'The New Pope' Episode 4: John Paul III succumbs to 'benevolent blackmail' as the church faces multiple crises
It is a weird paradox to see the "poetic" pope who is only comfortable in the abstract, being inundated by the most material crises, including the threatened loss of the very money that keeps the church rich and the cardinals bejeweled with gold crosses.
It doesn't help of course that the nuns are striking, asking for respect from the clergy that has so long been denied to them. The burdens are great compared to the little perks like meeting Marilyn Manson.
Before long, the new pope has been drawn into the intrigue and machinations of the Vatican. The first chink in his armor is that mysterious silver box whose contents are still a mystery. But it is enough for an "old friend" who he went to the seminary with, to use its existence to first get a position as a "Personal Secretary" to the pope, in charge of "creative" problem-solving.
Then later, when the church's financial problem loom large, he agrees to Sofia Dubois' (Cécile de France) husband taking charge of the treasury. And just like that, another layer of corruption and mismanagement is added to the functioning of the Vatican - something the nuns, at war with Cardinal Voiello (Silvio Orlando), are already fed up of.
When Cardinal Gutierrez (Javier Cámara) confesses his "sin" of sleeping with a young man to the pope, John Paul III has erotic visions of Sofia, who he prefers to "Meghan Markle". He, in turn, confesses about how he too is sinning with his recent capitulations. However, on the surface, he is precisely the sort of pope people want, except the fanboys and fangirls of the comatose Pope Pius XIII (Jude Law), who are still standing vigil outside the hospital.
It is a PR trimuph when Pope John Paul III (John Malkovich) visits the hospital but he fails to "seduce" those who still don't accept the New Pope over the Young Pope.
The "idolaters", who hope Lenny aka Pope Pius XIII will wake up, might be justified in their belief because in this episode Lenny turns his head, knocking his oxygen mask askew. The next episode will hopefully see Lenny wake up and give us the Pope Vs Pope fight we can't help anticipate. Something tells us the awake Lenny will be far less benign than his spectral presence.
'The New Pope' airs on HBO from 9 pm onwards on Mondays.