[ROM] An Owl In A Thornbush

TV Programme: Rome
Season: 1
Episode: 3
Date I watched this episode: 01/01/2010
Time since I last watched this programme: 2 months, 14 days.

This episode showed the natural progression of the events of the last episode. Carefully and quietly, we see Caesar take Rome from Pompey. Both men remain completely calm and collected throughout, great leaders seen at their peak while Atia is going insane with stress. In general, this is such a quiet episode. We see Caesar's men galloping over barren, deserted landscapes, we see Rome standing completely deserted. This is such a contrast to earlier episodes and shows how flexible this show is.

It's a beautifully woven story though. Caesar's plan is really quite well thought-out: he is expecting Pompey to slip up in forcing him to leave Rome, and in the end that is exactly what happens. If it hadn't been for the money, probably things would have played out in Pompey's favour. I wonder how similar this episode has been to real historical events.

Titus's influence is quite wide-reaching, as he doesn't care about rules and doesn't care about the consequences of his actions. Now he has all that money, what will he do with it? It seems sensible that he would defect to Pompey at this stage, as his friend Vorenus has left Caesar. But I don't think he is clever enough for that, and will probably try to start a new life with that slave girl.

Atia on the other hand, after realising that she has the upper hand, is coming to terms with her new sense of power. She is now the one who can provide protection to those who want to stay in Rome. She orders a hit on Glabius, which surely must be linked to her power complex, and then somehow manages to convince a very naive Octavia that she had nothing to do with it. She and Octavia just have such different views on men, as starkly seen in this episode. Atia wants to just use men for sex, whereas Octavia feels a deeper connection than Atia has ever felt with a man. It will be interesting to see what happens with Caesar returns to Rome and favours the less-voluptuous Servilia.

Gaius Octavian really came into his own in this episode. He seems to be the one who really knows what's going on, with the Pompey/Caesar mindgames and with Glabius's death. He shows tremendous leadership skills for a boy of his age, and it is done in a really beautiful way that doesn't seem forced at all.

Niobe is completely mixed up emotionally in this episode as she struggles to deal with her repressed emotions for Evander and her renewed emotions for Lucius. I do feel sorry for Lucius as he is trying so hard, even deserting Caesar's regiment, and I want things to work out for him. He claims the past is forgotten, but if he really knew what had happened in the past then perhaps he would not be so cavalier.

Well this was another great episode and I am really looking forward to more. I will have to accelerate my watching of this programme to some extent as I really want to finish it before the Damages season premiere later this month.