Suburra: Blood On Rome – Season 3 Episode 4 Recap & Review

The Trial

We begin episode 4 of Suburra Season 3 in the past with Cinaglia speaking to the Professor who tells him to choose his battles. This echoes what we’ve seen in the present as Cinaglia finds himself caught in the middle of this growing feud and wrestle for power in Rome.

Back in the present, Cinaglia visits the professor again who likens him to the cactus on his table. Much like this cacti, Cinaglia hasn’t changed in all these years and implores his old student to stop lying to himself.

Meanwhile, Spadino gathers the family together as they seethe with anger over what happened to Leo. Spadino pleads with them to stay unified but it’s not working.

Manfredi of all people sticks up for his brother though but it fractures the family in half between those who believe they need to get revenge and those who want to try and keep this fragile alliance.

Nadia isn’t faring much better after what happened, leading Spadino to head up and confront Aureliano. With the troops rallying around Alex, Spadino tells Aureliano they need to sort this matter out before the pact is gone. It seems the only way to do this is to have Nadia explain herself but Aureliano is loathe to entertain that idea.

Meanwhile, Nascari invites Alice into his sanctuary where the two kids are happy playing. Alice sits with the Cardinal who asks where her husband is. He uses Alice as a pawn in this power struggle and tries to encourage her to do the “Christian thing” and tell the authorities everything she knows.

With the seed planted for now, Nsscari heads off with his son and waits for this flower to blossom.

Manfredi meets Cinaglia at the usual hang-out spot and tells him they need to act now. Things are moving faster than they expected and the duo agree to team up for what’s ahead. It seems Leo’s death is just the catalyst they needed to get the ball rolling.

Angelica senses that Manfredi isn’t on Spadino’s side though but for now he pushes this aside in favour of bigger problems on his plate.

Aureliano arrives at the estate with the intention of explaining himself and Nadia’s actions. Just as things look set to spill over into bloodshed Nadia walks through the door.

She steps forward and tries to apologize but Manfredi makes his move and twists things in his favour, telling the family Aureliano is actually there for a fight. Angelica eventually speaks up and diffuses the situation, admitting that Leo was the one who started the fight and Nadia was defending her man.

With no blood spilled, the attention turns to North Rome instead. Aureliano refuses to give up his grip on what he’s built but does entertain the notion of splitting the profits. On the back of this meeting, the group head home but Aureliano sternly tells Nadia to fall in line next time.

Aureliano meets Badali who refuses to work with him. The man is irrational, according to Badali, who learned what he did at the construction site. Unfortunately he can’t work with someone like that and severs ties.

Alice returns home to Cinaglia and decides to try and fix things up with him. She encourages the politician to drop everything and put his family first. Only, Cinaglia is unable to do this. It’s here he realizes that Alice has been sent on behalf of Nascari and tells her to leave.

As the episode closes out, Nadia and Angelica are attacked in North Rome. Angelica is called a gypsy and gunshots rain down. Their gear is stolen and hostilities are at an all-time high.

The Episode Review

So far this third season has done well to continue blending the politics and drama together, crescendoing nicely into a finale that looks set to ignite these final two episodes into a blood-soaked feud to the bitter end.

The intriguing power dynamic has constantly shifted across the season, keeping things suitably intriguing. Who will come out on top at the end?