[Birdsong]
[Insects humming]
I wish my father were here.
He loved these hills.
Just as well he's not.
You, married to the man who broke the Republic.
And poisoning your own nephew.
Marcellus has no blood of mine.
You'd be sent to your room with no supper.
Like the time they caught you snooping
when they were plotting to kill Caesar.
Here she is.
Nightshade.
What, that's it?
Idiot!
The berries are bad.
The leaves will kill you.
And the roots are worst of all.
- Is it painful? - No, it's kind like that.
Your heart beats like mad.
You burn, but you don't sweat,
and you start to see things that aren't there.
And then your heart stops beating like mad.
[Gasps]
[Heavy breathing]
You always dream of death?
You try fighting for your life on a heap of corpses.
Sort of stays with you.
Don't tell anyone, ever.
About the dreams.
I will never ever betray you.
I need to inseminate my wife.
Let's get it over with.
Don't forget the oil.
[Whispering] Octavia looks anxious.
Well done, darling.
Remember, your uncle's expecting us...
Lady.
Octavia and Marcellus are with your husband.
He's asking for you.
[Indistinct conversations]
What's up?
I wanted to talk about the boys.
They're not boys anymore, of course.
Tiberius.
Tiberius is my best administrator.
Battles are glamorous,
but management is the bedrock of Rome.
Tiberius, I'm going to waive the formal age requirement,
so you can stand for office five years earlier than anyone else.
- That's great. Well, done. - Yes. Thank you, Stepfather.
And Drusus,
I'm going to unite our two families
by marrying you to my youngest niece, Little Antonia.
You'll have to wait till she's of age, of course.
Thank you, Stepfather. I hope she's feeling better.
Oh, Musa said that she won't be able to go to the beach
for at least a week.
I'll have to stay here with her.
But Marcellus is going to take his sisters instead.
Marcellus?
Oh, yes. I told Gaius that he really does need a rest.
Hasn't quite been himself recently.
He has looked tired.
I can speak for myself.
What are you smirking at?
I'm going to give the house a good spring clean
while it's empty. Scribonia's going to help me.
And finally Marcellus.
Obviously, I nominated Agrippa as my immediate successor.
But that was a short-term solution.
So, in the autumn...
I'm going to now adopt Marcellus
as my son and heir.
[Marcellus] Thank you, Uncle. I mean, thank you, Father.
Clarify his position to the Senate.
- Publicly. - I agree.
It's time, yes.
Well, I don't think that Gaius needs our approval.
Marcellus is the future of Rome.
[♪ Theme music]
[Antigone] Well,
we'll just have to wait till he gets back to Rome.
- In the autumn. - I don't think we can.
The city's full of plague in the summer,
and Gaius is still sick from last time.
If anything happens to him,
Agrippa's too far away to save us.
We have to do it in Baiae.
I can't control the environment down there.
I don't know the slaves, the routines.
I don't have access to the kitchens like I do here.
At least Octavia won't have to see it.
And we'd have to involve the Spaniard.
Only a trusted slave
will have access to the kitchen in the beach house.
Only a trusted slave can serve Marcellus.
Will he do it? Selling gossip is one thing, this is another.
And afterwards, he'd have to disappear.
- For good. - No.
We'll give him a new name and a new life.
Freedom. Money.
We can't leave him alive. He'd know too much.
What?
It's un-Roman?
There are too many things we can't control.
We should wait till the autumn and do it here like we planned.
We're going to Baiae.
Get Tycho to prepare the Spaniard.
What?
Iullus?
Marcellus is coming with us to Baiae.
What? Since when?
There was a family meeting.
Of course, I wasn't invited.
I can't stand it anymore, Iullus.
Living in the same house as you is driving me nuts.
We're never alone. Octavia's always there, staring.
[Capria] Lady?
He's adopting Marcellus. Your father.
Who cares? I have to go.
He's adopting me in the autumn.
Well, that should certainly avoid any misunderstandings.
Like last time. With Agrippa.
- You alright? - Hmm?
You seem a bit...
- What? - Just...
preoccupied. Lately.
I'm fine.
I'm great.
Marcellus.
Your time is coming.
When it does, your friends will be right there with you.
Safe journey.
It's a pity the boy's so unreliable.
Could've kept him around longer.
Afterwards.
[Crow cawing]
[Tiberius] Something is going on.
Mother... and Antigone.
And Tycho.
- They're going to Baiae. - Something else.
Something bad.
Let's sneak out. Get some wine and a whore.
Aren't you even the faintest bit curious?
You worry too much.
You don't worry enough.
I don't worry at all.
[Hubbub of conversations]
You're late.
The bitch works me harder than anyone else.
She's in a shit mood.
Still?
They have to fuck every day, and she never gets pregnant.
And her husband? Who's he been seeing recently?
When he's not working,
he spends all his time with that cunt Iullus.
Any of his political friends?
He sees Crassus a lot.
The usual.
They're always very grateful for your information.
But now they may need you to do other things.
What other things?
When they need you.
I have to be careful.
A few years ago, I was nothing, and look at me now.
A house slave with the first family in Rome.
Trust me, being free is better.
- I have to be careful. - You have to be helpful.
Because if you're not,
they'll tell the bitch you've been taking money.
and then you'll be tortured until you admit it.
And sold off down the fucking mines.
Along with me.
They fucking own us, Aprio.
Don't you forget it.
Hey, get off me.
Who are they anyway? Did you ever find out?
Stay down.
Go out the back way. Go straight home.
[Dog barking]
[Footsteps approaching]
[Iullus] Wait.
[Julia] What is it, Iullus?
- [Iullus] Nothing, good night. - [Julia] Good night.
I hear you're off to Baiae.
[Livia] I hear you're not well.
You can't stand the sea.
You need to take it easy.
You used to tell me what you were thinking.
We used to discuss things before you did them.
You used to do what I asked.
Marcellus wasn't ready. You said so yourself.
I have to be able to trust you.
- Well, that goes both ways. - And I need a son.
I tried.
I know.
I love you.
I know.
Will you stay?
Last one in's a slave!
[Laughing]
[Iullus] I'm, uh...
- I'm gonna go for a walk. - I'll come with you.
No, come on. Let's wrestle.
The future of Rome.
So one hears.
I won that easily.
So easily.
[Antigone] That's our problem.
The food is prepared over there
and carried over here to be served.
Why can't we just put it in his wine?
The powder just floats on the surface.
It needs to be mixed in with food.
Something with a strong taste to hide the bitterness.
By someone who can.
[Livia] Alright... we have no choice.
Ask Tycho to meet the Spaniard.
Once the slave knows, he knows.
There's no turning back.
But what can he say? Huh? [Laughs]
"Listen, Dominus, I've been spying on you for Tycho,
"but now he wants me to poison you."
If anyone believed him,
he'd be tortured and sold, and he knows it.
- We should still wait. - For what?
For Gaius to die? Or Drusus?
Marcellus has to go first.
He can never take power. Never.
Drusus.
What?
That's what this is about. Isn't it?
When Gaius dies, Drusus is next.
You're going to restore the Republic.
And Marcellus won't do that, so, of course, he has to go.
All those whispered little secrets with Piso.
This isn't about protecting the boys.
This is about power.
It's about everything.
[Scoffs]
And you lecture me about secrets and lies.
I was protecting you!
I'm not just your personal poisoner.
Oh, save that bullshit for my first husband!
I was a citizen!
Fuck this.
You're on your own!
[Julia] Iullus?
I left my slaves at the villa.
If your father ever finds out...
He had the guts to take what he wanted.
What is it?
[Slave] We found it, when we were cleaning, Domina.
[Octavia] Find out where my brother is.
Now!
Gaius!
I need to speak to you, alone. It's important.
[Guard] Dominus needs the room.
Tiberius, stay.
I don't want you wandering off and disappearing.
My slave found a hole
hidden under a chest in Marcellus's room.
It was filled with his possessions.
A comb, a seal, a ring from his father
that we thought we'd lost a year ago.
Why would Marcellus hide his own things?
Well, of course he wouldn't.
That's where his slave was sleeping, Aprio.
That wretch that he brought back from Spain.
[Gaius] He's obviously been stealing. Have him whipped.
Gaius, that is not why I am concerned.
There were bags of coins.
A large amount of money.
Where would a young slave get money like that?
And he couldn't have stolen it because we would've noticed.
Somebody's obviously been paying him,
but the question is... for what?
Where is the slave?
He's in Baiae.
With Marcellus.
- Alright, bring them back. - No, no, no. I want to go.
Myself, now.
Tiberius...
- Tiberius. - Yes.
Sorry, Stepfather.
- I'll send some men with you. - OK.
Get the house searched. Especially the slave's quarters.
Of course. What are we looking for?
Anything that doesn't belong.
Go.
She's not your slave. She's Stepfather's.
So what?
Well, technically...
copulation with someone else's slave is theft.
What do you want, Tiberius?
It's time to get up
and hide your collection of Greek erotica.
- The house is being searched. - What for?
Octavia found a spy in the house.
Now Stepfather's panicking.
A spy! [Scoffs]
Who the fuck wants to spy on Octavia?
I should've thought the answer was obvious.
No, it isn't.
You know Mother secretly pays people in all our estates.
To check the accounts the manager sends in.
But... Octavia doesn't manage one of our estates.
No. No. She doesn't.
That's quite right, Drusus.
What about your collection of erotica?
Hide that, too.
- I was protecting you. - I don't want to be protected.
I want to be included.
You have always been my sister.
And you always will be.
You've changed.
So have you.
We had to.
But I still believe in the Republic,
and I always will.
Have you told him yet? Drusus.
He's too young.
What about Tiberius?
What about him?
He has no ambition, and nobody likes him.
He's the last person who will ever succeed Gaius.
I won't protect you again.
Alright, then.
What?
Come here.
I need you to give me a child.
I want you to make me pregnant.
I can't bear him near me.
You can't imagine how it is
being bulled like a heifer in the farmyard,
everyone standing around grinning, and...
If I can just get pregnant, he'll leave me alone.
At least for a year. And so will everyone else.
No one would know it was yours.
And just think.
my father and yours would be sharing a grandchild.
Yes, they'd both hate that.
Not the traditional form of revenge, perhaps.
But it is better than nothing.
Same again, tonight?
- Yeah. - Hey.
Where've you been?
Fucking the in the woods, of course.
I only asked.
Come on. Dinner's nearly ready.
I'm starving.
How are you?
She wants you to meet the Spaniard. Tonight.
It's a mistake to involve him.
- He's weak. - Whatever she thinks,
someone will have to go down for it.
- We're citizens now. - And it can't be us.
We're married. Hmm?
And you're pregnant.
Nobody comes for my boys.
Tiberius and Drusus are not your boys.
- They're hers. - She freed us both.
She needs us.
I don't like it either.
Make the meeting.
Julia! Where have you been?
We waited for you...
Make sure there's plenty of food for Livia.
And meet me straight after you finish serving dinner
where we agreed.
Iullus.
It must seem like you've been forgotten sometimes.
The other boys getting pushed ahead.
But your father, your mother and your brother
died fighting Gaius.
If it wasn't for Octavia's kindness,
you'd be dead as well.
So, you might have to be patient.
I'll bear that in mind.
[Scoffs]
Honestly, Marcellus,
could you please try to be polite to your wife for once?
Would my father ever let me divorce?
No.
But nothing lasts forever.
Easy for you to say.
But my first marriage was a kind of death.
Did you have to steal my father for your next one?
No, I didn't.
But it hasn't been easy for any of us.
We are all children of war.
My brother was begging for mercy...
when they cut him to pieces.
Hey, you. Wine please.
- Fuck! - Sorry, Dominus. I tripped.
- You fucking idiot! - Alright.
Aprio, go.
It was an accident. OK?
Let's get you changed.
[Indistinct conversations]
Not to worry.
Marcellus's wife gets a bit jealous.
[Aprio] I'm sorry.
[Marcellus] It's fine.
Antigone!
They can't meet!
- Where is he? - What?
Did you speak to the Spaniard?
Not yet, he's late. Why?
Well, he's always late.
Let's go.
Are you alright?
He's intimate with Marcellus.
- Wait. What? - The Spaniard.
That's why he hates Iullus and Julia.
- Are you sure? - I saw them.
He's never going to do it.
Look, I'm sorry. I... I didn't know.
- Well, it's too late for that. - It's alright.
It's a defeat. But it's not a crisis.
What do we do about Marcellus now? Huh?
Feels like a crisis to me.
So, Mother...
what are we dealing with?
Tycho?
[Laughing]
[Moaning]
[Branch snaps]
What?
Nothing.
[Moaning]
A special messenger from Rome.
From Tiberius.
Lady, I feel really bad...
They know. About Aprio.
Octavia found his money.
- She'll be here tomorrow. - He'll tell them everything.
Alright.
This is a crisis.
[Moaning]
Dominus?
There is something you should know.
About your wife.
And Iullus.
We need to get the Spaniard away. Now.
Livia.
We were wrong.
It's not a crisis. It's a chance.
Get the cooks to make something spicy tonight.
Something Marcellus likes.
What if Octavia gets here first?
Tiberius says tomorrow.
I know.
But we're too close.
We have to roll the dice.
Bring me the Spaniard.
Hey.
I just went to town.
That idiot Quintus is here with his sister.
Last night.
Yes?
I understand you fucked my wife in the woods.
Uh...
I'm sorry.
I did.
I didn't think you loved her!
I don't.
There's been a change of plan.
Show your respect.
Domina.
You know who I am, Aprio?
Of course, Domina.
Then listen to me.
I'm going to save your life.
I'm also going to set you free and make you rich.
Tonight, Tycho will go with you to a ship near the port.
It will take you wherever you want to go.
There is gold for you on the ship.
And a diploma which makes you a free citizen of Rome.
In return, at dinner tonight,
you will mix the powder in this flask
into Marcellus's food,
just before you serve him.
What is it?
It doesn't matter what it is.
Because the Lady Octavia
has found the place where you keep your money.
She'll be here tomorrow with men to arrest you.
You'll be tortured until you tell them
who gave you that money and why.
And then, if you're still alive, you'll be sold.
Do this for me.
And I will protect you.
I am Livia Drusilla of the Claudii...
and we always keep our word.
I can't do it.
Well, your life here is over.
All you can do now is choose your future.
Torture and death, or wealth and freedom.
I love him.
I know.
Take it.
Just do what she asks.
Everything will be alright.
You seem so much happier today.
Yes. It's the sea air.
Yes.
- You're lying to my face. - [Chuckles]
Yes, perhaps.
[Marcellus] Julia!
Julia.
Been to town?
Oh, you remembered what we told you,
and then noticed the shopping. Wow!
What's the matter with you?
Well, I've just found out what you've been doing with Iullus.
And the minute we get back to Rome,
I'm going to tell my mother and your father.
I can't wait to see what they'll say.
- I'll deny it. - You were seen
fucking the son of Marcus Antonius.
He'll deny it.
He'll drop on his sword if he gets the chance.
In fact, why wait till I'm home.
I'll write them a note, tonight.
[Sobbing quietly]
Get this ring off.
My hand's swelling.
What's the matter with you?
Nothing.
I'll eat in here tonight.
I'm sorry.
Get off me!
Get out!
Marcellus.
What's the matter with you?
Dinner is served.
Marcellus will be eating in his room tonight.
Alone.
Tycho.
Be careful.
I love you.
Where's Iullus? I haven't seen him anywhere.
I don't know. Oh, he's right there.
What happened to your face?
He knows.
I know. He's going to tell my father.
No! No, I'll talk to him. He won't go through with it.
What if he does?
Then I'll have to take my own life.
If you were a man, you'd take his.
[Antonia] Hello, Iullus.
Oh, what happened to your face?
I struck myself repeatedly with my own fist.
I should've thought that was obvious.
Put it here. I'm starving.
I'm sorry.
So am I.
Ugh. Stewed brains and bacon, in this heat?
Yeah... No, thank you very much.
Oh, never mind. Marcellus will eat ours for us.
And everyone else's.
It gives me wind for days when I eat that sort of thing.
No one wants to hear that, Marcella.
[Conversation becomes indistinct]
I did it.
You sure?
- I did it. - You're a good kid.
Come on or we'll miss the tide.
Antigone!
Oh, quick! Marcellus is sick.
Everyone's sick.
What?
And Iullus and Julia. They're really bad.
- You sent for me, Father? - Indeed, I did, Livia Drusilla.
[Groans]
Another one of my "serious" talks.
It says here you betrayed your husband with Sextus Pompeius.
Yes.
Repeatedly. Including once on a beach.
More than once.
And then you betrayed him, again,
with Gaius Julius Caesar in a residence in Rome.
And have you restored power to the Senate yet?
Oh, I forgot. I'm doing it next week.
I'm trying, Father.
Are you? Are you really?
Or have you secretly fallen in love with your power?
- I feel such a weight. - [Antigone] Livia!
You have to vomit.
Not now!
Drink of the sea, it'll make you sick.
[Echoing]
Livia!
- Antigone! - You must vomit.
My brother, he's really, really bad.
- Please help him. Please! - I'll be right there!
[Coughing, retching]
Oh, he's so hot.
He has to drink.
Make him drink.
Marcellus.
Drink this. Drink.
Try again.
It's alright.
We're here.
You'll soon feel better.
- What's happening to me? - Drink this now.
[Retching]
Good. Again.
- Where's Iullus? - Drink.
[Chuckles]
I need to give you something.
- What is it? - Your freedom.
It's so beautiful.
Yes.
Yes, it is.
Hey. Hey, easy now.
Forgive me.
Marcellus?
- Marcella! - [Antonia] Mummy!
- He's been poisoned. - What?
What?
Marcellus.
Marcellus. I'm here.
- Mother. - I'm here.
Marcellus.
Mar... No!
Marcellus.
[Sobbing] Marcellus, no, no, no, no!
No!
No, no, not my son.
[Grunting]
[Howling]
Livia.
So, the Spaniard fucked us over, then?
Octavia's here.
Right.
He was writing a letter.
"Dearest Mother..."
That's as far as he got.
"From Livia Drusilla...
"to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa..."
Whoo!
[Laughing]
[Livia] "Marcellus has died suddenly in Baiae."
Whoo-hoo!
Whoo!
"Poisoned by his own slave."
[Laughing]
Yes!
"Gaius has ordered him to be found and executed.
"Obviously, the family wants to avoid this becoming public.
"So, history will say Marcus Claudius Marcellus
"died suddenly in Baiae of a fever.
"Octavia's destroyed.
"Everyone bleeds for her."
We'll find the slave.
We'll send messengers to every province.
From Gaul to Syria.
We'll never stop looking.
The villa.
Burn it down.
- It's our family's. - To the ground.
[Livia] "Gaius gave such a moving oration at the funeral.
"All of Rome is in mourning.
"His ashes have gone in the new mausoleum on the river.
"Who'd have thought he would be the first of the family!
"Gaius will summon you back to Rome.
"Be ready."
Julia will marry Agrippa now, of course.
And Marcella will need a new husband.
The line forms down the street.
I'm giving you and Tycho my apartment building
on the Caelian Hill.
And my estate at Nepi.
It's Tiberius you should thank.
The boy's as smart as you.
I know.
Then show it.
[♪ Theme music]