An Owl in a Thornbush (11 Sep. 2005)

With Caesar quickly advancing toward Rome, Pompey begins ordering a retreat and forces his citizens to pick sides. Timon does Atia's dirty work and Vorenus cannot understand why no one is resisting while on a scouting mission.

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers:

John Milius (creator), William J. MacDonald (creator),

Stars:

Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Polly Walker

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin McKidd	...	Lucius Vorenus
Ray Stevenson	...	Titus Pullo
Polly Walker	...	Atia of the Julii
Kenneth Cranham	...	Pompey Magnus
Lindsay Duncan	...	Servilia of the Junii
Tobias Menzies	...	Marcus Junius Brutus
Kerry Condon	...	Octavia of the Julii
Karl Johnson	...	Porcius Cato
Indira Varma	...	Niobe
David Bamber	...	Marcus Tullius Cicero
Max Pirkis	...	Gaius Octavian
Lee Boardman	...	Timon
Suzanne Bertish	...	Eleni
Paul Jesson	...	Scipio
Enzo Cilenti	...	Evander Pulchio

Storyline

With Caesar approaching Rome, Pullo and Vorenus lead an advance party to scout out the level of resistance they might meet. In Rome, Pompey Magnus must decide how to meet the forthcoming threat, even though Caesar seems to have only one Legion with him. To everyone's surprise, Pompey decides to stage a tactical retreat south with the intent to gather his forces and then re-take city. Romans are forced to take sides with anyone staying behind declared a traitor. As a result of the evacuation, Pullo and Vorenus find the city virtually deserted. Vorenus decides to pack it in and return to his home. Pullo on the other makes a quite interesting find of his own. Atia meanwhile takes decisive action when she learns that her daughter Octavia is secretly seeing her husband.

---

Plot Keywords:

battering ram | facial scar | crate of gold | disobeying orders | julius caesar | 

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | History | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 September 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Niobe's fear of Vorenus is justified. Under Ancient Roman law, if a husband found out that his wife was unfaithful, he could legally kill her and her children.

---

Goofs

Octavia is asked for some poetry, and quotes the lines starting "Easy it is to descend into hell ...", a famous passage from Vergil's Aeneid. At this point Julius Caesar is still alive (therefore 44 BC at the latest). In fact the Aeneid was written at the end of Vergil's life, 30 to 19 BC, when Augustus (Octavian) was emperor.

---

Quotes

[Vorenus unbuckles his sword belt]
Titus Pullo: What are you doing?
Lucius Vorenus: I've done my duty and I've sinned enough. I resign.
Titus Pullo: That's desertion.
Lucius Vorenus: [chuckles] I'm a traitor and a rebel. Why not a desertor as well?

User Reviews

Caesar continues on to Rome while the citizens are forced to pick sides.

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

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

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

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

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