Rodrigo has to rely on his secretary, Gacet, more than ever. In order to end Rodrigo's papacy, Della Rovere wants to procure a compromising document.

Under the influence of poison, Rodrigo suffers from hallucinations and embarrasses himself in public, so he elects to undergo withdrawal treatment.

The Pope is attacked during a public morality play and his outraged cardinals assume that the House of Borgia's alliance with France is the cause.