The Decameron on Netflix is a dark comedy series set in 1348 that follows 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.
Here is everything that happened in episode 5...
The fifth episode picks up right where the fourth left off, with the gang of guests having been turfed out of Villa Santa by Ruggiero and his brutish band of badly behaved men.
As everyone starts arguing amongst themselves about where they are going to sleep, Panfilo isn't happy about leaving Neifile in the house with all the men and whores and climbs the wall to attempt to rescue her. But when he gets to the window and is about to climb through, he sees her having sex with Ruggiero and realizes that this is something he can't give his wife himself and leaves her to it.
The gang bed down for the night in the stables, much to Pampinea's horror, and everyone brings Tindaro up to speed after he missed the drama from the parlor because he was having sex with Stratilia in the kitchen. He is stunned to hear about Filomena and Licisca swapping roles and that they have been cast out of the villa.
While the rest of them try and get some sleep in the stables, we see Filomena and Licisca arguing as they wander in the dark, trying to find somewhere to sleep. Filomena is terrified, having had a horrible time trying to get to the villa after Licisca left her for dead and the pair end up sleeping in a cave.
The next morning Neifile wakes up next to Ruggiero and is all happy about the night she spent with him... that is until she leaves the bedroom and finds everyone else in the villa is dead. All of Ruggiero's men and the whores have succumbed to the plague and soon the rest of the guests come into the house having heard Neifile's screams and are stunned by the horror before them.
The gang ties Ruggiero, who is still asleep, up in his bedroom becasue he is the heir to the villa and they need to keep him under their guard they want to stay put in the house. But as they are putting ropes around his wrists, they see Dioneo in the corner of the room and he is also dead.
Secretly sad about his doctor and friend being dead (despite the fact Dioneo tried to poison him) Tindaro goes to the kitchen and demands Stratilia go to his bedroom immediately to 'clean'. She knows exactly what he is referring to and tells him no - it was a one-time-only thing that won't be happening again. Neifile is also in the kitchen and watches their exchange with interest, but she is soon distracted when Panfilo comes to find her and tells her that they need to get Ruggiero on side if they want to make Villa Santa theirs.
Sirisco is burying the dead in a mass grave in the garden when Tindaro turns up and tells him that Dioneo needs his own grave, to which Sirisco suggests maybe he would like to dig the hole himself. Tindaro returns to his room shattered afterwards (clearly never having done a day's work in his life!) and it isn't long before Stratilia comes to his room and they sleep together again.
News gets around the villa that Ruggiero is awake, and soon Neifile and Panfilo are on a mission to talk to him and convince him to let them have the house. But Pampinea gets in there first and proposes to Ruggiero, telling him they could get married, share the villa but not have to talk to one another, and that she has a hefty dowry to sweeten the deal. He isn't interested, however, and delivers some harsh home truths about her behavior before turning her away.
As Pampinea leaves, more upset about the personal attack than the fact she has failed to get her hands on the villa, it is Neifile and Panfilo's turn to win Ruggiero over. As they start talking, Ruggiero asks Panfilo if it bothers him that he had sex with Neifile last night, and he admits it bothers him very much, but that he was pleased to see Neifile happy for once and they lay out their true feelings, with Panfilo finally admitting to his wife that he is gay and that he sees her as his best friend rather than a lover.
Ruggiero seems strangely won over by their honesty and happily hands over the villa, quickly agreeing to their plan. The pair are shocked by how easy it was and share a happy hug in their bedroom. But, as they are hugging, we see Neifile has marks on her neck, meaning staying in the villa the night before has left her to catch the plague.
As Pampinea cries in her room that she has no one, she asks Misia if she loves her and she tells her she does. Pampinea apologizes for the fact they never properly mourned Misia's girlfriend who also died from the plague and they give her a proper send-off... but it is clear Pampinea wants something in return and asks Misia to do a job for her...
Meanwhile, Filomena and Licisca are starving and wandering around aimlessly in the woods when they come across a little hut. The woman is welcoming and invites them in for food, which they are thrilled to accept... until they go inside and see all of the woman's family sitting around the table - and each and every one of them is dead.
The pair run out of the house screaming and continue to argue as they fail to find any food, water, or shelter. As they talk, they reminisce about when they were younger and got along better, and Filomena admits that she is nothing like her late father and that Licisca has always been kind like him.
At the end of the episode, we find out what Pampinea's job is for Misia and it turns out she wants her to kill Ruggiero. Misia really doesn't want to do it, but as she is being asked to by her mistress she doesn't have much choice and goes into his room and stabs him. But as he is dying he tells her he isn't their heir to the villa after all, someone else is.
At the same time, Tindaro is following Stratilia to a hut outside the villa and he sees a young boy who looks suspiciously like the late Leonardo and owner of the villa, through a window. As he starts to put two and two together Stratilia comes up behind him and knocks him out cold.
Who is the boy and is he the rightful heir to Villa Santa?
All episode of The Decameron are available to stream worldwide on Netflix now.
