Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for The Decameron.
Summary
Netflix’sThe Decameronhad a surprisingly high death count, with disease and violence taking out multiple characters across the 8 episodes. Not eventhe main characters inThe Decameronwere spared, as multiple of them were killed off. It wasn’t shocking that not every character survived, as the series takes place during the Black Death, but the episodes took a violent turn that led to even more deaths.
The medieval showwas a black sex comedy, with plenty of tragedy befalling each character. They all suffered so many losses that there was even a touching scene inThe Decameronseason 1, episode 7where the characters shared the names of those close to them who’d passed.The Decameronhad a surprising ending, with only a handful of the characters making it to the show’s final moments.
Murder
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1Leonardo
Pestilence
One of the most important characters inThe Decamerondied before the series even began. Leonardo was the owner of Villa Santa, where the characters gathered to escape the Black Death, which they called the pestilence. Unbeknownst to him, the man they were coming to see had already died of the disease.
It is unclear when Leonardo died, but Sirisco went to great lengths to hide it from the villa’s guests.Sirisco revealed Leonardo was dead inThe Decameronepisode4, which created a new conflict halfway through the series. The characters fought over the claim to Villa Santa, creating great tension and drama.
2Eduardo
The main characters were invited to Villa Santa because Leonardo wanted the most prominent families of Firenze to escape the pestilence. Leonardo invited his cousin Eduardo and his family to the villa, but only he and his daughter, Filomena, were still alive. Eduardo was quickly dying from the disease, and Filomena saw the invitation as a chance for freedom.
Filomena told Licisca that Eduardo had died and convinced her that they should go to Villa Santa. One ofthe biggest plot twists inThe Decameronwas that Licisca and Filomena were actually half-sisters. Filomena also revealed she lied about Eduardo being dead, and while they agreed to check and make sure in the finale, his being alive is highly unlikely.
The Black Death’s highest death toll was in Florence (Firenze), though rural areas were affected as well.
3Parmena
Pampinea and her devoted handmaiden, Misia, went to Santa Villa because Pampinea was meant to marry Leonardo. Of course, this was impossible as he was already dead when they arrived. However, they didn’t come alone. Misia had smuggled her lover, Parmena, into the villa in the hopes that she’d recover from the pestilence and they could stay together.
Sadly, it didn’t take long for Parmena to succumb to the disease. She was dead by the end ofThe Decameronepisode 1, leaving Misia to spend the season trying to grapple with her loss. When Misia went to get rid of Parmena’s body, she discovered Leonardo’s dead body, though she agreed to keep Sirisco’s secret.
4Cardinal Agnolo
Murdered By Licisca
A group of thieves arrived at the villa at the end ofThe Decameronepisode 1, causing a big fight between them and the guests. When Neifile was fighting off an attacker, she recognized him as Cardinal Agnolo. He told her he’d turn to a life of crime because God had abandoned them.
Just after Cardinal Agnolo said they would leave, he revealed he had pestilence. Afraid it would infect them, Licisca repeatedly stabbed him to death as everyone watched in horror. This wasn’t the first time Licisca was overtaken by rage, as she’d pushed Filomena over a bridge on their way to Villa Santa when she tried to steal her bread.
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5The Bard
Accidentally Murdered By Ruggiero’s Crew
InThe Decameronepisode 4, Sirisco and Panfilo, who had learned about Leonardo’s death, hatched a plan to keep Pampinea from inheriting the villa. This involved inviting Ruggiero, one of Leonardo’s rowdy cousins, to Villa Santa. His and his crew’s presence at the villa changed everyone’s dynamics completely and immediately.
The crew was accompanied by a bard they’d kidnapped to sing for them. When two of Ruggiero’s crew members got into a playful sword fight, one accidentally stabbed the bard through his instrument. While the villa’s guests were horrified by what had happened, Ruggiero and his crew simply laughed, finding humor in the accidental murder.
6Ruggiero’s Crew & Prostitutes
Illness
Sirisco’s plan to bring in Leonardo’s head as proof that Ruggiero was the true heir to Villa Santa backfired in a major way. Ruggiero kicked the guests and Sirisco out at the end ofThe Decameronepisode 4 and invited prostitutes inside. Unfortunately, one of the prostitutes was coughing.
It was unclear whether she had the pestilence or some other illness. This ultimately didn’t matter as much as who she spread it to. When the guests got back into Villa Santa inThe Decameronepisode 5, they discovered the dead bodies of the prostitutes and Ruggiero’s crew. The speed at which everyone was infected and died was shocking.
According to theLondon Science Museumwebsite, victims of the bubonic plague typically died between two and seven days after being infected.
7Dioneo
When Ruggiero kicked the guests out of Villa Santa, he allowed some of them to say. He violently exiled Licisca and Filomena for lying and then kicked out all but Dineo and Neifile. Dioneo had lost everyone’s favor when it was revealed that he’d poisoned Tindaro. Instead of shaming him for this, Ruggiero celebrated him, as he found Tindaro annoying.
Tindaro was conflicted when he discovered Dioneo’s dead body. Like Ruggiero’s crew, Dineo was infected with whatever illness the prostitutes were carrying with them when they arrived at the villa. Dioneo’s death inThe Decameronepisode 5 marked the first major character death in the series.
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8Ruggiero
Murdered By Misia
With Ruggiero’s crew dead and the secret about Leonardo out, Pampinea tried to convince him to let her become an heir of Villa Santa. This included a marriage proposal which he swiftly rejected. Pampinea was distraught at the idea of losing the villa after she’d already lost Leonardo and manipulated Misia into helping her.
When Misia brought Ruggiero food, she confessed to him that Pampinea wanted her to kill him. Misia said she didn’t want to and she wanted to leave the villa. She told him she wouldn’t “survive” killing him, suggesting she wasn’t going to. However, when he lunged at her, she stabbed him in self-defense.
9Cardinal Agnolo’s Thieves
Murdered By The Monk’s Knights
While Licisca murdered Cardinal Agnolo, the two thieves who came with him to Villa Santa somehow got away. They reappeared inThe Decameronepisode 6 when they encountered Licisca and Filomena, who were separated from the group when they were exiled. They kidnapped the women, but the monk’s knights arrived and murdered them.
The knights didn’t necessarily save Licisca and Filomena though. Rather, they brought them to be judged by the monks on whether they were godly enough to live. When they learned Licisca killed Cardinal Agnolo, the women were sentenced to death. Fortunately, they managed to escape, but not without Licisca taking an arrow to her leg.
10Neifile
When Ruggiero gave Neifile the choice to stay at the villa or leave with her husband, Panfilo, and the others, she chose to stay. Though she’d vowed to stay celibate, she had sex with Ruggiero. While she survived the night, unlike Dioneo, she had been infected with the pestilence.
Neifile didn’t die instantly, and she and Panfilo spentThe Decameronepisode 6 together, soaking up their final moments together. She wanted to ensure Panfilo could keep the villa when she was gone. Panfilo tried keeping Ruggiero’s murder from Neifile, but she could sense he was lying. As such, she died scared about Panfilo’s future.
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