Servilla vs Atia. 'nuff said. 
Gods, I love this show!
We finally got back to the nekkid women instead of the sausage-fest the last few episodes have been. Glad to see Octavia was keeping up the grand traditions of the upper class (“Prepare dinner, entertainment and a sit-down orgy for 14.”) Atia just keeps getting better and better. I wonder where they are going to end the series? Philippi?
Okay I’m a little disappointed that they glossed over the Servilla/Atia feud :mad: . And is it just me or is there less sex and male nudity than last season? And with all the carefull choreography that they had to do re Octavian’s sex scene last season now that an adult’s playing him should Octavian be showing more skin? And how old is Octavia supposed to be? Isn’t she fast becoming an old maid by Roman standards?
Liked it, less unrelentingly grim then the last few epsiodes. I like my TV with some grit, but it was getting a little overly depressing lately. Also, judging from the “next time…” bit at the end looks like they’re gonna splurge on a battle scene next episode.
What was the gesture that Vorenus’s daughter made behind her back at the end there? (I mean, I get the idea; that she wishes her father were dead, but presumably it means something in particular.)
And nice job on Octavian’s part. Teaming with Antony was a great move. (Did Cicero say that Brutus and Cassius had twenty legions? I thought they had next to no forces.)
BTW, alphaboi867, where did you pick up the custom of displaying the date as YY/MM/DD? I’ve never seen that used anywhere else.
He’s been papering CS with it for a few weeks and it’s hella annoying. Methinks he rushes to be the first to post just to foist this goofy convention on us.
The sign the daugther makes is to avoid the Evil Eye. She’s trying to avoid the bad luck she got by toasting. The equivilent today would be crossing your fingers. From Wiki: When confronted with unfortunate events, or just when these are mentioned or suggested, a person wanting to avoid that fate could resort to the corna to ward off bad luck.
Brutus and Cassius actually outnumbered the combined forces of Octavian and Antony, and had superior naval forces to boot.
You mean historically, I assume (as opposed to what was stated in the movie).
An earlier scene had them begging some Persian looking king for troops, suggesting they didn’t have any of thier own (the “Roman woman fucked by baboons” scene). The impression I got was that the negotiations didn’t go well. Did I another scene where it explained where their army comes from?
I like the subplot with Vorenus’ daughter. I was okay with the children being dead, because I couldn’t figure out how the writers were going to work them back into the story.
She’s still pissed – how vengeful will she be? Should Vorenus be worried?
I liked Pullo explaining to his wife how he’d save her before saving Vorenus. “You’re half his weight!” He’s such a charmer.
26 and yeah, more or less. As noted before, I think, the actual history on this is rather different from the TV show :).
He was exaggerating. Cassius claimed they had nine ( 35,000 infantry and 10,000 calvary according to him, equivalent to nine full-strength legions of the time, though of course many of those wouldn’t have been actual Roman troops ). In point of historical fact…
They purportedly had nineteen eventually, mostly understrength, plus allied troops. Cassius himself led nine at Phillipi and Brutus led eight. The army Antony and Octavian assembled against them was even larger, maybe 28 legions plus auxillaries.
Hmm…I don’t think so, at least on land. See:
- Tamerlane
I’m going by memory, and I did fold in the naval forces in my numbers. In any case, B & C were planning on a defensive battle that didn’t quite go their way.
Did Octavian just pull a Darren Stephens?
I liked the speech where Octavian was talking about restoring moral virtue to Rome. What was significant about it is that it wasn’t just bullshit to him. Augustus really was (publicly, at least) very much a “family values” kind of guy and passed laws suppressing divorce, adultery, rape and other kinds of sexual “immorality.” He was big on the sanctity of marriage and family, believing that those values were crucial to the strength of the Republic.
I find it subtly striking that while almost everyone else competing for power mouths platitudes about wanting what is best for Rome, Octavian is never disingenuous. He means what he says when he claims that he believes he is the best person to govern Rome and he means what he says when he talks about how he’ll do it. He’s not just being political in his speeches. He’s stating what he actually believes. Not only that, but he’s right. He IS the best suited person to govern Rome. Antony is just an egoist. Brutus is effete and uninspiring. Cicero has some substance but also tends to be a pedant and a bit of a pussy. Octavian is politically brilliant (the tactic of calling himself “Caesar” was an ingenious decision in itself) and while he has a healthy ego, he actually has some kind of vision for Rome beyond just gaining power. He’s a great character study.
Great episode. We need more orgy scenes! The only thing I was disappointed in was that it’s out of character for Octavian to make such a blunder as he did with the Senate and then have to get Atia to bale him out. Normally, he’s always playing chess and thinking several moves in advance. Makes for a good story, though.
Good episode. I liked the beard.
Wondering that myself. Phillipi could be next week. Don’t know if they have time to make it to Actium, but that would leave a little less hanging.
[hijack]
Since we’re in the Rome thread, I’d point out here that I saw Titus for the first time ever this weekend. I’d always meant to watch it, but never got around to it. This is the Shakespeare play put to film with Anthony Hopkins, Alan Cummings, and a sexy Jessica Lange.
More “experimental” in nature than Rome, but if you go for the sex and violence, you might dig it.
At 2:40, I had to break up my viewing a bit, but it doesn’t suffer from it. It’s sort of epic in nature anyway. I thought it was really good.
Can someone explain Atia’s sudden change of heart? One moment, she’s practically disowning Octavian. The next, she’s bursting into his chamber, prostrating herself and begging his forgiveness. Was I the only one who thought that was strange?
Heh, I actually thought it was a dream sequence.
I thought it was just scheming on her part. I think that she was planting the seeds for an Octavian/Antony alliance. . .the only thing that will keep any of them in power. If it didn’t benefit her in the long run, I don’t think she would have behaved that way.
I thought it was a dream sequence too! Trunk’s explanation makes sense, though. Still, it was a bit of rough edit.
If we’re keeping score on the Atia/Servilia competition, then Atia scores again by facilitating a grand alliance between her son and her lover. Servilia is again reduced to writing patriotic letters.
I loved Vorenus’s speech when he arrives at the Aventine, roughly: “These are my children redeemed from slavery. The girl has been prostituted; the boy is my wife’s son by another man. You will treat them with nothing but kindness and respect or I will know the reason why.” Vorenus has trouble getting past issues, but one he’s past them he doesn’t look back.
Eirene would have to be pretty dumb to think that Pullo wouldn’t rescue Vorenus first, no matter how much he weighs.
Nobody got raped or tortured or murdered in this episode. That might be a first.