HBO's Rome ep 5

Another excellent episode! This review is going to be a bit more thorough and linear than usual, since David Meadows has yet to post one of his excellently thorough reviews. But I'm not going to do a blow-by-blow. In fact, I'm feeling a bit lazy tonight (and have some Latin to read), so I'll just post my notes:

-Atia accuses (and encourages!) Octavius of "seducing" Caesar. While I am all for homosexuality and understand homosexual practices in Rome, that particular pairing rather hurts my head! I'm thinking it goes a bit too far, and I've never seen literary evidence to suggest this. That, of course, doesn't mean it doesnt' exist.
-Vorenus: "You should be in camp!" Pullo: "There's nothing to do there--it's boring!" Pullo sounds like a schoolboy!
-WOW, they said "hoi polloi," not "the hoi polloi."
-Vorenus' slaves from Gaul all get sick/dying--more money woes for the family
-Octavius is an excellently snarky boy!
-Octavius, who being trained by Pullo, whom Atia hired to teach him "manly" things: "I dare say I can kill people readily enough, as long as they're not fighting back!"
-"How happy, eh, to be a slave, to have no will, make no decisions--driftwood. How very restful it must be."--I think that was Pompey talking to the slave who gave him Caesar's rejection for the truce.
-VERY explicit Caesar/Servilia sex graffiti, including pictures. "Caesari Servilia Futatrix" "Servilia Caesaris fellator" "Caes Servilia Cinaed" "Caesari futat Servi[...]" -- it seems they were trying to use "futuere" and completely messed it up. Ignorant pleb strikes again? Also, shouldn't "fellator" be "fellatrix" if they mean that Servilia is the one sucking? Otherwise, I'm not sure with what that is supposed to match.
-Vorenus gets hired as a bodyguard for a "businessman"
-businessman friend says the forum is only for *closing* deals
-Vorenus gets asked to kill someone who won't pay--walks out instead
-Caesar leaves Servilia--she slaps him, but he slaps her back and leaves her kneeling on the floor, crying.
-Vorenus goes back to Marc Antony for a job
-Servilia curses Caesar and Atia (who she discovers is the one who sent people to put up the graffiti). She summons Tyche, Megara and Nemesis: "By the spirits of my ancestors, I curse Gaius Julius Caesar. Let his penis wither; let his bones crack; let him see his legions drown in their own blood. Gods of the inferno I offer to you his limbs, his head, his mouth, his breath, his speech, his hands, his liver, his heart, his stomach. Gods of the inferno, let me see him suffer deeply, and I will rejoice and sacrifice to you."
-a bit later: "By the spirits of my ancestors, I curse Atia of the Julii. Let dogs rape her. Let her children die and her houses burn. Let her live a long life of bitter misery and shame. Gods of the inferno, I offer to you her limbs, her head, her mouth, her breath, her speech, her heart, her liver, her stomach. etc."
-the seeds of Augustus! Octavius threatens to torture Evander if he doesn't tell the truth about his relationship with Niobe. Has Pullo cut off his thumbs! They kill him when he confesses that the child is his. They decide not to tell Vorenus.
-some ritual for Vorenus becoming a soldier again.

They've thrown in a lot in this episode. There were a lot of wonderful details, but I'm afraid I'm a little uncertain as to the validity of a couple points. Hopefully, some of you can comment. I liked the touches, though, and the characters are developing well.

I'm not sure I'll have time to continue watching Rome in a timely manner later in the semester, so I'm not sure if I'll be keeping up with these updates. I'm not even entirely sure many of you care. So, comment if you do, and I'll attempt to keep writing them.

Also, an excellent link posted in rogueclassicism today: Lost 1899 Cleopatra short film by Georges Melies found.

My class discussing technology in literature in the 19th century has me even more pumped up about this than I'd already be. I do hope we'll be able to see it soon!