The Young Pope - Season 1 Episode 1
"It's death to settle for things in life" - Pope Pius XIII
A baby crawling on a pile of babies. Jude Law emerging from under this pile of babies. So begins the young pope. And just like that, you know this show will be provocative.
We find out the young pope got elected through the machinations of the Cardinal Secretary of State, a politician among priests. The hope was that, being young & inexperienced, he would be malleable and easily influenced. Unfortunately for the Secretary of State, the Pope is turning out to be anything but malleable.
The Pope! You imagine a pope to be noble, gentlemanly, a model human being. But not this one. He smokes, has blasphemous dreams, is short-tempered, disrespectful and vindictive. He was abandoned by his parents and raised by nuns, with sorrow, suffering and bad memories in his past. A person who claims he has no sins to confess. He confesses, even, to not believing in God. He forces the Vatican's confessor to reveal secrets of the confessional in exchange for promises of Cardinalship. There are several episodes that depict him to be vindictive and touchy, to the point of being almost childish. So, all in all, a pretty flawed person.
The episode ends with his first address to the faithful. It's very confrontational, hostile even. It centers around a letter the Pope received from a boy who asked for help to believe in God. It's bizarre to center the first address on such a topic, but this is the essence of this Pope. Touchy, aggressive but deep down hesitant and unsure. Might he even secretly think he's not up to the task?
We'll find out.
Random observations:
- The Pope is determined not be seen in public or be photographed. His way of becoming important by creating mystery. Let's see how this works out.
- The Secretary of State is a hardcore football fan of the club Napoli. He also spends time with a disabled boy. A politician with a heart?
Musical thoughts:
- The opening credits are actually really good. I absolutely loved the music. It's slow, haunting, inviting you to soak in the images... Stunning really!
A baby crawling on a pile of babies. Jude Law emerging from under this pile of babies. So begins the young pope. And just like that, you know this show will be provocative.
We find out the young pope got elected through the machinations of the Cardinal Secretary of State, a politician among priests. The hope was that, being young & inexperienced, he would be malleable and easily influenced. Unfortunately for the Secretary of State, the Pope is turning out to be anything but malleable.
The Pope! You imagine a pope to be noble, gentlemanly, a model human being. But not this one. He smokes, has blasphemous dreams, is short-tempered, disrespectful and vindictive. He was abandoned by his parents and raised by nuns, with sorrow, suffering and bad memories in his past. A person who claims he has no sins to confess. He confesses, even, to not believing in God. He forces the Vatican's confessor to reveal secrets of the confessional in exchange for promises of Cardinalship. There are several episodes that depict him to be vindictive and touchy, to the point of being almost childish. So, all in all, a pretty flawed person.
The episode ends with his first address to the faithful. It's very confrontational, hostile even. It centers around a letter the Pope received from a boy who asked for help to believe in God. It's bizarre to center the first address on such a topic, but this is the essence of this Pope. Touchy, aggressive but deep down hesitant and unsure. Might he even secretly think he's not up to the task?
We'll find out.
Random observations:
- The Pope is determined not be seen in public or be photographed. His way of becoming important by creating mystery. Let's see how this works out.
- The Secretary of State is a hardcore football fan of the club Napoli. He also spends time with a disabled boy. A politician with a heart?
Musical thoughts:
- The opening credits are actually really good. I absolutely loved the music. It's slow, haunting, inviting you to soak in the images... Stunning really!
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