The Young Pope: Voiello is the Character to Watch
Cardinal Voiello has a lot more going on than what meets the eye
We’re about to breeze past The Young Pope’s halfway point, and so it’s time to show appreciation for arguably the show’s best and most nuanced character, Cardinal Voiello. We’re not sure what the second half of the season is going to bring, but there is at least some cause to be concerned for Voiello’s life. Sure, Lenny is the star of the show, but even though he can be difficult to read and his murky motives, Voiello is a more fleshed out and complicated character.
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To call either Lenny or Voiello a villain would be too simplistic. Voiello is, much like Lenny, in love with power and full of himself. It’s a nice little detail that he has copies of his book to when out in episode 4. Unlike, Lenny, Voiello prefers to play a more subtle game. He has admitted that he has succeeded for so long because of what basically amounts to blackmail; It turns out that gathering dirt on other Cardinals and Priests isn’t a difficult thing to do in the Vatican. He’s also scared of Lenny – of what he might end up doing to the Church.
Watch an excellent clip of Voiello in action:
Voiello’s shadow games and his thirst for power don’t necessarily condemn him as a bad man. He takes care of a disabled child in his free time, though we don’t know his relationship to him. Voiello is a man who likes things to flow in a certain way, and Lenny is not offering that stability. Voiello’s hidden battle with Lenny has become the best highlight of the first season so far.
Next: See new photos of episodes 5 and 6 of The Young Pope.
Originally, Voiello had something of a slimy quality to him. But as the show has gone on, it has become apparent that there is much more going on there. On the other side, Lenny hasn’t changed since we first met him. While both characters are great fun to watch, it is ultimately Voiello who carries the show forward.
Are you as big of a fan of Cardinal Voiello as we are?