To those who watch the HBO series "Rome"...

Chris OConnor

I too get really nervous about books that haven't been formally reviewed by well known reviewers. If reviewers have skipped over these books perhaps there is a reason why.

Last night was the grand finale of the HBO series "Rome" and it was as awesome of an episode as one could expect. HBO doesn't put out trash. In my opinion Rome is one of their best series ever.

But here is what is bothering me. Last night was Episode 22. It started with Mark Antony and Vorenus floating in a boat after the battle of Actium, which they lost to Octavian. But Episode 21, the episode directly before this finale, did not contain the battle of Actium. I actually stopped the finale episode and went back and fast-forwarded through all of Episode 21 thinking I must have fallen asleep or missed something. But I didn't.

Yes, I know the producers are trying to cram a ton of history into a handful of episodes, but they had never really uses this creative license in the past. All of the other episodes seemed to move sequentially with no major jumps in time. No huge battles or events were simply skipped right over.

So I felt robbed! I knew they had to end the series, but knowing that Rome was done for good (no planned future seasons!) I was especially frustrated that they took this liberty to cut the story short.

So for those who watch the HBO series Rome did you feel the series ended properly or did you also feel a bit robbed?

Results (total votes = 2):


I felt satisfied with the conclusion	0 / 0.0%

I agree - HBO leaped forward skipping important stuff	2 / 100.0%

You didn't see Episode 21.5? It was the battle of Actium!	0 / 0.0%

Frank 013

I also felt that a very big event was simply swept under the rug for the sake of finishing up the show, but in the series many major historical events were completely left out and never even eluded to (like Caesar’s scouting invasion into Britton)

I believe the battle was left out for several reasons

1. It was not pertinent to the story. Showing the battle would have been uber cool but ultimately unnecessary.

2. While the series had acquired enough costumes and budget to show legions at war, showing a sea battle is another thing altogether, and they probably dispensed with the idea early on because of the cost of sets and CGI graphics involved.

3. Lastly the episode went over by 5 minutes already and to add a battle to the show would have taken them over another 2 to 10 minutes (not that I would have minded) but producers and directors have hissy fits when these things happen.

I did like the episode overall though and I am sad to see the series end. But I was actually pleased with the level of closure that they managed.

Later

Chris OConnor

You know more about the real history than me, but I just felt like they jumped too much ahead with that episode. God, I wish they would do more seasons. I wonder why HBO stops some of these amazing series when the audience is demanding more. There has to be some logic to these decisions.

Chris OConnor

I think Dissident is another Rome fan and I'd love to hear his opinion on this finale episode.

Frank 013

I do agree the jump was very disorienting, but I do understand their reasoning for the decision.

The saving of Pullo’s son was an idea hatched from the early part of the first season and the writers really wanted to finish that up.

And once the Anthony and Cleopatra story began it would have been unwise to end the show without that conclusion.

As far as why… the only reason I have heard so far is that the overall expense of the series is way to high.

Later

Chris OConnor

I think the acting was phenomenal in Rome. The only actor that got under my skin was Octavian, but maybe that was the goal of the producers. We was so mechanical and cold. I loved all of the main characters and think that did a fantastic job at character development.


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