A Review of Rome Season 2 (DVD)

Sequels and sophomore follow-ups of successful movies and TV programs always bring a pressured expectation to equal or surpass its predecessor. When it comes to their original dramas, HBO never coasts on its reputation and therefore, many rabid fans of the series, Rome, expected no less than a quality second season. Far from a disappointment, Rome's second season is not without some flaws. Though however minor, Season 2 is still a magnificent follow-up to the gritty, bloody and graphic first season that documented the rise of an empire through a fictional lens.

Even though Season 2 possesses more fictional embellishments in terms of the historical accounts, its faithful recapturing of the set designs and costumes deftly manage to reel the viewer into a realistic world of vigor, filth, squalor and vitality. Creators Bruno Heller, John Milius, William J. MacDonald and historical consultant Jonathan Stamp continue exactly where Season 1 concluded. Political players all scramble and maneuver in the wake of Caesar's assassination at the hands of Brutus. After confronting his wife's infidelity, Lucius Vorenus cannot cope with his wife's suicide, cursing his children and casting them from the home. As Octavian, Max Pirkis takes on the first half of the season as the young heir to Caesar's throne. With very little power, and always answering to the brutish and bullying Mark Antony, Octavian expertly wends his way through a political labyrinth to ultimately become a more coldblooded dictator than his predecessor.

The major historical events are all checked off here, but the details by which they come about are shaded with the fictional trappings I mentioned earlier. For instance, in the service of a compact narrative (the second season was curtailed to just ten episodes, most definitely owing to the costly and richly detailed production) Octavian is quickly established as the cunning mind who came up with the clever idea to let Caesar's murderers not declare him a tyrant. Marc Antony is actually credited in the history books for devising this major political ploy. By law, all of Caesar's appointments were to be null and void if he were declared a tyrant, and since Caesar was generous with his appointments, many of the conspirators who assassinated him would lose the status bestowed upon them by the selfsame dictator. Leveraging this law as the explanation, no one would have to lose their appointed duties and Caesar's will would remain intact, a move that would also greatly benefit Octavian since Caesar adopts him as his son and leaves him all his fortune.

Even with the absence of Ciaran Hinds' commanding performance as Caesar, the acting turns still remain stellar. Simon Woods as the older Octavian plays a coldblooded and calculating Emperor in the wings, and James Purefoy's Mark Antony is all sexual sturm and drang. Once he exacts vengeance on Erastes Fulmen's abduction of his children, Lucius Vorenus (Kevin Mckidd) becomes the head of a Collegium, his loneliness and alienation from the fallout of his wife's suicide renders him a callous, but very effective leader. The enmity between Atia (Polly Walker) and Servilia (Lindsay Duncan) is one of the more intriguing and satisfying subplots. Although it looks as if there's a clear victor in their battle of wills, the scene in which one of the women bows out but not before leveling a withering curse on the other, is one of the many exemplary scenes throughout this season that faithfully highlights the everyday beliefs, rituals and general culture of the Ancient Romans. Any curse was taken extremely seriously in Roman society, so much so that augurs, priests and haruspices were sought after and revered. Vorenus' management of the collegium is another great example in which the drama is ratcheted up through this very real social construct that existed to protect and run the everyday operations of the Roman market and trade.

The second and final Season of Rome is beautifully packaged into 5 DVDs. As in the First Season set, there's a fantastic option to view the episodes with an interactive screen guide that allows historical bits of information to randomly pop up. With or without the help of this feature, Rome is still an amazing production. The violence in the second season is just as brutal and graphic as the first, perhaps even more so. And compared with Season One, the storytelling is just as gripping, with the exception of a minor misstep in the subplot involving Timon (Lee Boardman), Atia's bodyguard for hire. It seemed more of a contrivance to progress the Atia/Servilia rivalry and less to do with the character's own natural development.

Rome's second season concludes with the Battle of Actium, which marks not only the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in Egypt, but the last remains of any opposition to Octavian's rule over Rome. Effectively consolidating his power, it would not be wrong to regard the republic of Rome as a republic in name only, with Octavian as its first Emperor. "Well, you're as good as King then", Octavian's mother intones. When I first saw this scene, I didn't know that statement was actually meant to insult him. Romans prided themselves on the fact that governance and rule never rested on one person with absolute power and authority; therefore calling a political figure a "king" was considered an affront. This bit of information is revealed in the pop-up screen guide. Watching "Rome" with this interactive feature is akin to experiencing the program all over again, it invites a new appreciation for the level of detail in the storytelling. If you enjoy history, action and drama, skillful direction and period realism with richly detailed sets and costuming, then Rome's Season 2 is a natural bookend to the First Season DVD set.

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A Review of Rome, Season One