Passover
Season 2, Episode 1 TV-MA
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(Season Two premiere) In the wake of Caesar's murder, a cauldron of contrary emotions bubbles across Rome. Narrowly escaping the swords of Quintus Pompey and his henchmen outside the Senate, Mark Antony decides to flee to the north to raise an army, and makes plans to leave the city with Atia, her children, and Caesar's widow Calpurnia. But Octavian, after learning he is heir to Caesar's name and fortune, argues it would be best for his family to remain in Rome, and offers Mark Antony a plan. Meanwhile, a distraught Vorenus has his own funeral to arrange, but it will be done without the presence of his daughters or Niobe's illegitimate son Lucius, on whom he has issued a curse. Driven to near-madness, Vorenus is rescued by Pullo, who has returned to Rome with his new wife (and former slave) Eirene. Learning that Erastes has abducted Vorenus's daughters, the two soldiers end up paying a not-so-congenial visit to the captain at the Aventine Collegium.
Son of Hades
Season 2, Episode 2 TV-MA
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Cleopatra arrives in Rome to pay her respects to Caesar--and to attempt to get her young son legitimized. The Egyptian Queen's arrival intrigues Mark Antony and rankles Atia, who barely tolerates her new rival and Servilia during a fete. Called off a grisly mission at the last minute, Timon returns home to find his brother Levi has unexpectedly arrived from Jerusalem, his disdain for all things Roman intact. Meanwhile, Erastes' death has plunged the Aventine Collegium, and Rome's river commerce, into chaos. In an effort to restore order, Mark Antony orders Vorenus to assume Erastes' captaincy, and he and Pullo bully the warring gangs into an uneasy truce. Frustrated by Mark Antony in his attempt to secure his inheritance, Octavian takes out a loan to pay off Caesar's promise to the people, angering his mother and especially Mark Antony, who refuses the boy's offer of a power-sharing strategic alliance. The confrontation leads to Octavian leaving Rome.
These Being the Words of Marcus Tullius Cicero
Season 2, Episode 3 TV-MA
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As the nomadic Brutus and Cassius struggle to raise foreign money for an army, Mark Antony changes his post-consul itinerary from Macedonia to Gaul. The plan is derailed when Cicero delivers an in-absentia message to the Senate, then throws his support to Octavian, the new Caesar. Vorenus, meantime, is in a battle of his own, having provoked an all-out gang war in the Aventine Collegium that he blames on Pullo. At Atia's villa, Octavia passes the hours getting high on hemp, while a duplicitous youth named Duro looks for the chance to set in motion a deadly plan hatched by Servilia.
Testudo et Lepus (The Tortoise and the Hare)
Season 2, Episode 4 TV-MA
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Her treachery exposed by Duro, Servilia finds herself in Atia's villa at the mercy of Timon. Searching for Vorenus in the Mutina countryside, Pullo runs into Octavian, who has just won a bloody battle against Mark Antony. The new Caesar has decided to return to Rome with his army, and sends Marcus Agrippa to tell Octavia and Cicero the news. Meanwhile, encamped with a new army of mercenaries in Western Turkey, Brutus and Cassius have plans of their own. Vorenus and Pullo arrive at a slave camp in search of Vorenus's children, and are shocked to discover their fates.
Heros of the Republic
Season 2, Episode 5 TV-MA
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Against Pullo's advice, Vorenus returns to the Collegium with his rescued daughters and Lucius, who are soon reunited with Lyde and undergo a cleansing ritual for past sins. Denied a triumph in Rome, Octavian urges Cicero to embrace his request to be made Consul; in exchange, Octavian promises not to make a move without consulting Cicero first. Octavian is reunited with Atia and Octavia; while the former begs for forgiveness, the latter doesn't like what her brother has become. Octavian's first act as Consul takes Cicero and the Senate by surprise. Vorenus attempts to make peace with Memmio and Cotta, who wonder if he's gone soft. To gain advantage over Brutus and Cassius's army, two adversaries patch up their differences.
Philippi
Season 2, Episode 6 TV-MA
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Brutus and Cassius see their military advantage vanish in the wake of Octavian's new alliance with Mark Antony. In Rome, Vorenus receives orders to execute scores of Rome's elite, dividing the task among the Collegium's gang captains. Cicero attempts to warn Brutus of his army's danger, but is foiled by the arrival of Pullo at his villa. Mark Antony adds a few names to the list of condemned, as does Atia; Octavia and Vorena the Elder find themselves enchanted by unlikely suitors; Eirene shares some domestic news with Pullo; Levi and Timon precipitate a synagogue melee; and Atia gets Octavia to reveal a secret as Octavian heads out of Rome. On the plains of Philippi, two armies clash, with the future of Rome at stake.
Death Mask
Season 2, Episode 7 TV-MA
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Servilia's incessant cries for justice drive Atia to distraction, and result in an unfortunate public denouement. Meanwhile, Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus agree to divvy up Rome's territories, sharing a common treasury. The coalition is immediately tested when Mark Antony fails to report a substantial bribe. At the Collegium, Eirene insists that Pullo punish Gaia for insubordination, but the slave turns the flogging to her advantage. Levi urges a reluctant Timon to help him kill Herod, who has arrived from Judea with a secret agenda. While the newly freed Posca takes a bride, Octavian turns a more public wedding into a political statement of unity.
A Necessary Fiction
Season 2, Episode 8 TV-MA
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Octavian proclaims a new era of virtue in Rome, issuing a stern mandate that proves impossible for his family and subordinates to obey. A shipment of gold is mysteriously hijacked while en route to the Roman treasury, casting suspicion everywhere and sending Vorenus on a mission to learn who betrayed whom. In the wake of personal tragedy, Pullo turns his grief into fury at Memmio, Omnipor and their henchmen. After courting an "appropriate" bride named Livia, Octavian turns his attentions to more important matters, issuing to Mark Antony an ultimatum he knows he can't refuse.
Deus Impeditio Esuritori Nullus (No God Can Stop a Hungry Man)
Season 2, Episode 9 TV-MA
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Rome is facing a dire shortage of grain, forcing Octavian to barter with Mark Antony to get new shipments sent from Egypt. But instead of agreeing to Octavian's price--money and territory--Mark Antony flatly turns him down, pointing towards an inevitable conflict between the two former allies and, perhaps, Vorenus and Pullo. As a last resort, Octavian sends Atia and Octavia to Alexandria, knowing their reception will most likely be a chilly one. At the Collegium, where Pullo is rationing out grain to increasingly restless Romans, Gaia saves her master from a caged animal's wrath, but can't save herself. After fleeing a deteriorating situation in Egypt, Posca gives Octavian the ammunition he needs to turn the people against Mark Antony, setting in motion the wheels of war.
De Patre Vostro (About Your Father)
Season 2, Episode 10 TV-MA
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(Series finale.) In the aftermath of the battle of Actium, Mark Antony returns to Alexandria, settling into a world of numbing debauchery with Cleopatra. Meanwhile, Octavian turns to Pullo to try to convince Vorenus to give up Cleopatra's palace in lieu of a fiery siege. Predictably, Vorenus refuses, but Cleopatra seems all too willing to dupe Mark Antony in order to save her life, if not her honor. With Octavian's army at the palace steps, Vorenus flees with Caesarion, Cleopatra's imperious son and Caesar's supposed heir, whom Octavian wants dead. As Vorenus exits the city with the boy, Pullo is ordered by Octavian to track them down. Their journeys lead Vorenus and Pullo back to Rome for an emotional reunion at the Collegium--just as Octavian's triumph is being held amidst bittersweet pomp and circumstance.