The Empire Strikes Back

The second season of “Rome” is more violent (often sexually so) and sensational than the first. For those unfamiliar with Roman history or the first season, please note that we are now entering spoiler territory.

For such a violent and spectacle driven show, it’s fitting that some its most memorable scenes involve the deathly demise of key characters: Brutus realising that all his efforts are in vain; Sevila’s curse; Cicero’s Stoic acceptance of his fate. Let us not forget that one of the main character trajectories that also ends, inevitably, in death, has to do with Mark Anthony and his time in Egypt with possibly the sexiest version of Cleopatra ever captured on screen.

Season 2 opens where the first season ended. Julius Caesar is dead, and succession follows. This involves mainly Mark Anthony and Octavian caught in a struggle for power in which each man will do what he has to to obtain control over the Empire. Meanwhile, Lucius Vorenus is mourning the death of his wife before assuming an important new role in controlling the gangs that run lower Rome. Titus Pullio and his new wife also return to Rome. With the inclusion and emphasis on Vorenus and Pullio it becomes clear that “Rome” really is a boy’s own adventure set in ancient times. The (mis)adventures of these two characters, though often severe, do not sit comfortably with the dealings of the ‘upper’ noble characters and their political schemes.

All in all “Rome” is well worth a watch, especially with the “All Roads Lead to Rome” function turned on to comment on and illuminate aspects of Roman life that the show itself cannot directly comment on. Considering how this season ends, it's a pity that the uber-expensive production could not survive into a third season dealing with Octavian's time as ruler of what was once the greatest city in the world.

All roads

The HBO-BBC co-production “Rome” (Season 1), with solid Ciaran Hinds as Julius Caesar and Kevin McKidd as Lucius Vorenus, paints a vivid if sensational portrait of life in Rome at the time of Caesar’s rise to power. The 12-episode first season uses actual sets and CGI to bring the ancient city to life. But the characters, not the look of the show, is what made me watch this: the chance to see Caesar, Brutus, Mark Anthony, Pompey Magnus, Cato, Cicero and other key figures from Roman history orate, plan, deceive and die. Those figures are all part of the Roman elite, so the show gives us two plebs, soldiers Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, who have their own narrative line that inevitably crosses with other characters’. There are historical records indicating the existence of an actual Vorenus and Pullo, but the characters in the show are pure studio fictions, forcing the men into a ‘buddy-movie’ hate-him-but-he’s-my-brother type of relationship. Indeed, it is unfortunate that many of the secondary characters are rather wooden and underwritten (as is the case with Mark Anthony – apparently, he gets his due in the second season).

With full frontal male and female nudity, a dash of lesbianism and plenty of graphic violence, this is far from the superior, civilised empire often taught in history lessons. This dirty, messy TV “Rome” is an Empire for the masses. Lavish and fast paced, it requires less patience than the superior “Deadwood” and more tolerance, from a critical perspective, of its emphasis on spectacle. All said and done, I cannot wait to get my hands on the second (and final; the show was ultimately too expensive to produce) season.

DVD extra features include episode commentaries; a shot-by-shot approach to two key scenes of the first season; and “All Roads Lead to Rome”, where, when activated, text boxes appear as an episode unfolds to clarify and elaborate upon religious, social, cultural and political life as lived in ancient Rome.

For interesting trivia about the show (spoiler warning), visit http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384766/trivia.