The Decameron — Episode 3 “By Homer, It’s a Winner’s Wreath” Recap & Review

Episode 3 Recap

The recap of Episode 3 of The Decameron titled “By Homer, It’s a Winner’s Wreath” starts with Misia making a wreath in memory of Parmena who had already been buried. She wakes Pampinea up and asks her to hold a contest as she is now the Viscountess of Villa Santa. In Licisca’s room, Filomena sees a love bite on Licisca’s neck and calls her out for hooking up with Dioneo while she is courting Tindaro.

She tells Filomena that she is free to do what she wants behind closed doors. Meanwhile, Tindaro tells Dioneo that he is not sick anymore because he is in love with Licisca. Dioneo tries to hide Licisca’s tunic left behind in his bed and advices Tindaro to wait before proposing to Licisca. There is a knock on the door and Panfilo opens the door.

The messenger – Andreoli, shares a scroll with Panfilo and he learns that the bank has seized all of his family’s wealth. Panfilo tells Neifile that they are essentially homeless now and they try to look for ways to maximise their chances of staying in the villa for as long as they can. Panfilo asks Neifile to try and impress Pampinea.

The noble guests – Tindaro, Licisca, Panfilo, and Neifile as well as the merchant guest – Dioneo get together for the contest celebrating Pampinea’s wedding to Leonardo. The servants – Sirisco, Stratilia, Misia and Filomena listen as the nobles participate in awkward contests. Tindaro proposes to Licisca during one of the contests and gifts her an expensive necklace.

The group asks Pampinea to narrate the story of her wedding which she narrates with Misia’s help. The nobles soon realise that all the contests are a farce as Pampinea declares herself as the winner every time. The final contest is trying to get the falcon to pick a gobbet of meat from one’s arm. The flacon ends up flying away instead of grabbing the meat.

Dioneo and Licisca talk when Neifile asks him about how he saved her from the well. Pampinea asks what they are laughing about when Neifile narrates the story of her being saved by Dioneo due to divine intervention. Pampinea calls Neifile the “lusty maiden” from the story. Licisca stands up for Neifile and calls Pampinea out for being too proud.

Pampinea throws a fit and threatens to kick the guests out of the villa and to the pestilence-ridden Florence. To Pampinea’s surprise, the falcon grabs the gobbet from Licisca’s outstretched arm. Pampinea is forced to declare her as the winner of the task. In the kitchen, Misia asks Filomena to apologise for speaking up in front of the nobles.

Filomena tells Misia that she is a noble too and tells her the truth about her arrangement with Licisca. Panfilo goes to the stable and finds the messenger – Andreoli bunking there without anyone’s knowledge. The two end up chatting about their respective lives. In her room, Pampinea sits upset when Sirisco shows up and tries to make her feel better.

Pampinea asks Sirisco to stay with her as she goes through Leonardo’s sketchbook. Sirisco praises Pampinea and she is overcome by emotion when she kisses him. The two end up making out and hooking up. At the same time, Licisca is in Dioneo’s room where the two have sex and Panfilo and Andreoli end up having sex in the stable.

Neifile is in her room praying when she gets horny. She tries to pray to calm herself down but cannot stop masturbating any chance she gets. One night, Sirisco and Pampinea are having sex when some locals try to break down the villa’s gate. Sirisco rushes to stop the attack and saves the villa from being broken into. Pampinea gets upset and scolds Sirisco for trying to protect his master’s house as if he were the owner.

Sirisco is embarrassed by the comment but Pampinea yells at Misia in private as well. Pampinea brings up Parmena which makes Misia sad. In her room, Pamipnea tells Sirisco that he is not the man she loves. She claims that Sirisco is a mere vessel for her to feel Leonardo’s love for her which further embarrasses the steward.

Sirisco leaves the room, telling Pampinea how Leonardo did not care who he was marrying. That night, Neifile tells Panfilo how she is having sinful thoughts. The next morning, she meets Dioneo and undresses herself in front of him. Dioneo tells Neifile that he is not interested in her and tries to make her see that sex is not an evil thing.

He tells her that he is not willing to have sex with her which makes Neifile upset but dresses herself back up. Misia and Filomena are in the kitchen and the two chat, sharing their secrets as they drink some alcohol. At the same time, Dioneo brings a bouquet for Licisca which she throws away when Tindaro interrupts them. Tindaro reads a poem for Licisca and the two start bonding.

This does not sit well with Dioneo and he is shocked when Licisca asks to kiss Tindaro. Tindaro tells Licisca that he will be coming to her chambers that night and she agrees. Dioneo is shocked but Licisca tells him that she was thinking about her future. Tindaro tries to prepare for the night but Dioneo laces his drink with something to make him sick.

Meanwhile, Panfilo talks to Sirisco and learns about his grievances with Pampinea. Sirisco ends up revealing that Leonardo is dead and that Pampinea is not even married to Leonardo. He asks Panfilo to fight her and claim the house. Panfilo suggests that Sirisco should look for someone with a much better claim over the house and the latter gets an idea.

That night, Dioneo shows up in Licisca’s room instead of Tindaro. He proposes to Licisca and asks her to run away with him. With a heavy heart, Licisca refuses Dioneo’s feelings but makes love to him one last time. Stratilia goes to Tindaro’s chambers and finds him crying in pain. She finds the glass in which Dioneo had made a potion for him.

Stratilia tells Tindaro that the affliction he suffered was manmade and gives him a cure for it. She nurses Tindaro till he feels better. Tindaro leaves to go to Dioneo’s room and finds him making love to Licisca. He is betrayed and shattered. Meanwhile, Neifile prays to God trying to overcome the temptation of sin while Pampinea looks at a photo of Leonardo in her chambers as she holds her pregnant belly.

At dinner, Pampinea tells the guests that she is pregnant with Leonardo’s child. However, Tindaro shows up and announces that Dioneo is trying to kill him. He asks Dioneo to be punished for trying to kill him. Pampinea tries to bring the attention on herself but Tindaro looks at Licisca and tells her that he was willing to forgive Dioneo because he loves her.

Tindaro asks Licisca (Filomena) to marry him and the episode ends with Licisca accepting the proposal with a heavy heart. Now that we are done with the recap of Episode 3 of The Decameron, let’s head on to the review.


The Episode Review

The Decameron is trying to paint Pampinea like an evil ruler but I don’t see her as that. Out of all the things she could be, Pampinea is just a narcissistic person who wants to be the centre of attention at all times. Nothing she is doing to the guests at Santa Villa warrants such a reaction and Sirisco is just being petty because Pampinea rejected him. 

Meanwhile, as big a drama queen as Tindaro is, I felt bad for him in this episode. Stratilia is an angel for saving his life but after being betrayed by Licisca, I wonder if he will continue to have ill feelings towards women all over again. I can see a romance brewing between Stratilia and Tindaro as Dioneo and Licisca are destined to be together. 

Panfillo and Neifile are a confusing couple but we can see how Panfilo only has good intentions in his heart for his wife. I sense Neifile losing her faith in God when she learns that Panfilo had asked Dioneo to save her from the well. Will she finally give into her sexual urges? We will only see what Sirisco has in mind to change things up for Pampinea as the episodes progress.

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Expect a full-season review of The Decameron later this weekend!

  • Episode Rating
    (3)
3

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