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.

Bored at the French royal court in Lyons, Cesare asks King Louis to give him an army that will pressure the Italian provinces to come to an agreement.