Do as the violent rapey Romans say, not as the violent rapey Romans do.
The cool thing about historical dramas is you know how it’s generally gonna go. You can get attached to characters without worrying about some pretentious writer killing them off before their times.
Watching Spartacus for example, you know Spartacus dies. You know Caesar doesn’t. In Rome though, you know Caesar buys it, but the fun is in how. Then there’s the second season, which leaves the fun at home. In two seasons, Rome was two entirely different shows, the first much better than the second.
Story-wise, it’s almost a joke. Two schmoes – Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo – are coincidentally instrumental in the elevation and fall of both Caesar and Antony. At every key moment, they’re there. which is ridiculous, but it works because you’re distracted by the casting and how well these people play off one another. The energy of Pullo against the restraint of Vorenus, Attia’s against Servilia, and Antony contained by Caesar. The interplay between these people is done well enough that the “fun to watch” balances out the Waldo-esque fun of the story’s construction.
Rome came years before Spartacus, but the later gladiators owe their spiritual existence to the earlier emperors. Rome is violent, porny, rapey, and gory; Spartacus only takes those elements and squares them a few times. Maybe they’re in-universe then, and Rome’s restraint is a lesson learned from Sparty’s rebellion. Certainly Rome treats its slaves with more restraint; if Asher talked to Battiatus like Posca talked to Caesar, he would’ve been crucified in the first episode. These are still some brutal and fucked-up people, though.
It’s fun to imagine that these Caesars are the same guy. The evolution from before to after sounds like a story worth watching on its own.
The second season however loses all that good stuff. Caesar’s death unleashes Antony, Servilia’s fall elevates Attia, and Pullo & Vorenus step away from their roles as MacGuffins and start playing actual “characters”, which is just no fun.
There’s a meta-moment in the first season, where Caesar recognizes the insane luck of Pullo and Vorenus as them being favored by the gods. “The gods” here are of course “the writers”, so there’s humor in the distilled notion that the two are safe simply because they’re the main characters. It’s like in Mandalorian, where Dave Filoni’s (as a pilot) declining to shoot someone is equivalent (in-universe) to God’s own mercy. The pair loses most of that mojo in the 2nd season though, and history progresses without their help. So what’s the point?
They try to fill in the gap with Timon’s growth into a social warrior, but there’s no conviction there. Vorenus’ morality dooms Caesar, but Timon’s ends up saving Herod. His role as an agent of change is entirely toothless. The end result is forces of history becoming boring. The first season magically mixes Abbot & Costello with Harrison & Burton, but in the second season Burton is a loon and Abbot & Costello are murderous gang lords. Eh.
Then there’s the two odd cast changes in the second season. By way of context, the show does a terrible job of conveying the passage of time. sometimes “years will pass” and everyone looks the same, sometimes a single actor gets an older face. On the one hand, a new Octavian makes sense. The earlier actor was certainly on the young side to play an aspiring emperor, and it would have been really creepy to put that face on the pervy weirdo he becomes. But the change comes seemingly out of the blue, following narrative disappearances that weren’t accompanied by recastings. Even better though the recasting of Antony into Fall Out Boy. It is fair to say though that the consistency of Antony is a definite draw.
On the whole, it’s a fun show that doesn’t challenge too much. The major players have a vitality that the 60’s couldn’t match, but its Cleopatra who sees the biggest change; this queen is no Liz Taylor. That’s for the best though, I can’t imagine Liz Taylor jumping Pullo to get knocked up as a favor to Rex Harrison.
The ending definitely sucks, there’s no way around that. I guess there was supposed to be a third season, so some changes were made for an earlier ending. It’s probably for the best, considering how far the show had strayed from its roots. By the end it was as much of historical-drama as it was a character study, which is what the History Channel is for. Up front when it’s all character work, it’s worth watching. Afterwards you’re just coasting on momentum, waiting to see how it ends but not really caring.
About The Author
davetwsprocket
Dave didn't get the memo until, like, just now. He is capable with arranging words, but only just getting started at getting those words to actually do anything. He is motivated by a disrespect for authority, and towards finally doing what's right. He's good with people, but that's a learned skill- his natural inclination is to be far, far away. He's a Leo.