As was the case last year, Da Vinci’s Demons concludes its season with a somewhat frustrating cliffhanger that leaves plenty of doors open but fails to satisfy enough by not paying off certain season-long threads.
After a thoroughly entertaining departure from the series norm by visiting the New World, Da Vinci’s Demons brings several of its central characters back to Italy–Leo to Florence and Riario to Rome.
The gradual build in quality, the most impressive aspect of which has been balancing several different point-of-view characters across multiple episodes lately, isn’t astonishing; however, it is noticeable and worth appreciating.
The problem in this case is that this is an episode of DVD that needed to be completely focused on Leonardo’s trip into the Vault of Heaven.
Starz knows exactly what it needs. “The Rope of the Dead” is that thing. It is the perfect blend of high octane action, visual spectacle (enhanced by a little bit of sexiness, of course) and powerfully emotional character beats.
After introducing the idea in its first season, Da Vinci’s Demons showed a great deal of narrative potential in the journey that would take Leo across the ocean to find the Book of Leaves.
What strikes me most when considering “The Ends of the Earth” is how the episode (and this season, by extension) manages to engage the viewer while Leo and Riario–arguably the series’ two most compelling characters–are so far removed from the events occurring in Italy.
Like the series it just replaced in the Starz line-up, Black Sails, DVD has a huge world to explore. Naturally, it would make sense that more episodes would mean a fuller exploration of that world.
For as much fun as Da Vinci’s Demons is sometimes capable of being, there hasn’t really been a moment in its early run that’s been moving–a scene that has executed a payoff after building emotional attachment either to a character or situation.
“The Blood of Man” earns a bunch of credit for being a satisfyingly action-packed return to this world. Florence is on the brink of collapse, the Medicis are in death’s line of sight and Leonardo can’t catch a break.
Da Vinci’s Demons, Season 1: Episode 8 – “The Lovers” Directed by Michael J. Bassett Written by Brian Nelson, Corey Reed and David S. Goyer For those of you not following along, that’s Zoroaster and Nico up there with very what-the-fuck expressions. Nico looks downright peeved. While the thoughts going through their heads might …
Da Vinci’s Demons, Season 1: Episode 7 – “The Hierophant” Directed by Michael J. Bassett Written by Sarah Goldfinger and Corey Reed Airs Friday nights at 9 on Starz After a week off, Da Vinci’s Demons returns just as bat-shit crazy as ever. In this penultimate episode of the season, most of the show’s weaknesses and …
Late in its recent third season, The Walking Dead aired an episode – “Clear” – that really didn’t serve a purpose in the context of that season’s arc. The main conflict was put to the side in favor of a more removed episode, which at the very least had a chance to make the viewers more anxious to reach the climax of the season.
So, to continue the trend of piecing together seemingly unrelated things in these Da Vinci’s Demons reviews (I consider this completely appropriate because of the outrageous fashion in which da Vinci solves his problems in this show), let me turn your attention to Bruce Dickinson’s song, “The Tower,”
Da Vinci’s Demons, Season 1: Episode 4 – “The Magician” Directed by Jamie Payne Written by David S. Goyer and Jami O’Brien Airs Friday nights at 9 on Starz Something that might interest me more than it should is how seemingly unrelated shows can connect on any given week, much like how Leonardo reminds Clarice …
The conceit of “The Prisoner” is that the episode is structured to parallel a game of Go played by Riario and the eponymous, mysterious prisoner. This conceit, along with the comparisons of a caged bird to Lucrezia, plays out rather heavy-handed and isn’t really necessary for us to understand what’s going on in Da Vinci’s Demons at this point. It’s a freshman mistake made by a freshman series, but the over-the-top nature of it lends itself well to how these first few episodes have been executed. Da Vinci’s Demons is still finding itself as a show in these first three scripts, much like how it took Spartacus: Blood and Sand a little while to get going on the same channel, and it’s up to us to trust the writers to pick up on where their ideas are strongest.
The second episode of Da Vinci’s Demons doubles up on explosions, but packing on the action doesn’t dust up the interest packing on a little more character development would. Leonardo continues to stand out as a dashing, charismatic lead. But so far, the show demonstrates no interest in allowing its other characters room to grow or compete for equal attention.
Da Vinci’s Demons, Season 1, Episode 1: “The Hanged Man” Written and Directed by David S. Goyers Airs Fridays at 9 pm on Starz All the promotional material about Da Vinci’s Demons trades heavily on David S. Goyer’s contribution to The Dark Knight Trilogy. So it seems more than fair to discuss one in relation …