Netlfix’s The Decameron featured multiple plot twists and surprising reveals, including Dioneo’s attempt to poison and kill his client, Tindaro. The Decameron characters consisted of wealthy nobles and their servants, who escaped the plague-ridden Firenze in 1348 in hopes of finding peace and safety in a beautiful countryside villa. This included Tindaro and his doctor, Dioneo, whom he also considered his only friend. However, The Decameron revealed that their relationship as doctor and patient was far more complicated than it appeared.

The Decameron featured multiple character deaths, and Tindaro almost fell victim to poisoning thanks to Dioneo. This was a turning point for his character and the dynamics between the characters. The Decameron was inspired by the 14th century Italian short-story collection of the same name by Giovanni Boccaccio and featured themes about class differences. This is evidenced by The Decameron’s ending and the servants’ roles in the series. Though Dioneo wasn’t a servant, the villa was divided into the nobles and those who worked for them.

Dioneo Poisons Tindaro Because He’s Jealous Of Him

Dioneo Was In Love With Licisca In The Decameron

Dioneo was characterized as an attractive ladies’ man in The Decameron, and he’d had affairs with multiple women. On the other hand, Tindaro was a misogynist who would likely be characterized as an incel if he lived in the 21st century rather than the 14th. Dioneo slept with many women, but wasn’t committed to any of them. However, things change when he meets Licisca, who he believes is the noblewoman Filomena. While she only saw Dioneo as a lover, Dioneo fell in love with Licisca in The Decameron.  

Dioneo became jealous at the idea of Tindaro being with Licisca as he had.

While Licisca may have had feelings for him, she had a goal for her and the actual Filomena that included blending in with the nobles. This meant marrying a fellow noble, not someone of the lower working class who the nobles employed. When Tindaro plans to have sex with Licisca for the first time in The Decameron episode 3, Dioneo feels threatened. Dioneo became jealous at the idea of Tindaro being with Licisca as he had. Thus, he tricks Tindaro into drinking a deadly poison, giving him the chance to be Licisca’s only lover.

How Dioneo Slowly Poisons Tindaro Throughout The Decameron

Dioneo Needed Tindaro To Rely On Him As His Doctor

Dioneo’s plan to poison Tindaro in The Decameron episode 3 was unsuccessful, and he was exposed for attempted murder. This was accompanied by the reveal that it wasn’t the first time Dioneo had poisoned Tindaro. Tindaro had been painted as somewhat of a hypochondriac in The Decameron, as he was always ill or fearing he’d become ill. This is why he brought Dioneo with him to the villa in the first place, to protect him from the Black Death and take care of the other ailments he always seemed to be suffering from.

Yet, Tindaro wasn’t naturally a sickly person in The Decameron. Rather, Dioneo had been making him sick with his concoctions to ensure Tindaro would need him. Dioneo wasn’t a true doctor but a scammer who was taking advantage of Tindaro. In this time, everyone greatly feared the pestilence, and Dioneo took advantage of this. Dioneo taking advantage of this fear is likely why he was killed off in The Decameron while other servants became the story’s sole survivors. Ironically, Dioneo died of the plague.

Dioneo Poisons Tindaro Because He’s Jealous Of Him

Dioneo Was In Love With Licisca In The Decameron

Dioneo was characterized as an attractive ladies’ man in The Decameron, and he’d had affairs with multiple women. On the other hand, Tindaro was a misogynist who would likely be characterized as an incel if he lived in the 21st century rather than the 14th. Dioneo slept with many women, but wasn’t committed to any of them. However, things change when he meets Licisca, who he believes is the noblewoman Filomena. While she only saw Dioneo as a lover, Dioneo fell in love with Licisca in The Decameron.