Marco Polo (TV series)

Much of the second season premiere is about getting reoriented in this world, establishing who these characters are and where they stand. After flashing back to a young Kublai Khan taking lessons from his grandfather, we see Kublai at home in his role, attending to trade issues while also preparing for his son’s wedding. Jingim is set to marry the Blue Princess, the former love interest of Marco Polo, securing more heirs to the throne.

It isn’t long before the day of celebrations is spoiled though. Khan’s bastard child Byamba shows up with a message from Kaidu, Kublai’s cousin. Kaidu is still angry about not being handed the lead during the sack of Xiangyang, and he’s prepared a form of retaliation. He’s going to challenge the Kublai’s rule as Khan in an attempt to secure the position for himself. Kublai, of course, does not accept such a ridiculous claim, but that’s not the news Byamba brings back to Kaidu. There’s a confrontation on the horizon this season, and it’s taking place within filial boundaries.

Marco Polo and Mei Lin are traveling through the jungle with the boy emperor in their care. They’re delivering the boy to Kublai, as Marco has been instructed, but their travel isn’t so easy. The boy’s protector, who’s known only as The Handmaiden, is still chasing after them, somehow able to keep up with them despite traveling on foot.

Meanwhile, Kaidu is doing everything he can to secure support in his claim to Kublai’s throne. While on the one hand it’s not a difficult sell because many believe Kublai stole the election long ago, there are also those who see going against Kublai as a dangerous act. Back in the new capital of Cambulac, Kublai is taking advice from his wife. She says that he needs to accept the challenge to his throne because Kaidu is operating within the law and any other approach would suggest weakness or deceit.

Then, Marco and Mei Lin return with the boy emperor. The return sparks all kinds of intriguing relationships and power struggles. There’s Kublai asserting his power over Mei Lin, even as Marco asks for leniency. There’s Marco being “introduced” to the Blue Princess by Jingim, and the appropriate awkwardness that follows from the former secret romantic partners. Then there’s the issue of what to do with the boy emperor. While Jingim and Marco suggest letting the boy fade from the public’s memory by stashing him in a safe place, Ahmad suggests killing him and parading his head through the streets to send a message. Of course, this is the same man who’s working with Mei Lin to overthrow Kublai, even telling her that she could see her daughter in exchange for bringing the boy emperor to the capital.

The Blue Princess has a miscarriage, but Jingim is forgiving and understanding. Kaidu has his meeting with Nayan, who’s preaching Christianity to the Mongolian masses, but they can’t come to an agreement for him to back Kaidu’s claim to the throne. And of course there’s Marco telling Kublai of the many people in south China killing themselves, as they see the Mongolian presence not as liberation but as occupation.

As the boy emperor hangs from the capital, and the Handmaiden takes the sight in, Kublai awakes from another nightmare, his wife still lambasting him for his decision to kill a child. Marco isn’t too happy with him either, and with both in crisis, Kublai takes his Venetian friend on a hike in order to decide what to do about Kaidu’s claim to the throne.

Meanwhile, the Blue Princess is having one hell of a time. Not only does the Handmaiden confront her (though they both agree they have a common enemy), there’s also the pressure to produce an heir before Kaidu’s claim comes to pass. That pressure leads to a truly sadistic moment from the Empress. During the night, she holds the Blue Princess down and forces a stable boy to have sex with her since Jingim has yet to impregnate her. “The baby will have no royal blood,” she says, with pure menace.

While this is happening Jingim goes to Karakorum to help persuade people to side with his father. That means taking down a huge dude in a wrestling match and earning some respect, though that doesn’t stop Kaidu’s two children from attacking them on their way home. Furthermore, Kaidu makes a bold decision and insists that his daughter Khutulun, rather than his son, will be the next heir.

Nayan is in Northern Israel, along with Marco’s father, to talk about Kublai. The discussion is rather simple. The Pope sees Kublai’s rule as a threat, especially since he’s so accepting of many religions, and vows to confront his forces should they move West. Nayan is less enthused about this idea, but when he proves his religious value to the Pope and the two agree to work together, he’s swayed, washing away his sins and preparing for battle.

Meanwhile, the hunt is on for Jingim and Ahmad. Kaidu is pissed at his son because of his actions, which have brought Kublai to his doorstep. Together they all go out to search for the Khan’s missing sons. Along the way, Kaidu and Kublai connect with memories of their childhood but also remain divided on the prospects of the Mongol empire. Things get particularly heated when the insults start flying and Kaidu pulls his sword on Kublai. Ultimately, nothing comes of the moment, as Jingim and Ahmad are found, but certainly the challenge to the throne will not go so smoothly.

Five rebels execute five different attacks and kill 300 Mongolians, as Ahmad informs the Khan. Kublai states that while he’ll still travel to Xanadu to challenge Kaidu, he gives Ahmad control of his forces to strike back.

Meanwhile, Khutulun makes it clear to Kaidu that she’s not happy about being the heir because it would mean sacrificing her own goals, and Byamba, who she’s now separated from, is demoted to a foot soldier by Ahmad, who’s still working on his own plans to dethrone Kublai.

Ahmad gains even more control when a guard tells him about the Empress leading a stableboy into Princess Kokachin’s chambers. That whole situation is about to get even more complicated because the real Princess Kokachin shows up, apparently not dead like we all believed, and wants her life back. At the same time, Marco continues to grow suspicious of Ahmad, especially as he decides to send nearly 60,000 troops to battle the uprising and only 7,000 with Kublai to Xanadu.

“Lullaby” also spends a bit of time filling in Ahmad’s backstory. He was once simply a tax collector for the Khan, wanting to travel and learn about the people in Kublai’s empire. Before long though he becomes jaded; a prostitute he shares a bed with, and ends up killing when she hums the same song his mother did when he was a child, signals his turn as he returns to Kublai and takes a position as his finance minister and begins to take control of his future.

First, as the episode opens, we see Kaidu and his mother secretly finding their way to Cambulac. They arrive in the middle of the night shrouded in hoods. The purpose of their meeting in the capital is to discuss the overthrow of the Khan with Ahmad. The Khan’s Vice Regent has made it clear that he wants Kublai gone, and he sees Kaidu as his own tool. Along with Kaidu he invites Nayan for the meeting, securing both in opposition to Kublai, the offer of Mei Lin’s daughter to the sinful Nayan helping to sway him.

Meanwhile, Kublai is in Xanadu petitioning for votes, bringing a vision of empirical expansion, complete with cool fireworks, to the people there. There are harbingers of death all around though. Horses that were gifted to Kublai are attacked, found with their eyes carved out. Marco and Jingim believe it’s the work of Kaidu, but Kublai doesn’t seem worried. Eventually, after a night of passion with an exotic dancer who’s traveled the world, the Blue Princess visits Marco and the mystery of the horses seems solved.

You see, the fake Blue Princess believes it was the real Blue Princess who attacked the horses, sending a message to Kublai and, more importantly the impostor Blue Princess, that she wanted her life back. When she goes to Marco with this theory though it’s revealed that she has blood all over her hands. The real Blue Princess seems to be a figment of her imagination, perhaps brought on by her guilt over her child and the dead stableboy.

We see that Hundred Eyes and the Handmaiden, who he refers to as Lotus, were once friends and lovers, until the Mongolians attacked them, Hundred Eyes believing he watched Lotus die at the hands of an archer. That bit of backstory makes their reunion here that much sweeter, and their separation at the end of the episode all the more heartbreaking.

The second attack is undertaken by Khutulun and Orus on the order of Kaidu. He’s conducting murderous raids under the banner of Kublai, having his children and warriors wear masks to conceal their identities. Essentially he’s framing Kublai in the hopes of drumming up support for his ascension to the throne.

Meanwhile, the Blue Princess is truly losing it, and her visions threaten to reveal the true nature of the baby. Jingim is upset by his wife’s condition, but, after Kublai finds out about Kaidu’s attacks under his own banner, he’s ordered to ride East to engage in their own attacks. That’s all part of Ahmad’s grand scheme though: send Jingim East to die while Nayan and Kaidu amass troops in the West.

There’s a twist that Ahmad doesn’t expect though: Mei Lin turns on him after he fails to deliver on his promise for her to see her daughter. That sends her to Marco, who gives her time with her daughter, and in return she tells him everything. Marco goes to the Khan and asks for his permission to head West even though he can’t reveal why. He’s asking for trust and Kublai gives it.

First, Ahmad lies to Kublai about Jingim’s attacks in the East — remember, Marco and Jingim actually headed West — and when Mei Lin goes missing, Kublai questions his Vice Regent’s connection to her.

At the same time, Niccolò goes missing from Nayan’s camp near the Twin Rivers, captured by Marco and Byamba. They spend the entirety of “Whitehorse” hiding in the woods, Marco questioning his father about where they will attack the Khan, and his father returning fire by essentially calling him a traitor to his Christian people. For a while it looks like Marco has no choice but to kill his father, but a last-minute attack leaves the elder Polo’s fate hanging in the balance.

As for Mei Lin, she’s escaped her entrapment with Ahmad, daughter in tow, and when Mongols attack her on the road, Lotus comes to her aid. That forces Mei Lin to accept that the Mongols will keep coming after her and her daughter until she ends this feud, so she leaves her daughter in the care of Lotus, the same woman who couldn’t protect the boy emperor.

The opening credits of Marco Polo don’t come until 20 minutes into “Heirs” because the show is too busy pulling off quite the battle scene. The episode opens with Kublai showing up at Nayan and Kaidu’s camp in the dead of night. He has quite the plan in store: He lights all of his white horses on fire and sends them running into the camp, where they light the tents ablaze and ignite the black powder, causing huge explosions.

That fiery backdrop is also the stage for a number of individual moments. Kaidu is sent to safety by Niccolò so as to keep the hope of dethroning the Khan alive. Byamba and Marco fight side by side. Hundred Eyes comes face to face with a huge man covered in chain mail, but destroys him with a quick jab to the neck. Then, there are the big moments. Khutulun saves Byamba, showing that her love trumps her allegiance to her father. Jingim bashes Orus’ skull in, which Khutulun witnesses. Then Marco lets his father escape as Kublai watches from a distance.

There’s a lot of sitting around, as Kublai and Kaidu await the outcome of the Kurultai, and Ahmad sits on the Khan’s throne in Cambulac, hoping that his plan unfolds in a timely fashion. Essentially, the episode is a lot of setup for a few moments that change the course of the show, and set up a number of stories for the third season.

There’s basically two stories that make up “The Fellowship.” First there’s Kaidu and Kublai giving speeches and hoping to be selected as the Khan of Khans. It looks as if the vote is all but settled, with the people siding with Kublai and protesting Kaidu’s aggressive tactics. Of course, the Kurultai doesn’t go down without a hitch. Ahmad, backed into a corner by the presence of Jingim, Byamba, and Hundred Eyes, sends word to Kaidu revealing the truth about Jingim’s son and Kublai’s heir.

Kaidu uses that knowledge to blackmail the Khan and the Empress, but they’re more determined than Kaidu gives them credit for. First, the Empress helps the Blue Princess drown herself, and Kublai attempts to poison Kaidu, hoping to stop the potential leak of the information. Kaidu gets the upper hand though and is moments away from killing Kublai when Marco saves him, coming back from his banishment to inform the Khan about an approaching Christian army, killing Kaidu and proving his loyalty to Kublai in the process.

Back at Cambulac, Jingim, Hundred Eyes, and Byamba expertly pull off a raid that sees them take back control of the capital as Ahmad runs and hides. Unfortunately for him, Mei Lin is waiting for him in his room. She kills him and, in return, Jingim allows her to leave the capital freely, with Hundred Eyes offering to escort her back to her daughter.