ThoughtSpot

Rome Season 1 Episode 2:

The second episode of HBO’s historical drama, Rome, slowed down the pace set in its debut. Nearly all the characters from the first episode made reappearance; including the Legionary duo who gave this drama a nice change in pace as regular Roman citizens compared to the other noblemen characters. It’s also obvious this drama will incorporate branching story lines that gave the audience a broader scope of ensuring conflict between Caesar and Pompey.

The episode immediately picked up from where the first one left off. Mark Anthony, right hand man of Caesar, was made as Senate Tribune which allowed him power within Roman politics. With this new found authority, Mark Anthony attempted to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the possible conflict between Pompey and Caesar. Naturally these terms were so outrageously favoring Caesar; Pompey refused which caused Caesar to march on Rome. Meanwhile, Mark Anthony attempted to re-propose Caesar’s offer to the senate only to be confronted by a mob of Pompey’s supporters. However a few untimely acts ultimately spell the end of the Roman Republic. Legionnaire Titus Pullo who was gambling earlier in the episode gained a few enemies after he started a brawl. As fate would have it, one of those enemies was now in the Pompeian mob that waited to greet Caesar’s supporters. As the two locked eyes, Pullo stabs and kills his enemy but also triggers a fight between Caesar and Pompey’s men since to onlookers; it looked like a Pompeian man was trying to stab Mark Anthony rather than Pullo. The civil war is official as everyone believed Pompey attempted to assassinate Mark Anthony and Caesar’s 13^th legion was recalled into action.

Caesar's rally of the 13th Legion

Ciarán Hinds continued his strong portrayal of Julius Caesar. Whether intentional or not, Hinds seemed tired and mentally drained in the drama. I believed that this brought a human quality to Caesar as it showed signs of vulnerability instead of that stone faced general that was his norm. Polly Walker continued her tirade as Atia who always seems to find new ways to puppet the people around her to her whims. This also included welcoming Mark Anthony into her home with a previously unseen type of affection which ultimately led the two to sleep together. In fact her joyful tone and smile as she greeted Mark Anthony seems very fake as I compared her behavior to her debut episode was just unreal. Whether Atia truly cares for him or this was just another one of her underhanded tactics at furthering her goals remains to be seen, however I’m betting it’s the latter. I noticed that Atia’s son, Gaius Octavian portrayed by Max Pirkis, was starting to exhibit some of his mother’s qualities in a scene where he command his saviors to stay for dinner with much of the same venom in his voice that has also been seen in Atia. This could be a possible foreshadowing of the type of character Octavian will become.

Polly Walker as the manipulative Atia of the Juili.

I was very pleased to see the return of the Legionnaire duo, Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus. As I hoped for in the previous episode, both these men play a larger role this time around and Pullo seems to take the role of a little brother to Vorenus. Actor Ray Stevenson did a very believable job in portraying a seemingly happy go lucky Pullo as he constantly talked about wine and women with glee, while annoying the disciplined Vorenus at the same time. I also got the feeling that Stevenson’s personality was not much different than the one of Pullo’s, albeit less exaggerated. The other half of the duo, Vorenus, was shown to have a contrasting lifestyle compared to his counterpart. Unlike Pullo who partied and indulged, Vorenus was much more conservative with his wife and children whom he hardly knew due to his eight year service in the Legions. One particular scene was when Vorenus just returned home and seemed to inadvertently order his wife around. Although this might be typical of the time for the man to have control over the women, McKidd did an excellent job in acting in the manner of a hardened military veteran, quick and to the point. As a viewer, I really got the sense that Vorenus was changed by his time in the military and wasn’t the same man that married his wife. I enjoy this current cold personality of Vorenus since it’s a lot more believable instead of the cliché war hero returning home to open arms and life returning to normal as if nothing happened. In addition this leaved room for further character development from Vorenus, which I look forward to seeing.

Legionaire duo, Pullo and Vorenus returns in the 2nd episode

Another character named Mark Anthony, portrayed by James Purefoy, got a larger role in this episode as Caesar’s smooth talking right hand man. I didn’t even realize the importance of his character since he was only briefly seen in the debut among the large cast. Moreover he retained a clearly important role as he attempted to negotiate a treaty with Pompey to prevent conflict. During that scene, Purefoy’s Anthony reminded me of Pierce Brosnan’s or Sean Connery’s roles as James Bond. Both men, Anthony and Bond, sweet talked their oppositions with much confident. Purefoy did include the occasional sly smile when he angered his opponents, adding a slightly evil touch to the character Mark Anthony. Anthony himself was very manipulative and driven on furthering the goals of Caesar and himself. Also it was important to note that he has a sexual relationship with Atia, who was already shown to be a manipulative person after just one episode. It remains to be seen whether this would create any conflicts in the future and to see who would gain the upper hand in this situation since both seem to stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Lastly a few minor characters are introduced, namely Vorenus’s wife who sported a nervous complexion whenever she was around her husband. The only time when she looked normal was during her talk with Pullo. As they have a heart to heart conversation about Vorenus, something in the back of my head was saying “She’s going to cheat!” but at the same time, Pullo’s demeanor made him seem like an honorable man despite sleeping with whores and gambling. Other characters that saw a little more screen time were the Senators that were siding with Pompey. One man in particular, Cato portrayed by Paul Jesson, I found to be extremely agitating. Aside from Atia, Cato would be the next on my list of who I want to see killed off by season’s end. With a cocked eye and snarling tone as he continued to pester Pompey in their scenes together, he reminded me of fly that just circles their victims and continuously buzzes till a migraine develops.

The setting for this episode was expectantly more or less the same as the first’s, this isn’t Back to the Future after all. Although I did get to see more of the plebian way of life since it followed Vorenus to his home which was located in a crowded market. As I said in my last post, I felt that Vorenus and Pullo represented the “Average Joes” in this series and it was explored during this episode. Vorenus home is a simple wooden apartment with his family, completely absent is the slaves or luxurious interiors that surround the home of a noblewomen like Atia.

Rome continued with a steady pace with its second episode. I would eagerly be watching the next episode as soon as I conclude this blog. Not many cons can be said this time around as the characters continued to develop and all their respective actors continued with a strong performance. If there is anything lacking in this episode, it is the “Wow’ factor that I got in the first. But as I said, this is still a provoking episode. And before I ramble too much, on to the third episode!

Pros

+Both Pullo and Vorenus characters are explored

+Continued character development

Cons

-Slightly slower pace

Episode 2: 3/5