YMMV / Agrippina

• Magnificent Bastard: Empress Agrippina the Younger is the cunning, manipulative wife of Emperor Claudius. Hearing that Claudius has perished at sea, she schemes to get her son Nero on the throne, teaching him to endear himself to the commons and convincing her lovers Pallas and Narcissus to vote for crowning him. When it turns out Claudius has survived and wants to name his general Otho his heir, Agrippina slanders Otho before flirtatious noblewoman Poppea, pursued by both Otho and Claudius. She persuades Poppea to pay Otho back by blackening his name, and Poppea informs Claudius Otho has betrayed him. Enraged, Claudius denounces Otho and, at Agrippina's prompting, names Nero his heir. Her schemes are almost thwarted when Pallas and Narcissus realize she has played them both and tell Claudius she tried to crown Nero in his absence. But Agrippina turns their accusations around by explaining that she simply wanted to keep the throne safe from other claimants until Claudius's return: didn't Nero step down from it the moment he heard that Claudius survived? Even Pallas and Narcissus are impressed by Agrippina's skill in manipulation, and Agrippina happily sees Claudius confirm her beloved son as the next Emperor of Rome.
• Spiritual Successor: Or prequel, as the case may be, of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppaea which could be seen as picking up where Agrippina left off, with Nero and Poppea continuing their affair behind Otho's back.