More Rome! Wondering about history

[lesbiassparrow]

I was just wondering how they will do (or if they will do) some of the historical events of the last years of the Republic. Below the cut is a list of things I am currently wondering about. No actual Rome spoilers, but if you don't know Roman history I guess, er, I could spoil you for that. Don't read if you want to be astonished about things like who marries who. :)



1. Antony and Octavia's marriage. And the hope that everyone had that their child would solve things - until she turned out to be a girl. While he treated her poorly, I think that there is enough evidence that it didn't really fail as a marriage until he threw in his lot totally with Cleopatra.

2. Antony and Cleopatra. I guess they will go the romance route for this, though it seems to have been a business arrangement for them at the start at any rate. The one thing I really didn't like about last season was Cleopatra, which I felt has got to be the worst characterization *ever* of her. Including some of the wilder silents.

3. Octavian and Livia. Running off with another man's heavily pregnant wife and moving in with her before you were married because you're not sure that the marriage would be legal? If Rome dumps that storyline and his first marriage one too, I'll be disappointed heavily.

4. The banquet of the 12 gods. Where Octavian and his cronies celebrated dressed as various gods. Shocking, irreligious, and surely a great scene. But they've made Octavian so calculating (which he surely was) that I am not sure that they will ever manage to give him a wild side.

5. Octavian going over to the Senate's side for a bit. They really hoped to use him and it wasn't until later that they realized that he was no controllable.

6. Maecenas and Octavian. Supposedly there was a bit of wife-swapping there. Well Maecenas swapped his wife, at any rate. And Octavian used him as his collection agency: supposedly people used to burst into tears when they got letters from Maecenas because it meant that their land was being confiscated.

7. The death of Cicero. The show doesn't have much time for him, but his end is too tragic. Careening all over the place at the end of his life, only to end up being killed on Antony's orders by (supposedly) a man he had defended on a charge of parricide.

Comments

[elspethsheir.livejournal.com]

Oh - some great issues here to mull over! I also despised the way that they portrayed Cleopatra; it was the one glaring false note for me in Season One. I'm hoping that they'll improve upon it this season, since they have a bit more time to redeem her.

And #7... I hope they'll do this justice too...

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Cleopatra really was a missed opportunity to me. They've got clever, scheming women in Rome, why not have Cleopatra have some wits? Grrr! It annoys me that they mad her drug-addled. But hopefully they do something with the character - they have a wide open field there as she is always portrayed as a sexpot.

[calapine.livejournal.com]

1 and 2 are the things I am most looking forward to, yes. I want it to be for some good proper reason, but mostly it is because James Purefoy is beautiful and shiny.

The one thing I really didn't like about last season was Cleopatra

The first time I saw it, I hated it, but an awful lot of rewatching has made me Not Hate, which is, I suppose, a good thing.

The show doesn't have much time for him

This makes me sad cause I want to be able to nitpick at the legal things and thus wish to see him orate, darnit.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

The first time I saw it, I hated it, but an awful lot of rewatching has made me Not Hate, which is, I suppose, a good thing.

I do not rewatch those bits for I remember the anger. It is a pity as it was one of the few false notes they rang.

Poor old Cicero he has not had a chance to orate yet. All he does is twitch and cling to Brutus.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I would love to see the wild side of Octavian, and 3. sounds good too. I agree with you - I was really really unsure about Cleopatra too, she just seemed like a skanky drug addict.

(And I love your post!!)

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

I hope he will cut loose at some point before he settles back into middle-aged morality. Something of Antony and his mum has got to rub off, surely?

[meret.livejournal.com]

The one thing I really didn't like about last season was Cleopatra, which I felt has got to be the worst characterization *ever* of her.

Yes! I *hated* the way they portrayed her, not to mention it was totally inaccurate. They also got the set decoration etc. all wrong for ancient egypt too.

But they've made Octavian so calculating (which he surely was) that I am not sure that they will ever manage to give him a wild side.

ITA. They seemed to have based his characterization on his political success and the morality laws he did later, (I hope I'm remembering that correctly), and ignored his wild youth. Although they did have him sleep with his sister, which is certainly pretty wild.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think I would have minded the inaccuracy so much if they'd hadn't made Cleopatra such a ninny.

It's funny now you bring up the incest, but I didn't think of it as being about Octavian's wildness...though it certainly should qualify! I just wonder how they will do the whole Livia thing - will it be the one moment where he goes off the rails?

Ps. I love your icon.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Er, the last comment was me!

[meret.livejournal.com]

I just wonder how they will do the whole Livia thing - will it be the one moment where he goes off the rails?

When did he marry her? For some reason I was thinking it was when he was older. If they only go up to him defeating Antony and taking control of Rome, they may not have her in the show at all. I hope they do. I love the idea of him marrying an even sharper version of their Atia. *g* Plus, I adored her on I, Claudius. :)

Ps. I love your icon.

Thank you! :)

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

I think the marriage is in 38, so they should be able to fit it in...