Netflix’s The Leopard: A Prince grapples with a rapidly, violently changing world

Episode 1 recap and review

Rating: B+

Perhaps the most affecting scene in the first episode of this luminous British production streamed via Netflix, an adaptation of Giuseppe Tomasi's famed Italian novel, happened midway through. The Prince of Salina, Don Fabrizio Corbera, had to give up a whole estate (Argivocale) that had been in the family for over a hundred years to a corrupt governor, to save the life of his penniless nephew Tancredi. The Prince made Tancredi put on the costume of his class, go to their exclusive club, endure a toast of people whose very existence he was fighting against, and watch from the balcony as men (and, heartbreakingly, a young boy) he had bled with were gunned down as punishment for their rebellion against the ruling Bourbon-backed class. Tancredi wanted to turn away but his uncle would not let him. That was the fate that awaited him had it not been for the Prince’s interference. He would have been gunned down as those men were had the Prince not met the demands of the governor’s greed at the expense of a significant slash in the generational power via land that the family had held. By making Tancredi stand with the class of his birth, the Prince made the young man look a traitor to the comrades he did not, could not, join in martyrdom, even as his uncle’s friends would have gladly seen him rounded up and shot as well. The Prince was telling him, this is not a game. And you will never be one of them.   

Set in 19th century Sicily, the fictional Prince of Salina led an aristocratic family swept by the inevitable tide of time. For the most part, the Prince still lived as his ancestors did. Roadblocks were opened to allow him to pass. Peasants bowed as he passed on horseback. He lived with his family in a palatial home, with his own priest in residence along with an army of servants. Yet, change had come. The Prince could not simply yank his nephew from prison, he needed to negotiate with the  governor, and was forced to give up not 20 hectares of land, not 50 hectares, not an eye-watering sum from his London account, but an entire estate. Perhaps there was a time when a Prince’s expressed desire was law, but that no longer was the case.  

Yet, the Prince did seem to be uniquely capable of navigating these changing times. He calmly travelled through pockets of violence to retrieve his beloved daughter Concetta from the convent. He figured out which amongst his men were stealing from him, and found a way to still make use of him. He ordered that the peasants living on his land have a new well and that they must always have bread, a kindness to those with so little that they would likely remember. He knew when he was beaten by the governor, he gave up the land, but as he did he moved another chess piece on the board, his man Russo, who would now be stealing from the governor instead of the Prince.

At the palace, the Prince lived with his wife, his three daughters, and his two sons. His daughter Concetta was besotted with her cousin Tancredi. The Prince’s sister married a man who wasted away her fortune, and when they died Tancredi was left with nothing but a crumbling house and the charity of his uncle, who did seem to favour him more than his own sons. Tancredi was bright and brash, and both tolerated and enjoyed Concetta’s blushes and devotion. His brush with death did not deter him from joining Garibaldi’s forces as they landed in Sicily. His uncle, who represented the power he fought against, still gave him money as he left, a bit of protection that he could offer and which Tancredi accepted. On opposite sides of a violent political divide, the Prince’s affection for his nephew seemed unchanged.

The first episode of The Leopard was mostly about a man who was being left behind by the tides of change, but did not know it yet, at least, not fully, not as much as he should. I have not read the book this series was based on, nor have I seen the critically acclaimed film, so I genuinely have no idea what’s coming. Come join me, this series looks amazing – poignant, beautiful, and shattering, as the best of fiction often is.  

Strays

👑You will hear the name Garibaldi a lot on this series. If you’re unfamiliar with him, here’s a good video about him. 

👑I love how the Prince travels with his adorable dog Bendico.

👑 I couldn’t see clearly so I am not sure about this, but it looked like the soldier who allowed the Prince to get through the roadblock was the same soldier who was later chased down by a mob. The Prince refused to get back into his carriage as the soldier ran toward him, and only did so when the poor soldier was so clearly beyond help. I wonder, though, had the soldier caught up with him, would they have attacked the Prince, his daughter, and his priest? Considering that they were chanting ‘Death to the Bourbons’, that was a strong possibility.  

👑The Prince of Salina and his family are not Bourbons, by the way, they were Sicilian aristocrats who greatly benefited from the Bourbons.

👑Concetta could not wait to get out the convent. She has been in love with Tancredi for most of her life, no? 

👑The Salina family are: Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina (the father), his wife Maria Stella Corbera di Salina, and their children Concetta, Paolo (the heir), Caterina, Chiara, and Francesco.

👑Poor Father Pirrone, the Salina children tease him so (except Paolo). 

👑Paolo does not like Tancredi. He was also the only one who took the threat of Garibaldi seriously. I’m not sure if Don Fabrizio truly believed it was too hot in Sicily for there to be a revolution, but that was how he calmed his family. 

👑Did Concetta see everything? Just the back, it looked like.

👑Concetta tried to stop Tancredi from joining the fighting, but could not. Tancredi painted a picture of a united Italy, but it seemed like he mostly wanted to be on what he thought was the winning side. Concetta made him promise to write often.

👑When Concetta told Don Fabrizio that Tancredi was among the rioters in Palermo, and that his daily letters had ceased, the Prince immediately knew what had happened.

👑The child who helped deliver Tancredi’s letters to Concetta looked like the same child who was executed by firing squad. 

👑Russo was the Prince’s man, his security. That Don Fabrizio noticed Russo’s new boots was a nice precursor to the reveal that he knew that Russo had been stealing lemons from him. That was nice writing right there. The Prince saw through Russo, but instead of ruining him, he gave him another chance. It was not exactly a kindness, more a stubborn belief that Russo would now ‘know his place’, cease his thievery, and appreciate the Prince’s magnanimity. Good luck with that. 

👑Don Fabrizio has a mistress slash therapist.

👑Don Fabrizio gave the Governor Argivocale, and told him Russo was the only one capable of managing it. Don Fabrizio told Russo that instead of stealing from him, he would now be stealing from the Governor. Don Fabrizio also asked Russo to guard his house as the Garibaldi forces near.

👑 There is a leopard atop the welcome arch leading to the Salina palace.

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