Domina (2021) s02e01 Episode Script

1
[Livius] Our family fought
to establish the Republic,
but now, I think we'll
have to fight again to keep it.
[Livia] But, to restore
the Republic,
we first have to destroy it.
The Republic
was corrupt and lazy.
We can achieve so much more.
I want to be a god.
[Scribonia] 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.
[Livia] May I ask a favor?
The boys. You want me
to adopt them.
Just look out for them.
Power must go to someone
who would give it
back to the Senate.
You're not talking
about me, are you?
I'm talking about Drusus.
[Gaius] Gaius Julius Silanus
tells me that two nights ago,
you broke into his house
to debauch a slave girl.
It was his daughter
I was debauching.
[both grunt]
[Livia] Drusus!
[Agrippa]
I put you where you are,
and Livia kept you there!
Shame on you to get rid of her
the minute she's no use!
-[grunts]
-[panting]
How long have you known?
Does my father know?
Of course not. Julius would
never see you or Rome again.
There are rules,
even for people like us.
I'm going to now adopt Marcellus
as my son and heir.
[Marcellus]
Thank you, Father. [chuckles]
Clarify his position
to the Senate publicly.
[Livia] I agree.
Well, I don't think that Gaius
needs our approval.
This isn't about
protecting the boys.
This is about power.
Marcellus has to go first.
He can never take power, never.
Marcellus.
[sobbing] No, Marcellus!
Marcellus, no, no, no, no, no.
[Octavia] Gaius, I have
something terrible to tell you.
It's about Livia and Marcellus
and Antigone and Tycho.
They killed my son.
[Julia]
We have to destroy her.
Do you think I killed him?
Means, motive,
and opportunity, Livia.
You had all three.
[Gaius] Julia, you're out of
mourning for Marcellus,
so obviously it's time
for your next marriage.
And I can think of nobody better
than my brother, Marcus Agrippa.
[Agrippa]
Neither can I.
Marcella, you'll marry Iullus.
[Livia] While I live,
Antigone will never be
sent away from this house.
I will never forget you.
I'm Livia Drusilla
of the Claudi.
I don't break my word,
and I don't run.
[Tycho]
I love you, Livia Drusilla.
I love you, too.
[woman vocalizing]
♪♪♪
[thunderclap]
[vocalizing continues]
[thunderclap]
♪♪♪
[thunderclap]
[vocalizing continues]
[dog barking]
♪♪♪
[man groans]
[thunderclap]
♪♪♪
[horse whinnies]
♪♪♪
Fuck.
We made it.
I just want a bath.
[sighs]
About that
[horse nickers]
It won't take long.
[thunderclap]
[rainfall]
[Gaius] You want to know
what's really going on?
You go to a whorehouse.
We've been away a long time.
You get things you don't get
from official dispatches.
I just wanna know
what the people are thinking.
Well, I don't care
what the fuck they're thinking.
I just want a bath.
Just a quick drink.
No one will recognize us.
You're always telling me
to listen to the people.
[loud conversation and laughter
in distance]
Great.
[Pimp] Hey, you.
If you want to pimp
your woman in here,
you have to pay the house.
[people clamoring]
You can have me for six asses,
in a private room,
any way you want.
And there's boys, of course.
Just some wine,
and something to eat.
There's nothing
to eat here, you ass!
There's a famine.
Where have you been?
There's no bread anywhere.
The grain stores are all empty.
And where's fucking Augustus?
Off east somewhere
the last three years.
Doesn't give a fuck about us.
If that fuck Augustus
and his slut of a wife
show their faces in Rome now,
they'd be thrown
in the fucking Tiber!
So now you know
what the people are thinking.
Let's go.
Hey! You owe me for the wine.
-Drink it yourself. Argh!
-Hey!
[crowd clamoring]
Gaius!
[crowd clamoring]
Gaius!
[indistinct shouting]
-[Gaius] Livia!
-[grunting]
[Livia] Gaius!
[Gaius] Livia!
[waitress] Get back here!
[both groan]
Try to fuck off
without paying!
-[Livia] Get off me!
-[Waitress groans]
[Livia groans]
[waitress grunts]
-[indistinct shouting]
-[man] Break it up!
Arrest both those bitches!
-Enough!
-[Livia] Get off me!
-Gaius! [panting]
-Uhh!
[Tycho] Tiberius!
Excuse me, Vipsania.
Tiberius, it's your mother.
[Tiberius] Drusus.
[Gemina] Tiberius.
Fuck off!
They're back, Gaius and Mother.
What?
Oh, fuck!
She's lost.
The fuckers aren't due back
for months.
Stepfather!
By the river in the Thirteenth!
[Tycho] We'll find her!
What the fuck
are you staring at?
Have you seen a woman?!
Dark hair!
She was in a fight
with a whore earlier!
[woman] Didn't see anything.
[door opens and closes]
[indistinct conversations]
Where's my fucking wife?
[theme music playing]
[door shuts]
-[keys turn]
-[Livia groaning]
The watchmen stole
your bracelets.
Were they really gold?
They were my mother's.
Hey!
Hey, you! You!
I'm Livia,
the wife of Augustus!
[woman]
Shut your trap!
Shit!
[women shouting indistinctly]
-Are you a whore?
-[laughter]
What?! No.
[Ursa]
I'm going to be a whore.
I'm going to have a new dress
and loads to eat.
[panting]
Can we send messages
out of here?
[Ursa]
If you have money.
If you don't, you'll go
to the market tomorrow.
What market?
The slave market.
The watchmen sell you there.
They're not supposed to,
but they do.
Unless you have money.
They can't sell me.
I'm a citizen.
[Ursa]
Can you prove it?
[grunts] Me neither.
You should get
some sleep, Livia.
You want to look
your best tomorrow,
or you might get bought
for the fields.
You don't want to end up
in the fields.
Nobody lasts long there.
[woman screaming in distance]
[indistinct conversations]
We're at the market.
I've never been, have you?
[man] Hey. Hurry up.
Why are you here anyway?
I got caught stealing bread
off Faustus.
He collects the poop
for the tanneries.
Do you know him? [groans]
I thought there wasn't
any bread.
There isn't.
Unless you know where it is.
Faustus always has bread.
-Move.
-[grunting]
[slaver] Whorehouse.
Whorehouse.
Fields.
I'm sorry, Livia.
-Hey, what's your name?
-Ursa!
[slaver] Move.
Pretty Roman girl,
native speaker.
Certified healthy virgin
ready for the brothel,
light work in the house.
What shall we start with?
[bidder] 5,000.
[slaver]
5,000. Five and a half?
Five and a half. 6,000?
6,000! Six and a half?
She's still a bargain,
six and a half?
Sold, 6,000.
[slaver]
Younger than she looks.
This one offers
years of experience.
[whispers] Smile, you bitch,
or I'll flog your arse
right here.
[normal voice]
Tough and scrawny,
she won't cost much to feed,
always a consideration,
especially in a famine.
Treated properly, will give you
years of excellent service
in the kitchen or in the fields.
What shall we start with?
-1,000?
-[man] Too much.
[laughing] 1,000, anybody.
Darius. That old bag
is the exact image
of Livia Drusilla, huh?
A bargain at 950.
It's incredible,
the resemblance,
apart from the black eye,
of course.
[slaver laughs]
Seriously? 950.
I should buy her
as a wedding gift
for Tiberius and Vipsania.
[clears throat] 900.
Or maybe not.
I am Livia,
daughter of Marcus Livius
and the wife of Caesar Augustus.
-[crowd laughing]
-Livia?
And I will give 50,000 in silver
to anyone who takes a message
to my husband.
-And a sense of humor.
-[laughter]
800, priced to clear.
Livia
-[slaver] 500!
-[Piso] Livia!
-Piso!
-[Piso] Livia!
I am Gaius Calpernius Piso!
Cut this woman loose, now!
-Cut her loose.
-What took you so long, huh?
I was waiting for the price
to bottom out.
[panting]
You! I want that last girl
back here now!
Livia! What the fuck happened?
You wanted to know
what people are thinking.
That'swhat happened!
We were up all night
looking for you.
-Good!
-Livia!
It's a full-scale
fucking famine.
I can't rule Rome
if I can't feed it.
I know.
I've summoned
the grain prefects.
-I want you to listen in.
-Well, I'll be in the bath!
Burn that fucking whorehouse
to the ground!
[gasps]
You must be Aelina. Hmm?
I'm Livia.
Tycho.
You gave us a fright.
Oh
She's so beautiful.
Yeah.
So like Antigone.
She left something for you.
She had a little time at the end
to well, make preparations.
She said she would wait for you
by the river in the underworld,
and she wanted you
to have this.
Her poisons.
Yes, she said you were bound
to need them.
Ah, er, forgive me, I
[Aelina babbling]
[gasps]
There's something that I never
dared ask you in a letter.
[sighs]
Deep down, Gaius knows
we killed Marcellus.
But he doesn't care.
Not enough.
Not while I'm useful,
and I will always be useful.
So we're all right?
If we weren't, we'd be dead.
[scoffs]
Octavia still wears black
for Marcellus every day.
We had no choice.
I did.
I'm going to need
your help today.
The grain prefects, Dominus,
Titus Cloelius Siculus
and Marcus Cassius Elva--
I know who they are.
[Titus] On behalf of the Senate
and the people of Rome,
Augustus, welcome back.
I trust we find you well
after your long
and glorious voyage.
The State, the City of Rome,
all of it, everything, me,
rests on
a single unspoken agreement.
Half a million shit-poor Romans
agree to let
a few hundred senators
live in luxury
right in front of them. Why?
Because, we agree
to give them
the bread they need, free,
every day of the year.
and that is why
they don't tear us
and our families
to fucking pieces
in our beds.
With respect, Augustus,
the autumn storms
have never been this bad,
and we can't control
the weather.
The transports from Sicily
and Egypt are losing
six out of seven ships.
The warehouses
at Ostia are empty.
As soon as anything
comes into the port,
we bring it
straight up the river.
It's the ship owners, Augustus.
They've let us down completely.
[Gaius]
You're the grain prefect--
an office I created
after the last famine
to make sure
it never happens again.
I appointed you both.
I trusted you both.
You've failed me.
Get out.
[Aratus] Drusus Nero,
Tiberius Nero, Iullus Antonius.
Is it true the nightwatch sold
mother off in the slave market?
Not a single fucking bid.
[Drusus laughs]
[Gaius]
I wish I'd been there.
Where's Domitius?
Out on Octavia's estate
with my sister,
but I've sent for him.
Any news of Agrippa?
Due to leave Spain ten days ago,
but the winds
have been against him.
[Gaius] One of you should have
warned me about this famine.
What could you have done?
[Iullus]
We didn't want to worry you.
And besides, the grain prefects
were constantly saying
it was about to get better.
Well, you three
are the new grain prefects.
We're going
to the port at Ostia,
having all the warehouses
searched.
All of them?
We'll find
the grain merchants there,
see what they have to say.
And, Tiberius,
assemble the Senate.
Emergency session.
There's hardly anyone here.
They've all left Rome.
You should keep
your doors locked.
-[Drusus] Grain prefects, fuck.
-[horse whinnies]
It shows he trusts us.
It's a chance to impress.
No, it isn't. If it was
a chance to impress,
fucking Domitius would be here.
He's right.
[Iullus]
Yes, he is.
two cohorts of Praetorians
into the city, my authority.
Spread them
round the district. Go.
[door opens]
[panting, laughing]
I didn't know
Octavia was in Rome.
Yes, and someone's told her
about Gemina.
If I were you,
I'd move her out of the house
before Mother finds out.
If I were you,
I'd be more worried about
what Mother thinks
of your wife. [chuckles]
Right. And that's why
you're Drusus.
[horse whinnies]
-[Tycho] If you could just
-[Livia] Right.
Octavia.
Lady.
I've chosen not to speak
to my brother about this,
unless, of course,
it becomes necessary.
Your son Drusus,
he's openly living
with his German concubine
in the house that he bought
next to mine.
Now, of course,
if he were simply using a slave,
one couldn't object.
But he freed her recently.
The girl now rides around
in a chair covered in jewelry,
as if they were married.
Drusus is engaged
to my daughter, Antonina.
This behavior is offensive
and disrespectful to our family.
I will deal with it.
[Octavia] Hmm.
Unless, of course, you'd prefer
to cancel the betrothal?
[Livia] Did you know
about Drusus?
Ah, well
[Piso] Livia, I had
the watchmen flogged.
-Here are your bracelets.
-Oh, thank you!
[Piso] And, uh
Ursa.
Where do you live?
In the City of the Dead.
There's an old tomb there
some of us sleep in.
You told me
there's bread in Rome
if you know where to look.
Doyou know where to look?
Do I get to go back
to my whorehouse after?
No.
Can I keep the dress?
I see your thinking.
If there's some bread
we don't know about
-[Ursa] Come on, this way!
-there's some grain
we don't know about.
And if there's some grain
we don't know about,
then what else
don't we know about?
And why don't we know it?
Here! This is where
Faustus lives.
[door creaks]
That's him! Faustus, there!
[Tycho] Fuck!
Prime Egyptian grain.
[Piso]
Where is he getting it?
[Livia] Get it handed out,
Tycho, and find Faustus, now.
I'm sorry, I forget, you don't
work for me anymore. Sorry.
No, I'd love to find him.
Ursa?
[sighs]
Here he is, finally.
[Domitius] We agreed,
we don't meet in public.
It's an emergency.
Fucking Augustus is back!
I know.
The idea was to get out clean
before he came back.
It was. That's right.
We have to release the grain.
-All of it, now.
-If we do that,
the price will collapse
and Augustus
will start asking questions.
He's right.
We'll bring in
more grain gradually
until everything
goes back to normal.
We just have to hold our nerve.
[Titus]
It's all right for you.
Augustus hates us now.
Our careers are over.
You wanted the money.
If I go down, I won't go alone.
I'm losing confidence
in Siculus.
[Livia] Vipsania.
[Vipsania]
You've got a black eye.
Where is she?
[Gemina] Ow!
Out. I'm sorry to interrupt
your waxing.
[Gemina]
What are you doing?
Who do you think you are?
My son Drusus is engaged
to the niece of Augustus.
Next year, they will marry.
In the meantime, he cannot
live openly with a woman.
I am the daughter of a king.
Not anymore.
And I don't take orders
from anyone.
[Livia] You will take them
from me. Pack your things.
You will live on my estate
outside of Rome
until I find you a husband.
I'm not leaving Drusus.
[sighs]
And I'm not leaving Rome.
Drusus set me free.
I can do what I want.
And this is his house,
not yours. Old woman.
Walk with me.
As, uh, the wife of Tiberius,
you will have
a high public profile.
Yeah, I don't care
about any of that.
Well, you will set an example
to the women of Rome
by not snooping behind curtains
and, of course, by supporting
your husband in his career.
Tiberius isn't interested
in that.
Neither am I.
We can't wait to leave Rome.
We're gonna build a big house
in the country
without a road,
so no one else can find it.
No, you're not.
[under breath] You were always
a weird, little kid.
I just went straight to her.
That's all I did. I didn't
Domitius, there you are!
We were worried about you.
Will you send for Antonia,
tell her
that her husband's here?
[Marcella]
Guess what, Domitius.
Uncle and Livia are back,
and Mother tore into her
about Drusus
and his German slut.
I did not!
Oh, Antonia!
I did not tear into her.
[Marcella]
I wish I'd been there.
[Octavia]
Darling, do sit down.
It's not the girl's fault,
any of it.
I feel sorry for her.
[Octavia] What about Antonina,
do you feel sorry for her?
As her fiancé beasts himself
in front of everyone we know?
I mean, really,
this perpetual niceness!
I find it insufferable,
and I don't know
where you get it from.
Is Iullus here?
He sent me a note.
[Marcella]
Iullus? [chuckles]
Uncle made him a grain prefect,
so, obviously,
the fun's as good as over.
[laughs]
Marcella, stop being so mean
about your poor husband.
Marcella's mean about everyone.
So Iullus is a prefect now.
What else has happened?
[Piso]
Did you find Faustus?
No, he's gone to ground.
-And the girl?
-[Tycho] No.
[Piso]
It's your move, Livia.
So, I went
to the public treasury
and had a look
at the last census records.
Faustus is listed at his address
as a freed man
under his full name,
Titus Cornelius Faustus,
which as you know,
means he was once the slave
of Titus Cornelius Siculus,
the grain prefect.
Fucking hell!
-[horse nickers]
-Augustus, welcome back.
Domitius.
Did you find anything?
The warehouses
at the port were empty,
and the merchants are blaming
the weather and each other.
Piso! What are you
doing here?
Ah, just trying
to stay relevant.
[both chuckle]
I've got a message
from your wife.
At least one of the grain
prefects is corrupt.
Siculus has been supplying
one of his ex-slaves with grain.
Lots of grain.
I can't believe it.
So, what does that mean exactly?
[Piso] Well, it means
there's grain here,
and, if you know
where it is, it means
the grain prefect
has been lying to Rome,
and if he's lying to Rome
about that, what else is a lie?
And if one of the prefects
is lying,
how can we trust the other one?
The price of grain
is astronomical.
So we have to consider
the probability
that this isn't a famine.
It's a conspiracy.
With your permission,
I'll have the prefects arrested.
Alive.
I need them alive,
especially Siculus.
They're no good to me dead.
You two go
and greet your mother.
[Drusus scoffs]
Tiberius. You've changed.
Mother.
You, however, have not.
Nice black eye, Mother.
-Should've seen the waitress.
-[Drusus chuckles]
The German is unacceptable.
All right.
I'll get her an apartment.
[Livia]
It's too late for that.
Get her out of Rome
by dawn tomorrow, or I will.
I will find her an apartment
on the other side of the city.
She is not to be touched.
I left you in charge
of your brother.
What are you going to do?
Octavia's new son-in-law,
what do you make of him?
-[Tiberius] Domitius?
-Hmm.
He's ruthless,
ambitious, and clever.
The son you never had.
[scoffs]
[Piso]
I knew his father.
Tried to kill him once.
He changed sides three times
in the civil war.
No one could trust him.
He was always trying to fuck me.
With Domitius, we go carefully.
[men groaning]
[men grunting]
[woman moans]
[laughter]
♪♪♪
Out.
Augustus has ordered
your arrest, both of you.
[Titus] What? Why?
'Cause you got caught
secretly giving grain
to your family dependents,
which has raised questions
about your probity.
I won't say anything.
You'll betray us both.
I'll get away. I'll take a ship.
I'm afraid that won't do.
[groans] No!
-[muffled scream]
-[blade rips]
[exclaims in agony]
Shut him up!
[screaming]
[muffled groaning]
[Marcus] Shh! Shh!
[indistinct shouting
and groaning]
An honorable suicide.
How much of the blame
can he take?
You need to get out of Rome
until we know.
Without you or Siculus,
they have nothing.
I, er I will not be attending
the dinner
at my brother's house.
I shall be returning
to the country tomorrow,
so would you please
present my excuses?
-[Antonia] Mother?
-Mmm?
Your difficulty with Olivia
must be resolved.
For the family.
Your daughter's marrying
her son next year.
Hmm. A lot can happen
before then.
Her difficulty with Livia,
as you put it,
was my brother's murder,
and unlike you, I'm not about
to forgive or forget.
There's no proof that Livia had
anything to do with it.
I can never work out if you're
naive or just stupid, Antonia.
[breathing heavily]
I won't let
anything happen to you.
Ever.
I love you, Drusus.
I'm not coming to the dinner.
We are going out gambling,
at Vilbia's.
That will be all.
Can I speak to you, Drusus?
[sighs]
What?
My very first memory,
as a tiny child, is Mother,
smashing a man's head in
with a rock.
She was soaked in his blood.
Her breasts,
her arms, her hands
His face was just pulp.
I'm not giving up Gemina.
You can't not come to dinner.
Yes, I can.
No, you can't.
I have to pay my respects.
You should stay home.
I won't be long.
Was that true--your memory?
She was sublime.
That was, like, seven,
maybe five years ago.
Yeah. It feels like forever ago,
but it's just still so strange.
I've never seen
the city like it, you know?
Oh, please stop moaning,
Antonia. Even I've had enough.
-[Drusus] Antonia.
-Drusus?
[Drusus] Marcella.
How are we doing?
Fairly well.
Let's find something cheerful
to talk about.
[Gaius] Vipsania!
What?
I know. Forget about it.
[indistinct conversations]
[door opens]
New fucking olives are
the ones I told them
[continues indistinctly]
three years ago.
-They just taste like that.
-It's a real problem, you know.
The Greeks always harvest
too late, these days.
[Marcella]
What's she doing here?
He's not bringing his slut
to dinner with us.
-[Tiberius] Drusus
-Hello. What's for dinner?
[laughing]
[Drusus] No, no, no.
[speaking indistinctly]
Who the fuck is that?
He dishonors my sister
with that whore from Germania.
[laughter]
Livia.
Oh, dear.
Did you know about Drusus?
I'm dealing with it.
He disrespects my niece.
My family!
It's not his fault
there is a famine. It's yours!
I told you
three years was too long!
Don't change the subject!
This isthe subject!
You lost control
and you turn on my son
because it's easy and you can.
You've never been weak.
Don't start now. I despise it.
Is this an enormous fucking row
about Drusus?
Because I think we've got
bigger problems.
[Livia] Agrippa!
Father
I've never seen Rome like this.
Are we going to be all right?
Of course.
-Fuck.
-[Julia] Livia.
-You're unpopular.
-[chuckles]
Praetorians on the streets.
Mobs stoning the Watchmen.
You know the Aurelian Gate's
on fire?
Just give us a minute, yeah?
Okay.
[laughter]
-[Agrippa] Vipsania!
-[Vipsania] Yes?
How's marriage?
I really like sex,
but I can't stand Livia.
Right.
[Livia]
You're right about Drusus.
But nothing has changed.
The plan is the same.
We make you a god.
We train up the boys.
We kill anyone
who gets in your way, together.
I wish
I didn't fucking love you.
[sighs]
Love makes us weak.
Hmm. A luxury we can't afford.
[Livia]
No, not right now.
I'll deal with Drusus.
You have other problems.
[man] He's fast asleep.
[indistinct conversations]
[Gaius]
Did you find them?
[Domitius]
That fuck, Siculus,
just killed himself
in a whorehouse.
[Iullus]
And Elva's run for it.
They were well-informed.
[Iullus]
I searched his house,
and I did leave guards there
in case he returns.
I sent men to all the gates,
but he might have got out.
Oh, he might have got out?
Of course he fucking got out!
What the fuck?
-What was I supposed to do?
-You were supposed to find them,
because without
those fucking prefects,
we've got no fucking leads
and no fucking grain!
At least we know
who's behind it.
[Agrippa]
People can't eat that.
If we don't find some bread
in the next couple of days,
you and me are fucked.
Enough.
We'll be along in a minute.
They werewell-informed.
Could you not have just kept
your fucking mouth shut
about Drusus?
Without your marriage to me,
Iullus, you're nothing.
Try and remember that.
[Livia sighs]
[door opens]
Sorry, not disturbing you,
are we?
All right, look.
We know that harvests in Egypt
and Sicily were good.
Good enough.
Let's assume Elva and Siculus
and whoever else
buy as much as they can
and then somehow
stop it from coming to Rome.
Well, the price shoots up.
They feed it in slowly,
keeping the price high.
They'd need the grain merchants
in on that, the big ones anyway.
The City's paying a fortune
so they don't complain.
[Gaius]
My treasury's fucking dry.
Where the fuck
are they keeping the grain?
That's millions of clay jars
we're talking about.
You can't hide that
in your fucking atrium.
All the warehouses at the port
are empty. We checked.
And the river transports.
Then where the fuck is it?
It's gotta be somewhere!
It can't still be
in fucking Egypt.
I know where it is.
I mean, not exactly,
but where to look.
Were you thinking of telling us?
Well, it's kind of obvious,
isn't it,
if you think about it?
[dogs barking]
So, uh, the German
is now a problem.
Gaius won't allow her.
Drusus won't give her up.
She has to disappear, for good.
I'll summon the Friends.
I don't want her killed.
Then how does she disappear?
Uh It's not pretty.
It never is.
[Drusus] Get the fuck off her!
Leave me alone!
-[Gemina screaming]
-[Tiberius] Stay here.
[indistinct shouting
and screaming]
[Tycho] Tiberius.
[Gemina screaming]
[Tiberius] Mother.
[Gemina screaming]
Get the fuck off! Get off!
Is it always like this?
[clatter]
I told you. She's a monster.
We can't stay here, Tiberius.
We'll drown.
We'll never escape.
Nobody does.
You don't know Mother.
I'm Mother now.
[clucking]
[door opens]
[keys jangle]
You swore an oath
to your mother and me
and your fucking ancestors
to restore the Republic
after Augustus dies.
If he ever sees you
as a threat or a problem,
you'll be dead.
You certainly
won't inherit his power,
and without that,
you'll never get the chance
to give democracy back to Rome.
You put everything at risk
for a girl?
Is she dead, Piso?
Yes, Drusus. She is.
[cow moos, chickens cluck]
[slaver] 800. 900.
Anybody for a thousand?
Sold! For 900.
An absolutely prime female
in perfect health.
Fluent Latin speaker,
and originally descended
from German royalty,
plus an expert
in all the arts of love.
-[scoffs]
-[Slaver chuckles]
You don't often get
something of this quality
out here in Sutrium.
The bidding starts at 8,000.
8,000. Do I hear nine?
You were right.
It wasn't pretty.
[sighs]
Ursa, you belong to me now.
You will live
with my friend Piso,
in his house outside Rome.
-Will I be a whore?
-No No!
You will learn
how to read and write
and heal people with herbs.
What?
[sighs]
You can have a new dress.
[Ursa giggles]
[chuckles]
Thank you, Tycho,
for your help
and for everything.
I was thinking
now you're back, you might need
someone to look after you.
Like I did before.
But you have your estate,
your new life.
[door opens]
After I lost Antigone,
it was never the same.
I just
I was bored to fucking tears.
[indistinct conversations]
[horse whinnies]
[Agrippa]
Rest the horses.
Listen, I never wanted
to ask in writing,
but how are you
and Livia now?
What do you mean?
Well, your wife poisoned
your nephew, brother.
Some men
might find that irritating.
Is it forgiven?
Oh, but not forgotten,
is it, brother?
It rankles still.
It itches.
We need to find higher ground.
Good to talk.
[Agrippa] Oh,
what have we here, brother?
Looks like
the entire Egyptian grain fleet,
are happily at anchor.
She wasright.
Livia.
[Gaius]
Get that fucking grain to Rome.
I was just remembering when
we used to be generals here,
leading our armies across
the water to glorious victories
over our sisters and our dogs.
Augustus found
the grain transports.
I'd have to be in on it.
I am the only person still alive
who knows
that you were involved.
I'll never betray you.
I know.
My will is in the house.
[groans]
[screams in agony]
[grunting]
[whimpering] It hurts.
[continues whimpering]
[groaning]
[panting, grunting]
Not long now.
[groans]
[dramatic music plays]
[Iullus] Gladiators
in a blonde wig!
[laughter]
[Iullus] Domitius.
Where've you been?
You just missed the big rally
at the Forum.
[Marcella]
It was packed with people,
and Uncle made a speech
and everyone cheered him,
and then they threw hundreds
of loaves of bread into the mob.
You should've seen the fighting.
It was better than the Games.
I'm just so glad
that the famine is over.
I know. Stuck indoors
the whole time,
all the shops shut.
She meant all those people
starving, I think.
When the dust settles,
I'd like to be part
of the investigation.
What investigation?
Well, obviously
we're going after
everyone involved
in the conspiracy.
No. We're covering it all up.
If it got out
about the conspiracy,
Augustus would look weak
for letting it happen.
Yes. And foolish.
But if it doesn't,
he looks like a god
for ending the famine.
-That's smart.
-[Agrippa] Yeah.
Not my idea.
Boys.
[Gaius] This has been
on my mind for a while,
while I was away.
Iullus, Tiberius, Drusus,
and now Domitius.
You are my sons.
And though it suits me
to pretend otherwise
the Republic is dead.
It's never coming back.
So, for better or worse,
I am now Rome.
And when I die,
Rome will come to you
all of you
if you want it.
But if you want it,
you need to show me
you're ready.
Well, it's lucky
I'm not ambitious.
Much safer to hide in the shade.
Take it from me.
Good news for you, Iullus.
I'm pregnant again,
so it's safe for us
to see each other.
[Domitius]
Goodnight, Iullus.
It's not exactly safe.
I miss you.
-The usual place, tomorrow?
-The fifth hour.
You still need
to manage Agrippa.
Sweet of you to let Piso
and Tycho take the credit,
for Siculus.
A woman has to know her place.
Come to bed.
It might be a while.
Wake me up.
[exhales]
[door creaks]
Gaius has started the race
to succeed him.
It will be dangerous.
Are you sure
this is what you want?
We'll need to rebuild
the spy network.
Someone very smart
was behind the famine,
behind the grain prefects.
Someone with vision.
He will have to be found
quietly.
[indistinct conversations]
[woman] Please!
Your new master's inside.
[panting]
[theme music playing]
♪♪♪