The performance of Ralph Bates gets much more showy as this episode goes on. Emperor Caligula doesn't show signs of madness until he goes into some sort of coma that gives him the transition from mortal to God. Caligula's three sisters are all present (one he marries then murders, another who ends up as the fourth wife of her own uncle Claudius), as mad as their brother for supporting his madness.
The evil force that disposes of Tiberius is Macro (Jerome Willis) who slaps Caligula, then scheming but somewhat innocent, and it's fascinating to watch how Bates' performance alters, as nuanced as John Hurt would do and far from as perverted as Malcolm McDowell's or as ridiculously campy as Jay Robinson's.
The role of Agrapanilla had been earlier played by Gloria Swanson as an evil meddlesome mother in "Nero's Mistress" and by Barbara Young as a shrieking harpy in the final episode of "I Claudius". Once again, Claudius is no shrinking violet, but craftily doing everything he can to stay alive even as he claims he never wants to be emperor which as indicated here shows that he's lying. Probably one of the better episodes of this series.
The evil force that disposes of Tiberius is Macro (Jerome Willis) who slaps Caligula, then scheming but somewhat innocent, and it's fascinating to watch how Bates' performance alters, as nuanced as John Hurt would do and far from as perverted as Malcolm McDowell's or as ridiculously campy as Jay Robinson's.
The role of Agrapanilla had been earlier played by Gloria Swanson as an evil meddlesome mother in "Nero's Mistress" and by Barbara Young as a shrieking harpy in the final episode of "I Claudius". Once again, Claudius is no shrinking violet, but craftily doing everything he can to stay alive even as he claims he never wants to be emperor which as indicated here shows that he's lying. Probably one of the better episodes of this series.