Rome Season II (1 Viewer)

[Yee-Ming]

Hmmmm. After the rush that was the first episode, this one seemed to drag. For some reason or other the blow-up at the end, whilst exciting, didn't seem to make much sense. We know Anthony is somewhat miffed with Octavian, and indeed in this dramatization even seems to want to rip him off (by embezzling his inheritance), but to overtly strike Octavian and thereafter fall out with him? Anthony didn't inherit Caesar's name and knows it, and knows he needs it, though I suppose Octavian expressly saying that he expected Anthony to quietly retire shortly thereafter and that Octavian would be assuming leadership of the Caesarian faction might have pushed Anthony over the edge.

Another ahistoric point that I observed: the name "Gaius Octavian Caesar". What's wrong with the correct historic "Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus"? The town crier could have added "lawfully adopted son and heir of our late beloved Dictator Gaius Julius Caesar", just in case the writers felt a little exposition was needed for anyone who might not have made the connection.

Also, it occurs to me: what is the status of Vorenus and Pullo vis-a-vis the military? Vorenus signed up again, and indeed entered Evocati and was promoted to Prefect, though I guess that may have changed with his election to the Senate; Pullo may have been discharged, although that has never been made clear. Yet Anthony purported to command Vorenus on the basis of command structure of the Thirteenth Legion, suggesting that Vorenus still has some connection to the military.

Ironic that Vorenus, of all people, now is sort-of the local mafia boss. I noticed that he never invoked the fact, in his speech to the captains, that he was a senator, though I guess it probably wouldn't have meant much to them anyway; historically senators were not supposed to "dirty their hands" with commerce, and were only allowed to be land-owners.

 

[Jeff_CusBlues]

Did anyone see Episode 3? They have sure picked up the pace for the last season. Literal and figurative buggering seemed to be a theme in this episode.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

With the odd castration thrown in for variety.

Joe

 

[JediFonger]

i luv how the fight between the 2 good friends ends up with both of them falling towards the crowd. . i think pollo killed someone by falling onto them didn't they drag a body away?

 

[JonZ]

Im enjoying this season much more than the first. Another very good episode last night.

We got to see the new guy playing Octavius. How time has passed since Caesar was killed?

 

[JPCinema]

The certainly was a "homage" to THE SEARCHERS in last night episode.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Thing is, this new guy as Octavian, doesn't look a whole lot older than I'm sure they could have made Max Perkis look.

 

[Mark Maltais]

I think the new guy as Octavian will work out. He's got this really aristocratic feel to him. Max Perkis was fine but I don't think he could pull of the older look. The only glaring thing is that Octavian sister looks the same and so does Pullo and Verenus but hey, it's only TV. This episode was one of the best in the entire series and I still can't believe they are pulling the plug on this show. :frowning:

 

[todd s]

The best part. Was after Vorenus finds his older daughter about to have sex with the john. Cue music...We see the slave trader fall dead to the ground. The return of the kickass duo of Pullo and Vorenus.

Also, it is funny to see Pullo the calm logical one and Vorenus the attack first ask questions later one. A nice turn of the roles.

 

[Jeff_CusBlues]

So do you think that Pullo and Vorenus eventually take different sides in the civil war? Pullo told Octavian earlier he would help him, and seems to favor him right now (although isn't he pledged to the 13th), and Vorenus is with Mark Antony. I've been wondering how this will sort out. It was good seeing them together on a mission again and ultimately getting the job done.

 

[Jeff Pounds]

Agreed.

After that scene, I turned to my wife and said, "our boys are back."

I really love what they have done with these two characters throughout the arc of the show. While the "bigger" part of the story may be the Caeser-Brutus-Antony-Octavian/Caeser power struggle, Pullo and Vorenus have been the soul of the show since the beginning.

Good stuff, and I'm really bummed there won't be another season... :frowning:

 

[Yee-Ming]

Pretty intense stuff. I could not believe that Atia had the stones to abduct Servilia and have her tortured. At the same time, with Servilia escaping (more accurately, Timon having a turn of conscience and releasing her) alive, there is going to be hell to pay...

All apocryphal I believe, IIRC both Servilia and Atia died shortly after Caesar did. Makes for interesting drama, though.

The switch in Octavian actors,and the events, seems a little jarring time-wise -- ep 4 is evidently a relatively quick follow-on from ep 3, since Pullo is riding to find Vorenus to give him the news that his children are alive, yet in this time Octavian has already recruited and trained an army capable of defeating Mark Antony. I know, he started a few eps back, but even then it doesn't seem like that much time is supposed to have passed between ep 1 and ep 4, at most a year or two. With Octavian suddenly maturing it does seem odd, but I suppose to be fair Pirkis was just too child-like, despite his maturing between S1 and S2, that a replacement actor to portray the young adult Octvian was probably the better way to go.

It seems to me that of all the characters, Pullo is the one who has matured and grown the most (leaving aside Octavian, who went through puberty and by definition "grew"). Pullo started off as real riff-raff, a bit of a drunkard and layabout (albeit a reasonably good soldier fighting-wise, if not very disciplined). Now in S2, as noted by Todd, Pullo is the smart, crafty and cool one whilst Vorenus, former primipilus centurion (basically the top NCO in the entire legion) and member of Evocati (elite veteran's group), seems to run on emotion only -- to be fair, he's been to hell and lost his family, and this ep he was on a mission to save them, but consider that after ep 1 when he thought his family was dead and gone, when dealing with the fallout after Erastes's death and taking over the Aventine, he was quite emotional and uncontrolled. Perhaps successfully winning Eirene, despite his previous indiscretion in killing her fiance, has mellowed him, now that he has something worthwhile to look forward to (life with Eirene)?

 

[Qui-Gon John]

I still think the producers short-shrifted Max Perkis. I still believe with a bit of makeup magic, he could have easily pulled off being those few years older.

This other actor doesn't look a whole lot older, 5 years maybe.

Also, they did do a poor job of setting the passage of time. It seems like mere months, yet Octavian is now so much older, he doesn't even look the same anymore? Yet everyone else has not seemed to age in the least?

I guess the poison attempt on Atia was closer in time to the events near the end, where Lucius & Titus arrive at the battlefield, than to the fight between Octavian and Antony in Atia's own home.

 

[JediFonger]

must be the food/water where Octavian was mowing down

meanwhile, i luv the end of the ep. it just felt "right" but V. has to deal with slave children now. i liked how Pullo pulled back his past histories. V's lucky to have a friend like Pullo. i don't think many of us have war-buddies like that. it's very difficult to have friends like taht unless you've been through hell and back together.

 

[JonZ]

Another good episode. I liked the Mafia sit down scene.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Yep, felt the Same way after Deadwood got the Axe, but then HBO got the Axe From my Cable Bill, Fairplay.

 

[JediFonger]

so, is everyone breathless ? yeah it's not as wide/epic/big as troy, gladiator, etc. but still, for a TV series, that's still pretty damn good. yeah we know it's CG, but there are huge sweeping changes and LOT of history/ground covered. moving extremely fast.

so, history buffs, where do you think they'll end the show on? and why 2 seasons?

 

[Yee-Ming]

Death of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian being acclaimed as Augustus Caesar, Princeps, and the beginning of the Roman Empire (as we know it).

Beyond that, they'd be re-treading ground already covered by I, Claudius. Also, IIRC the plan was to show the end of Republican Rome.

Quite interesting how matter-of-fact Pullo and Cicero were about it all. I suppose when death is inevitable, why be a ninny about it? And for Pullo it's all in a day's job.

As for Agrippa and Octavia, in history they did ultimately marry, though he was her third husband or something, and indeed their children were initially adopted by Augustus as his heirs, but they either pre-deceased Augustus or were edged out in the succession. Again, their initial attitude, that they could never marry as she would be married off to a necessary political ally of Octavian's, was quite accurate historically.

 

[Garrett Adams]

In my estimation last year scene where Pullo acquitted himself battling the gladiators surpassed anything I've seen on film.

 

[todbnla]

So exactly how many episodes do we have left with these two?
I cant for the life of me figure why HBO does stuff like this, get us hooked then turn it off...? (IE: 6ft under, Deadwood, Sopranos and now Rome)