Years later and I’m idly wondering – a memorable scene from Rome was on the eve of Julius Caesar’s triumph, Titus Pullo makes his way over to his old comrades in the XIIIth legion and wants to join in their march tomorrow, just needing to borrow a helmet. And they tell him to “shove off, civilian,” whereupon he goes off to get drunk or stab someone, I forget which.
It was a nice counterpoint to his friend Vorenus’s rising fortunes as a newly elected magistrate. But it struck me, as such a XIIIth fanatic, why did Pullo quit the legion in the first place? Was it because he had attached himself to Vorenus, who did have a reason to quit (being loyal to the Republic)?
Nm. I got my seasons jumbled up. I was going to say that he was busy being Vorenus’ second but that didn’t occur until after Gaius Julius’ assassination. That being said, I think the reason he stuck around was the same; to stay by Lucius’ side.
The part where Pullo is in the gladatorial ring, and keeps calling “Thirteen” as he’s going down, and finally Vorenus throws off his magesterial cloak and shouts out in response “THIRTEEN!” and goes on kick thirteen kinds of ass as only Vorenus can – why, it brings a manly tear to my eye, it does.
If only they’d shared some of their brotherly love with Mascius they could have had an epic bromage à trois.
I fucking love this show. Whenever I try to think of who my favorite character is I just get lost in all of them. Every single character in this show is epic in his or her own way.
I don’t think Titus left the XIII because of Vorenus - at the time these guys got back to Rome, they were barely friends. My guess is that, well, Titus just didn’t really think it through - which would be completely in character. Mustering out after your term of service was what most everyone would have done, the war in Gaul was over - so Titus mustered out.
OK, I flipped through the episodes and I found out why he wasn’t reenlisting with the 13th. He was planning to start a life in the country with Eirene, who he’d asked Vorenus to free.