Well since we all know what happens regarding Octavian and Anthony the big question on Rome is will Pullo actually kill his own “son” :eek: ? Or will Vorenus step in at the last moment and do the job (or will some else conveniently kill Caeserion)? And what ever happened with Vorena Major and that guy she was fucking? 
He wasn’t mentioned last week (or was he)?
Historically, Caesarion fled to Berenice on the Red Sea along with his guardians and tutors. After that they were enticed to Alexandria, where Octavian had the boy killed. My bet is Vorenus is one of those guardians, and Pullo is the one sent to kill. I stand by my prediction that they end up killing each other, ala any number of Roman legends, not to mention the finale to Babylon 5.
I’m a little disappointed that Atia isn’t getting much screentime. She is the lead female character in the series. And Athony, how pathetic, he can’t even commit suicide on his own 
. We’ve seen women do better.
And it’s Atia for teh win!
“Better women than you have tried and failed.” God I love her. I wish we had two more seasons of Atia smacking down Livia. Hard to believe that little trollop will grow up to be Sian Phillips.
Sigh. I knew Lucius wouldn’t make it, but I didn’t know Pullo would be able to save his son. 
One reviewer complained about the ambiguity of the ending, probably referring to Vorenus.
I think if Vorenus survived for a month with that wound, under less than ideal conditions, he probably survived. Pullo probably didn’t trust Octavian enough to tell him.
That’s the ending I’m going with.
The ending sucked. Major letdown :mad: .
All told, a (I think) satisfying ending, though it strayed from historically known facts. I’m with AuntiePam; I think Lucius Vorenus probably survived as well, although it was hard to tell from that last scene he was in. He did get to see his children and they seemed to be forgiving of him. I would have seen more scenes in Rome, but that’s minor. We did get a reunion between Pullo and Vorenus, and they fought together to save Caesarion. Gotta love Pullo - can you imagine the winds taken out of Caesarion’s sails when he found out that Pullo was his father? At the same time, though, he was witness in person to Pullo’s bravity and fortitude–what more could he ask for in a father? Love that they did “spit” in Octavian’s face!
I wish the show had at least two more seasons–as much as it’s been done before (and will be again), I would love to see scenes are the time of the birth of Christ, with Herod and probably Timon and family. Ah well, it’s not to be. I did muchly enjoy this series and will miss it now, even (perhaps especially) the music, which is haunting my mind now. Must get that CD.
Damned HBO quitter-monkeys! I could have watched this show for X seasons.
But he’s still descended from royalty/gods on his mother’s side ! Of course that doesn’t mean shit now.
Of course what follows is decades of peace and prosperity under Octavians rule, pretty boring stuff compared to what these two seasons covered.
Which I imagine why they were bothering with the whole Herod/Timon story line, so that if they’d ended up needing a third season, they could move the story over to Judea during the time of Jesus and the Zealots until Augustus’s got older and thing in Rome got interesting again.
Just watch I, Clavdivs, which picks up the madcap story of those wacky Caesars only L or so years later.
Anyone else wondering if the production company decided to have a few spin-off novels written? And I finally just got why Augustus (did they actual mention his new name onscreen ) is no into Livia, she is Atia! :eek: I knew the boy had issues.
All in all I was pretty meh on this whole finale. I didn’t expect too much because of the limited budget and the scope of the story they had to wrap up, but it seemed like it was all very perfunctory. Like they took the simplest path towards killing off Cleopatra and Antony. Ditto the escape of Caesarian. Nothing really felt dramatic.
I suppose if they had 3 more episodes it could have been better. Devoting a full hour to the battle. An hour about the standoff at the palace with Cleopatra and Antony. Another hour to the search for Caesarian and the return to Rome of the protagonists. As it was, it watched like a postscript.
Still, they squeezed in a few choice lines. Atia and Livia getting catty. Pullo telling how things with Gaia didn’t work out. Pullo and Caesarian at the end.
Yep, and then you get a Livia that makes Atia look like June Cleaver.
I found all the blurry Mark Antony POV shots to be annoying.
Yeah, I now he was on drugs. I think I can get the idea that he’s stoned without that.
Not the best episode, but a fitting end to a solidly good series. Both Antony’s and Cleopatra’s deaths were well done and moving… and much as I hate Attia, it was certainly fun to see her administer a smackdown.
Terribly, terribly disappointing, in my opinion.
It is a shame that the only episode containing multiple scenes that bored me was the series finale. I hated the scenes with Antony and Cleopatra. Stale dialog. Predictable dynamics. Great characters pulverized into a mush by hurried script doctoring. The inexplicable “Oh, Daddy, I’m so sorry” scene with Vorena the Elder. The trite “Me and you against the world” fight with the Roman guards. I mean Jesus, man, you guys are old and worn out. These soldiers are rested, well fed, trained, and equipped. And they frigging OUTNUMBER YOU FOUR TO ONE. Plus the boy — the very target of the roadblock — is left to wait it out in the back of an open wagon while soldiers take turns fighting Pullo and Vorenus. Why would they tag-team these guys?
Okay, I’ll stop now. Just a sucky, sucky episode. It ranks right down there with the Seinfeld finale. Damn you, HBO.
Any reflections on the series as a whole?
I’d have to say that while I enjoyed it for a couple seasons, I never really enjoyed much beyond the level of well produced historic soap opera.
Did it give us a new take on power, politics, Roman history, human character?
Some of the better HBO series transcend what they’re about, whether it’s the Sopranos reflections on suburbia and consumerism, or The Wire’s take on civic institutions, but Rome never really moved much above the level of a good yarn to me.
Also, by the way. . .I was walking around an art museum yesterday and came across busts of Octavian and Livia. I still find that remarkable.
As to the final episode. . .very “wrap-up-y”. Nothing special, just tying it all up. I enjoyed the focus on Antony & Cleopatra, though. I liked when Antony went Joe Pesci on that guy.
Two episodes ago, Pullo killed him with an axe immediately after bludgeoning Memmio and biting out his tongue.