![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenak Day 03 ~ Favourite male character.
I don’t have a clear male favorite character in this show the way Contessina is my clear female favorite; it really depends on my mood and the scene in question whom I like best among the menfolk. But I do have a clear No.2, i.e. a male character I have a particular soft spot for even if he’s never my overall favourite: Piero (di Cosimo de‘ Medici).
Why Piero? Not least because he falls outside and supercedes various tropes in this genre. In the first season, he and his wife Lucrezia are the young ingenues/sweethearts in contrast to the older, fascinatingly screwed up pairing of Contessina and Cosimo, but that doesn’t make them boring. They’re also a far better take on the „young lovers“ trope than Bianca and Guglielmo who get to be this in season 2, because they’re allowed to grow within the season, both as individuals and as a pair, and to have important scenes with people not each other. Piero’s a dutiful and devoted son who doesn’t have the usual problem with his father, but a different one: Cosimo, who doesn’t want to do to Piero what his own father Giovanni did to him, tries to keep him outside of the family business and to give him space to do his own thing for as long as he can; unfortunately, this comes across to Piero as his father having no confidence in him (something he never quite stops believing, as we’ll find out in s2). Does this result in Piero brooding (aka the Cosimo solution) and/or taking his insecurities out on other characters? It does not. (One arguable exception in a forgivable moment of stress, I’ll get to that later.) He continues to be kind, determined and eventually, with the support of his wife, manages to face down the otherdons Florentine bankers in his own style, not as a copy of Cosimo. When he and Lucrezia share his father’s exile in Venice, it’s not always easy for him, and their different way of seeing Venice causes an argument about whether to adapt to a new home or treat Venice as something temporary, but you know what doesn’t happen? Piero throwing a jealous fit over Lucrezia being flirted with by other men. He and she might disagree on exile vs making a new home, but he trusts her (and she, him). He’s probably the least macho character on the entire show, and also the sole Medici husband who never, ever treats his wife badly, though their marriage starts as a business arrangement as much as Cosimo/Contessina and Lorenzo/Clarice do.
In s2, set twenty years later, Piero is only in the first two episodes, but we do get a sense of the way he interacts with his three children (additional ones in rl were adapted out in this show). He’s very fond of and proud of them, and they’re loving and protective with him. (That by this point he’s crippled by gout is of the reason the kids are protective of the father instead of the other way around, but it’s also Piero’s personality.) Which is why I’m a bit annoyed that the few times Piero shows up in s2 based fanfic, he’s written as a traditional Italian patriarch so Giuliano (usually it’s Giuliano) can rebel against his expectations. (So not their trope. When Piero in the season opener after an assassination attempt gets fussed over, he insists that he helped fight off the wannabe assassins along with his sons, „tell them, Giuliano“, and Giuliano teasingly but also fondly replies „you were a Greek god, father“.) (Not to mention that it’s very clear Lucrezia has become the matriarch of the clan at that point. She’s the one having expectations from the young ones.) The one time he lashes out against one of his children, it’s Lorenzo, and the situation is unique since Piero has just found out Lorenzo’s solution to avoiding either a sacking of Florence by the Milanese or a complete loss of Medici power was to effectively sack Piero as head of the bank and succeed him. It’s a scene that’s not a little heartbreaking (and prepared for when earlier Sandro Botticelli congratulated Lorenzo on saving Florence and Lorenzo replies „I destroyed my father“ – he knew the effect this would have on Piero), not least because Piero in what’s his weakest moment says „your grandfather always preferred you, even when you were a boy“, i.e. reveals a part of him saw his own son as his rival for his father’s respect.
But thankfully, this is not the last we see of Piero. Once he’s calmed down, he comes to the conclusion that Lorenzo’s intervention in effect didn’t just save Florence but Piero himself (since he would have gone with the sacking option, thereby betraying his own ethics), and they reconcile. That’s another thing appealing about Piero (which his children have learned from him): he’s able to apologize, see the situation from another point of view, even if understandably feeling hurt.
In conclusion: Piero, young and old, is a darling, and I’m really very fond of him.
Day One ~ Picture or gif that expresses your reaction to the show.
Day 02 ~ Favourite female character
Day 04 ~ Favourite antagonist.
Day 05 ~ Favourite quote from The Medici
Day 06 ~ Who do you ship?
Day 07 ~ Three words that describe The Medici
Day 08 ~ Favourite moment so far.
Day 09 ~ Least favourite character.
Day 10 ~ Would you rather be an artist or a banker?
Day 11 ~ Favourite outfit worn by anyone.
Day 12 ~ Historical Crackship: Who belongs together, time and space be damned?
Day 13 ~ Re-Write History: Something you wish had happened.
Day 14 ~ Re-Write History: Something you wish never happened.
Day 15 ~ FREE DAY - Anything you’d like
Day 16 ~ Link to an interview or video you think is funny.
Day 17 ~ Favourite episode.
Day 18 ~ Give some advice to one of the characters.
Day 19 ~ Character that’s the most like you.
Day 20 ~ What do you like best about The Medici?
Day 21 ~ Link to a Medici blog.
Day 22 ~ Make or link to a graphic of your favourite ship.
Day 23 ~ (S1) Cosimo, Lorenzo, Marco Bello, (S2) Lorenzo, Giuliano, Francesco Pazzi: Shag, marry, stab - what would you do?
(Ladies edition: Contessina, Lucrezia (T, not D), Clarice)
Day 24 ~ Favourite quote about the Medici.
Day 25 ~ Good riddance: Who have you not been sorry to see killed off?
Day 26 ~ A scene you can watch over and over again.
Day 27 ~ Fightin’ words: Who would you like to see in a fight to the death?
Day 28 ~ Fancast: Who would you like to see in a role on The Medici?
Day 29 ~ Link to a fanvid you like.
Day 30 ~ How would you end the show?
I don’t have a clear male favorite character in this show the way Contessina is my clear female favorite; it really depends on my mood and the scene in question whom I like best among the menfolk. But I do have a clear No.2, i.e. a male character I have a particular soft spot for even if he’s never my overall favourite: Piero (di Cosimo de‘ Medici).
Why Piero? Not least because he falls outside and supercedes various tropes in this genre. In the first season, he and his wife Lucrezia are the young ingenues/sweethearts in contrast to the older, fascinatingly screwed up pairing of Contessina and Cosimo, but that doesn’t make them boring. They’re also a far better take on the „young lovers“ trope than Bianca and Guglielmo who get to be this in season 2, because they’re allowed to grow within the season, both as individuals and as a pair, and to have important scenes with people not each other. Piero’s a dutiful and devoted son who doesn’t have the usual problem with his father, but a different one: Cosimo, who doesn’t want to do to Piero what his own father Giovanni did to him, tries to keep him outside of the family business and to give him space to do his own thing for as long as he can; unfortunately, this comes across to Piero as his father having no confidence in him (something he never quite stops believing, as we’ll find out in s2). Does this result in Piero brooding (aka the Cosimo solution) and/or taking his insecurities out on other characters? It does not. (One arguable exception in a forgivable moment of stress, I’ll get to that later.) He continues to be kind, determined and eventually, with the support of his wife, manages to face down the other
In s2, set twenty years later, Piero is only in the first two episodes, but we do get a sense of the way he interacts with his three children (additional ones in rl were adapted out in this show). He’s very fond of and proud of them, and they’re loving and protective with him. (That by this point he’s crippled by gout is of the reason the kids are protective of the father instead of the other way around, but it’s also Piero’s personality.) Which is why I’m a bit annoyed that the few times Piero shows up in s2 based fanfic, he’s written as a traditional Italian patriarch so Giuliano (usually it’s Giuliano) can rebel against his expectations. (So not their trope. When Piero in the season opener after an assassination attempt gets fussed over, he insists that he helped fight off the wannabe assassins along with his sons, „tell them, Giuliano“, and Giuliano teasingly but also fondly replies „you were a Greek god, father“.) (Not to mention that it’s very clear Lucrezia has become the matriarch of the clan at that point. She’s the one having expectations from the young ones.) The one time he lashes out against one of his children, it’s Lorenzo, and the situation is unique since Piero has just found out Lorenzo’s solution to avoiding either a sacking of Florence by the Milanese or a complete loss of Medici power was to effectively sack Piero as head of the bank and succeed him. It’s a scene that’s not a little heartbreaking (and prepared for when earlier Sandro Botticelli congratulated Lorenzo on saving Florence and Lorenzo replies „I destroyed my father“ – he knew the effect this would have on Piero), not least because Piero in what’s his weakest moment says „your grandfather always preferred you, even when you were a boy“, i.e. reveals a part of him saw his own son as his rival for his father’s respect.
But thankfully, this is not the last we see of Piero. Once he’s calmed down, he comes to the conclusion that Lorenzo’s intervention in effect didn’t just save Florence but Piero himself (since he would have gone with the sacking option, thereby betraying his own ethics), and they reconcile. That’s another thing appealing about Piero (which his children have learned from him): he’s able to apologize, see the situation from another point of view, even if understandably feeling hurt.
In conclusion: Piero, young and old, is a darling, and I’m really very fond of him.
Day One ~ Picture or gif that expresses your reaction to the show.
Day 02 ~ Favourite female character
Day 04 ~ Favourite antagonist.
Day 05 ~ Favourite quote from The Medici
Day 06 ~ Who do you ship?
Day 07 ~ Three words that describe The Medici
Day 08 ~ Favourite moment so far.
Day 09 ~ Least favourite character.
Day 10 ~ Would you rather be an artist or a banker?
Day 11 ~ Favourite outfit worn by anyone.
Day 12 ~ Historical Crackship: Who belongs together, time and space be damned?
Day 13 ~ Re-Write History: Something you wish had happened.
Day 14 ~ Re-Write History: Something you wish never happened.
Day 15 ~ FREE DAY - Anything you’d like
Day 16 ~ Link to an interview or video you think is funny.
Day 17 ~ Favourite episode.
Day 18 ~ Give some advice to one of the characters.
Day 19 ~ Character that’s the most like you.
Day 20 ~ What do you like best about The Medici?
Day 21 ~ Link to a Medici blog.
Day 22 ~ Make or link to a graphic of your favourite ship.
Day 23 ~ (S1) Cosimo, Lorenzo, Marco Bello, (S2) Lorenzo, Giuliano, Francesco Pazzi: Shag, marry, stab - what would you do?
(Ladies edition: Contessina, Lucrezia (T, not D), Clarice)
Day 24 ~ Favourite quote about the Medici.
Day 25 ~ Good riddance: Who have you not been sorry to see killed off?
Day 26 ~ A scene you can watch over and over again.
Day 27 ~ Fightin’ words: Who would you like to see in a fight to the death?
Day 28 ~ Fancast: Who would you like to see in a role on The Medici?
Day 29 ~ Link to a fanvid you like.
Day 30 ~ How would you end the show?
