HBO's Rome, Episode 5

Whoa, we're getting downright nasty aren't we!! Are there any heroes on this show or are they all villians? What the heck?

So, Caeser dumps Servilia because he can't afford the scandal nicely orchestrated by Atia. In the meanitme Niobi gains two slaves. One, the sole surviving member of Vorenus' loot from Gaul, a sickly boy, and the second the silent girl rescued by Pullo two episodes ago. I thought she was actually going to say something this time, but I was wrong.

Anyway, the fiasco with the slaves on top of the disaster at the feast leads Vorenus to take on the job of a bully boy, but he doesn't really have that sort of mean streak in him. Pretty much with his back up against the wall, Vorenus is forced to go with his hat in his hand back to Antony. Antony extracts his ounce of flesh, but the fact is he needs Vorenus, so he re-extends his offer to rejoin the 13th Legion as a member of the Evocati. Antony takes a little additional jab at Vorenus by reducing the offered signing bonus from 10,000 sesterce to 9,000 just so Voranus clearly understands who's in charge.

Now my girl Atia is something else. Not only does she orchestrate the Caeser and Servilia breakup by commisioning a series of vulgar graffiti about the affair, but she concludes that Octavian seduced Caeser during his epileptic seizure when they disappeared into the pantry and compliments him on it. Octavian disdainfully denies it but then lets the cat out of the bag that Caeser has a serious medical affliction to Atia and Octavia.

I don't think Octavian would have made that mistake. It's not consistent with his character so you KNOW this is going to develop into something.

But the big shocker was Octavian and Pullo. Atia, wanting to have Octavian learn the "masculine arts" hires Pullo as a trainer. To be honest, Octavian isn't much of a fighter but he does get the best line in this weeks show while training. When Pullo tells him a middling swordsman is better than knowing nothing about fighting he responds, "The graveyards are full of middling swordsman."

Pullo, recognizing his own limited intellectual talents, asks Octavian about his suspicions regarding Niobi and Evander. Octavian explains that suspicion isn't enough, he must have proof. I thought that was going to lead to Pullo snooping about but I overlooked Octavian’s directness. They go straight to “the source,” kidnap Evander and torture the truth out of him. Pullo then proceeds to eliminate him as a character in the show. The last we see of Evander he’s floating down the sewer turing the waters a bright red. Octavian warns Pullo never to tell Vorenus. We'll see how that works out. My bet is Pullo lets the cat out of the bag in the next episode.

The idea of Octavian’s brain combined with Pullo’s brawn is enough to make the gods weep. I wonder how Vorenus is going to fit into all of this? At the moment he’s in Antony’s camp. Vorenus clearly has no liking for Antony, but part of the conditions surrounding Vorenus’ reinstatement in the legion was that Antony expected loyalty. Vorenus may have too much of a sense of honor NOT to remain loyal to Antony regardless of whether or not it’s deserved.

On the historical front Caeser, after dumping Servilia and smacking her around a bit for good measure, finally heads south after Pompey but he’s already sailed for Greece. I don’t think Brutus is going to be too thrilled with his mother’s humiliation. Servilia was certainly pissed and after finding out Atia was behind the graffitti, put rather nasty sounding curses on both Caeser and Atia.

Just a little more about Vorenus. He was inducted as a Praefect of the Evocati. The Evocati were soldiers who had completed their term of service but then voluntarily re-enlisted. Making him a member of the Evocati eliminates any doubt regarding the legality of his original resignation. A Praefect is a sort of lieutenant to a higher ranking officer or magistrate. It’s certainly a step up from centurion and appears to indicate that Antony intends to use Vorenus as a sort of aide de camp.

The ritual that Vorenus undergoes in the Temple of Mars to become a member of the Evocati struck me as similar to the vigil held by Christian Knights in the chapel the night before they received their spurs as well as similar to other vigils held at other times for other initiations. The more things change, the more they stay the same.