The pilot establishes a core thematic battleground between the forward-thinking Enlightenment (represented by Leonardo) and the oppressive, dogmatic control of the Catholic Church (represented by Pope Sixtus IV and Girolamo Riario). Florence is painted as a vibrant hub of art and freethinking, while Rome is depicted as a shadow-drenched empire desperate to suppress any knowledge that threatens its divine authority. 2. Memory and Identity
Meanwhile, in Florence, we are introduced to the young Leonardo da Vinci. He is an artist, inventor, and dreamer, already a legend in his own mind. He lives and works in the studio of his master, Andrea del Verrocchio (Allan Corduner), with his loyal, if often exasperated, assistants Zoroaster (Gregg Chillin) and young Nico (Eros Vlahos). da vincis demons season 1 episode 1
: He uses "opium" (hallucinogenic tobacco) to quiet his "endlessly raging thoughts". The pilot establishes a core thematic battleground between
The episode opens on a 25-year-old Leonardo da Vinci (Tom Riley), not painting the Mona Lisa , but sketching a mechanical bird in the bustling streets of Florence. Riley portrays Leonardo with a frantic, brilliant, and arrogant energy. He is an artist, a swordsman, an inventor, and an unapologetic ladies' man who frequently gets into trouble. Memory and Identity Meanwhile, in Florence, we are
Simultaneously, Leonardo is arrested for sodomy—a historical fact woven into the narrative as a setup by his father to curb his wild behavior. After a humiliating public trial, Leonardo is exonerated but ostracized. Desperate to prove his worth and secure his place in Florence, he pitches himself to Lorenzo de' Medici. To gain Lorenzo's favor, Leonardo creates a spectacle: he creates a primitive pigeon-drone (an ornithopter) to drop flowers over the city during the Feast of the Ascension. The demonstration goes awry when the bird crashes, but it succeeds in capturing Lorenzo's attention.