Showtime's The Borgias Season 3 Episode 3

Don't read this entry yet if you don't want spoilers.

Curt Wagner at redeyechicago.com reports on where the series is going and interviews Francois Arnaud, who plays Cesare. Thanks to Wagner and Arnaud for how this was handled...

After fighting with Alfonso (Sebastian De Souza) at their wedding reception, Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) crawled into bed with Cesare, who was shocked but didn't exactly protest his sister's boldness.

"Only a Borgia it seems, can truly love a Borgia," Lucrezia said. "Why deny yourself a pleasure for which we're already accused?"

With her reputation already slandered by rumors that the two are lovers, Lucrezia seeks comfort in the arms of her only safe harbor.

Whether or not it really happened between them, it happens with others today, as it has all throughout history.

For Arnaud, the sibling sex was a natural progression for the characters, who can't even trust their father.

"It felt like it was meant to happen. Of course they do have sexual feelings for one another, but it mostly comes from a deep, deep love," he said.

I've heard that many times.

I guess what I'm getting at is did you talk about the delicacy of it, and how viewers might react to incest. You know, "Don't look like you're just jumping bones."

There are so many emotions involved in that sexual act that it couldn't have been just jumping each other's bones. [Laughs.] There's a lot more involved and it's a lot of mixed emotions. When it happens there's pain, there's relief, there's the feeling that it was inevitable. There's also fear for the future and it all happens at once. And that's what love can be.

Consanguinamory is usually intense, and since there is currently so much prejudice towards the consanguinamorous, there are difficulties some other relationships don't face. There will be people who watch this who will identify strongly with the characters, because they are going through the same thing.

Will this be a problem for them throughout the season? Well it haunt him?

I can say that it's a major theme of the whole season to the very end. They have a very kind of Lady Macbeth relationship toward the end of the season.

What would you say to those viewers who might stop watching because incest is not best?

Is incest worse than murder? [Laughs.] People can be so prudish. This is so funny actually. It's like the MPAA ratings; I'm always surprised that like if someone walks out of the shower in the nude it can't be seen by 17-year-olds, but then 13-year-olds are allowed to go see people blowing up other people's heads for three hours. Amazing. I don't know what people are so afraid of.

Good points.

Are you watching? What do you think?