Da Vincis Demons Season 1 Episode 1 (FULL)

The episode opens in 1477 Florence. We are introduced to a twenty-five-year-old Leonardo da Vinci (Tom Riley) in a prison cell, sketching the details of a fly's wing with charcoal—a motif that establishes his obsessive, observational nature. Through a series of flashbacks and interrogations by a mysterious figure, the story unfolds.

The series premiere of Da Vinci's Demons The Hanged Man , introduces a 25-year-old Leonardo da Vinci as a brilliant, arrogant, and restless polymath in Renaissance Florence. Directed by David S. Goyer, the episode establishes the show as a "historical fantasy" that blends real historical figures with supernatural mystery and high-concept invention. Plot Overview

To be a proper feature, one must address the pilot’s weaknesses. The dialogue occasionally veers into “try-hard” territory (“ Your soul is a battleground between curiosity and fear ”). The pacing is frantic, cramming so much exposition (the Tarot, the Turkic assassin, the Pazzi conspiracy) that first-time viewers may feel vertigo. Furthermore, the show’s treatment of historical women, outside of Lucrezia, is shallow in this opener.

This is not the dour, methodical genius of The Agony and the Ecstasy . This Leonardo is 25 years old—vain, volatile, and haunted. The pilot wastes no time establishing the central conflict of the entire series: the war between the Church’s dogma and the Enlightenment’s curiosity. When Leonardo dissects a human corpse by candlelight, he whispers to his apprentice, “ Knowledge is the only thing that is truly holy. ” It is a line that functions as the show’s thesis statement.

Leonardo is shown as an eccentric artist and engineer, feverishly working on designs like a mechanical dove for the Medici family's Easter celebration. da vincis demons season 1 episode 1

The episode begins with a stunning visual metaphor: Leonardo is lowered into the murky waters of a Florentine canal inside a crude diving suit. It’s 1477. On paper, this shouldn’t work. But Leo, of course, survives, surfacing to sketch his invention before being chased by city guards. This opening sequence establishes two key traits: Leonardo’s brilliance is unbounded, and his disrespect for authority will constantly get him into trouble.

The episode's title, "The Hanged Man," is far from random. The creative team named each episode of the season after a Tarot card. In Tarot symbolism, The Hanged Man often represents suspension, letting go, and seeing the world from a completely new perspective—a perfect thematic match for Leonardo's character. Throughout the series, he is a figure in limbo, sacrificing his immediate comforts for a deeper understanding of the universe. The episode visually grounds this idea early on, as Leonardo sketches a woman in a pose that mirrors the traditional Tarot card's form.

: Leonardo encounters a mysterious figure known as Al-Rahim (The Turk), who claims Leonardo is part of a secret society called the Sons of Mithras . He tasks Leonardo with finding the "Book of Leaves," a legendary document containing hidden knowledge that both the Vatican and the Sons of Mithras pursue.

The pilot establishes several recurring themes that define the series: en.wikipedia.org The episode opens in 1477 Florence

The episode opens in media res. Florence, 1477. A 25-year-old Leonardo da Vinci (Tom Riley) is not the serene, elderly painter of legend. He is a rockstar artist, a hedonistic genius, and a wanted man. The episode throws us into a breathtaking chase: Leonardo flees across Florentine rooftops from the city guard, having allegedly defiled a church. But this is no mere prank. He has stolen a human corpse for dissection—a crime punishable by death.

"The Hanged Man" was written and directed by David S. Goyer, whose previous work on Batman Begins and The Dark Knight is evident in how he approaches Leonardo. Goyer gives Da Vinci a tortured past, a relentless drive, and a shadowy mentor, framing him as an archetype of the ultimate Renaissance Man fighting against the oppressive dogmatism of the Catholic Church. The episode beautifully balances:

In the pantheon of “prestige” historical dramas, few have arrived with as much swaggering, anarchic energy as the 2013 Starz original Da Vinci’s Demons . Created by David S. Goyer (the architect behind The Dark Knight trilogy’s story), the series makes a bold promise in its first frame: this is not your high school art history class. The pilot, titled “The Hanged Man,” isn’t an introduction—it’s a manifesto. It deliberately smashes the icon of the serene, elderly Renaissance master and replaces him with a young, bisexual, sword-fighting, genius rock star.

Critics have described the pilot as a "peculiar hybrid" of Sherlock , Game of Thrones , and The Da Vinci Code . While it takes historical liberties—such as Leo's intense heterosexual focus—the episode excels at creating a lush, atmospheric version of the Renaissance filled with political sculduggery and technical wonder . The series premiere of Da Vinci's Demons The

In the current landscape of prestige TV, Da Vinci’s Demons is often overlooked. It’s not as gritty as Game of Thrones or as clever as The Great . But its pilot episode remains a masterclass in efficient world-building. Within 55 minutes, we understand:

Critics nitpicked this episode when it aired. Yes, Leonardo was 25 in 1477, but he was not a swashbuckling action hero. He was vegetarian, gentle, and struggled to finish commissions. The real da Vinci did not design a bronze ball for the Duomo—that was Filippo Brunelleschi decades earlier.

Leonardo tests a flying glider and demonstrates a model-scale Columbina (mechanical dove) for the Medicis.