Anybody following "Rome" on HBO?

As Caesar waits hopelessly for more of his soldiers to arrive from Italy, Pompey's camp prepares for their attack - and for the spoils of victory. Only Brutus appears apprehensive, conceding that while the Republic must be free of tyrants, he cannot celebrate Caesar's defeat. "He was as my father to me."

For his part, Pompey suggests letting Caesar's cornered army "disintegrate and disappear," but the senators argue for a decisive attack. "You are Pompey Magnus," Scipio intones. "You conquer and crush your enemies like insects. People will be disappointed by anything less." This strikes a cord in the general, and soon his legions are sent to the battlefield outside Caesar's camp.

The storm that sank their ship took most of the 13th Legion with it, and Vorenus and Pullo find themselves washed ashore a small island of sand in the Adriatic, surrounded by the bodies of less fortunate soldiers. "This is where we die," announces a defeated Vorenus, who focuses his remaining energy on scratching a goodbye note to Niobe on a stone. Pullo, optimism in tact, turns his attention towards spearing fish. "I wasn't meant to die here."

Back in Rome, a newsreader announces the tragic fate of the 13th - only Mark Antony's safety has been assured. Upon hearing the news, Atia fears Caesar's inevitable defeat will put her at great risk, and sends Octavia to ask Servilia for protection - she needs her men and her name. When Servilia agrees to this request, Octavia is overcome with gratitude, and falls into a passionate embrace with the older woman.

Across town, Lyde returns to Niobe's, still furious with her sister, refusing an offer for money. But when Niobe tells her Vorenus is likely dead, Lyde softens. "You're all that I have left...I am tired of being angry.

On the battlefield in Greece, Caesar's depleted forces fight desperately and fiercely against Pompey's, despite being outnumbered by as many as five to one. The larger army proves to be its own enemy, however, as one flank of soldiers crash head on into another, sending Pompey's entire army into flight - and Pompey himself retreating to seek reinforcements. Caesar quickly sends word to Rome that he has won the battle, while a stunned and bloodied Pompey regroups with the senators -- only to find they are reconsidering their loyalties. "If I had known what an old fool is Pompey, I would never have left Rome," scoffs Brutus, who decides to surrender to Caesar along with Cicero.

Pompey suggests to his remaining men that they head to Egypt, where he has loyal friends. But they feel it's imprudent to travel together, making it clear they no longer view him as their leader. With this, a defeated Pompey sets out alone with his family and what's left of his army and attendants. In the middle of the night, the soldiers and several slaves steal off with his cart and horse. With only a few slaves left, Pompey makes his way to Egypt, informing his guards to conceal his identity en route.

Recharged from his victory, Caesar welcomes Brutus and Cicero with open arms, dismissing their apologies and talk of surrender. "We have only quarreled a little, and now we are friends again," he tells them. With a gasp, Brutus throws himself into Caesar's arms like a grateful child, apologizing for his betrayal. "It is I am sorry," Caesar responds. "I presented you with an impossible dilemma. You did only what you thought honorable, I'm sure."

Desperate for their survival, Vorenus and Pullo build a raft from the bloated bodies of their comrades, and paddle fiercely out to sea. They eventually collapse from exhaustion and dehydration, and awake to find themselves drifting ashore again - this time greeted by what's left of Pompey's camp. The fallen general tries to pass himself off as a civilian, but they are on to him. "Caesar' ll drown us in gold!" an excited Pullo tells Vorenus, ready to pounce on their prize.

But Pompey makes a heartfelt plea to Vorenus, asking him to consider the fate of his family and let him take them to Egypt. As a stalwart believer in the Republic, Vorenus doesn't have much stomach to watch the once powerful leader beg for mercy. He decides to let him be, infuriating Pullo.

When they finally return to Caesar's camp, Vorenus must inform the general of their encounter, and explain why they failed to bring back the man's arch rival. "There was water in his eyes. He is broken. I saw no need to apprehend him."

This explanation only enrages Caesar. "As long as he can be propped on a horse, he is dangerous...I should have you scourged and crucified!"

After pausing to contemplate his punishment, Caesar dismisses the men, much to Mark Antony's disbelief. Recounting the soldiers' many triumphs, he explains, "Those two have powerful Gods on their side. I'll not kill a man with friends of that sort."

Across the shores in Egypt, Pompey and his family arrive safely. They are greeted by a man named Septimius, a former soldier in Pompey's army when he was in Spain. This brings a smile to Pompey's face, as the genial man explains why he's now working for the Egyptians. It's not the Fourth legion of Pompey Magnus's prestigious army, but "a man's got to earn his salt." But as he helps Pompey ashore, Septimius suddenly pulls his sword, and with little warning, thrusts it into Pompey's stomach. Then, with his wife Capurnia and young children watching, the man swings his sword straight for Pompey's neck.

Episode 8: Pullo's son Caesarion

Synopsis

In pursuit of Pompey Magnus, Caesar and his men head to Egypt, where they pay a visit to the 12-year old King Ptolemy and his advisors. Caesar inquires about their preparations for war - he's learned that the king's sister, Cleopatra, disputes the boy's right to the throne. Rattled, the king's men assure him they are not worried about the "absurd claim." Caesar is not assuaged. "This dispute between you and she must end," he says imperiously. "Rome insists Egypt be at peace. Your grain ships must keep sailing."

Hoping to appease him, the king's men present a "surprise gift" - Pompey's severed head. Instead of expressing his gratitude, however, Caesar becomes enraged. "Shame on the house of Ptolemy for such barbarity!...He was a consul of Rome!...To die this sordid way? Quartered like some low thief? Shame!" The Egyptians are stunned into silence, while their petulant boy king refers to the Roman leader as an "insect."

Caesar decides to send Mark Antony and half of his men back to Rome, while he stays on in Egypt to prevent civil war from erupting. His decision concerns Antony and Posca, who worry the Egyptians will unite against their common hatred of Rome, while Cato and Scipio raise another army back at home. But Caesar insists he can crush any adversaries, dismissing Antony's suggestion that he suffers from a surplus of confidence. "It's only hubris if I fail."

Before making his intentions known to the Egyptians, Caesar sends Vorenus and Pullo to the desert in search of Cleopatra. Once they've set out, he returns to the king's throne to make his demands: they must present him with Pompey's murderers, and they must repay the debts incurred by Ptolemy's father. When the boy throws a tantrum, Caesar reminds him he is a "vassal to Rome," which only infuriates him further. His advisors explain they will need time to come up with the money. "Then I will have ample time then to adjudicate your dispute with Princess Cleopatra," Caesar tells them. "You and she will plead your claims before me, and I will decide." Realizing they must pay him or risk losing the throne, the king's men decide they must kill the princess.

In a tent in the desert, lost in an Opium stupor, the young Cleopatra lies shackled to a bed, surrounded by attendants. A guard enters to inform her that she must "prepare herself for her journey to the afterlife." As three of the king's assassins prepare their swords, shrieks are heard outside the tent, and the men are soon enveloped in a battle - which tumbles back into the tent, a triumphant Pullo taking down the last of the would-be murderers as the princess and her slaves watch.

Returning the princess safely to the capitol city requires a procession of men, lead by Vorenus and Pullo. Exalting in her freedom, Cleopatra contemplates Caesar's likeness on a coin and inhales from her pipe. "As long as Caesar's a man, I will have him," she announces to her slave, Charmian."It's only a shame he is not here today. My womb is at the flood. A child would come as sure as spring." With this the hazy princess gets an idea, and soon Vorenus is summoned inside the tent, instructed by Charmian to "enter" the princess. "I cannot do what you ask," he says, flustered. "It is not our custom...Roman men are not used by women in that way." When the slave insists and the princess poses seductively, he nearly gives in before stopping himself. "I am no slave to be commanded so. With all respect," he says, stalking out of the tent. Instead he uses his rank to summon Pullo: "report immediately to the Princess Cleopatra, and do as she says." A soldierly order beyond his wildest dreams, Pullo takes to the task with hearty enthusiasm, as the princess's attendants ululate at a fever pitch - keeping Vorenus awake.

Once she is safely returned to Alexandria, Cleopatra confronts her young brother. An iron shackle is attached to his ankle as two of his advisors are killed, their heads added to the spikes outside palace gates - alongside Lucius Septimius, the man who killed Pompey Magnus. Pullo and Vorenus are tasked with securing the palace gates, as Cleopatra and Caesar finally steal time alone. The young princess inquires as to whether the ruler's wife has given him a son. "A man without sons is a man without a future," she tells him, before changing the subject, advising him to secure the upriver ports to control Egypt. "If I wanted to control Egypt," he replies. Cleopatra insists he must - if he is to control Rome's grain supply. "Why rescue me so heroically from death, if not to use me as your puppet queen?" she says, before offering herself as his "slave."

Outside the gates, one of Ptolemy's surviving men launches a spear over the palace walls, as a menacing mob gathers outside. Caesar and Cleopatra, enrapt in sex, are oblivious, unable to hear the screams for Roman blood.

Back in Rome, Cicero and Brutus meet in the empty senate chamber and contemplate their fates if Caesar never returns, and "that brute Mark Antony is unleashed to do as wants." Brutus reminds them of their oath of loyalty to Caesar, but Cicero considers reaching out to Cato and Scipio, who have managed to raise an army in Numidia. At that moment, they are interrupted by Antony himself. "I am a merciful man," he informs them, before issuing a stern warning to Cicero. "If I ever again hear your name connected to murmurs of treachery, I will cut off your hands and nail them to a wall."

He leaves them with news from Egypt: Caesar has lifted the siege, and massacred the armies of Ptolemy. "He is safe and sound and master of all Egypt."

Back in Alexandria, the dead body of young Ptolemy floats by in the Nile. Caesar and Cleopatra emerge from the palace, as Caesar lifts a naked infant son over his head, presenting him to rows of gathered legionaries, who roar in approval. The loudest of the cheers comes from Titus Pullo, who contains himself only when he catches a sidelong glance, this one from Vorenus.

Synopsis

In pursuit of Pompey Magnus, Caesar and his men head to Egypt, where they pay a visit to the 12-year old King Ptolemy and his advisors. Caesar inquires about their preparations for war - he's learned that the king's sister, Cleopatra, disputes the boy's right to the throne. Rattled, the king's men assure him they are not worried about the "absurd claim." Caesar is not assuaged. "This dispute between you and she must end," he says imperiously. "Rome insists Egypt be at peace. Your grain ships must keep sailing."

Hoping to appease him, the king's men present a "surprise gift" - Pompey's severed head. Instead of expressing his gratitude, however, Caesar becomes enraged. "Shame on the house of Ptolemy for such barbarity!...He was a consul of Rome!...To die this sordid way? Quartered like some low thief? Shame!" The Egyptians are stunned into silence, while their petulant boy king refers to the Roman leader as an "insect."

Caesar decides to send Mark Antony and half of his men back to Rome, while he stays on in Egypt to prevent civil war from erupting. His decision concerns Antony and Posca, who worry the Egyptians will unite against their common hatred of Rome, while Cato and Scipio raise another army back at home. But Caesar insists he can crush any adversaries, dismissing Antony's suggestion that he suffers from a surplus of confidence. "It's only hubris if I fail."

Before making his intentions known to the Egyptians, Caesar sends Vorenus and Pullo to the desert in search of Cleopatra. Once they've set out, he returns to the king's throne to make his demands: they must present him with Pompey's murderers, and they must repay the debts incurred by Ptolemy's father. When the boy throws a tantrum, Caesar reminds him he is a "vassal to Rome," which only infuriates him further. His advisors explain they will need time to come up with the money. "Then I will have ample time then to adjudicate your dispute with Princess Cleopatra," Caesar tells them. "You and she will plead your claims before me, and I will decide." Realizing they must pay him or risk losing the throne, the king's men decide they must kill the princess.

In a tent in the desert, lost in an Opium stupor, the young Cleopatra lies shackled to a bed, surrounded by attendants. A guard enters to inform her that she must "prepare herself for her journey to the afterlife." As three of the king's assassins prepare their swords, shrieks are heard outside the tent, and the men are soon enveloped in a battle - which tumbles back into the tent, a triumphant Pullo taking down the last of the would-be murderers as the princess and her slaves watch.

Returning the princess safely to the capitol city requires a procession of men, lead by Vorenus and Pullo. Exalting in her freedom, Cleopatra contemplates Caesar's likeness on a coin and inhales from her pipe. "As long as Caesar's a man, I will have him," she announces to her slave, Charmian."It's only a shame he is not here today. My womb is at the flood. A child would come as sure as spring." With this the hazy princess gets an idea, and soon Vorenus is summoned inside the tent, instructed by Charmian to "enter" the princess. "I cannot do what you ask," he says, flustered. "It is not our custom...Roman men are not used by women in that way." When the slave insists and the princess poses seductively, he nearly gives in before stopping himself. "I am no slave to be commanded so. With all respect," he says, stalking out of the tent. Instead he uses his rank to summon Pullo: "report immediately to the Princess Cleopatra, and do as she says." A soldierly order beyond his wildest dreams, Pullo takes to the task with hearty enthusiasm, as the princess's attendants ululate at a fever pitch - keeping Vorenus awake.

Once she is safely returned to Alexandria, Cleopatra confronts her young brother. An iron shackle is attached to his ankle as two of his advisors are killed, their heads added to the spikes outside palace gates - alongside Lucius Septimius, the man who killed Pompey Magnus. Pullo and Vorenus are tasked with securing the palace gates, as Cleopatra and Caesar finally steal time alone. The young princess inquires as to whether the ruler's wife has given him a son. "A man without sons is a man without a future," she tells him, before changing the subject, advising him to secure the upriver ports to control Egypt. "If I wanted to control Egypt," he replies. Cleopatra insists he must - if he is to control Rome's grain supply. "Why rescue me so heroically from death, if not to use me as your puppet queen?" she says, before offering herself as his "slave."

Outside the gates, one of Ptolemy's surviving men launches a spear over the palace walls, as a menacing mob gathers outside. Caesar and Cleopatra, enrapt in sex, are oblivious, unable to hear the screams for Roman blood.

Back in Rome, Cicero and Brutus meet in the empty senate chamber and contemplate their fates if Caesar never returns, and "that brute Mark Antony is unleashed to do as wants." Brutus reminds them of their oath of loyalty to Caesar, but Cicero considers reaching out to Cato and Scipio, who have managed to raise an army in Numidia. At that moment, they are interrupted by Antony himself. "I am a merciful man," he informs them, before issuing a stern warning to Cicero. "If I ever again hear your name connected to murmurs of treachery, I will cut off your hands and nail them to a wall."

He leaves them with news from Egypt: Caesar has lifted the siege, and massacred the armies of Ptolemy. "He is safe and sound and master of all Egypt."

Back in Alexandria, the dead body of young Ptolemy floats by in the Nile. Caesar and Cleopatra emerge from the palace, as Caesar lifts a naked infant son over his head, presenting him to rows of gathered legionaries, who roar in approval. The loudest of the cheers comes from Titus Pullo, who contains himself only when he catches a sidelong glance, this one from Vorenus.

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