let our young hero speak.

Florence has prospered
under the leadership of my family.

And so many of the dreams
that my father

and his father's father had
for this Republic have come true.

Forgive me, but one man's dream
is another's nightmare.

My nephew and I cannot understand
why you throw money at the poor.

We offer simple Christian charity

so that those not born into wealth
might have a chance to prosper.

You waste our funds, putting
the future of this Republic at risk.

- What did you wish to say, Lorenzo?
- That we need not look abroad

to find men who hate Florence.

- I hope you're not suggesting
anyone here. - Messer Cellini.

We must forgive young Lorenzo.

His wisdom is parroted from books,
not one through the trials of life.

Everyone on the Restricted Council
is loyal to your family.

Indeed. The Medici take
great pains to ensure it.

I mean no offence, gentlemen.

But I feel certain

that war is the last thing
that my father would wish.

I beg for time
to name the real criminal

and keep one crime
from being compounded by another.

- Bianca, stay with your father.
- Yes.

- We could try. - Yes.
- Boys? What's happened?

They gave us time to assess
who ordered the attack.

- You won't do this. - For Jacopo
Pazzi Venice is responsible.

- He'll vote for war.
- It would bleed this Republic dry.

You are safe now, but whoever
tried to kill you could try again.

We need to determine
who was behind the attack.

Don't worry, mother,
we'll be careful.

Let's go.

Lorenzo, how are you?

I'm fine.

No, you're not, I can see it.

I killed a man today.

I watched the life
drain from his eyes.

It was self-defense,
you had no choice.

I know, I know.

And yet, I took a life.

Everything that that man was...

Everything that he will ever be
is gone from this world, forever.

It weighs on you, as it should.

But you made the right choice, son.

And in the eyes of man and God,
you must make peace with it.

- Lorenzo!
- What is it, grandmama?

Come, I will show you.

These are beautiful.

Each panel shows a Magi heading to
Bethlehem to witness the nativity.

- Do you recognize them?
- It's Papa! There's grandfather!

Riding
your great grandfather's mule.

But they weren't in Bethlehem.
What does it mean?

It means our family is here
to serve God, as the Magi did.

And now look who is leading us all.

Is that me?

One day, you will lead us

as your father led this family
and his father before him.

- Does it scare you?
- A little.

Let the fear drive you
to work hard and prepare.

So that when the time comes
you'll be ready.

- Good morning, Messere.
- Good to see you.

- This spade can be fixed.
- Yes.

- You got my letter?
- I wasn't sure you'd still come.

I couldn't stay away.

Was your uncle behind the attack?

- Do your brothers suspect him?
- Of course.

I can't be sure,
but I don't think so.

- Then who? - I have no mind
for politics, Bianca, you know that.

Sandro and Giuliano
are looking into it.

Once they clear your uncle
we declare our love.

- We couldn't do that. - Why not?
- My uncle would never consent.

- And your father would not.
- He agreed to our marriage already.

When we were children.

Your father and brothers
nearly lost their lives yesterday.

We must be careful,
lest we lose ours.

Uncle! Uncle!

- Gianni, good to see you.
- And you, Messer Francesco.

Brother! What a surprise! We weren't
expecting you home until next month.

You should have written.

Our affairs in Rome
are back in order.

I'm sorry to report
the Holy Father is ill.

I will not shed a tear when
he passes, he was no friend to us.

I heard there was an assassination
attempt on the Medici yesterday.

Were you involved?

You have been away too long
and forgotten, nephew.

I ask the questions here, not you.

Come, let's get a drink.

- At the Dove.
- The Dove is closed. - Since when?

This morning, they said
the Medici revoked their credit.

- There are many taverns
in Florence. - You'll drink later.

A change to Rome
may bring change to Florence.

And with Piero recalling loans

there may be better ways
of destroying the Medici.

Lorenzo! And your beautiful mother.

- General Sforza.
- Madonna.

Surely you've not forgotten
your kind invitation.

No, certainly not.
We'll ready your rooms at once.

That is by that young artist,
Botticelli, isn't it?

Magnificent.
Where's your father, boy?

I'm right here.

You should rest, father.

I'm rested. Come, Galeazzo.

Perhaps your son is right,
Messer Medici, you should rest.

Seeing you here
puts my mind at rest.

A Venetian ordered the assassination
attempt to disrupt our alliance.

We'll get to the bottom of it,
now we have business to discuss.

- Do we? - You don't think I asked
you all this way to socialize?

You refer to my father's debt.

Your father died three years ago,
you're the Duke, the debt is yours.

I'm afraid it must remain unpaid.

But its obligation is due.
Past due, in fact.

I don't have it, our funds were
invested in weaponry and soldiers.

- Soldiers?
- Milan is surrounded by enemies.

Security must come before all else.

I've put you
in a difficult situation.

Never mind, it's not your concern.

But it is,
the Medici are allies to Milan.

And if your family is weakened
we are weakened too.

Confide in a friend.

The bank has been over-extended
for months.

I recalled smaller debts to buy
in time but they are not enough.

If your debt is unrepaid

our assets will be seized
and our power gone.

Is it as bad as that?

I cannot repay my debt with money,
Messer Medici.

But perhaps
I could repay it another way.

- What other way?
- Your position is threatened.

But with my army
you could restore it

crush your enemies, and we'd call
my father's debt settled.

After your men are done raping,
looting and pillaging the city.

You wouldn't have wished
for the occupation

but surely needs must, to preserve
the power of your family.

My men are within riding distance.

Just say the word
and the Medici are saved.

We need to talk.

Well?

We went to an inn
where the assassins were staying.

- We found this hidden
in their bags. - The Pazzi seal.

- Which proves Jacopo Pazzi
hired them. - You don't know that.

- Not for certain.
- Why else would it be there?

- We must take this as evidence
to the Priori right away. - No.

- No, we'll take it to Jacopo Pazzi.
- Whatever for?

Giving a chance to prove innocence
will bind him to the cause.

If not, we can show the Priori
that we're fair-minded.

We care about justice for father,
not old man Pazzi.

But if we want justice
then we'll treat others justly.

Well, well, that's twice
in as many days

the Medici boys grace us
with their presence.

- You remember Guglielmo's brother,
don't you? - Francesco.

The last time we saw each other
we had words over a lady.

Let's let bygones be bygones,
shall we?

Let's not, Pazzi.

Now, now, boys, how can we help you?

Sandro Botticelli and I found this
in the assassins' chambers.

How did that get there?

- We thought you could tell us.
- I had nothing to do with this.

The medallion bears your seal,
does it not?

- Can you explain that?
- Giuliano must have planted it.

In an effort to distract
from his ridiculous father.

- Messer Pazzi, I...
- Guards!

Put down your weapons!
We come here in peace!

And your brother leaves in chains!
Arrest him!

It was an accident!

It's alright, brother, I don't mind
spending a night in jail.

Not if it means the Priori get
to see what Pazzi justice is like!

- You'll hang for attempted murder!
- It won't be me who hangs for that!

Well, that went well.

We are the wounded party and now
Jacopo gets to play the victim.

- Giuliano's temper...
- I know. - Medici?

- Piero de' Medici's boy?
- Yes.

- Thank God the arrow didn't hit him
in the heart. - Thank you, friend.

I'm no friend, if it had hit his
heart it'd have bounced off stone.

- Hey!
- Let him go.

He gives a working man a loan
and two years to pay it off.

Then demands it all in a week?

I graft, and with a flick
of his quill I lose my business

and my family are on the street!

- There must be some mistake.
- There are plenty of mistakes.

I know a dozen merchants
chucked out of their homes.

Come on, let's go, we need to go.

Your grandfather
would never have done this.

He fired those arrows!
They came from the heavens!

Will I live?

Your humors are out of balance.

But the pus indicates your body
is ridding itself of toxins.

You are to drink plenty of wine.

A most welcome prescription.

Well, I'm not dead.

From your faces one would think
you've come to my funeral.

- Our son has just seen the Pazzi.
- We found evidence against Jacopo.

But there was an altercation

and Giuliano is being held
until the Priori convenes.

See that he is given
clean water and good food.

We don't want him poisoned
like his grandfather.

What else are you not telling me?

It's what you haven't told us.

Merchants told Lorenzo
you've recalled dozens of loans.

I was hoping to spare you both.

The bank is over-extended.

But surely the Pope's tithes...

I've borrowed against the Pope's
tithes and still we come up short.

- To take from those who can
least afford it... - Lorenzo.

Your grandfather said sometimes
you need to do some bad to do good.

Their labor built this Republic.

They turn against us
and we've got nothing.

It's alright, I've come
to an agreement with the Duke.

Sforza will repay his father's loan?

Yes.

Then I'm greatly relieved.

As am I.

Drink up.

- I think so. - 1 don't know
how this is going to end up.

- Well?
- My brother provoked yours.

- He didn't mean to hurt my uncle.
- This is the last thing we needed.

I think that I can prove

that my uncle didn't try
to have your father killed.

It would certainly lessen
the tensions between our families.

- Can you?
- I might.

You are brilliant.

Ground gold.

My physician says it extends life.

A costly prescription.

I can think of no better use
for money than to extend one's life.

Of course, there's art.

Your young artist, Botticelli.

I would like him
to come paint for me in Milan.

Well, you may ask him, General,
but I very much doubt he'll accept.

Why not? I'll pay him well.

Sandro was an orphan.

We recognized his talent and
raised him alongside our own sons.

They're like brothers.

You Medici have strange ways
of treating artists.

- And repaying a favor.
- A favor?

Your husband told you
of our arrangement, did he not?

My husband told me
you were repaying a debt.

With something
more precious than money.

I thought you weren't coming.

- Is your husband here?
- Out on business.

Sorry about yesterday.

I've heard some shoddy excuses
for standing up a lover

but saving your father's life?

You'll have to do better than sorry.

- How is he?
- He's in pain, he's shaken.

But alive.

- Were you hurt?
- No.

Not even a slight ache here?

- No.
- Not even here?

No.

What about here?

No.

What is that brilliant mind
of yours thinking?

About whether
it is necessary sometimes

to do bad in order to do good.

What do you mean by that?

My father had struck a deal
with the Duke of Milan.

But I fear that their terms
are more dire than he's said.

So ask him.

-I can't.
- Why?

He sees me as a boy.

He's trying to shield me
from the truth.

But you are not a boy, Lorenzo.

You're a man.

An asset to your father.
If only he could see it.

So how do I help him?

You'll find a way.

- Will 1?
- Yes.

Where are you going?

We have to present our case
against Jacopo Pazzi to the Priori.

Wish me luck.

The Medici have accused me
of hiring assassins

and paying them
with this gold medallion.

But I can prove that this coin
did not belong to any assassin.

Tell me, Messer Fanti,
do you recognize this?

Yes, Signore, I told your nephew
it has my initials on it.

"A.F.", Arturo Fanti.

There must be
a thousand "A.F." in Tuscany.

This one is bent. Put it
on a flat surface, it will wobble.

You have been pleased to receive it.
You've sold it because it's bent?

Because it's gold, and the Medici
recalled my loan last week.

Is it true?

Their case is that me
or one of my nephews

paid a hired assassin
with a second-hand medal

we bought on the market rather than
use the gold in our bank vaults?

Only the Pazzi hate my father
enough to try to kill him!

It is natural for a son to be blind
to the faults of his father.

For that reason,
if Giuliano de' Medici apologizes

I am willing to forgive and forget
his slander and physical assault.

Signore, on behalf of the Medici

I apologize
to the noble Pazzi family

for my brother's
intemperate reaction

to the murderous attack
on our father.

We accept now that we were mistaken.

I was hoping your brother
might speak for himself.

Just say sorry,
you don't have to mean it.

But never mind,
I'll take his silence as an apology.

I'd like to know how that medallion
got into the assassin's room.

- Where are you going?
- I need some air.

Lorenzo!

Everyone go home,
I'll meet you there.

Come on.

Messer Soderini.

- Tell him what you saw. - The Pazzi
say the Medici are insolvent.

Come back tomorrow!

You will all be paid tomorrow!

With one hand they force
a run on your bank, with the other

they offer to assume the merchants
distressed credit with a discount.

The Pazzi bank will pay you
five lire to the florin.

It is not what the Medici promised
you but it is cash in your hand.

And more than you will see
from the Medici who are insolvent.

They've acquired accounts from many
merchants at a discounted rate

enriching their bank
while crippling yours.

If this continues
you'll be bankrupt within days.

- The money!
- What do you want from me?

Medici.

You didn't find Fanti's medal
in that assassin's room.

Or if you did
it was you who put it there.

I don't know how he did it,
but it was your uncle who hired him.

This just proves my point.

Kill me now and you'll be the first
man the Priori come looking for.

The streets are teeming with mobs
calling for Medici blood.

Good luck finding evidence to prove
I had anything to do with this.

Do you like this fabric?

Giuliano!

Fetch some towels and water!

- Who did this to you?
- Pazzi.

- Francesco Pazzi.
- He will pay for this.

Lorenzo, summon the Priori,
we must demand justice.

There'll be no need for that,
will there, father?

Lorenzo, what do you mean?

I mean the Duke is no longer
repaying the loan with money.

The Duke's men are close, they
will march on Florence at midnight.

Those men will sack this city,
father, and you agreed to it.

- I know what they'll do.
- Father. - You must not do this.

What choice is there?
Would you see us ruined?

And the Pazzi undo all the good
we have done for the people?

Piero! Piero!

I have loved and supported you
my entire life.

But this... This you must not do.

- There is no choice.
- Husband.

- There is always a choice.
- Only if you are prepared to lose.

My father and his father
before him never were.

And neither am I.

Now we ride!

Yes!

- Yes!
- Come on!

- One day, you will lead us.
Does it scare you? - A little.

Let the fear drive you
to work hard and prepare.

So that when the time comes
you'll be ready.

Lorenzo.

Are you alright?

Send messengers to summon
the members of the Priori.

- Here?
- Yes.

Lorenzo? What's the meaning of this?

Yes, young Medici, what's your
business with the Priori this time?

Not more baseless charges, I hope.

I've called you here
to save Florence.

We didn't know it needed saving.

You are aware that my father
has called in debts

to cover a loan that he made
to the Duke of Milan's father.

Ordinary citizens are suffering
and they're rightly angry.

Now the Duke intends to repay
his debt by unleashing an army

on our people.

This is deeply troubling, Lorenzo.
Why are you telling us this?

Because my father is a good
and honorable man.

But he is no longer
the head of this bank.

- But that's ridiculous.
Who removed him? - I am going to.

Right now.

If the Restricted Council agrees
to give me his seat in the Signoria.

Or the Duke's men will overrun
our city, is that right?

I will cancel the loan recalls
that my father has issued

and I will send
the Duke back to Milan.

You stab your own father in
the back. Why should we trust you?

You trust me

because your nephew attacked
my brother in the street today.

Now, that sounds familiar.

You trust me because I forgive him.

Because maybe my brother
unjustly accused your family

of being behind the plot
to kill my father.

And perhaps Francesco
felt that he had to retaliate.

But I forgive him.

Because the settling of old scores
has never settled anything.

We have to put our feuds behind us,
gentlemen.

To do good we have to be good.

For the future of Florence,
for the future of us all.

A vote.

Open these gates!

Or my men will smash through them
and carry your heads on pikes.

All in favor?

Come on.

Lorenzo,
bad debts don't just go away.

- They have to be accounted for.
- I understand.

I have an offer.

An alliance
between your family's bank and mine

forged in marriage.

Your sister Bianca
and my son Bastiano.

- He's always had a great affection
for her. - Have you?

You have a deal.

Stop.

Stop your men, Duke.

Out of our way, Lorenzo, we have
an understanding with your father.

I am now the head of the bank
and your presence here is illegal.

You brand me a criminal
and then expect me to retreat?

If you do I will write a letter

saying that I implored you
to protect this city

and that you stayed
your hand at my request.

You'll be seen as a hero,
not as a criminal.

And my father's debt remains unpaid

while your control
of the city crumbles.

I'll find another way to save
this bank and the city.

A shame, I was greatly
looking forward to this.

But it's your grave, Medici.

Good luck.

- Fall back!
- Fall back!

Come on!

You did it, you saved Florence
without raising your sword.

I destroyed my father

and compelled the Priori
to act from fear.

Our enemies will come at us
from all sides now.

A cura del Servizio Sottotitoli RAI