The second episode opens with a reference to Machiavelli's theory of fear: "It is always safer to be feared than to be loved". That quote became the motto of the episode.
Michael Laugesen, chairman of the Labour Party (the biggest ally of the moderate party of the protagonist Birgitte Nyborg's party), has wooed the other two parties of the opposition coalition, the Green Party and the Solidarity Alliance, through political deals. the protagonist's prime minister status.
However, Troels Höxenhaven, the Labour Party vice-chairman, who learned that Laugesen intended to be prime minister, secretly wanted to make a deal with the protagonist, forcing him to step down by leaking Laugesen's indecent political dealing emails. There is a shot of Höxenhaven and Laugesen in the church just before betraying him.
This is simply the greatest irony of Machiavelli's statement.
Later, the protagonist's deputy pointed it out. Höxenhaven feared that he would be betrayed like the ancestors of the Höxenhaven family, so he took the initiative and stabbed Laugesen with a knife.
How important the theme of betrayal is in Western art, I won't go into details here. The protagonist's deputy is likened to the assassination of Caesar.
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