Rome:2.02 Son of Hades
Jan. 22nd, 2007 05:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
baleanopteraThoughts on Son of Hades
- but I think it could be subtitled "How Vorenus collected hubris like woah!"
For how many times did he offend the Gods in this episode? Quite a few. Though I loved that each time he did it Pullo commented on it, and said it was wrong. The biggest instance being after Maschius has come to the Aventine:
Vorenus: "What more can the Gods do to me? How can they punish me now?"
Pullo: "Dunno. Don’t want to find out."
Be careful Vorenus, because what you are saying there is what the Greeks called hubris, and it never works to your advantage. And we’re given ample proof of that at the end of the episode, with the slave cart containing his children and Lyde.
I must say I was rather expecting them to be alive and sold into slavery. I don’t think them being alive makes it to soap-operaish, but rather the contrary. For Vorenus thinks he has nothing left to live for, and so he lets himself go – and the bitter, twisted irony of it all is that he does have something to live for. His children are alive and by making himself the mob boss of the Aventine he is destroying any chance he might have had of a good future.
And that, in short, is the answer to what the Gods can do to him.
As I’ve mentioned to some of you the whole situation makes me think of a quote from Stephen Donaldson’s books Thomas Covenant Chronicle: “How do you hurt a man who has lost everything? You give him back something broken.”
I really liked Pullo’s concerned about the Gods. I think the events from the arena and the prayer before hand really changed him. He has, in a way, been shown that the Gods can have mercy and subsequently it is not a good thing to anger them.
Speaking further of Pullo (which I do like to do) was it just me or did he become the calm centre of this episode? Right after the fight between Octavian and Marc Antony there was a shot of Pullo, appearing calm and smiling.
And the shaving scene! So calm & composed. (Which is more than I was.)
Marc Antony was also fascinating, but clearly out of his depth. I liked how his response to Pullo felt like a man grasping for solid ground more than anything else. But he underestimates Octavian and is generally not very good at hiding his motives, and this will cause him trouble.
Also: ”Marc Antony buggers boys like you for a morning snack!” has to be one of the best lines of the episode.
I rather liked the fight between Octavian and Marc Antony – mostly because Octavian lost his composure on several occasions, including calling his mother a whore.
I also liked that Octavian his a little cowardly in his fighting. It isn’t before Antony turns away that he hits him with the statue (or whatever it was). Makes sense – since Octavian is not a fighter, but it also shows that he moves when you are not looking. Hee.
Octavia giggling when her brother says he think he is the man to lead the republic. In fact everybody in this episode underestimates Octavian, except Servillia. That was a nice touch – and shows that for all her horrid actions, she is a smart woman.
And I really liked that Octavian left home, because it was time for a little independence and Atia was becoming rather annoying. Also he is going to Agrippa! (Which makes me squee because I’ve always liked the historical Agrippa, so I’m very much looking forward to Rome’s take on him.)
I must say I rather liked Cleopatra in this episode. Before I have been rather indifferent to her, but here she really came into her own. I loved how she played Antony, and how she entered the party by saying: "Let us pretend we are all equals". That said so much about her character, and showed that the girl has an agenda, and I like the way she goes about it.
If "Passover" tied up a few loose ends from last season, "Son of Hades" moved new pieces onto the board. And twisted a few of the others. Poor Vorenus. *sob*
- but I think it could be subtitled "How Vorenus collected hubris like woah!"
For how many times did he offend the Gods in this episode? Quite a few. Though I loved that each time he did it Pullo commented on it, and said it was wrong. The biggest instance being after Maschius has come to the Aventine:
Vorenus: "What more can the Gods do to me? How can they punish me now?"
Pullo: "Dunno. Don’t want to find out."
Be careful Vorenus, because what you are saying there is what the Greeks called hubris, and it never works to your advantage. And we’re given ample proof of that at the end of the episode, with the slave cart containing his children and Lyde.
I must say I was rather expecting them to be alive and sold into slavery. I don’t think them being alive makes it to soap-operaish, but rather the contrary. For Vorenus thinks he has nothing left to live for, and so he lets himself go – and the bitter, twisted irony of it all is that he does have something to live for. His children are alive and by making himself the mob boss of the Aventine he is destroying any chance he might have had of a good future.
And that, in short, is the answer to what the Gods can do to him.
As I’ve mentioned to some of you the whole situation makes me think of a quote from Stephen Donaldson’s books Thomas Covenant Chronicle: “How do you hurt a man who has lost everything? You give him back something broken.”
I really liked Pullo’s concerned about the Gods. I think the events from the arena and the prayer before hand really changed him. He has, in a way, been shown that the Gods can have mercy and subsequently it is not a good thing to anger them.
Speaking further of Pullo (which I do like to do) was it just me or did he become the calm centre of this episode? Right after the fight between Octavian and Marc Antony there was a shot of Pullo, appearing calm and smiling.
And the shaving scene! So calm & composed. (Which is more than I was.)
Marc Antony was also fascinating, but clearly out of his depth. I liked how his response to Pullo felt like a man grasping for solid ground more than anything else. But he underestimates Octavian and is generally not very good at hiding his motives, and this will cause him trouble.
Also: ”Marc Antony buggers boys like you for a morning snack!” has to be one of the best lines of the episode.
I rather liked the fight between Octavian and Marc Antony – mostly because Octavian lost his composure on several occasions, including calling his mother a whore.
I also liked that Octavian his a little cowardly in his fighting. It isn’t before Antony turns away that he hits him with the statue (or whatever it was). Makes sense – since Octavian is not a fighter, but it also shows that he moves when you are not looking. Hee.
Octavia giggling when her brother says he think he is the man to lead the republic. In fact everybody in this episode underestimates Octavian, except Servillia. That was a nice touch – and shows that for all her horrid actions, she is a smart woman.
And I really liked that Octavian left home, because it was time for a little independence and Atia was becoming rather annoying. Also he is going to Agrippa! (Which makes me squee because I’ve always liked the historical Agrippa, so I’m very much looking forward to Rome’s take on him.)
I must say I rather liked Cleopatra in this episode. Before I have been rather indifferent to her, but here she really came into her own. I loved how she played Antony, and how she entered the party by saying: "Let us pretend we are all equals". That said so much about her character, and showed that the girl has an agenda, and I like the way she goes about it.
If "Passover" tied up a few loose ends from last season, "Son of Hades" moved new pieces onto the board. And twisted a few of the others. Poor Vorenus. *sob*
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 04:55 pm (UTC)I wasn't expecting it, only because this is the last season and I thought it created too many loose ends to tie up, etc., that would be better explored in a longer arc. I figured that killing them off would be an easy out for the writers to eliminate some storylines. Clearly, bad things lie ahead for Vorenus!
Hearing Octavia call Antony an animal, knowing that she marries him... that was an interesting touch.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 05:37 pm (UTC)Yes, and I'm rather dreading them. This episode also showed that he is still bound by oath to Antony, and whereas "Passover" demonstrated that Pullo is very much Octavian's man. So I expect some heartbreak to come out of that as well.
And the Octavia and Antony relationship is interesting. I liked how she watched the exchange of looks between Antony, Atia and Cleopatra in the dinner part from hell. She seems to have grown, as is a little bit more aware of her surroundings. Whereas Atia has started to annoy me.