As the first season of Rome reaches its conclusion so too does Caesar's reign
but not till the end of the episode. Before that we see that Vorenus and Pullo are being treated as heroes by the people although Pullo is still seriously injured and Vorenus doesn't know how Caesar will react. Luckily his popularity means that rather than being punished he is rewarded; Caesar decides to make him one of the hundred new senators
something that offends the other senators who don't want such a low-born man made a senator. Vorenus isn't the most offensive move though; the other new senators include Gauls and Celts. With Vorenus constantly at Caesar's side it will be hard for the plotters to strike Caesar but they know a secret that will force him home and have tragic consequences for both Vorenus and Caesar. Meanwhile Pullo continues to seek Eirene's forgiveness and Servilia taunts Atia; stating that she intends to make her suffer before she finally destroys her now Caesar is out of the picture.
This episode provided a great end to the first series; while I'm sure everybody watching knows what happened to Caesar it still proved fairly taut. It was of course helped by the fact that Caesar wasn't the only person who might die in this episode. Ciarán Hinds does a fine job as Caesar but in the final scene it was Tobias Menzies who stood out as he portrayed the conflicted Brutus. While there were no shocks in the senate Vorenus's story provided a genuine shock when he confronts Niobe about her infidelity; both Kevin McKidd and Indira Varma impressed in this short scene. It wouldn't be 'Rome' without Pullo although he didn't feature in the death of Caesar which was a bit of a relief given how he was shoehorned into just about every other event of the time. Overall a great episode which nicely closed this chapter in the story of ancient Rome.
This episode provided a great end to the first series; while I'm sure everybody watching knows what happened to Caesar it still proved fairly taut. It was of course helped by the fact that Caesar wasn't the only person who might die in this episode. Ciarán Hinds does a fine job as Caesar but in the final scene it was Tobias Menzies who stood out as he portrayed the conflicted Brutus. While there were no shocks in the senate Vorenus's story provided a genuine shock when he confronts Niobe about her infidelity; both Kevin McKidd and Indira Varma impressed in this short scene. It wouldn't be 'Rome' without Pullo although he didn't feature in the death of Caesar which was a bit of a relief given how he was shoehorned into just about every other event of the time. Overall a great episode which nicely closed this chapter in the story of ancient Rome.
