The Decameron on Netflix is a dark comedy series set in 1348 following a group of misfits trying to wait out the Black Death in the Italian countryside. There, they hope to wait out the deadly pandemic by enjoying a lavish holiday but as social rules wear thin, their wine-fuelled romp descends into a fight for survival.
The third episode opens with Pampinea organizing a celebration of her (fake!) marriage to Leonardo, who we know is dead, but everyone in the villa believes Pampinea tied the knot with the day before.
As the preparations for the party get underway, Filomena and Licisca are talking in Licisca's room and Filomena is shocked to learn that Licisca slept with Dioneo the night before. They agree that behind closed doors they will go back to being their usual selves, but in front of everyone else, they will keep to their swapped roles in a bid to get Tindaro to propose to Licisca and secure them a place at the villa for good.
Over in Tinardo's room, he has woken full of love for Licisca, oblivious to the fact his doctor and close friend, Dioneo, spent the night with her the evening before. Dioneo tries to put him off Licisca, having fallen for her himself.
Meanwhile, Panfilo answers a knock at the villa door and it is a messenger boy, the pair flirt and it is clear that Panfilo likes him. However, he also gets bad news when one of the letters informs him that his family has lost all their money and that he and his wife, Neifile, are now homeless. He goes to tell her what has happened and they agree that their need to secure their future at the villa is greater than ever.
But it seems that Neifile has more pressing things on her mind as her platonic marriage is torturing her and she flirts with Dioneo at the wedding celebrations. Everyone asks Pampinea to tell them about her wedding, but as it never actually happened, she has trouble recalling the finer details of the day!
As the villa guests play games and do challenges, Pampinea makes sure that she wins them all, and when Licisca beats her, she is far from happy. Meanwhile, Neifile tells everyone a story about a maiden who fell down a well and God sent her a handsome rescuer, but they quickly work out she is talking about herself and she is embarrassed.
That night the festivities seem to have got the better of everyone because as Sirisco talks to Pampinea about Leonardo and what sort of man he was the pair end up sleeping together. Meanwhile, Licisca visits Dioneo in his room again, while Panfilo is seen sleeping with the messenger boy in the villa's stables.
One person who is definitely still not happy the following morning is Neifile who calls Dioneo to the stables and undresses in front of him and asks him to sleep with her - for medical reasons, of course - but he politely declines, because he is on a mission to find Licisca.
When he tracks her down he tries to confess his true feelings for her, but Tindaro turns up and woos Licisca with a poem and it seems that she might actually be falling for him after all. Dioneo is clearly jealous and when Tindaro tells him he plans to sleep with Licisca that night, Dioneo poisons his wine so that he is very sick and thinks he has the plague.
Meanwhile, Pampinea is feeling guilty about sleeping with Sirisco so soon after the fictitious wedding that she shouts at him and they argue. He then later talks to Panfilo, who is on the hunt for gossip in his bid to make a claim for the villa, and having been spurned by Pampinea, Sirisco accidentally lets slip that Leonardo is dead that Pampinea has absolutely no claim on the villa whatsoever.
As Tindaro is lying sick in bed, Dioneo goes to Licisca's room and confesses his love for her, asking her to run away with him. He thinks that she is a rich woman, having swapped places with Filomena, and she almost confesses her lie before they fall into one another's arms.
But over with Tindaro, the housemaid Stratilia has heard him being sick and tries to help. She quickly realizes he doesn't have the plague and has been poisoned by his doctor friend. He goes to confront Dioneo but catches him and Licisca in bed together.
Later that evening after dinner, Licisca and Dioneo are happily playing cards with Panfilo and Sirisco when Pampinea comes down and announces to everyone that she is pregnant with Leonardo's baby. Something that a few in the villa know can't be true and she has never met him and he's also dead.
But her news is soon forgotten when Tindaro arrives with a swollen face and vomit all over him to tell the group that Dioneo has been poisoning him and banishes him to the servant's quarters. He then gets down on one knee and proposes to Licisca, who reluctantly accepts, knowing that this is definitely not the man in the villa that she truly wants.
All episode of The Decameron are available to stream worldwide on Netflix now.
