The Borgias: Season 3
Season 3 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of The Borgias Season 2.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 3 Progress Shield
The Face of Death
Apr 14, 2013
Pope Alexander fights for his life; the cardinals fight for control of the papacy; Cesare and Micheletto track the assassin; Della Rovere prepares to make his move.
The Purge
Apr 21, 2013
Alexander tasks Cardinal Sforza with purging the College of Cardinals, old Roman families conspire against the Pope, and Lucrezia tries to seduce Cesare.
Siblings
Apr 28, 2013
The King of Naples refuses to accept Lucrzia's child as part of the marriage agreement and pointedly invites Caterins Sforza and other Borgia enemies to the wedding.
The Banquet of Chestnuts
May 5, 2013
Cardinal Farnese exposes the embezzlement of Cardinal Versucci while the King of Naples insists the consummation of Lucrezia's marriage to his cousin be witnessed.
The Wolf and the Lamb
May 12, 2013
Lucrezia and Micheletto plot the death of King Ferdinand when he refuses her her baby as Cesare's promise of an annulment for Louis X!. gain him a wife and army.
Relics
May 19, 2013
Cesare unites the sons of the five Romagna families with his own army against Forli, and the Pope negotiates for a with Constantinople Jews for a holy relic.
Lucrezia's Gambit
May 26, 2013
After the French king occupies a deserted Milan, he tasks Cesare with killing Ludivico, and Lucretia becomes involved in Neapolitan palace intrigue.
Tears of Blood
Jun 2, 2013
Micheleto learns his kept lover is a Sforza informant, Caterina Sforza mounts the Shroud of Turin as a rival holy relic, and Alfonso puts Lucrezia under house arrest.
The Gunpowder Plot
Jun 9, 2013
Lucrezia escapes with Alfonso and her baby from Naples while the Pope corners the market in sulfur, restricting others from manufacturing gunpowder.
The Prince
Jun 16, 2013
Micheletto returns to Cesare briefly to help him destroy the walls of Forli and capture Caterina Sforza and later recruit her assassin Rufio.