Da Vinci-s | Demons

If you love historical fiction that isn’t afraid to lie to you; if you want to see a hero solve problems by drawing them in mid-air; if you have ever looked at a bird and wished you could follow it into the sky— Da Vinci’s Demons is for you.

Watch it for the flying machines. Stay for the scream in the Sistine Chapel. Forgive it for the rushed ending. Because for 30 glorious hours, you will believe that one man’s imagination is the only revolution that matters.

For the first two seasons, the mystery of the Book of Leaves —a pre-flood archive of ancient science—drives a thrilling global chase. Leo travels from the sewers of Rome to the temples of the Incas (yes, really) and the caves of the Middle East. The show argues, rather beautifully, that the Church suppressed science not out of malice, but out of fear that knowledge would make man equal to God. Da Vinci-s Demons

“The secret of the universe is not a secret. It is a door. And I have the key.” – Leonardo da Vinci (probably)

But Leo has a ghost: his mother, Caterina, who vanished when he was a child. This personal quest for the truth collides with a global conspiracy known as the and the “Book of Leaves” —a mythical repository of all knowledge (a stand-in for the actual Codex Atlanticus ). To find his mother and the Book, Leo must battle the ruthless Pope Sixtus IV, navigate the political snake pit of the Medici bank, and invent the future one impossible gadget at a time. The Character: Not Your Old Master’s Da Vinci Tom Riley’s performance is the anchor of the storm. His Leonardo is a whirlwind of ADHD-fueled mania. He talks too fast, fights like a brawler, and sees the world in exploded diagrams. When he looks at a wall, he sees the scaffolding behind it. When he looks at a bird, he sees the torque and lift of a flying machine. If you love historical fiction that isn’t afraid

It is a visceral experience. It is a show that believes, with every fiber of its being, that a man with a quill can change the world faster than a man with a sword.

In the golden age of “prestige television,” we were spoiled with anti-heroes, dragons, and methamphetamine. But nestled between the political machinations of Game of Thrones and the gritty realism of Breaking Bad was a strange, swashbuckling gem that tried to answer a question nobody else was asking: What if Leonardo da Vinci was actually the world’s first superhero? Forgive it for the rushed ending

Three seasons. Thirty episodes. One perfect, chaotic vision. Here is why Da Vinci’s Demons deserves your attention, even a decade later. The year is 1477. A young, arrogant, and impossibly handsome Leonardo da Vinci (Tom Riley) is at the height of his creative powers in Florence. He is not yet the old master of the Mona Lisa ; he is a rock star. He is a heretic, a brawler, a lover, and a genius who is bored by the slow pace of human progress.

8/10 (Perfect first two seasons, messy final act).