Rise Or Die – As the opening episode of Those About To Die begins, Gavros (David Wurawa) holds a man at knifepoint and tells him it’s too late for mercy. Tenax (Iwan Rheon) enters the room and calls the man a liar. He orders Gavros to finish him and take his gold. Tenax talks about how Rome has become a cesspool of corruption and decay. The citizens are only interested in bread and games. At the Circus Maximum, Tenax walks in and admits that’s not his real name. He grew up there always hungry and fighting for food. Now, he’s the owner of the most profitable betting tavern in Rome. Tenax gives viewers a rundown of the rules of betting on horse races. All of this is about to change.

Tenax saves an injured gladiator and says there’s no value in mercy. He explains that he teaches the kids what they need to know and things he had to learn the hard way. Tenax tells the kids that a man alive or dead is still worth less than horse meat. After Nero killed himself, a civil war followed called the Year of the Four Emperors. The last one standing was General Flavius Vespasianus. He rebuilt the center and erected a new giant sports arena called The Flavian Amphitheater. Emperor Vespasian (Anthony Hopkins) had come from a lowly family of mule breeders. Titus was a famous general and Domitian was a young politician. Vespasian and Titus (Tom Hughes) talk to the public about the arena. Marsus (Rupert Penry-Jones) says it’s smaller than he expected.

Domitian (Jojo Macari) asks Marsus if he’s the master of the games. He says the crowd wants to see blood and they want to be close enough to see it. The Emperor says there will be no shares. Circus Maximus belongs to the shareholders of the four factions. The arena will belong to all citizens of Rome. At the House of Marsus, Marsus complains and says the Flavians threaten their very existence. It’ll sap the wealth they derive from the Circus Maximus. Antonia (Gabriella Pession) joins the conversation by saying it’s about more than stopping the Flavian Amphitheater. It’s about stopping the Flavians. She’s warned the thought could get her executed. Marsus thinks it’d be worth it instead of living in oblivion. He believes his wife is right and it means the emperor shares with all of them.

Antonia worries that Domitian becoming emperor would be the end of them all. In Numidia, soldiers arrive for water. Jula (Alice Ann Edogamhe) annoys another woman, Aura. Aura (Kyshan Wilson) is asked if she can just tell mother. She asks if she should say she’s bored and wants to get out. Jula believes she’ll have to sooner or later. The soldier catches her dancing and tells her to continue. He pushes Aura to the ground before she hits him from behind. Aura ends up stabbing and killing him. Other Roman soldiers come in and say Jula and Aura are now the property of Rome. Their mother, Cala (Sara Martins), doesn’t realize what has happened. She makes it outside just as the girls are being taken away. She tells a man she’s going after her daughters.

The man asks about her son, Kwame (Moe Hashim). Cala says he’s on the hunt and she can’t wait on him. Meanwhile, Kwame is worried about killing a lion because he is of the god, Apedemak. He watches the lion kill two of his men. Then, he helps them catch it in a net. Kwame asks for forgiveness. At the Ostia Harbor, Elia (Goncalo Almeida) complains about the way the horse is unloaded on the boat. The man in charge argues with Elia until he decides to let them do it themselves. The ships from Egypt haven’t arrived so there is no food and people are becoming more restless. Elia successfully walks the horse down the plank. The citizens learn the ships have been delayed and there’s no grain. Some of them attack a soldier. Then, groups begin matching to the Palatine.

Tenax hears the riot from his bedroom. He watches as one man gives two others bags of coins. Domitian hears them chanting and looks outside at the Imperial Palace on Palatine Hill. The soldiers manage to lock the gates. Domitian tells his boyfriend that there were daily riots under Emperor Nero. Vespasian tells Domitian that his brother should be there. Domitian reminds him that the citizens are hungry. He suggests using a diversion to draw the attackers away. At the House of Titus, Titus is busy having sex with a woman. He’s told about the food riot. Elia, Fonsoa (Pepe Barroso), and Andria (Eneko Sagardoy) arrive and see the riot. Elia hopes it’s not like this all the time. Some of the rioters learn that there might be a race today. Tenax and the others begin looking for Scorpus (Dimitri Leonidas).

Fimbria (Pietro Ragusa) watches the chariot being lowered. He complains that they’re not supposed to race for two days so they’re not ready. Tenax goes to a brothel where he finds Scorpus. He finds Antonia Servilius there with her. Tenax doesn’t think it’s a good idea for Scorpus to be with the wife of his boss and the owner of the Blue Faction. Tenax pushes him into a pool of water to sober him up. Rufus (Michael Maggi) retrieves a scroll and leaves his house. His son asks his mom where his father is going. Fonsoa tells Fimbria that he has a letter of introduction from Hispania Baetica. They have ten Spanish stallions of the highest quality. Fimbria isn’t interested in buying horses from slaves. Elia and the others are surprised to see Scorpus. Fonosa says he has 86 four horse wins.

They talk about taking his women, horses, and winnings. Scorpus asks Gavros about the horse. Elia and his friends go inside. Scorpus speaks to his horse, Incitatus. Scorpus checks his rig with Lentullus (Niccolo Senni). He demands to have his old rig back. Fimbria tells Elia and his friends to leave again. They explain they’re just trying to sell their Andalusians. Gavros is interested. Fonosa and the others tell him about the horses. They want to make enough money to set up a breeding farm back home. Gavros agrees to speak to Fimbria after the race. Tenax begins accepting bets on the race. Domitian bets on white to win. He reminds Hermes (Alessandro Bedetti) that he doesn’t keep him for his advice. Vespasian hopes Domitian is right about this. He tells him that he revealed too much during the tour of the Flavian Arena.

Vespasian urges his son to learn how to control his emotions. Rufus is confronted about his bet. He is confident that Scorpus will win. He goes to the Well of Augurs to speak to a prophetess. Rufus gives her the mane of Incitatus. He wants to know which round the winner will take the lead. The prophetess claims the hose will take the lead on the second to the last round. Hermes is behind a man when he places his bet. A man nearby watches Hermes put everything on white. Rufus returns and Tenax tells him to come back when he has the money he owes. Rufus wants to place a bet. He has 500 shares of the Blue Faction he wants to bet. Rufus admits they belong to his wife, but he believes that means they’re his as well. When Rufus reveals he wants to make a round bet, Tenax asks if he knows something he doesn’t.

Tenax gives him a deal of 8,000 sesterces per share. Noro (Christian Hillborg) watches the deal go down. Tenax tells a boy that Scorpus should take the lead in the final round. The redheaded boy delivers the message. The White Faction racer is told about Hermes’s bet on him. Rufus’s wife learns that her shares have gone missing. Antonia catches up with Marsus and complains about having little time to get dressed. Caltonia asks Antonia how she’d just Scorpus’s driving skills lately. She says he knows how to treat a thoroughbred. The Emperor arrives for the race. Domitian speaks to him about Marsus who is sitting nearby. Passus (Victor von Schirach) addresses the crowd and introduces the contestants. He pokes fun at The Green Faction for constantly losing. The crowd erupts when Scorpus is introduced.

Rufus’s wife arrives and buys a ticket in the middle of the race. General Titus arrives to watch the race. The wrecked racer is trampled by the other horses. In the second to last round, Rufus yells for Scorpus to make his move. The Emperor complains about Titus not being there for them. Domitian takes credit for entertaining the citizens. Scorpus prevents his horse from passing the others. Instead, he takes the lead in the last round and wins. Rufus is distraught. The Emperor reminds Titus that discipline should not happen in public. Tenax walks outside and looks at Domitian who tells Hermes he won something more important. He weakened his brother in his father’s eyes. Rufus’s wife Salena (Romana Maggiora Vergano) approaches him. Tenax goes for the shares. He pays the prophetess and tells her their patience has paid off.

Scorpus checks on the men who died during the race. Later, he tells Tenax that Kirko is dead and it’s another victory for him. Tenax thinks they should celebrate. He has wealth, position, power, and respect thanks to Rufus. Tenax thinks he can sell it to the highest bidder and have enough money to start his own faction. He suggests plebeians like them can rule the city one day. Scorpus jokes that he’ll become a god. The Emperor scolds Titus in private. He believes he’s neglecting his duty for his Judean Queen. At The Flavian Amphitheater Labor Camp, the Queen is told it was reckless coming there. The Emperor tells Titus that their enemies think the Queen has too much influence on him. He believes the same. Titus reminds him he defeated the Judeans.

He argues having her in his bed is a mark of their defeat and submission. Berenice (Lara Wolf) learns more about the labor camp. The Emperor tells Titus that he disobeys him. He has to decide who will take over for him when he dies. He will pick whoever he believes is best for Rome. He orders Titus to send the Judean woman away. Titus only says he’ll consider it. The Queen is told to leave because Titus is leaving. At the Port of Leptis Magna, Kwame and his men arrive with the lion. He just happens to run into his sister there and learns what happened. Kwame tries to help them escape only to be caught. He gets taken captive as well. Titus returns to Berenice who says she wanted to look her best for him. He tells her what the emperor wanted.

Titus says he threatened to choose Domitian over him. Berenice suggests he should send her away. Cala sees the port in the distance. She overhears men talking about gladiators and the new arena in Rome. Cala speaks to Kwame and learns he tried to free his sisters. She urges Kwame to show the men that he can fight and go to the arena. Cala wants them to all go to Rome. Kwame makes a break and shows them that he can fight. He orders for his sisters to come as well or he’ll kill himself. They all get sent to Rome. Cala thinks she can buy them back. Scorpus checks the chariot and finds out it’s been tampered with.

 

Those About To Die Review

The opening episode of Those About To Die set up multiple storylines with some being more interesting than others. Tenax managed to set up Rufus and take his wife’s 500 shares of the Blue Faction. He believes this will give him the ability to eventually open his own faction. Titus and his brother, Domitian, are politicking to try to convince their father, Emperor Vespasian, to make them heir.

Kwame and his sisters have been taken as slaves after his sister killed a Roman legionary. Kwame is going to the arena where he will no doubt excel. Unfortunately, the opening episode was tedious and downright exhausting with such a bloated cast, cliché stories, and lots of corniness along the way.

It’s easy to see that a large chunk of the budget went to the massively bloated cast with so many insignificant characters. There is no way anyone will ever finish this and remember all of the names, especially the minor characters. Many of them look similar so that doesn’t help either. Most of them will never matter though.

The story is beyond clichéd and clearly lots of this is not historically accurate. It’s also equally as bloated as the cast leaving the episode jumping from one area to another after mere minutes. Surprisingly, the locations are clearly identified while the characters are not. The CGI is embarrassing. We’ve spent an entire episode waiting for something to happen and they give us a chariot race. We just need to wait a little longer for a sliver of action.

Unfortunately, the action doesn’t pay off because the CGI is so pathetic. The performances are only slightly better from some of the main cast, but many of the casting choices are just odd. The costumes are actually very good although may be a little too clean at times. Truthfully, this is a bloated mess after the opening episode. There’s so much going on and so many characters that it’s really difficult to care about any of it.

This certainly isn’t good as a form of entertainment, but it could be a good brain-training exercise with so many names and a test of patience. After all, only viewers with an incredible amount of patience will make their way through this 10-episode slog. The opening episode scores a 4 out of 10. Recaps of Those About To Die can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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