Kalends of February
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| Kalends of February | |
|---|---|
| "Sic Semper Tyrannis" - Brutus | |
| Season | 1 (2005) |
| Episode | 12 (HBO; see BBC editing) |
| Air date(s) | November 20, 2005 (HBO) January 4, 2006 (BBC) |
| Writer(s) | Bruno Heller |
| Director | Alan Taylor |
| Setting | Rome |
| Time frame | The end of February 44 BC to March 15, 44 BC See also: Chronology of Rome |
| Link | HBO episode summary |
| Prev: The Spoils Next: Passover I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII |
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"Kalends of February" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the television series Rome.
As a result of their arena exploits, Pullo and Vorenus have become heroes to the Roman rank and file, causing Caesar to reward those he normally would punish. Pullo's unexpected return to Vorenus' household is not appreciated by his former slave Eirene. Caesar decides to overhaul the Senate by adding some unexpected new faces, to the chagrin of the old guard. And Servilia hurdles the final obstacle in her ambitious revenge scenario, at Niobe's expense.
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[edit] Plot summary
Directed by: Alan Taylor Written by: Bruno Heller
In the wake of their epic arena battles, Pullo and Vorenus have become heroes to the Roman rank and file, inspiring theatrical reenactments, murals and songs celebrating them as symbols of brotherly love and redemption.
Vorenus is still fearful that Caesar will banish him from the city, if not from the earth. He interfered with a sanctioned execution, after all, and against the dictator's express orders. To prepare for exile, he takes Niobe, the kids and servants to their land in the country, accompanied by a priest. They talk of building a farmhouse and living off the land like peasants, then christen the soil by simulating making love - a real Roman ritual - as the priest chants and the kids and servants watch.
Back in Rome, a bloodied and bandaged Pullo manages to escape from his hospital ward, winding up at Vorenus' house – much to the consternation of Eirene, who contemplates killing the man who murdered her lover. For his part, Vorenus appears grateful to have his old friend back, and agrees to shelter him while he recovers.
In the meantime, Caesar has boldly decided to overhaul the entire Senate, recruiting Gauls and Celts "from tribes that have served Rome the longest," further angering the old guard. And after decrying Vorenus' arena exploit as an act of "gross criminality," he shocks everyone by appointing his former soldier a Senator of Rome. He lays out his political calculations to a stunned Vorenus: "Were I to punish you, the people would be made extremely angry...If I cannot punish you, I must reward you, else I shall seem weak."
The appointment pushes Cicero to the edge. "A low pleb in the Senate? That's going too far... Build a temple. Kill someone. The people are easy to please. Not this." Caesar defends his actions by taking aim at the noblemen. "I wish the Senate to be made of the best men in Italy. Not merely the richest old men in Rome."
Brutus, having secretly turned on Caesar since their showdown over his exodus, now plots his demise with his mother Servilia, Quintus Pompey, Cassius and Casca. "We must act soon," Cassius insists. "Today he brings Gauls and Celts and low plebs. Tomorrow it will be Belgians, or freedmen... We good noblemen will be outnumbered by foreign rabble. We will be degraded. Powerless."
They debate when and where to take him out, and consider killing him in his sleep--when he will be most vulnerable. But Brutus won't have any part of it. The murder must be committed on the Senate floor in daylight, and it must be committed by him. "This is not some cheap murder. This is an honorable thing that we do!"
By striking on the Senate floor, they risk the wrath of the now-legendary Vorenus, who has been invited to shadow (and thereby protect) Caesar in the chambers. Quintus considers killing Vorenus as well, but Servilia knows better. "It is important we keep the people on our side...Only the tyrant dies."
On the eve of the planned attack, Servilia invites Atia and her family over for a visit, under the pretense of ending their estrangement. Despite her suspicions, Atia accepts. "Her rage amuses me," she tells Antony. "Who knows what the mad old turtle will do."
The next morning, Vorenus accompanies Caesar as he makes his way through the Forum with his men, and stops to exchange greetings with the people. Out of nowhere, Servilia's servant Eleni appears and pulls Vorenus aside. "I have news of your grandson," she tells him, before cupping his ear. His face begins to fall.
Back at his villa, Pullo is telling Eirene his plans to visit a sacred shrine to ask forgiveness for all that he is done. He invites her to join him.
Across town at Servilia's, Atia and Octavian arrive with bemused smiles, as their hostess greets them warmly. She calmly explains why she has invited them. "It's important to me that I be the first to tell you what has happened."
In the heart of the city, on the Senate floor, Caesar works his way through the throngs of lectors and supporters, searching in vain for Vorenus. As he approaches his chair, Brutus stands close by, a knife barely hidden, paralyzed. He is trying to summon the courage to kill a man he loves. It is Cimber who makes the first move: he corners Caesar to ask whether he's reconsidered his brother's exile. When he is brushed off, he grabs hold of Caesar's toga and pulls it over his head. As Brutus remains frozen, Casca lunges forward and stabs Caesar in the stomach. This opens the floodgates; the other conspirators rush forward and stab wildly, as Cicero and the other senators flee toward the doors. With desperate strength, Caesar wrenches himself free from the men. Mark Antony tries to run to his aide, but his companions hold him back. Posca is clubbed from behind by Quintus Pompey. Caesar collapses to the senate floor in a fit of convulsions, and Cassius orders Brutus to make his move. As Caesar stares at him, blood and consciousness draining, Brutus stares back at his fallen father figure. He bends down and pushes a knife into his stomach, the final death blow, a wince of horror overtaking him.
"Thus ever for tyrants!" Cassius declares, raising Brutus' hand in the air. But by now the senate chamber is nearly empty.
Back at Servilia's, Atia and Octavian stare in shock as they take in her words. "So you see, the tyrant is dead," Servilia says calmly." The Republic is restored. And you are alone." Atia stands to leave, but Servilia continues: she intends to make the woman suffer. "Slowly and deeply, as you made me suffer."
Across town, an anguished Vorenus storms into his apartment and begins to tear apart the apartment, smashing down the family altar. He demands to see the young boy, "your son!" he yells to an ashen Niobe. "Tell me it's not true." Her face stricken, Niobe cannot respond. She slowly backs out of the room. Vorenus collapses on a bench. He picks up a carving knife on the table, mad with rage and sorrow, and lifts it in the air as if to strike, yet does nothing but sit there. Niobe backs onto the porch, sobbing. "Oh Lucius, the boy is blameless," she says faintly, before leaning gently backward to let herself fall over the ledge.
Along the Roman countryside, under a pristine sky, Pullo and Eirene walk up a grassy hill, oblivious to the horrors back home. With the light fading, she reaches over and takes his hand.
Back in Rome, Vorenus cradles Niobe in his arms, tears streaming as he kisses her lifeless face. The boy Lucius stumbles upon them in confusion, as Vorenus stares into his eyes.
Source HBO Website http://www.hbo.com/rome/episode/season1/episode12.html
[edit] Historical and cultural background
- As Vorenus is leaving to respond to a summons by Caesar, Niobe wraps a small bundle of ashes from the family shrine in cloth, and tucks it in Vorenus' toga whispering, "Juno protect you." Juno was the Roman incarnation of the Greek goddess Hera, goddess of marriage and family bonds. In a way, Niobe is calling on the power of their marriage to protect Vorenus.
- As Caesar and Vorenus are making their way to the Senate, they are surrounded by Lictors with their fasces. All magistrates whose office was recognized to be imbued with imperium were publicly escorted by Lictors - the number of them signifying the importance of the magistrate. As Dictator, Caesar is entitled to 24 of these escorts. Whether we see all 24 or not, it is interesting to note that the fasces of the Lictors have not had their axes removed even though they are within the boundaries of the pomerium. This is historically accurate - and only the lictors of a Dictator had axes within their fasces at all times.
- Plutarch said this of the assassination in his Life of Caesar: "For it had been agreed they should each of them make a thrust at him, and flesh themselves with his blood; for which reason Brutus also gave him one stab in the groin. Some say that he fought and resisted all the rest, shifting his body to avoid the blows, and calling out for help, but that when he saw Brutus's sword drawn, he covered his face with his robe and submitted, letting himself fall, whether it were by chance or that he was pushed in that direction by his murderers, at the foot of the pedestal on which Pompeius's statue stood, and which was thus wetted with his blood."
- It is said by some that Caesar's last act was to cover his face with his toga that his enemies might not see his face in the moment of death. This is captured in the series, although in the show he is unsuccessful in covering his face.
- Brutus's ancestor Lucius Junius Brutus drove out the Etruscan monarchy in 509 BC. As a result, he felt obligated to kill Caesar in order to preserve the republic.
[edit] Inaccuracies and errors
- According to eye witness reports recorded by Nicolaus of Damascus, Caesar fell before the statue of Pompey in the Theater of Pompey, not in the Senate House which was a sacred site for the Roman people. This was not shown in the episode. The Senate was meeting in the Curia, part of the complex, because Caesar was renovating the Senate House.
- Similarly, the "You too, child"? (gr.: καί σύ τέκνον) reported by Suetonius has been omitted, though this is clearly an artistic choice. It is however feasible that Caesar would not have been able to say these words due to his multiple stab wounds. Indeed, Appian's account of the assassination mentions no final words, which is at least evidence that Caesar's last words were unknown to the historians. In addition the switch to an alternate language (as in the Suetonius-source) is a literary twist for the "morale of the story" found at the end of several Roman biographies (Nero, Augustus et al.), a clear indication of a fictionalized rendition. Furthermore, Caesar's officially last words accounted for by the historians were spoken at his funeral ceremony in the person of an archmime, who was impersonating the deceased Roman leader: Men servasse ut essent qui me perderent ("Oh, did I save them that they might murder me?"), in this quoting Conquest for the Arms of Achilles by the Roman poet Pacuvius.
- It was Marcus Brutus himself who allegedly said sic semper tyrannis ("thus ever to tyrants").
- When Caesar was assassinated, Octavian was with the army at Apollonia, in what is now Albania. He was not in Rome, and not still living like a boy with his mother.
[edit] Character notes
None yet
[edit] Plot notes
- Bruno Heller avoided incorporating any of the classical elements of Shakespeare's version of the assassination: no soothsayer attempting to warn Caesar of the "Ides of March", no gasped "Et tu, Brute?" as Caesar's last words, etc.
[edit] Episode characters
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possibly incomplete
See also: Character appearances in Rome
