Domina (2021) s01e03 Episode Script
Family
-Are you insane?
-[screams]
Smashing every
household shrine!
Have you forgotten
we're completely dependent
on his charity?
He's taken a risk
sheltering us.
Do you understand that?
I've come back for my birth.
But for that,
I need a new husband.
Someone with money
and influence.
-[kissing]
-Livia?
-You're all grown up.
-So are you.
Get the chains off!
Years of war, Gaius,
struggle, and luck.
brought you here.
I'd be very sorry
to see you throw it all away.
Do you think
he's a better bet than me?
How long do you think
he'll last
sharing power
with Marcus Antonius?
-I'll never be your mistress.
-Then state your terms.
-I want my inheritance back.
-In return, what do I get?
You get to divorce Scribonia
and marry Livia Drusilla
of the Claudii.
[laughing]
[Scribonia]
Good and beautiful Proserpina,
queen of the dead
and wife of Pluto,
lord of the underworld.
It's me, Scribonia,
daughter
of Lucius Scribonius Libo.
Today I ask you
to make burning pains
in the womb of Livia Drusilla.
Let the baby of Gaius Julius
in the womb of Livia Drusilla
die in writhing agony.
Let the baby of Livia Drusilla
and Gaius Julius
slither out onto the floor,
stinking and dead
like those before it.
Then let blood pour from
the vagina of Livia Drusilla
until she dies
in grief and despair.
Take mother and child into your
underworld, kind Proserpina,
and let them rot there
in darkness
for the rest of time.
Do this for me,
generous Proserpina,
before the Ides of January,
and in return I will give you
red wine, dates,
and a litter of pink piglets.
The Saturnalia is
an ancient, religious festival,
not an excuse
to get blind drunk.
A day of freedom is a privilege,
so this year anyone
coming back after dark
or soiling the floor
will be dealing with me.
The ladies Octavia and Scribonia
are invited today,
so those responsible
will make sure the dinner
is left out ready in the kitchen
and the table is set.
Thank you.
Hey.
Lord, forgive me, but
you've got visitors.
It's a holiday.
Senators.
Corvinus and Crassus.
Murena, too.
The rest I don't know.
We knew someone would come
sooner or later.
Didn't think Crassus
would be one of them.
Your enemies
are coming out in the open.
It's better that way.
They haven't come
to kill you, not here.
Not now.
Those two are smarter than that.
That's what Caesar thought.
Crassus.
Murena. Corvinus.
[laughs] Welcome.
[indistinct greetings]
[Gaius] Welcome.
[Crassus] How's Livia?
Will she be joining us?
[Gaius] You're referring
to the malicious rumor
that my wife has opinions
on politics.
And that I actually
listen to them.
[laughing]
Forgive this intrusion
on a public holiday,
but we wanted to talk
unofficially
before the Senate reconvenes
in the new year.
On behalf of the Senate
as a whole,
we were hoping to get some sense
of your views on the future.
-The future?
-How you see things evolving.
Or not.
Huh.
We've all lived
through turbulent times.
Since the killing of Caesar,
an entire generation
has known nothing but civil war.
But now the wars are over
and have been for a while.
Yes, how time flies.
Amazing to think
it's been 15 years
since you, Marcus Antonius,
and Lepidus were granted
complete and absolute powers
over everything.
By the Senate itself.
For a certain fixed term
which lapsed some time ago.
Well, special measures
were necessary.
[Crassus] And now
Marcus Antonius is dead,
and Lepidus may as well be.
So, suddenly
there's just you.
All of which the Senate has been
wondering leaves us where?
Legally.
Constitutionally.
Practically.
Now that the peace
has been restored
and your work is, well
done.
You were right.
The Senate just told me
to step down or else.
Caesar chose "or else,"
and look what happened to him.
I'm not fucking
stepping anywhere.
All right.
But we can't make
the same mistake.
♪♪
Father
this is the cheese you like
from our old farm in Caperna,
which did very well last year.
Gaius won't give back power.
Like Caesar,
he's defying the Senate.
Anything could happen.
Gaius has been a good husband
and a father
to Tiberius and Drusus.
You know I've come to love him.
I don't want him
to die like Caesar.
Maybe there's still a way
to restore the Republic.
[exhales sharply]
Help me find it.
[Drusus] You ready?
[Tiberius]
Come on, Romulus. Come on.
[Drusus] Tiberius
-you'll lose again.
-[Tiberius] Come on.
[Drusus] Oh, yes.
Let's keep going, Remus!
All the way,
all the way, all the way.
[Tiberius]
Romulus is catching up.
[Drusus] That's cheating!
[Tiberius] Hey, you put him
ahead at the start.
[Maecenas] Tell me
who else knows about this.
Maecenas.
Ah!
Agrippa.
I was just saying, we should
tell Crassus to fuck off.
I know. I heard you
from the garden.
And I was just saying
they are forcing him to choose.
Either step down
and formally hand everything
back to the Senate,
which is effectively
restoring the Republic,
or tell the Senate to go
formally fuck themselves,
which would be admitting
you're now a dictator.
Why can't we just ignore them?
Because they're right.
My position is illegal
and unconstitutional.
So fine.
You'd make a great dictator.
[Maecenas]
That was never the idea.
Was it?
[Agrippa] Well, the minute we
step down, we'll be vulnerable.
We've made a lot of enemies.
We'll make a lot more
if you don't.
Caesar was stabbed 23 times
outside the Senate.
Those mad-dog Republicans
are all dead now.
Sorry, Livia, I, uh
I meant no disrespect
to your father.
It's all right, Agrippa.
He was a mad-dog Republican.
What I'm saying is,
people are sick of war.
They'll take a dictator
in return for peace.
For a while.
Until suddenly they won't.
[Agrippa] All right.
You're right. Let's kill them.
Corvinus and Crassus
and the rest of them.
-That's not what I was saying.
-Well, it worked before.
That sounds just like
"Go fuck yourselves" to me.
[Agrippa] So what? You just want
to give it all away.
To an ambitious little fuck
like Corvinus?
He doesn't care
about the Republic.
He just wants to be you.
And Crassus.
He fought against us with Sextus
and then with Antonius.
We've been at war
all our lives.
We earned this the hard way.
Why should we hand it back?
It's yours, Gaius.
Take it. Take it now.
[Maecenas] You're better
than that, Gaius.
It's time to show it.
They're both right.
You have to choose.
One or the other.
And fast.
Where are you going?
I promised to take the boys
to see their father
while you make your mind up.
[Drusus, laughing] Oh, please
don't stop there. Come on.
No, he's gonna catch up.
Quick! Keep going. Keep going.
-Come on.
-Tiberius, Drusus.
-Your mother's here.
-[Drusus] Quick.
Are you gambling?
It's the Saturnalia, Antigone.
-We're allowed.
-[Chuckling]
Yeah?
Come! Quick!
Come! Quiet.
-Wait. Okay, go, go.
-Go, go, go!
Make sure it's
Tiberius's terrapin.
-Stop ordering me around.
-Go!
It's my plan!
-[chuckling]
-Let me see this.
-Careful. Careful.
-It's the right one.
Let's go. Let's go.
[chuckling]
Iullus, wait. I'm not allowed
to leave the house alone.
You're with us.
Come.
Greet your father.
Hello, Father. It's us.
Father, please accept
this gift of wine
-from our estate at Privernum.
-He can have the cakes.
They're stale.
He'll like them that way.
The wine's for your grandfather.
You're always mean about Father.
He betrayed the Republic.
We keep that to ourselves.
Marcellus said
you poisoned him. Father.
He says everyone knows
that you invited him to dinner
so you could poison him.
[Livia] Marcellus said that?
Listen to me.
Both of you.
I had nothing
against your father.
But if I wanted
to poison anyone,
the last place I'd do it
is my own dinner party.
It was just some bad oysters.
And you know how your father
loved oysters.
I told Marcellus
he was a liar.
Then he stuck your head
in the toilet.
No, he didn't!
Tiberius!
I got Marcellus back after.
A Roman fights
his own battles.
I'd like to know where Marcellus
heard that rumor.
Why?
It's not true.
Exactly.
Look at his little
terra-penis.
-No, it's a tail.
-That is a terra-penis.
-[laughing]
-[Woman] Whoo!
[scoffs]
Now what?
Well, now we just wait until
Tiberius finds out it's gone.
Right, and then it's, "Sorry,
we stole your stupid terrapin."
He's not coming out.
[Julia] No, Iullus,
we'll just quietly put it back
after he's spent ages
looking for it.
-And is that funny?
-It's the Saturnalia, stupid.
People play jokes on pe
-[Iullus groans]
-[Julia] Marcellus!
What did you do that for?
Because it's Tiberius's.
[Octavia] Antonia!
Okay. Go, go, go.
[Octavia] Vinnius is here.
We're late for dinner!
Where are Marcellus and Iullus?
Behind you, Mother.
Where have you
You have not been out alone?
We saw a dead body.
Well, Vinnius will get rid
of it. What were you thinking?
We will talk about this later.
Julia,
I shall tell your mother.
[Scribonia] Tell me what?
[indistinct chattering]
Marcella,
where's your husband?
Agrippa's already here. Uncle
Gaius called him over at dawn.
-So who will?
-I'm not scared of Livia.
-Then you're stupid!
-You're stupid.
Why don't you kill him, too?
[indistinct chattering]
-Welcome, everyone!
-Ah!
Happy Saturnalia.
So good to see you.
These are for you.
Thank you.
-How's the bump?
-I felt a kick this morning.
-I've been praying for you.
-Thank you.
Oh, Julia.
Don't worry.
We'll find him.
I heard a rumor today that
I poisoned my first husband.
Yes, I heard that, too.
-I hope you did.
-I wish I had.
Can we please eat, Gaius?
We ask great Saturn,
to whom these days of freedom
are devoted,
to bring us health
and prosperity.
May he remember this family
and keep us safe
from our enemies.
We are all of us here
bound together forever by blood.
And there is nothing greater
than that.
Family.
-Family.
-[All] Family.
[laughing]
Stop. Stop it.
What did I tell you earlier?
Marcellus!
I don't know
what you were thinking.
Hello? Marcellus, Iullus,
I'm talking to you.
Taking Julia out
in the street [continues]
Did you make up your mind yet?
-He always takes forever.
-I know.
Wasting his time
thinking about stuff.
[Agrippa] Huh! Exactly.
We need to find Romulus
whilst they're at dinner.
I've already searched
the house twice.
Ugh!
-[exhales]
-Mm.
It's those kids again.
Come on.
Let's look outside.
Mm.
-[sighs]
-[Gaius] You all right?
[chuckles]
Yes.
Just pregnant.
I've made up my mind
about the Senate.
[moans]
But I still want to know
what you think I should do.
You won the war,
made your fortune and brought
honor to your family.
You have nothing left to prove
to me or anyone else.
We have everything
we'll ever need.
Step back.
Live life.
And make history as the Roman
who restored the Republic.
The Republic
was corrupt and lazy
and complacent.
We can achieve so much more.
So, a dictator, then?
No, Livia.
I don't want to be a dictator.
I want to be a God.
[chuckles]
All right.
Then that's what we'll do.
We found Romulus.
-What?
-Tiberius's terrapin.
Down a sewer opening
in an alley near the house.
They tried to hide the body
there after they killed it.
Who knows about this?
-Only Tycho and me.
-Keep it that way.
I've been telling you to step in
and stop them bullying Tiberius.
He's nearly a man.
He needs to stand up
for himself.
-It's gone too far.
-This city will eat you alive.
You need to speak to Octavia.
I've spent the last ten years
making friends with Octavia
and pretending to do the same
with Scribonia.
I'm not blowing that
over a fucking terrapin.
[Rooster crows]
We don't need to make
an announcement.
There's no point
provoking the Senate.
And we don't want to start
another war, unless we have to.
We already gave control of
the treasury back to the Senate.
We re-opened the law courts.
They want their legions back,
Gaius.
That's what this is all about.
You control the army,
you control everything.
You know that and so do they.
You give the army back,
you're nothing.
-They know that, too.
-I'm not giving the army back!
I'll buy Crassus off
with a big campaign.
He can avenge his grandfather's
defeat in Parthia,
get the lost army standards
back.
You promised me that campaign.
I also need you to resign
as consul for next year.
I have to give it
to someone else.
Corvinus. Murena?
Piso.
Gaius, he was my father's
closest friend.
He fought against Caesar.
He fought against you.
He's the leader of
the old Republican faction,
such as it is now.
Having him as the other consul
will make everything
feel very reassuring.
He'll know that.
He won't take it.
He will
if you ask him.
Go to him privately.
-For me.
-[scoffs]
-He loves you like a daughter.
-He did till I married you.
-He owes you his life.
-He doesn't know that.
If anyone can get him
to be consul with me,
it's you.
[Horse neighing]
Should you be riding?
You did promise Agrippa
that campaign.
[Drusus] What do you want,
Marcellus?
Can we help you?
We, um we heard you were
looking for your terrapin.
We're very good
at finding terrapins.
You're not good at anything,
Marcellus.
[Marcellus] What did you say?
I said, "Fuck you."
[Grunting]
[Marcellus] Let go of me!
-[Tycho] All right.
-[Antigone] Enough!
[Drusus] I don't need your help.
Leave my boys alone and get out!
My father was a Roman consul.
You were a slave and a whore.
[Angry scream]
-[Grunts]
-Don't!
[Antigone] Drusus.
Let's go.
[loud moaning, squealing]
Crassus! You
You can come now.
-[Julia] Mother!
-Who's that?
-Your wife.
-[Julia] Mother!
-What?
-[chuckling] Wait here.
[panting]
[grunts]
You'll never guess
what Antigone just did.
You fought together nobly.
Like Romans.
-It isn't over yet.
-Yes, it is.
No.
It isn't.
Ha!
Livia Drusilla.
Who taught you to ride a horse?
-He did.
-[laughs]
What?
[chuckling]
Livia Drusilla?
Piso. How are you?
The boys?
Alive.
You?
Pregnant again.
Huh!
Can I speak to you?
In the new year,
Marcus Agrippa will resign
as the second consul.
It is my husband's wish
that you take Agrippa's place
and serve Rome alongside him.
Oh, he sent you.
Well, he believes
Rome would be lucky
to have a man
of your experience.
[scoffs]
Hunted through the sewers
with a price on my head.
Condemned to death
without trial,
which is the right
of every Roman citizen.
You were pardoned.
Anyone would be lucky
to have my experience.
You know the system
of two consuls
was devised
to provide a balance.
My husband knows your political
views, and he respects them.
The offer's genuine.
But his mandate from the Senate
ran out years ago.
What, is he going
to give back that power?
Hand over control of the army?
-He
-Oh, don't bother.
-Piso.
-You married a thief, Livia.
And I won't stand next to him
to make fools believe he isn't.
Nobody can hold on to power
legitimately
unless the Senate of Rome
chooses to grant it!
Think of your sons, Piso.
How it would help
their prospects.
Is that a bribe
or a threat?
I embraced your father
after Philippi.
With his last words
he asked me to look after you.
But you betrayed him
and everything he stood for.
You married the man
who destroyed him
and everything
he believed in.
For the first time, truly
I'm glad my friend is dead.
I betrayed him.
You let him die.
Did you take your life with his?
No. You came crawling back
to hide out here.
I begged my husband
for your life!
On my fucking knees!
And you took that pardon
and you saved yourself.
He should've come home.
He put his honor before me.
He left me on my own.
[Sheep bleating]
Thank you for your support.
[panting]
[panting intensifies]
What's wrong?
Nothing. Just
Just get rid of her.
Domina.
You're not normally
so timid with her.
I hate it when you watch.
I wasn't watching.
Why did you kill the terrapin?
I don't know.
I just did it.
-I suppose Julia blabbed.
-Listen to me.
You are Marcus Claudius
Marcellus.
Your uncle is the most
powerful man in Rome,
and you are his favorite.
You can't just do things.
I'll try to make this go away,
but
if it comes to it, you'll
have to stand up straight,
speak the truth
and tell everyone it was Iullus.
Iullus?
But that's not the truth.
Iullus is not our blood.
He's the son
of Marcus Antonius,
and if Octavia hadn't
adopted him, he'd be dead.
He's expendable.
You are not.
Do you understand?
You have a brilliant future,
Marcellus.
Don't mess it all up.
Not for Tiberius or anyone else.
Iullus will understand.
Mm?
Okay?
The Lady Octavia is here.
I'm sorry to have
to bring this to you.
This morning,
my son Marcellus,
he offered to help Tiberius
look for his missing terrapin.
Both your sons assaulted him.
Your freedwoman Antigone,
she then stuck him,
without provocation,
on the face,
and she scratched his eye.
I'll I'll talk to her,
of course.
No, no, no, Livia.
I don't want you to talk to her.
This behavior cannot be borne
from a freewoman with her
past.
She must be sent away.
Well, this account as presented
to me is clearly false.
I'm sorry. Are you saying
that my son is lying?
You always look
for the best in others,
and Marcellus has nothing of
your intelligence or character.
You spoil him, but you
don't seem to know him at all.
Well, maybe if you hadn't
neglected your son,
he would've turned out normal
and not an embarrassment
to our family!
A family such as yours
is surely beneath embarrassment.
Oh, you, you.
You who seduced another woman's
husband while you were pregnant.
You're no better than an actress
for all your heirs and graces.
There is much
in what you say, Octavia.
But while I live
Antigone will never be sent away
from this house.
Good night.
You were right.
I should've stopped them
bullying Tiberius.
Octavia won't help us now.
No.
One of our friends
left the signal tonight.
The German.
Let me know
what she has for us.
And what about Tiberius?
Get Tycho to put some ash
from the ovens in a box.
[Livia] Tiberius?
Little Bear, Romulus is dead.
Tycho found him in the kitchen.
He must've eaten something bad.
We didn't want to upset you.
I'm so sorry.
Here.
We cremated him like a Roman.
[Gaius] Go to your lessons.
Sorry.
-You offended my sister.
-She offended me.
And Piso?
-You're losing your touch.
-What?
I told you to fix this
with the Senate two years ago!
-I would've looked weak!
-How do you look now?
We need to do something.
Something they're not expecting.
Like what?
How would I know?
I've lost my touch.
I'm not in the mood
for this, Livia.
Ask me nicely.
[exhales, scoffs]
What?
Very nicely.
[Gaius] Piso's sheep
have given Livia an idea.
Piso refused
as I said he would.
He also said nobody could ever
hold power legally.
Unless the Senate
chose to grant it.
-So?
-So
let's get them to do that.
Let's get them
to give it to you.
Legally.
And why would
the Senate do that exactly?
Because enough of them
are sheep.
How are you, Fortunata?
I'm a slave, Lady.
How are you?
At your age,
I was sold
into a whorehouse.
We look after all our friends.
[Agrippa] I can't believe
you're even considering this.
It's a totally insane risk!
So is defying the Senate.
This at least has the appearance
of legitimacy
If it works.
which makes him different
from Caesar
If it fucking works!
Who was stabbed to death
outside the Senate.
You want to gamble everything
on a hunch about Piso's sheep?
[wheezing laugh]
It's just too clever!
Why are we even
listening to
[Livia] A woman?
[Agrippa scoffs]
The day before the battle
at Actium,
we found out
he was planning
to make a run for it
with Cleopatra.
I said, let them go,
then their fleet
will surrender,
and we'll win
without fighting.
But you said
Bollocks to that.
Let's end this now.
Once and for all.
One throw of the dice.
All or nothing.
You really want to gamble
everything on this?
We're loading the dice.
I mean, why would Livia
say such things?
And Antigone. I mean, what's
got into her? Of all people.
Oh, Livia's just ambitious
for her sons.
What Roman mother isn't?
I know for a fact she wants
Julia to marry Tiberius
-when the time comes.
-I should talk to her.
Not Marcellus or anyone else.
I said some
I said some terrible things,
Scribonia.
If I were you, I wouldn't
mention any of this again.
Or maybe
maybe a small gesture
to show you're bigger
than she is.
A new terrapin.
A present
from Marcellus
to his dear cousin Tiberius.
We can expect about 500
to attend the session.
The usual suspects.
This list is the men
that we can rely on.
Either they owe you or they
don't care about the Republic.
They just want stability
and some room at the trough.
-A hundred plus.
-Mm-hm.
These are the men
we cannot rely on,
uh, for all sorts
of reasons.
Plus men who owe
some allegiance
to the families
of Crassus and Corvinus.
Just under a hundred.
These men probably
will oppose you
because they want the Republic
back in some form or another.
Maybe 20.
The rest of these men
can go either way.
Our sheep.
Cheer up, Agrippa.
If it doesn't work,
you can always kill everyone.
[Gaius] Do we have
any kind of leverage on anyone?
What about him?
I mean, I know Taurus has
gambling debts. We can get him.
You asked to see me?
[clears throat]
Um, we're really sorry,
Aunt Livia.
It It was Iullus
that killed the terrapin,
and we got Tiberius another one,
just the same.
It wasn't Iullus.
It was me.
And I'm not sorry at all.
Well, can I go now?
Poor Tiberius.
You should've left him to die
on that mountainside.
I'm really sorry.
Apartment block on fire.
Look.
Not one of mine.
Did it occur to you, Agrippa,
if this goes wrong tomorrow,
we'll have the fucking Republic
back by dinner?
I sometimes wonder how much
that would bother Livia.
Well, it's a bit late
to question her loyalty.
I'd never forgive her.
[Horse neighing]
[mumbling indistinctly]
ungrateful fucks!
Never before has Rome
Cheer up, Gaius. If it doesn't
work, you can always divorce me.
[Agrippa]
Do you remember that time
we stood outside
the fucking tent
thinking we were going
to get killed inside?
Of course,
I might be wrong about this.
The augur pronounces
the flight of the birds
favorable to the business
of this house.
Senate is now in session.
[Gaius] Conscript Fathers.
-Here we go.
-[Gaius] I call on the gods
I can't wait to see
how he gets out of this.
[Maecenas] The dice are rolling.
If it works, you may have just
saved Rome from herself.
I'll settle for saving Gaius.
I have done what had to be done.
I have avenged my father,
Julius Caesar,
and acted to save the state
in time of war.
Now Rome is at peace!
The law courts are open.
The treasury is full.
Our seas are clear of pirates!
Temples have been rebuilt.
Roads and aqueducts repaired.
Our borders are secure.
-Our enemies are crushed!
-[Men] Hear! Hear!
Never before
has Rome enjoyed such honor
or faced so great a future.
[murmurs of agreement]
And that is why
I am resigning all powers
and returning absolute control
of the city, the provinces
and the army
to the Senate.
And the people of Rome!
What the fuck's he doing?
[Agrippa] Crassus.
On behalf of the Senate
and the people of Rome,
we thank you for all your
victories and achievements.
[murmurs of agreement]
And we thank you also
for this
magnanimous
and generous gesture.
[Agrippa] Libo.
[Libo] For 20 years,
the terrible civil wars that
tore us apart are finally over.
Trade is returning slowly,
but confidence it's
It's fragile.
And so too is
this hard-won peace,
and we should not likely
throw that away.
Rome needs stability.
-Rome needs
-[Man] It's true.
Rome needs certainty.
Now, there will be a time
when it is right
for you to step down,
but that time has not yet come.
On behalf of the Senate
and the people of Rome,
I beg you to reconsider.
I beg you to stay.
[Agrippa] Asprenas.
I don't think
I have ever knowingly agreed
with my fellow senator
[laughter]
but for once
I think he may be right.
Our troops are still fighting
in Gaul, Spain, Germany,
and Macedonia.
The Senate must consider what
our enemies in the provinces
and the tribes massing
on our frontiers will think
when they see the man
who has led Rome for so long
suddenly giving up.
What they will see
is weariness and weakness.
[Agrippa] Sabrinus.
Then let the Senate act
and show their power.
Let the Senate vote
to give back to the consul
command of those provinces where
danger still threatens Rome!
Where all the legions
are stationed.
-Oh, he's fucking us!
-If the Senate is to consider
that proposition,
it must have a strict time limit
to be renewed or not
as the Senate sees fit.
[chanting]
Stay, stay, stay, stay,
stay, stay, stay
[chanting continues]
Stay, Stay, stay
[chanting continues]
[Maecenas] You did it, Livia.
Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay,
stay, stay, stay, stay
[Livia] Agrippa's right.
He'll make a great dictator.
Stay, stay, stay
[Agrippa] I call for a vote.
[chanting continues]
So I found a way.
Gaius has to become a god.
But the god will have a son.
And I will teach him
what needs to be done.
Oh, we have time.
We can wait.
But to restore the Republic,
we first have to destroy it.
I need you to understand.
And forgive me.
[breathing heavily]
[Water flowing]
[breathing heavily]
Great and powerful Proserpina,
with these humble gifts,
I gratefully
fulfill our contract.
Hey.
We won.
It was a boy.
We'll have other boys.
♪♪
-[screams]
Smashing every
household shrine!
Have you forgotten
we're completely dependent
on his charity?
He's taken a risk
sheltering us.
Do you understand that?
I've come back for my birth.
But for that,
I need a new husband.
Someone with money
and influence.
-[kissing]
-Livia?
-You're all grown up.
-So are you.
Get the chains off!
Years of war, Gaius,
struggle, and luck.
brought you here.
I'd be very sorry
to see you throw it all away.
Do you think
he's a better bet than me?
How long do you think
he'll last
sharing power
with Marcus Antonius?
-I'll never be your mistress.
-Then state your terms.
-I want my inheritance back.
-In return, what do I get?
You get to divorce Scribonia
and marry Livia Drusilla
of the Claudii.
[laughing]
[Scribonia]
Good and beautiful Proserpina,
queen of the dead
and wife of Pluto,
lord of the underworld.
It's me, Scribonia,
daughter
of Lucius Scribonius Libo.
Today I ask you
to make burning pains
in the womb of Livia Drusilla.
Let the baby of Gaius Julius
in the womb of Livia Drusilla
die in writhing agony.
Let the baby of Livia Drusilla
and Gaius Julius
slither out onto the floor,
stinking and dead
like those before it.
Then let blood pour from
the vagina of Livia Drusilla
until she dies
in grief and despair.
Take mother and child into your
underworld, kind Proserpina,
and let them rot there
in darkness
for the rest of time.
Do this for me,
generous Proserpina,
before the Ides of January,
and in return I will give you
red wine, dates,
and a litter of pink piglets.
The Saturnalia is
an ancient, religious festival,
not an excuse
to get blind drunk.
A day of freedom is a privilege,
so this year anyone
coming back after dark
or soiling the floor
will be dealing with me.
The ladies Octavia and Scribonia
are invited today,
so those responsible
will make sure the dinner
is left out ready in the kitchen
and the table is set.
Thank you.
Hey.
Lord, forgive me, but
you've got visitors.
It's a holiday.
Senators.
Corvinus and Crassus.
Murena, too.
The rest I don't know.
We knew someone would come
sooner or later.
Didn't think Crassus
would be one of them.
Your enemies
are coming out in the open.
It's better that way.
They haven't come
to kill you, not here.
Not now.
Those two are smarter than that.
That's what Caesar thought.
Crassus.
Murena. Corvinus.
[laughs] Welcome.
[indistinct greetings]
[Gaius] Welcome.
[Crassus] How's Livia?
Will she be joining us?
[Gaius] You're referring
to the malicious rumor
that my wife has opinions
on politics.
And that I actually
listen to them.
[laughing]
Forgive this intrusion
on a public holiday,
but we wanted to talk
unofficially
before the Senate reconvenes
in the new year.
On behalf of the Senate
as a whole,
we were hoping to get some sense
of your views on the future.
-The future?
-How you see things evolving.
Or not.
Huh.
We've all lived
through turbulent times.
Since the killing of Caesar,
an entire generation
has known nothing but civil war.
But now the wars are over
and have been for a while.
Yes, how time flies.
Amazing to think
it's been 15 years
since you, Marcus Antonius,
and Lepidus were granted
complete and absolute powers
over everything.
By the Senate itself.
For a certain fixed term
which lapsed some time ago.
Well, special measures
were necessary.
[Crassus] And now
Marcus Antonius is dead,
and Lepidus may as well be.
So, suddenly
there's just you.
All of which the Senate has been
wondering leaves us where?
Legally.
Constitutionally.
Practically.
Now that the peace
has been restored
and your work is, well
done.
You were right.
The Senate just told me
to step down or else.
Caesar chose "or else,"
and look what happened to him.
I'm not fucking
stepping anywhere.
All right.
But we can't make
the same mistake.
♪♪
Father
this is the cheese you like
from our old farm in Caperna,
which did very well last year.
Gaius won't give back power.
Like Caesar,
he's defying the Senate.
Anything could happen.
Gaius has been a good husband
and a father
to Tiberius and Drusus.
You know I've come to love him.
I don't want him
to die like Caesar.
Maybe there's still a way
to restore the Republic.
[exhales sharply]
Help me find it.
[Drusus] You ready?
[Tiberius]
Come on, Romulus. Come on.
[Drusus] Tiberius
-you'll lose again.
-[Tiberius] Come on.
[Drusus] Oh, yes.
Let's keep going, Remus!
All the way,
all the way, all the way.
[Tiberius]
Romulus is catching up.
[Drusus] That's cheating!
[Tiberius] Hey, you put him
ahead at the start.
[Maecenas] Tell me
who else knows about this.
Maecenas.
Ah!
Agrippa.
I was just saying, we should
tell Crassus to fuck off.
I know. I heard you
from the garden.
And I was just saying
they are forcing him to choose.
Either step down
and formally hand everything
back to the Senate,
which is effectively
restoring the Republic,
or tell the Senate to go
formally fuck themselves,
which would be admitting
you're now a dictator.
Why can't we just ignore them?
Because they're right.
My position is illegal
and unconstitutional.
So fine.
You'd make a great dictator.
[Maecenas]
That was never the idea.
Was it?
[Agrippa] Well, the minute we
step down, we'll be vulnerable.
We've made a lot of enemies.
We'll make a lot more
if you don't.
Caesar was stabbed 23 times
outside the Senate.
Those mad-dog Republicans
are all dead now.
Sorry, Livia, I, uh
I meant no disrespect
to your father.
It's all right, Agrippa.
He was a mad-dog Republican.
What I'm saying is,
people are sick of war.
They'll take a dictator
in return for peace.
For a while.
Until suddenly they won't.
[Agrippa] All right.
You're right. Let's kill them.
Corvinus and Crassus
and the rest of them.
-That's not what I was saying.
-Well, it worked before.
That sounds just like
"Go fuck yourselves" to me.
[Agrippa] So what? You just want
to give it all away.
To an ambitious little fuck
like Corvinus?
He doesn't care
about the Republic.
He just wants to be you.
And Crassus.
He fought against us with Sextus
and then with Antonius.
We've been at war
all our lives.
We earned this the hard way.
Why should we hand it back?
It's yours, Gaius.
Take it. Take it now.
[Maecenas] You're better
than that, Gaius.
It's time to show it.
They're both right.
You have to choose.
One or the other.
And fast.
Where are you going?
I promised to take the boys
to see their father
while you make your mind up.
[Drusus, laughing] Oh, please
don't stop there. Come on.
No, he's gonna catch up.
Quick! Keep going. Keep going.
-Come on.
-Tiberius, Drusus.
-Your mother's here.
-[Drusus] Quick.
Are you gambling?
It's the Saturnalia, Antigone.
-We're allowed.
-[Chuckling]
Yeah?
Come! Quick!
Come! Quiet.
-Wait. Okay, go, go.
-Go, go, go!
Make sure it's
Tiberius's terrapin.
-Stop ordering me around.
-Go!
It's my plan!
-[chuckling]
-Let me see this.
-Careful. Careful.
-It's the right one.
Let's go. Let's go.
[chuckling]
Iullus, wait. I'm not allowed
to leave the house alone.
You're with us.
Come.
Greet your father.
Hello, Father. It's us.
Father, please accept
this gift of wine
-from our estate at Privernum.
-He can have the cakes.
They're stale.
He'll like them that way.
The wine's for your grandfather.
You're always mean about Father.
He betrayed the Republic.
We keep that to ourselves.
Marcellus said
you poisoned him. Father.
He says everyone knows
that you invited him to dinner
so you could poison him.
[Livia] Marcellus said that?
Listen to me.
Both of you.
I had nothing
against your father.
But if I wanted
to poison anyone,
the last place I'd do it
is my own dinner party.
It was just some bad oysters.
And you know how your father
loved oysters.
I told Marcellus
he was a liar.
Then he stuck your head
in the toilet.
No, he didn't!
Tiberius!
I got Marcellus back after.
A Roman fights
his own battles.
I'd like to know where Marcellus
heard that rumor.
Why?
It's not true.
Exactly.
Look at his little
terra-penis.
-No, it's a tail.
-That is a terra-penis.
-[laughing]
-[Woman] Whoo!
[scoffs]
Now what?
Well, now we just wait until
Tiberius finds out it's gone.
Right, and then it's, "Sorry,
we stole your stupid terrapin."
He's not coming out.
[Julia] No, Iullus,
we'll just quietly put it back
after he's spent ages
looking for it.
-And is that funny?
-It's the Saturnalia, stupid.
People play jokes on pe
-[Iullus groans]
-[Julia] Marcellus!
What did you do that for?
Because it's Tiberius's.
[Octavia] Antonia!
Okay. Go, go, go.
[Octavia] Vinnius is here.
We're late for dinner!
Where are Marcellus and Iullus?
Behind you, Mother.
Where have you
You have not been out alone?
We saw a dead body.
Well, Vinnius will get rid
of it. What were you thinking?
We will talk about this later.
Julia,
I shall tell your mother.
[Scribonia] Tell me what?
[indistinct chattering]
Marcella,
where's your husband?
Agrippa's already here. Uncle
Gaius called him over at dawn.
-So who will?
-I'm not scared of Livia.
-Then you're stupid!
-You're stupid.
Why don't you kill him, too?
[indistinct chattering]
-Welcome, everyone!
-Ah!
Happy Saturnalia.
So good to see you.
These are for you.
Thank you.
-How's the bump?
-I felt a kick this morning.
-I've been praying for you.
-Thank you.
Oh, Julia.
Don't worry.
We'll find him.
I heard a rumor today that
I poisoned my first husband.
Yes, I heard that, too.
-I hope you did.
-I wish I had.
Can we please eat, Gaius?
We ask great Saturn,
to whom these days of freedom
are devoted,
to bring us health
and prosperity.
May he remember this family
and keep us safe
from our enemies.
We are all of us here
bound together forever by blood.
And there is nothing greater
than that.
Family.
-Family.
-[All] Family.
[laughing]
Stop. Stop it.
What did I tell you earlier?
Marcellus!
I don't know
what you were thinking.
Hello? Marcellus, Iullus,
I'm talking to you.
Taking Julia out
in the street [continues]
Did you make up your mind yet?
-He always takes forever.
-I know.
Wasting his time
thinking about stuff.
[Agrippa] Huh! Exactly.
We need to find Romulus
whilst they're at dinner.
I've already searched
the house twice.
Ugh!
-[exhales]
-Mm.
It's those kids again.
Come on.
Let's look outside.
Mm.
-[sighs]
-[Gaius] You all right?
[chuckles]
Yes.
Just pregnant.
I've made up my mind
about the Senate.
[moans]
But I still want to know
what you think I should do.
You won the war,
made your fortune and brought
honor to your family.
You have nothing left to prove
to me or anyone else.
We have everything
we'll ever need.
Step back.
Live life.
And make history as the Roman
who restored the Republic.
The Republic
was corrupt and lazy
and complacent.
We can achieve so much more.
So, a dictator, then?
No, Livia.
I don't want to be a dictator.
I want to be a God.
[chuckles]
All right.
Then that's what we'll do.
We found Romulus.
-What?
-Tiberius's terrapin.
Down a sewer opening
in an alley near the house.
They tried to hide the body
there after they killed it.
Who knows about this?
-Only Tycho and me.
-Keep it that way.
I've been telling you to step in
and stop them bullying Tiberius.
He's nearly a man.
He needs to stand up
for himself.
-It's gone too far.
-This city will eat you alive.
You need to speak to Octavia.
I've spent the last ten years
making friends with Octavia
and pretending to do the same
with Scribonia.
I'm not blowing that
over a fucking terrapin.
[Rooster crows]
We don't need to make
an announcement.
There's no point
provoking the Senate.
And we don't want to start
another war, unless we have to.
We already gave control of
the treasury back to the Senate.
We re-opened the law courts.
They want their legions back,
Gaius.
That's what this is all about.
You control the army,
you control everything.
You know that and so do they.
You give the army back,
you're nothing.
-They know that, too.
-I'm not giving the army back!
I'll buy Crassus off
with a big campaign.
He can avenge his grandfather's
defeat in Parthia,
get the lost army standards
back.
You promised me that campaign.
I also need you to resign
as consul for next year.
I have to give it
to someone else.
Corvinus. Murena?
Piso.
Gaius, he was my father's
closest friend.
He fought against Caesar.
He fought against you.
He's the leader of
the old Republican faction,
such as it is now.
Having him as the other consul
will make everything
feel very reassuring.
He'll know that.
He won't take it.
He will
if you ask him.
Go to him privately.
-For me.
-[scoffs]
-He loves you like a daughter.
-He did till I married you.
-He owes you his life.
-He doesn't know that.
If anyone can get him
to be consul with me,
it's you.
[Horse neighing]
Should you be riding?
You did promise Agrippa
that campaign.
[Drusus] What do you want,
Marcellus?
Can we help you?
We, um we heard you were
looking for your terrapin.
We're very good
at finding terrapins.
You're not good at anything,
Marcellus.
[Marcellus] What did you say?
I said, "Fuck you."
[Grunting]
[Marcellus] Let go of me!
-[Tycho] All right.
-[Antigone] Enough!
[Drusus] I don't need your help.
Leave my boys alone and get out!
My father was a Roman consul.
You were a slave and a whore.
[Angry scream]
-[Grunts]
-Don't!
[Antigone] Drusus.
Let's go.
[loud moaning, squealing]
Crassus! You
You can come now.
-[Julia] Mother!
-Who's that?
-Your wife.
-[Julia] Mother!
-What?
-[chuckling] Wait here.
[panting]
[grunts]
You'll never guess
what Antigone just did.
You fought together nobly.
Like Romans.
-It isn't over yet.
-Yes, it is.
No.
It isn't.
Ha!
Livia Drusilla.
Who taught you to ride a horse?
-He did.
-[laughs]
What?
[chuckling]
Livia Drusilla?
Piso. How are you?
The boys?
Alive.
You?
Pregnant again.
Huh!
Can I speak to you?
In the new year,
Marcus Agrippa will resign
as the second consul.
It is my husband's wish
that you take Agrippa's place
and serve Rome alongside him.
Oh, he sent you.
Well, he believes
Rome would be lucky
to have a man
of your experience.
[scoffs]
Hunted through the sewers
with a price on my head.
Condemned to death
without trial,
which is the right
of every Roman citizen.
You were pardoned.
Anyone would be lucky
to have my experience.
You know the system
of two consuls
was devised
to provide a balance.
My husband knows your political
views, and he respects them.
The offer's genuine.
But his mandate from the Senate
ran out years ago.
What, is he going
to give back that power?
Hand over control of the army?
-He
-Oh, don't bother.
-Piso.
-You married a thief, Livia.
And I won't stand next to him
to make fools believe he isn't.
Nobody can hold on to power
legitimately
unless the Senate of Rome
chooses to grant it!
Think of your sons, Piso.
How it would help
their prospects.
Is that a bribe
or a threat?
I embraced your father
after Philippi.
With his last words
he asked me to look after you.
But you betrayed him
and everything he stood for.
You married the man
who destroyed him
and everything
he believed in.
For the first time, truly
I'm glad my friend is dead.
I betrayed him.
You let him die.
Did you take your life with his?
No. You came crawling back
to hide out here.
I begged my husband
for your life!
On my fucking knees!
And you took that pardon
and you saved yourself.
He should've come home.
He put his honor before me.
He left me on my own.
[Sheep bleating]
Thank you for your support.
[panting]
[panting intensifies]
What's wrong?
Nothing. Just
Just get rid of her.
Domina.
You're not normally
so timid with her.
I hate it when you watch.
I wasn't watching.
Why did you kill the terrapin?
I don't know.
I just did it.
-I suppose Julia blabbed.
-Listen to me.
You are Marcus Claudius
Marcellus.
Your uncle is the most
powerful man in Rome,
and you are his favorite.
You can't just do things.
I'll try to make this go away,
but
if it comes to it, you'll
have to stand up straight,
speak the truth
and tell everyone it was Iullus.
Iullus?
But that's not the truth.
Iullus is not our blood.
He's the son
of Marcus Antonius,
and if Octavia hadn't
adopted him, he'd be dead.
He's expendable.
You are not.
Do you understand?
You have a brilliant future,
Marcellus.
Don't mess it all up.
Not for Tiberius or anyone else.
Iullus will understand.
Mm?
Okay?
The Lady Octavia is here.
I'm sorry to have
to bring this to you.
This morning,
my son Marcellus,
he offered to help Tiberius
look for his missing terrapin.
Both your sons assaulted him.
Your freedwoman Antigone,
she then stuck him,
without provocation,
on the face,
and she scratched his eye.
I'll I'll talk to her,
of course.
No, no, no, Livia.
I don't want you to talk to her.
This behavior cannot be borne
from a freewoman with her
past.
She must be sent away.
Well, this account as presented
to me is clearly false.
I'm sorry. Are you saying
that my son is lying?
You always look
for the best in others,
and Marcellus has nothing of
your intelligence or character.
You spoil him, but you
don't seem to know him at all.
Well, maybe if you hadn't
neglected your son,
he would've turned out normal
and not an embarrassment
to our family!
A family such as yours
is surely beneath embarrassment.
Oh, you, you.
You who seduced another woman's
husband while you were pregnant.
You're no better than an actress
for all your heirs and graces.
There is much
in what you say, Octavia.
But while I live
Antigone will never be sent away
from this house.
Good night.
You were right.
I should've stopped them
bullying Tiberius.
Octavia won't help us now.
No.
One of our friends
left the signal tonight.
The German.
Let me know
what she has for us.
And what about Tiberius?
Get Tycho to put some ash
from the ovens in a box.
[Livia] Tiberius?
Little Bear, Romulus is dead.
Tycho found him in the kitchen.
He must've eaten something bad.
We didn't want to upset you.
I'm so sorry.
Here.
We cremated him like a Roman.
[Gaius] Go to your lessons.
Sorry.
-You offended my sister.
-She offended me.
And Piso?
-You're losing your touch.
-What?
I told you to fix this
with the Senate two years ago!
-I would've looked weak!
-How do you look now?
We need to do something.
Something they're not expecting.
Like what?
How would I know?
I've lost my touch.
I'm not in the mood
for this, Livia.
Ask me nicely.
[exhales, scoffs]
What?
Very nicely.
[Gaius] Piso's sheep
have given Livia an idea.
Piso refused
as I said he would.
He also said nobody could ever
hold power legally.
Unless the Senate
chose to grant it.
-So?
-So
let's get them to do that.
Let's get them
to give it to you.
Legally.
And why would
the Senate do that exactly?
Because enough of them
are sheep.
How are you, Fortunata?
I'm a slave, Lady.
How are you?
At your age,
I was sold
into a whorehouse.
We look after all our friends.
[Agrippa] I can't believe
you're even considering this.
It's a totally insane risk!
So is defying the Senate.
This at least has the appearance
of legitimacy
If it works.
which makes him different
from Caesar
If it fucking works!
Who was stabbed to death
outside the Senate.
You want to gamble everything
on a hunch about Piso's sheep?
[wheezing laugh]
It's just too clever!
Why are we even
listening to
[Livia] A woman?
[Agrippa scoffs]
The day before the battle
at Actium,
we found out
he was planning
to make a run for it
with Cleopatra.
I said, let them go,
then their fleet
will surrender,
and we'll win
without fighting.
But you said
Bollocks to that.
Let's end this now.
Once and for all.
One throw of the dice.
All or nothing.
You really want to gamble
everything on this?
We're loading the dice.
I mean, why would Livia
say such things?
And Antigone. I mean, what's
got into her? Of all people.
Oh, Livia's just ambitious
for her sons.
What Roman mother isn't?
I know for a fact she wants
Julia to marry Tiberius
-when the time comes.
-I should talk to her.
Not Marcellus or anyone else.
I said some
I said some terrible things,
Scribonia.
If I were you, I wouldn't
mention any of this again.
Or maybe
maybe a small gesture
to show you're bigger
than she is.
A new terrapin.
A present
from Marcellus
to his dear cousin Tiberius.
We can expect about 500
to attend the session.
The usual suspects.
This list is the men
that we can rely on.
Either they owe you or they
don't care about the Republic.
They just want stability
and some room at the trough.
-A hundred plus.
-Mm-hm.
These are the men
we cannot rely on,
uh, for all sorts
of reasons.
Plus men who owe
some allegiance
to the families
of Crassus and Corvinus.
Just under a hundred.
These men probably
will oppose you
because they want the Republic
back in some form or another.
Maybe 20.
The rest of these men
can go either way.
Our sheep.
Cheer up, Agrippa.
If it doesn't work,
you can always kill everyone.
[Gaius] Do we have
any kind of leverage on anyone?
What about him?
I mean, I know Taurus has
gambling debts. We can get him.
You asked to see me?
[clears throat]
Um, we're really sorry,
Aunt Livia.
It It was Iullus
that killed the terrapin,
and we got Tiberius another one,
just the same.
It wasn't Iullus.
It was me.
And I'm not sorry at all.
Well, can I go now?
Poor Tiberius.
You should've left him to die
on that mountainside.
I'm really sorry.
Apartment block on fire.
Look.
Not one of mine.
Did it occur to you, Agrippa,
if this goes wrong tomorrow,
we'll have the fucking Republic
back by dinner?
I sometimes wonder how much
that would bother Livia.
Well, it's a bit late
to question her loyalty.
I'd never forgive her.
[Horse neighing]
[mumbling indistinctly]
ungrateful fucks!
Never before has Rome
Cheer up, Gaius. If it doesn't
work, you can always divorce me.
[Agrippa]
Do you remember that time
we stood outside
the fucking tent
thinking we were going
to get killed inside?
Of course,
I might be wrong about this.
The augur pronounces
the flight of the birds
favorable to the business
of this house.
Senate is now in session.
[Gaius] Conscript Fathers.
-Here we go.
-[Gaius] I call on the gods
I can't wait to see
how he gets out of this.
[Maecenas] The dice are rolling.
If it works, you may have just
saved Rome from herself.
I'll settle for saving Gaius.
I have done what had to be done.
I have avenged my father,
Julius Caesar,
and acted to save the state
in time of war.
Now Rome is at peace!
The law courts are open.
The treasury is full.
Our seas are clear of pirates!
Temples have been rebuilt.
Roads and aqueducts repaired.
Our borders are secure.
-Our enemies are crushed!
-[Men] Hear! Hear!
Never before
has Rome enjoyed such honor
or faced so great a future.
[murmurs of agreement]
And that is why
I am resigning all powers
and returning absolute control
of the city, the provinces
and the army
to the Senate.
And the people of Rome!
What the fuck's he doing?
[Agrippa] Crassus.
On behalf of the Senate
and the people of Rome,
we thank you for all your
victories and achievements.
[murmurs of agreement]
And we thank you also
for this
magnanimous
and generous gesture.
[Agrippa] Libo.
[Libo] For 20 years,
the terrible civil wars that
tore us apart are finally over.
Trade is returning slowly,
but confidence it's
It's fragile.
And so too is
this hard-won peace,
and we should not likely
throw that away.
Rome needs stability.
-Rome needs
-[Man] It's true.
Rome needs certainty.
Now, there will be a time
when it is right
for you to step down,
but that time has not yet come.
On behalf of the Senate
and the people of Rome,
I beg you to reconsider.
I beg you to stay.
[Agrippa] Asprenas.
I don't think
I have ever knowingly agreed
with my fellow senator
[laughter]
but for once
I think he may be right.
Our troops are still fighting
in Gaul, Spain, Germany,
and Macedonia.
The Senate must consider what
our enemies in the provinces
and the tribes massing
on our frontiers will think
when they see the man
who has led Rome for so long
suddenly giving up.
What they will see
is weariness and weakness.
[Agrippa] Sabrinus.
Then let the Senate act
and show their power.
Let the Senate vote
to give back to the consul
command of those provinces where
danger still threatens Rome!
Where all the legions
are stationed.
-Oh, he's fucking us!
-If the Senate is to consider
that proposition,
it must have a strict time limit
to be renewed or not
as the Senate sees fit.
[chanting]
Stay, stay, stay, stay,
stay, stay, stay
[chanting continues]
Stay, Stay, stay
[chanting continues]
[Maecenas] You did it, Livia.
Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay,
stay, stay, stay, stay
[Livia] Agrippa's right.
He'll make a great dictator.
Stay, stay, stay
[Agrippa] I call for a vote.
[chanting continues]
So I found a way.
Gaius has to become a god.
But the god will have a son.
And I will teach him
what needs to be done.
Oh, we have time.
We can wait.
But to restore the Republic,
we first have to destroy it.
I need you to understand.
And forgive me.
[breathing heavily]
[Water flowing]
[breathing heavily]
Great and powerful Proserpina,
with these humble gifts,
I gratefully
fulfill our contract.
Hey.
We won.
It was a boy.
We'll have other boys.
♪♪