The Stolen Eagle
- Episode aired Aug 28, 2005
- TV-MA
- 52m
In Gaul in 52 B.C., two Roman soldiers, Legionary Titus Pullo and Centurion Lucius Vorenus, are tasked with recovering Julius Caesar's personal Eagle, stolen from his camp in the dead of nig... Read allIn Gaul in 52 B.C., two Roman soldiers, Legionary Titus Pullo and Centurion Lucius Vorenus, are tasked with recovering Julius Caesar's personal Eagle, stolen from his camp in the dead of night. With his campaign in Gaul coming to a successful conclusion, Caesar's popularity is co... Read allIn Gaul in 52 B.C., two Roman soldiers, Legionary Titus Pullo and Centurion Lucius Vorenus, are tasked with recovering Julius Caesar's personal Eagle, stolen from his camp in the dead of night. With his campaign in Gaul coming to a successful conclusion, Caesar's popularity is continuing to grow. He's saddened however when he receives news from his good friend Pompey ... Read all
- Castor
- (as Manfredi Aliquo')
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to history, Cato had long borne a grudge against Caesar for publicly embarrassing him. In brief, when they were both in the Senate, Cato spotted Caesar reading some correspondence while Cato was speaking, which was a pointed insult. Cato called on Caesar to read the letter aloud, which Caesar at first refused to do. Cato then invoked a public demand to hear the letter, whereupon Caesar read aloud an erotic love letter, which had been written by Cato's own half-sister, Servilia (one of Caesar's many lovers at the time). Cato never forgave Caesar for the insult.
- GoofsCato is portrayed as a very old man during the series and older then Julius Caesar. However, the historical Cato was at least five years younger then Julius Caesar.
- Quotes
Gaius Octavian: Be assured you will be amply rewarded for your services to me.
Titus Pullo: [to Vorenus] See how good he talks?
Lucius Vorenus: He's convincing, I'll give him that.
Gaius Octavian: Caesar will prove who I am. Take me to him.
Lucius Vorenus: We cannot do that as yet. We have orders.
Gaius Octavian: What orders?
Titus Pullo: We are to retrieve Caesar's stolen eagle.
Gaius Octavian: Caesar wouldn't pull a hair for his eagle. You're on a fool's errand.
Lucius Vorenus: If Caesar doesn't care about the eagle, why did he send us to find it?
Gaius Octavian: It would look strange if he made no efforts. Actually, losing the eagle is useful to Caesar.
Lucius Vorenus: Why would that be useful to Caesar?
Gaius Octavian: Because Pompey is no deep philosopher. He will take a symbolic loss for a real weakness.
Lucius Vorenus: Explain.
Gaius Octavian: Caesar doesn't want to strike the first blow against an old friend, so he wishes to lure Pompey into attacking him first. Pompey will only do this if he believes Caesar is weak.
Titus Pullo: No. They're as good as brothers, those two.
Gaius Octavian: When Julia died, the last true bond between them was cut. Caesar has taken the love of the common people from Pompey, and that was his most prized possession. A battle is inevitable.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Epic Television Battles (2017)
- SoundtracksRome Main Title Theme
(uncredited)
Written by Jeff Beal
Then again, what was to be expected when The Stolen Eagle deals with the final stages of the Gallic Wars, the conflict that brought Julius Caesar (Ciaràn Hinds) to everlasting fame? The episode begins with the concluding battle between Romans and Gauls, one that gives Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) one more triumph to brag about when he returns home and sends the brutal, vulgar Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) to prison for insubordination. On the flip-side, Caesar learns his only daughter, Julia, died in childbirth, a fact that gets even worse considering her husband was Pompey (Kenneth Cranham), Caesar's political ally and friend, not to mention the only man capable of preventing the Senate from declaring the Roman conqueror a public enemy. The bad air generated by this set of events is already being felt in the great city, as Caesar's niece Atia (Polly Walker) already thinks of making new influential friends. When she isn't busy having sex with as many men as possible, that is.
It is that last element that caused controversy when Rome originally aired on BBC, alongside a few excessively violent bits. Not that flesh and blood are always bad: it just depends on how they are used within the series. In the case of HBO masterworks like The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Deadwood, explicit sex and graphic blood-letting serve the story and add dramatic poignancy, whereas in Sex and the City, well it's just funny. In the first episode of Rome, however, it is hard to justify the full frontal nude scenes of Polly Walker, other wise terrific in her vicious portrayal of Atia, since they do nothing at all to move the story forward or establish her character (okay, maybe they are necessary in order to prove she is a slut, but there are better ways to achieve that goal). As for the violence, a similar remark is needed for the utterly gratuitous close-up of a decapitated bull, with blood flowing freely all over a young girl's body: that sequence has no narrative relevance at all, and constitutes nothing more than gore for its own sake. It also robs the key players of screen time they so richly deserve, especially Hinds, whose wounded yet powerful take on Caesar is the best celluloid incarnation of the character so far, and James Purefoy, gleefully malevolent as the scheming Mark Antony. McKidd and Stevenson make a convincing leading duo as well, although the first show doesn't give them many chances to interact properly.
Thankfully, the not-so-perfect storytelling in this debut hour is compensated by state-of-the-art visuals: the marvelous production design (all actual sets, based in Cinecittà, a famous studio located, fittingly enough, just outside Rome) and gorgeous costumes make the seductive looks of Gladiator seem amateurish, fully justifying the show's huge budget (some reports indicate it is the most expensive series ever produced as of 2007). With several feasts for the eye and an intriguing story to stimulate the mind, Rome is flawed (at least in the first half of the season) but also good enough to ensure viewers won't be annoyed, assuming the overblown carnage of early episodes doesn't strike them too hard in the gut.
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