After last week’s blog entry, a reader wrote in wondering why I didn’t discuss the violent arena scene in more detail. My answer: I don’t know. The scene certainly deserves mention as it was one of the goriest scenes HBO has broadcast, and it almost makes up for the awful strobe-filled “battle scene” we saw in episode 7. But the best thing about the scene was the great display of the brotherly love that Lucius and Titus have for each other.
On to this week’s episode, which is also the season finale. Like another HBO franchise, “The Sopranos,” this series isn’t afraid to kill off a main character. Okay, everyone knew that Caesar was going to bite it soon, but who would have guessed that Niobe would take a header off a balcony? I’ll admit – that caught me by surprise. Servilia was the key that tied both storylines together. With the news of Niobe’s illegitimate son, she pulled Lucius away from Caesar’s side so that he wouldn’t be there to protect Caesar when the Senators made their move. It was actually quite brilliant.
Even more surprising than Niobe’s suicide was Titus’ former slavegirl pulling a 180 and grabbing the big man’s hand at the end of the episode. You would think that killing a girl’s boyfriend wouldn’t be the way to her heart, but apparently, you’d be wrong. The girl’s ex has to be rolling over in his grave at the thought of his murderer tapping his love, but there isn’t much he can do about it anymore. Darwinism, at its finest.
Looking forward to next season, it should be interesting to see how the new Republic moves forward and how Lucius deals with a boy that is not his own. Servilia’s threats towards Atia should provide material for another compelling storyline. Despite losing the considerable presence of Julius Caesar, the series is actually setting up pretty well for a second season.
