User Reviews

Having settled his differences with Mark Antony, Octavian draws up a list of prominent Romans to be assassinated before their forces head to Greece to face the legions of Brutus and Cassius. This was partially for political reasons and partially to take their wealth which will be needed to pay the soldiers. This task is given to Vorenus who divides the task between the collegiate captains. The job of killing Cicero is too important so that is entrusted to his friend Titus Pullo. Octavia and Agrippa's relationship is getting rather passionate even though both are aware that their differing status will mean they can never marry. Eventually the armies of Octavian and Mark Antony and Brutus and Cassius face each other at Philippi; a brutal battle that will see two key characters die.

This episode may have taken plenty of liberties with historical facts but as a piece of entertainment it was top notch. The battle scenes were impressively intense with a fair number of brutal deaths. The effects of the result of the battle will no doubt dominate the rest of the series. I was sad to see Cicero die although the scene between David Bamber and Ray Stevenson, as Cicero and Pullo, was great; I loved how they chatted politely, Pullo even asking if he could have some peaches from Cicero's tree, before the deed was done. The scenes between Kerry Condon and Allen Leech, as Octavia and Agrippa, might be considered a bit soapy but did serve to remind us of the importance of family status in ancient Rome; it isn't just who you are that matters but who your family are. Overall I really enjoyed this instalment.

The problem with season 2 is that many of the episodes do too little to move the plot at large along. The focus seems to have gone into the intimate lives of the non-historical characters while losing sight of the historical events that the series is based on. Season 1 brought history to life (inaccurate as it was), but season 2 so far is more of a soap opera set in ancient Rome.

I can't say I agree with Scunner though. I was expecting Brutus to stab himself in front of the troops, but I liked the way they took him out better. I don't think it was a particularly egregious distortion of the historical record. No more so than Cicero's death (he was beheaded in his litter while trying to flee). I am sorry to see the end of Brutus. I always liked his character.

As far as Pullo's assassination of Cicero goes, aristocrats who were eliminated for political reasons in ancient Rome (as in Japan) were often dispatched respectfully, and in many cases were allowed to commit suicide. Under normal circumstances Cicero would have probably been given the suicide option, but he wasn't because if a person committed suicide their property would pass to their heirs, and part of the point of killing him was to confiscate his wealth. In any case, I don't think it was too much out of character for Pullo, especially since he has become the more stable one in he and Vorenus' friendship this series. It was a very good scene.

I agree that the inaccurate portrayal of the Battle of Philippi was very unfortunate. Particularly taking into account that the real events would have been a lot more dramatic than those portrayed.

As for Pullo in the scene where he kills Cicero, I do not think it was out of character at all, It reminded me of the Godfather line of "It is business, it is not personal". He had a job to do, and did it without emotion. Cicero knew it was not personal, he knew it was his time to die...

What has nothing to do with this episode, but still makes me wonder about the series, is how with the current storyline Octavia is going to end up with Mark Anthony! Messing with that historical fact would be a lot worse than messing with the historical facts about the Battle of Philippi! Stay tuned! E