Finally saw it ... here's the stream of conciousness summary:
previously on Rome ... summarized all the previous episodes ...
the pompeians are offering a 'cessation of hositilities on the terms offered in your last letter' ... Cato's miffed; Cicero seems to be the smart one/realist among the group
Caesar's camp ... being shaved in camp while still 'paying off folks' for their loyalty; Caesar is avoiding dinner with Atia
Herald announcing Pompey's plans to a deserted street ... streetcleaners sweeping
Atia thinks Octavius has seduced Caesar (this is related to the epileptic fit Caesar had); Octavius won't reveal Caesar's affliction to his mother (and she's miffed at that) ... she also learns Caesar has declined her invite (miffed some more) [I'll give the source for this some time this weekend]
Pullo's asleep on Vorenus' stairs ... Vorenus decides he'll put together a proper dowry for his daughter when he sells his slaves ...
Pullo doesn't want to go to camp "It's boring" ... seems to have had a rough night and lost his slave girl ... "I just like to look at her ... it makes me calm" ... he has an outstanding bill at the taberna, so the owner was holding her till he paid; Vorenus does Pullo a favour and keeps the slave girl at his house (despite Niobe's complaints that she has 'strange eyes') ... later we find Niobe thinks he wants the slave girl to spy in her
Caesar and MA discussing whether to accept the 'truce' offered ... [I think one of the things that makes this such a good series are these little scenes where they're discussing strategy and why] ... Caesar spins it for 'hoi polloi' ... 'Pompey refuses to meet me' ... wants to wait till the time is right (MA anxious)
Vorenus' slave shipment seems to be afflicted with disease; just a boy survives (the girls are excited ... sound like kids when they get a new puppy) ...
Caesar and Servilia playing dice ... Servilia won ...
MA boring Atia with all sorts of political talk; she seems upset when he tells her that Servilia has 'unmanned' Caesar
Atia whining to Octavius ... thinks Caesar should be chasing Pompey; Pullo is to be Octavius' tutor in the 'manly arts'; Octavius doesn't seem to like fighting ("I have no soldierly stuff in me" ... "I can kill people if they're not fighting back") ... Pullo addresses him as "young dominus" ... Octavius is incredibly astute (advises Pullo not to tell of his suspicions about Niobe and another man)
Scene in a bath ... Vorenus seeking a loan in the wake of his slaves being taken by the 'black flux'; the Orestes he talks to advises against it; suggests he become the ancient equivalent of a goon/bodyguard in a protection racket sort of thing
... another scene of Pullo seeing Niobe smacking her ex-lover; then Vorenus goes out to work
nice scene of Calpurnia being borne about on a litter; she sees a pile of graffiti about Caesar and Servilia and the crowds are mocking her; Calpurnia says to dump her or give her a divorce ... again, a little scene ... a divorce wouldn't be strategically wise (need support of her family)
scene of Orestes roughing up some guy who hasn't paid for 50 pigs; orders Vorenus to break his arm; he does ... demands money, doesn't get it ... orders Vorenus to cut his throat; he refuses and walks off ... back home worrying about money
Caesar arrives at Servilia's place ... dumps her, saying he's off to pursue Pompey and will never see her again; he's dumping her because "it's right for the Republic" ... she smacks him once, then he slaps her a bunch of times
Atia's happy about something ...
Caesar off; MA left behind with the XIII to keep the peace ... MA not happy
Back to the Pompeians ... Cicero's thinking of going to his farm; asks Brutus to go ... refuses, so Cicero decides not to go because it would look 'cowardly'; he has to keep his name 'well-polished' because it isn't as old as 'Brutus'
Vorenus approaches MA ... wants to join the evocati on the terms offered before (10 000 sesterces plus rank!); MA decides he needs good men and accepts on different terms (promotion to prefect and 9000 sesterces)
Servilia has hunted down one of the graffiti types ... turns out Atia's horse-dealer-lover was behind the graffiti (nice plot twist)
Vorenus feels terrible for what he did; Niobe thanks him
Another calendar changing scene ... too close to figure out ... but Vorenus is now in full uniform moving through the city; notices beggars
Servilia ... she puts a curse on Caesar ... scraping a lead curse tablet! She also curses Atia ... rolls it up and gives it to a slave girl (she puts it in a crack in the respective houses) [I'll dig up some examples of these curse tablets ... this was a really excellent scene]
Octavius and Pullo kidnap Niobe's lover; gives him a story ... Octavius says he's lying; we have to kill you ... the manner of death is up to you ... tells Pullo to torture him, but Pullo doesn't know how ... suggests he cut off his thumbs ... the guy confesses. Pullo wants to kill him but Octavius holds him back ... wants to know more; doesn't say anything, so Pullo cuts off the guy's thumbs (on Octavius' orders)
Vorenus, meanwhile, is undergoing some sort of ceremony ...
back to Octavius and Pullo, the guy confesses to being the father of that child; Pullo kills him.
Vorenus ... daubed with blood
Pullo and Octavius emerge from the sewer ... Octavius tells Pullo that Vorenus must never know
Back to Vorenus ... seems to be an evocatus ritual (does such a thing exist?)
Caesar shows up to find the Pompeians have sailed for Greece ...
previously on Rome ... summarized all the previous episodes ...
the pompeians are offering a 'cessation of hositilities on the terms offered in your last letter' ... Cato's miffed; Cicero seems to be the smart one/realist among the group
Caesar's camp ... being shaved in camp while still 'paying off folks' for their loyalty; Caesar is avoiding dinner with Atia
Herald announcing Pompey's plans to a deserted street ... streetcleaners sweeping
Atia thinks Octavius has seduced Caesar (this is related to the epileptic fit Caesar had); Octavius won't reveal Caesar's affliction to his mother (and she's miffed at that) ... she also learns Caesar has declined her invite (miffed some more) [I'll give the source for this some time this weekend]
Pullo's asleep on Vorenus' stairs ... Vorenus decides he'll put together a proper dowry for his daughter when he sells his slaves ...
Pullo doesn't want to go to camp "It's boring" ... seems to have had a rough night and lost his slave girl ... "I just like to look at her ... it makes me calm" ... he has an outstanding bill at the taberna, so the owner was holding her till he paid; Vorenus does Pullo a favour and keeps the slave girl at his house (despite Niobe's complaints that she has 'strange eyes') ... later we find Niobe thinks he wants the slave girl to spy in her
Caesar and MA discussing whether to accept the 'truce' offered ... [I think one of the things that makes this such a good series are these little scenes where they're discussing strategy and why] ... Caesar spins it for 'hoi polloi' ... 'Pompey refuses to meet me' ... wants to wait till the time is right (MA anxious)
Vorenus' slave shipment seems to be afflicted with disease; just a boy survives (the girls are excited ... sound like kids when they get a new puppy) ...
Caesar and Servilia playing dice ... Servilia won ...
MA boring Atia with all sorts of political talk; she seems upset when he tells her that Servilia has 'unmanned' Caesar
Atia whining to Octavius ... thinks Caesar should be chasing Pompey; Pullo is to be Octavius' tutor in the 'manly arts'; Octavius doesn't seem to like fighting ("I have no soldierly stuff in me" ... "I can kill people if they're not fighting back") ... Pullo addresses him as "young dominus" ... Octavius is incredibly astute (advises Pullo not to tell of his suspicions about Niobe and another man)
Scene in a bath ... Vorenus seeking a loan in the wake of his slaves being taken by the 'black flux'; the Orestes he talks to advises against it; suggests he become the ancient equivalent of a goon/bodyguard in a protection racket sort of thing
... another scene of Pullo seeing Niobe smacking her ex-lover; then Vorenus goes out to work
nice scene of Calpurnia being borne about on a litter; she sees a pile of graffiti about Caesar and Servilia and the crowds are mocking her; Calpurnia says to dump her or give her a divorce ... again, a little scene ... a divorce wouldn't be strategically wise (need support of her family)
scene of Orestes roughing up some guy who hasn't paid for 50 pigs; orders Vorenus to break his arm; he does ... demands money, doesn't get it ... orders Vorenus to cut his throat; he refuses and walks off ... back home worrying about money
Caesar arrives at Servilia's place ... dumps her, saying he's off to pursue Pompey and will never see her again; he's dumping her because "it's right for the Republic" ... she smacks him once, then he slaps her a bunch of times
Atia's happy about something ...
Caesar off; MA left behind with the XIII to keep the peace ... MA not happy
Back to the Pompeians ... Cicero's thinking of going to his farm; asks Brutus to go ... refuses, so Cicero decides not to go because it would look 'cowardly'; he has to keep his name 'well-polished' because it isn't as old as 'Brutus'
Vorenus approaches MA ... wants to join the evocati on the terms offered before (10 000 sesterces plus rank!); MA decides he needs good men and accepts on different terms (promotion to prefect and 9000 sesterces)
Servilia has hunted down one of the graffiti types ... turns out Atia's horse-dealer-lover was behind the graffiti (nice plot twist)
Vorenus feels terrible for what he did; Niobe thanks him
Another calendar changing scene ... too close to figure out ... but Vorenus is now in full uniform moving through the city; notices beggars
Servilia ... she puts a curse on Caesar ... scraping a lead curse tablet! She also curses Atia ... rolls it up and gives it to a slave girl (she puts it in a crack in the respective houses) [I'll dig up some examples of these curse tablets ... this was a really excellent scene]
Octavius and Pullo kidnap Niobe's lover; gives him a story ... Octavius says he's lying; we have to kill you ... the manner of death is up to you ... tells Pullo to torture him, but Pullo doesn't know how ... suggests he cut off his thumbs ... the guy confesses. Pullo wants to kill him but Octavius holds him back ... wants to know more; doesn't say anything, so Pullo cuts off the guy's thumbs (on Octavius' orders)
Vorenus, meanwhile, is undergoing some sort of ceremony ...
back to Octavius and Pullo, the guy confesses to being the father of that child; Pullo kills him.
Vorenus ... daubed with blood
Pullo and Octavius emerge from the sewer ... Octavius tells Pullo that Vorenus must never know
Back to Vorenus ... seems to be an evocatus ritual (does such a thing exist?)
Caesar shows up to find the Pompeians have sailed for Greece ...