The Borgias

As Pope Alexander fights for his life, the Cardinals jockey for position to take over the Papacy. Cesare and Micheletto trace the assassination plot back to its source, but Della Rovere is ready to make his move. Catherina Sforza has dispatched her own personal assassin to dethrone the Borgia family. However, thanks to Lucrezia's quick thinking, the family's grip on power may not be lost.

Now fully recovered, Alexander tasks Cardinal Sforza to investigate the Cardinals. However, Cardinal Orsini does not leave quietly. Meanwhile, Catherina Sforza orders Rufio to seek support from the mercenary warlords of the Romagna families: Orsini, Vitelli and Colonna. Lucrezia is annoyed that her in-laws to be, the royal family of Naples, will not welcome her son Giovanni at court.

As the purged Cardinals are dismissed, Cardinal Versucci, sets the Vatican Treasury ablaze. Incensed by the new King Ferdinand's arrogant refusal to accept Giovanni as Lucrezia's child, Cesare travels to Naples to fix the problem. Later, Cesare begins to consider an alliance with an old enemy: France. Alexander sticks to his plan of allying with Naples, and therefore, Spain.

Newly appointed Cardinal Farnese is placed in the Treasury, quickly discovering Versucci's theft. Micheletto is sent to find the wayward Cardinal. Meanwhile, upon hearing of Venice's request for help against Turkish pirates, Alexander calls for a Crusade. Concerned about the loyalty of his new Cardinals, Giulia arranges a meeting for them: "banquet of chestnuts".

Guided through the complexities of the French court by his old advisor Machiavelli, Cesare makes an ally of Archbishop d'Amboise, a noble wife, Charlotte d'Albert, as well as a pledge of a military alliance against Milan and the Borgias' enemies. Back in Rome, Bianca takes her own life, prompting Alexander and Cardinal Sforza to conspire to repay Gonzaga's cruel plot.

When Cesare lands in northern Italy with a French army, Alexander is furious at what he sees as a challenge to his authority, but reluctantly accedes to Cesare's plan to destroy the Sforza dynasty, starting with Ludovico, Duke of Milan. Catherina, meanwhile, has come up with a plot of her own: biological warfare.

Cesare burns Constanzo's palace and the Cardinal with it, containing the plague, while Micheletto is love struck with the beautiful young Pascal. Lucrezia, aware that the political wind has changed towards France, seeks a Neapolitan power base for her family. There are two candidates to replace Ferdinand as King: arrogant and hostile Prince Raphael or kind and friendly Prince Frederigo.

Pilgrims are flooding to Rome for the Jubilee year celebrations, and the Spear of Longinus is the centerpiece of the show. However, Catherina Sforza has a plan to frustrate Alexander's lucrative festival. Across the sea in Kefalonia, the Turkish fleet is destroyed by Mattai's Jewish contacts. Alexander shows his gratitude with a Bull, exempting the community from taxes.

Devastated by his betrayal by Pascal, Micheletto kills his lover and subsequently disappears. Cesare races to Naples to rescue Lucrezia, but she has already escaped her captors with the aid of a sleeping potion. Alexander, meanwhile, has come up with another plan with his friend Mattai: to corner the market in Italian sulphur, thus denying anyone else the ability to manufacture gunpowder.

Alexander and Cesare are reconciled at last, and the Pope reveals that the Papal Armies have been strengthened and re-equipped with the money saved from the Crusade and the proceeds of the Jubilee. Now, the Borgias are ready to move against their enemies, the Sforzas, and are ready to take their first step towards their ultimate goal: to carve out a hereditary kingdom across the heart of Italy.