Animation
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
An elf mage contemplates on connection and regret as she watches her human friends grow old and pass away.
Leonardo da Vinci.
Some say he was a genius. Others were frightened by him, claiming he could do dark magic. And some—namely Officer Stefano Giraldi—thought he was no more than a murderer.
Giraldi’s accusations, while false (not to mention completely fictionalized, since this show isn’t based on actual events), aren’t wildly off-base.
Leonardo had worked with Caterina da Cremona prior to her untimely death. She was his muse, his love, an “enigma” he could never quite solve.
But the artist had also insulted the young woman, calling her “damaged” due to a scar on her back—a reminder of the hard life she had come from. Then, after redeeming himself by explaining that it gave her character and depth, he hurt her again by replicating the scar on canvas—something he had promised he wouldn’t do.
Caterina forgave him for that offense as well. But then he did something completely unforgivable: He rejected her romantic advances, calling her a “whore” only interested in what his success could bring her.
Yeah, that oughta do it.
Allegedly, Caterina burned his paintings for his insults. And allegedly, da Vinci poisoned her in response. And unless Leonardo wants to hang, he’ll need to find the real killer real quick. Because Giraldi cares more about getting promoted than he does about solving the crime.
The CW’s Leonardo originally aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Prime Video. And the series presents a completely fictionalized backstory to the legendary artist’s life and some of his greatest works.
In this fiction, sex is present but not seen on screen (though we still see quite a bit of skin and some scenes leading up to sex). It’s implied that Leonardo’s father abandoned him to start a new family (one of the few elements here that could well be true, though the real da Vinci’s past is shrouded in uncertainty).
Language is mostly absent, but violence is not. Leonardo is on trial to be hanged for murder after all.
The drama of this series could be interesting if it was based on real events. But since it isn’t—and given the content concerns—it’s probably worth skipping and checking out a history book instead.
Leonardo da Vinci is hired as an apprentice to Andrea del Verrocchio after demonstrating his artistic talent painting a jaded muse.
Leonardo is accused of murdering Caterina da Cremona with poison because of his knowledge of “dark arts” and “alchemy.” (And we see the woman collapse in a flashback.) He is roughly manhandled during his arrest.
Caterina and Leonardo make out and begin to undress before Leonardo stops things from going further. He accuses her of using him and calls her a “whore.” In other scenes, we see Caterina pose for artists covered by a sheet wrapped as a toga. (And we see partially exposed parts of her body when she adjusts the sheet.) A man is told to wipe dirt off her rear end. A flashback shows that da Vinci’s father abandoned him as a child (and he looks on as his father plays with his new son in a courtyard).
People drink in celebration.
Leonardo’s artistic skill is called the “gift of an angel.” He and other artists paint pictures of Christ’s baptism, angels and a Roman goddess. Verrocchio is tasked with installing a golden cross weighing 18 tons on top of a cathedral. When he exclaims that the cross is “to God’s everlasting glory,” someone remarks that it’s also to Verrocchio’s. We see Bishops and Cardinals in the backgrounds of scenes.
Leonardo and Caterina argue over the scar on her back. He disregards her request not to paint it. Leonardo imagines wings coming out of it, but Caterina says it reminds her of how she was hurt before.
People lie, steal, betray, envy and insult. We hear a use of “a–.”
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
An elf mage contemplates on connection and regret as she watches her human friends grow old and pass away.
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