An Owl in a Thornbush

Pompey forces the Roman citizens to pick sides and orders a strategic retreat from the city.

Atia recruits Timon to do her dirty work for her, this demonstrates just what Atia will do to get what she wants.

My favourite parts of the episode were Lucius and Titus bonding while on a scouting mission. Their exchanges of dialogue were funny and their characterisation interesting.

Atia's home under siege by an angry mob was a highly entertaining scene. The family discuss who will each other if the mob makes it inside.

'An Owl in a Thornbush' is as good, if not better than 'How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic'

I asm having SO much fun with this show. Its like a parody of a serious topic, and yet it is able to keep up it's seriousness while being incredibly fun to watch.

God why havent I watched this earlier.

Doing a rewatch in 2024, wow I've forgotten or underappreciated so many of the little details. The characters are very relatable and draw you in, without suffering from that bete noir of historical drama, characters being written with gratingly modern sensibilities.

The discussion about the G-spot between Pullo and Vorenus was hilarious. He thought only NIobe had one! But very realistic. A prig like him wouldn't take part in the tavern and army tent conversations that would pass such info around. Pullo probably knew about the G-spot before he hit puberty.

Other great period details: Vorenus' horror of treason, which he conflates with sacrilege that will attract the ire of the gods. How can Mars be watching all this and not mow us all down with lightning bolts where we stand? Loyalty to the 13th is nothing compared with angry deities.

Niobe's inability to confess her adultery to her husband in a situation that modern people would regard as justifiable. Vorenus could legally slaughter his entire family and Niobe knows it.

Atia nonchalantly arranging for murder/suicide of the whole household. It's the noble Roman thing to do, and they'll all be welcomed to the Fields of Elysium, so it's only a minor inconvenience after all. Octavia being less concerned about death than that it won't be her mother who gets to kill her.

Brutus' logic in siding against his great friend Caesar for the good of the Republic. Or maybe because he thinks Pompey will be on the winning side? Hard to tell, he seems a bit slippery.

Also it's interesting how Brutus and Caesar were cast. The actors look like father and son, so perhaps the producers are siding with Plutarch on that longstanding historical controversy.

If only it were possible to somehow pick up the plotline from where it was left off. Even if it requires a time jump of 15 years to explain the aging of the surviving characters. That would place it around 15 BC.

The reign of Augustus Caesar was in full swing. His stepsons Tiberius and Drusus of I, Claudius fame were subduing Roman tribes. Claudius' doomed golden boy elder brother, Germanicus, was born that year. Claudius would be born five years later. Good time to pick the story back up!