(no subject)

[vaznetti]

So at the moment, my reaction is "Waaaaaahhhhh" and "I have to wait until two-thousand-and-fucking-seven?" with a side dish of "Waaaahhhh!"

Things I liked:

Niobe: I have the vague idea that there are fans of the show who don't care for Niobe. I really like her, and this episode showed exactly why. It's the scene where she catches Eirene trying to cut Pullo's throat, and note that she doesn't waste time with any kind of "murder is wrong," and doesn't attempt to persuade Eirene that she shouldn't be angry, or shouldn't want Pullo dead (he killed the man she loved, after all, as he once killed a man Niobe loved). Her arguments are entirely practical -- not that Eirene shouldn't kill Pullo, but that she can't. I think it's a very telling moment -- despite her occasional pretensions, there's something very practical about Niobe. Something very clear-eyed. I like that.

I very much wish that she had survived the fall, but I doubt it. (And that came as a complete surprise to me, her throwing herself off the rail like that. Poor Niobe. Poor Vorenus.)

Also, I totally called Vorenus in the Senate. Ha! Nicely done, but yet again, some stupid historical errors in that scene -- the Senate was full of plebeians. One consul each year had to be a plebeian; sometimes both were.

I kind of liked the hairy Gauls in the Senate. Also completely ahistorical, but it amused me.

Caesar, on the ground, like a sacrificial bull before the axe comes down.

Antony, walking in at the very end. And Posca. I didn't see Posca struck down. He fell, and then he got away. That's my version, and I'm holding onto it.

One thing I didn't like:

Brutus, in that final scene, holding back, letting his knife fall, having to be prompted to strike the final blow. The Brutus I saw in the last episode would have done it. He would have hated it, but he would have done it.

Things I'm not sure about:

Pullo and Eirene. I'll probably come around to this, but I'm not convinced by Eirene's change of heart.

And let me say again, "WAAAAAH!" Poor Niobe. Poor Vorenus.


As an aside, I made kristenk2's easy stuffed cabbage, and it was delicious. I will be making that again. (I can't link to the recipe, because my memories are down. Sorry.)

Comments

[nolivingman.livejournal.com]

I grew to really feel for Niobe, and I'm very sad that she took her own life. There were times when she bugged me because she was living a lie with Lucius, and I was annoyed on his behalf (though I was just as often bugged on her behalf because he was no prize to live with sometimes), but mostly she was just in a really bad position and did what she had to do - that practicality that you mention. I don't know, she's not my favorite character from the show, but she's an interesting and strong woman and it's a shame that if we get a second season that she won't be there for it. She and Lucius would have had a hard time coming up, I think, with Caesar gone.

[vaznetti]

There were times when she bugged me because she was living a lie with Lucius, and I was annoyed on his behalf (though I was just as often bugged on her behalf because he was no prize to live with sometimes),

But what on earth was she supposed to do? The first few months he was around he was a complete bear, and frankly seemed as likely to divorce her as try to make the marriage work. Their marriage, once they got it working, was no lie -- it was solid and real and happy. The thing they say to Vorena, that love isn't something you get right away, is true, and the fact that their love was something they worked at didn't make it false. I think that the urge toward complete honesty in marriages is (a) a modern obsession and (b) overrated.

[loup_noir]

I have to see it again this week on one of the repeats. There was so much going on. Almost too much. 2007! ARGH!

I loved Calpurnia's dream omen.

How and when the secret was going to be used against Vorenus was something I'd played with for weeks. Oh, how I hope he finds out who set it up.

Posco wasn't absolutely dead. We saw him struck, but we didn't see him fall. He's such a fabulous character.

I would like some homework, professor. Can you recommend a book on this particular period in Rome's history?

Oh, and before I forget again, is there any significance to the rings that all the men are wearing? It looks odd on soldiers' hands, but they all seem to have at least one ring.

[vaznetti]

The book you want is: Rubicon, by Tom Holland. And if you want to know what happens next, The Roman Revolution, by Ronald Syme.

Senators and equestrians wear rings to show their status; other people use them for sealing. Also, popular jewellery.

[thepouncer.livejournal.com]

Wasn't Posca lured away before the group entered the Senate chambers? I know Anthony was, and Vorenus of course, but I think that Posca was also delayed by people coming up to him with some feigned issue he had to resolve. I could be wrong about that, though.

[elishavah.livejournal.com]

He was, but both he and Antony tried to get into the Senate once people started flooding out, and Quintus hit Posca over the head from behind...and we never saw him again. So, yeah, worried!

[vaznetti]

I keep telling myself that Posca got away. I figure I'll believe it if I say it often enough.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Posca got away! I believe this with all my heart. After the conspirators leave, he comes in and takes care of Caesar's body.

... Now you're going to tell me what they really did with Caesar's body, right?

Niobe, on the other hand, is dead.

[vaznetti]

Poor Niobe. Very, very dead.

As for Caesar's body, I think if you've read Shakespeare you know all you need to. They have a nice big funeral, and Antony gives a speech.

[forodwaith.livejournal.com]

2007?? ::boggle:: Please tell me we're getting extra Deadwood - that's the only thing that would make up for that.

Yeah, Eirene's emotional arc over the whole season lacked much sense. The writers seemed to be jerking her around just so that they could contrast Pullo & Varenus' love lives.