Could
Leonardo Da Vinci have been a member of a Persian mystery cult? The Sons of Mithras certainly seem to know
him, even if he does not recognize them.
The Vatican is also keenly aware of the Maestro, but he wants no part of
the Church. However, it is not Da Vinci’s
artistry that interests the Pope’s men. They
believe he will lead them to the Book of
Leaves, a mysterious volume of Faustian knowledge that serves as the MacGuffin
of Da Vinci’s Demons (promo here), a new speculative
historical series debuting this Friday on Starz.
Created
and co-written by executive producer David S. Goyer (co-writer of the Dark Knight trilogy), Da Vinci’s Demons could be called a Da Vinci Code for Da Vinci. Throughout the series, he will be solving
puzzles that are part of a larger ancient mystery. He must also navigate contemporary intrigues
(circa 1476). Although hardly obsequious
to the Medici family, Da Vinci is a proud Florentine, because the Republic is
such an exemplar of Renaissance ideals. Of
course, the Pope hates the city-state for exactly the same reason.
Seeing
opportunity in crisis, Da Vinci offers his services to the Magnifico as a war
engineer. Naturally, he makes all sorts
of enemies in the process. He also accepts a commission to paint the portrait
of Lorenzo’s mistress, Lucrezia Donati.
She was already cheating on her husband with de Medici, whom she also
starts to cheat on with Da Vinci.
Indeed, there will be a fair amount of sneaking in and out of
bedchambers and outright scandal in Demons.
There
are light fantastical elements in Demons,
but it is closer in tone to shows like Rome
and Spartacus, with a protagonist
who could be the spiritual cousin of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes. We even see the world from a
similar stop-time perspective through his eyes.
Tom Riley takes a bit of getting used to as Da Vinci, but he grows on
viewers (at least over the course of the first four episodes). He nicely captures that Sherlockian
charismatic arrogance, which is quite entertaining when done right.
Demons also benefits from
two attractive yet steely women characters to counterbalance its murderous
cardinals and randy artists. Laura
Haddock’s Donati brings a sultry noir vibe to the series, while Lara Pulver
(Irene Adler in BBC’s Sherlock) is an
intriguing master of realpolitik as Clarice Orsini, Mrs. de Medici. Despite his
resemblance to Adrien Brody, Blake Ritson also makes a first class heavy as the
Pope’s enforcer, Count Girolamo Riario.
