Da Vinci's Demons Review: Temple of Doom
Henry A. Otero
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Though we were promised we'd enter The Vault of Heaven in this week's Da Vinci's Demons Season 2 Episode 7, that wasn't exactly the case.
Leo and company were forced to solve a series of deadly challenges before proceeding to the actual vault.
This installment was a kind of homage to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, down to the musical score. I dug it overall, pardon the pun.
We pick up with Count Riario mourning the death of Zita. I'm glad his loss wasn't just glossed over. The opening scene also shows us that Nico has grown close to the Count, he actually sympathizes with him. Naturally, Zo and Leo do not trust Riario.
Ima tells Leo the time has come for the two of them to enter The Vault of Heaven. Riario wants in but Ima informs him that he's not as trustworthy as "the sun and the moon," she and Leo. A quick discussion takes place but Topa Inca's had enough of these foreigners. Let them all enter, after all no one's getting out alive right?
As clever as Nico is, why the hell would he walk so close to the edge of the cliff? Guess we needed a little tension on our way to the vault.
I've mentioned before, all the Clarice, Carlo, Lucrezia stuff only distracts from the adventure taking place on the other side of the world. Sure we were rewarded with a Lara Pulver cunnilingus scene but the real excitement is in entering a different vault altogether. At least Lorenzo and the Naples story arc didn't make an appearance this week.
Clarice and Carlo are attacked by assassins hired to end the de Medici line. In the end Vanessa is safe, baby is unharmed and Carlo kills the banker responsible. Can we get back to The Vault of Heaven now?
Typical that The Vault of Heaven lies behind a waterfall right? Also a bit cliché were the three deadly challenges guarding the vault. Leo almost died last week for a peek at the vault and now this?
The Gods created different thresholds with deadly challenges to guard The Vault of Heaven.
Ima
As I said at the top, this episode had an Indiana Jones vibe to it, including Bear McCreary's score (which I loved). Instead of bloody beating hearts, we got a llama pancake. Did they have to crush that poor llama though? Glad Zo voices what we're all thinking, "you could have just told us of course."
Our MacGyver of the Renaissance easily solves the task at hand but the quickness with which "the scorpion" was built defies reason. Ima's throw away line "I have a whole empire at my command" was a cute way of addressing it though.
Once past the first challenge, our heroes are faced with a sort of mathematical trial. Seriously, could anyone besides Leonardo da Vinci have figured any of this stuff out? Leo inserts the key and instead of opening a doorway, we see water trickle and the bridge they're standing on begins to retract. An Inca warrior plummets to his death, score's even 1 llama and 1 human!
Ima swipes the key and jumps to safety, Leo reminds her they're the sun and the moon. She trusts him and throws the key back. Leonardo determines the keyhole is not on the wall at all but underneath, a door opens. Ima's warning to wait for her was a sign of trouble ahead. As Riario points out, Leo had no intention of waiting for her. Unfortunately for us, his actions leave us hanging until next week's installment.
As always, Tom Riley is absolutely brilliant in all these problem solving sequences.
In Constantinople, Lucrezia meets with the eldest son of the Sultan. She informs Bayezid that the Pope himself has sent her and offers the Sword of Osman (which Lupo Mercuri gave her) as a token of good will. Why did she lie about her name? What will happen when Bayezid arrives in Rome only to realize the Pope had no knowledge of any of this? Or will the real Pope be reinstalled by then? I imagine this is all set up for what's to come, so we'll leave it at that for now.
Speaking of Lupo, I really enjoyed his little quest for the page from The Book of Leaves. Even more so, when the page itself reflects the events taking place at The Vault of Heaven. That was cool!
Before the group is able to solve the final riddle, Riario grabs Leo's key and pulls a dagger on Zo. Nico manages to talk sense to the volatile Count, and the fact Riario listens was again a sign of their connection.
Leo and Riario use both keys simultaneously to unlock the door. However, nothing happens and Leo figures out the light emanating from behind plays a part in opening the door. The keys must be turned (and held or the doors close) when the light hits the keyholes. Nico and Zo do the honors, this allows Leo and Riario to slip through the doorway.
The engineering is amazing. No wonder that the natives believed that their land was visited by Gods.
Leonardo
Inside, Leo and Riario find themselves in a massive cavern. Leo hears a voice (his mother?) and the effect was otherworldly but in a sci-fi/time travel sort of way. With all the talk of time being a river, are characters like The Turk and Leonardo's mother actually traveling through time? Why did Ima also hear the voice?
We won't have answers until next week, because a pissed off Ima appears with Nico and Zo all bloodied up. Leo should not have entered the vault without her by his side. It's no surprise Ima turned on Leo, I saw that one coming but her timing totally sucks llama nuts. I can't believe the writers left us hanging like that. If I were watching Da Vinci's Demons on Netflix I would have definitely continued to the next chapter.
What did you think of "The Vault of Heaven?" Was the episode fun in an Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom kind of way or a bit anticlimactic? Hit the comments, let's discuss the episode and my time travel theory!
Is Leo's mother waiting for him inside the vault?
