Rome, Season 2

As much as I liked the first season of Rome, the second and last season was even better, as the characters of our two heroes, Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus, are more familiar to us, and their story arcs to the conclusion are that much more emotionally satisfying. It's been said a lot these days, but long-form television, particularly by cable stations, is much more fecund ground for this kind of storytelling than cinema can be.

The second season kicks off immediately after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Mark Antony and Brutus then vie for control--in a smart move, we don't actually see the funeral orations--how can you improve on "Friends, Romans, countrymen?" Instead we get a lot of the behind-the-scenes intrigue, that eventually sends Brutus and Cassius into exile and Antony becomes top dog.

But Antony had not expected Caesar's grand-nephew, who is named his son in his will, Octavian, to be a problem. But the boy grows into a hard-hearted man. The two put aside their differences to defeat Brutus once and for all at Phillipi, and carve up the empire, with Antony getting the East, including Egypt. He is thoroughly bewitched by Cleopatra, and eventually he and Octavian will go to war. Again, we only see the aftermath of the decisive battle of Actium, with Antony escaping by boat back to Alexandria. As most know, he and his Egyptian queen will commit suicide, and Octavian will become Augustus Caesar.

Beyond all of this history is the use of Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Pullo (Ray Stevenson) as fictional Zeligs who always happen to be where the action is. Vorenus, after the death of his wife, curses his children and then they are kidnapped, and he believes them dead. He becomes the ruthless mob boss of the Aventine. Pullo, happily married to his former slave, is the number two man and enforcer. Then they discover that the children are alive, and the two men go to rescue them. But Vorenus' daughter will not forgive him for causing her mother's death, and when she betrays him, he has nothing left to live for and goes with Antony to Egypt, where he will hold the sword for his leader.

Pullo, one of the great characters of any TV series, is loyal to a fault. He works with Octavian to track down Cleopatra's son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion, to kill him and remove any doubt of succession. Vorenus has taken Caesarion into Africa to keep him safe. Both men know that Caesarion is actually Pullo's son, from a romp in the hay with Cleopatra in the first season. The two men meet up and attempt to save the boy from Octavian's clutches, but all does not go completely well. I won't say more than that, but the series ends with a perfect bit of dialogue.

There's all sorts of other stuff, too, including the feud between Atia, Octavian's mother, and Servilia, the mother of Brutus. Atia (Polly Walker), is the spine of the series, as she constantly schemes to better her situation, but the rise of her son means she loses power. She is in love with Antony, but when Octavian suggests that a marriage take place to show solidarity, he marries off his sister Octavia (Kerry Condon) to Antony instead.

If Atia is the heart of the series, Mark Antony is its harlequin. Over the course of the series he goes from powerful general to pussy-drunk drug addict, wearing eyeliner and rolling around with Cleopatra. James Purefoy gives a marvelous performance, as does Lyndsey Marshal as the famous queen of Egypt.

This was the last season of Rome, as HBO pulled the plug because costs were astronomically high. If a person wants to keep following the story, I suggest renting the 1970s BBC series I, Claudius, which covers the end of the reign of Augustus to the beginnings of Nero.