Hands down one of the best TV Series ever made in my opinion. A phenomenal attention to detail in terms of historical authenticity. And I don't mean "accuracy". I'm not talking about stubbornly sticking to historical dates or correct recollections or re-enactments of battles. I'm talking about the love for detail where it counts: to recreate a living, breathing culture with believable characters, that even manage to stay relatable for modern audiences.

It's a TV Show, so it's bound to take creative liberties. It's actually loveable how the writers managed to weave their two most beloved protagonists into the major events of the iconic struggle Rome's first century b.c. And beyond that, every little set and costume detail, from the insulae and streets to the coloring and style of the clothes and costumes, is perfectly well crafted. The dialogue just breathes ancient Rome's everyday life from the lowest plebeian to the patricians and politicians at the top. In the end, this series managed to capture the feeling and the very core of one of the most iconic and important eras of our time in just two seasons better than anything that came before or after and characters like Vorenus, Pullo, Marc Anthony and Atia will probably stay with me for the rest of my life.

I am a Son of Hades!

I think this is one of the greatest shows of all time, too bad it only went 2 seasons, I know that's more or less how they had planned it and that they ended it. cleanly and said there was nothing more to explore, but when your making your own show and doing your best to follow history, there is always room for more, to have even expanded further on things, the actors, the characters, were absolutely perfect for what seemed to be every single part in the show,. they built. a mini City of Rome near Rome, Italy and in the battlescenes they used soldiers from the Italian Military which is pretty cook, they did their best to stick to the historical parts of it, and attention to detail in the Clothes and weapons and everything used in it were awesome, I could have watched this one for a long time and many more seasons if they had kept the stories as good as these were, it was funny at times, great action scenes, and getting in such detail and letting you get to know the characters and their families was just great, really added to it all, I looked forward to each episode and the characters each episode, it was a combination of a soap opera with comedy and serious and bloody battles and death scenes, I'm really shocked that after all the money spent on the set and City they built and everything else, they did not film more, they did. film both seasons at the same time, they should have at least done 2 more seasons in 1 like that again, it's like Deadwood another awesome HBO show that ended just as you were getting to love and know everyone in it, I have rematched it several times and will continue to do so, a must watch for anyone even if you think you don't like this type of show, there really is a lot for everyone in this one.

A series that deserved far more than two seasons.

Had its obvious flaws, which are few but given the amount of positives, and the nature of the negatives, its worth pointing out. Starting with some of the miscasting in some cases but was well covered by excellent performances in that stead. Ciaran Hinds and Karl Johnson come to mind, where the former looks nothing like an image of Caesar, he nailed a particularly intense yet "man of the people" style performance suited to Caesar. Johnson on the other hand would have been totally perfect had he been a bit younger but its hard to think of any actor with as right a look and voice for the troublesome Cato. In the end any miscasting is well covered and is a testament to the quality of acting within the show.

The only other true flaw is perhaps more notable due to its successor in GoT suffering a similar ailment, in the action sequences. Its somewhat evident that the budget was spent on the extravagant Rome set in favour of a more political narrative. However the repetitive nature of cutting in to the end of watershed events like Pharsalus, Actium and Alesia is rather disappointing, especially given the opening sequence of the pilot which isn't saying much but is more historically Roman that most things I've seen in media. The only true action delivered is that at Phillipi, which is essentially a montage of reaction shots of people dying. Of course, you might assume I'm a truly simple person to want something like this, but it did get tiresome.

Nevertheless, Purefoy steals the entire show, a third season ought to have been dedicated to Antony's exploits.

"Rome" was honestly a disappointment to me and I did not even want to continue with the second season, but my mother wanted to so I decided I might as well. To my surprise, the second season was genuinely good and I have to say that the first was able to find its charm by the end. My issue has to do with the beginning of the series, it's below mediocre. This is, of course, my opinion and it does not seem to be the most popular one, so fair warning.

Character writing appears to be the series' biggest issue and only becomes acceptable around the second season. Before that, characters range from passable to horrid, and I don't mean just ethically. For indeed, "Rome" is quite the cynical drama, rightfully so. I was wrong to assume this was a series that came after the success of "Game of Thrones" in an attempt to fill the void left in between seasons. Quite the opposite, "Rome" paved the way for GoT to eventually take over the mainstream. Political intrigue, a great deal of nudity, and obscene violence. Unfortunately, these thrills are fairly surface-level. When your characters serve as simple vehicles to the plot, it's hard to have anything beyond decent TV. As mentioned above, things get better around the second season, and I genuinely think that Octavian is a solid character minus a few storytelling errors. Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus serve as the glue for all sub-plots and a connection with your everyday Roman, away from the world of nobles. Their arcs were inconsistent for sure, but I thought their chemistry, aided by the performances of Kevin McKidd and Ray Stevenson, carried their tales. Plenty of characters suffered from poor writing though - Servilia was so obnoxious I wished for her to die horridly everytime she appeared on the screen; Atia was a pretty basic controlling mother, not enough depth to justify the role she plays; Brutus was no more than a wimp and his arc was wholly unconvincing.

With boring characters, you can't expect your plot to maintain interest. No matter how much politics and sex the show threw my way, it did not change the fact I had no reason to care for the people that led the tale. Not until some of them finally gained on some semblance of two-/three-dimensionality. Even in Season 2, a fair amount of characters could only rouse my annoyance, but thankfully many of them began dying and the focus could shift ever so slightly on those that justified their presence.

The setting might be the strongest point of the series. "Rome" is famous for being one of the most expensive productions in the history of television. Let me repeat that this series paved the way for "Game of Thrones"; "Rome" came out in 2005. And frankly, it looks better than most series released since (January 2022 as I'm writing this). The props are stunning to look at and what more there is to appreciate is the extended focus on the Roman city beyond the royal districts. You get to see the slums and all the life that booms there, scum or not. Unfortunately, the series had to be cut short due to the sheer excession in its price; somewhat ironic, a parallel to the end of the Roman empire perhaps. I'll give props for the fact that it is able to wrap up in a conclusive manner.

"Rome" is good TV and I would recommend it to people who need something to watch, but I will go against the grain and say it is absolutely not necessary viewing. It looks like it's much deeper than it really is. Few of the themes feel like they really make a point, and as I said, it takes a while before I got around caring for these character-barren historical figures to drive the plot. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and am positive enough after seeing it.