That’s it. That’s the last episode of “Rome.”

I’ve said before, with all the jumping ahead in time, that this season felt awfully rushed, but the final episode provided a fitting conclusion to most of the show’s storylines.

It starts with a great monologue by Mark Antony as the remainder of his navy rowed its way back to Alexandria.

All my life I've been fearful of defeat. But now that it has come it's not near as terrible as I'd expected. The sun still shines, water still tastes good...glory is all well and good but life is enough, nay?

Then, in contrast, we get another monologue from Atia as she laments the news of Antony’s defeat:

[Octavian] wasn’t like that as a child. He was a good, honest boy. I don’t know what happened. I’m to blame, probably.

Probably?

Antony’s meltdown in the palace is a brilliant piece of acting by James Purefoy. When Cleopatra pleads with him to come up with some military trick to win the war, Antony quips, “I’m a soldier, not a fucking magician.”

Then, he has a “GoodFellas” moment when one of his guests laughs as he gets knocked down. Antony shouts, “I’m a fucking clown?” before killing the weakling in a swordfight. (I had visions of Joe Pesci.) That moment is Antony’s “lampshade” moment. You know, that moment when a partygoer partakes a little too much and their night spins out of control. I’d like to applaud the hazy cinematography of the scene. It really adds depth to Antony’s frame of mind at the time.

He has another great line when Cleo’s slave comes to tell him of her death and to urge him to commit suicide: “Anything to cure this fucking hangover.” The suicide scene with Lucius was intense, and it was a nice gesture that Antony did not force Vorenus to follow him into death.

Then there’s the matter of Caesarion. Though there isn’t any real-world evidence of this, the show’s position is that he is the son of Titus Pullo. When Lucius offers to take Caesarion to his father, Cleopatra asks, “Is he a good man?” Lucius answers, “Define good.”

The negotiation scene between Cleo and Octavian was terrific, and I can see now why they wanted Simon Woods instead of Max Pirkis for the latter half of this season. Octavian was actually 33 when he invaded Alexandria, so casting Woods was a logical choice. Of course, Caesarion was 17 at the time, and the creators didn’t have any problem shaving seven years off of his age.

It was good to see Atia get back to her old self. That was a terrific diatribe she laid on Octavian’s wife before the triumph. Now that the series is over, it’s comforting to know that the bitch is definitely back.

Finally, there’s Titus and Lucius. Even with all its politicking and betrayal, the show is really about the friendship between these two men. It was sad to see Lucius go, but I’m glad he got his wish to see his children and that his eldest daughter decided to forgive him. Titus got his wish - a son - and appears to have finally found some happiness in his life.

And, speaking of Titus, how’s this for the last line of the series?

Listen, about your father...

All in all, the finale did an excellent job of providing fitting conclusions to virtually every major character, but in reality, the only good thing about “Rome” ending is that we’ll finally get to see the last nine episodes of “The Sopranos.”

R.I.P. “Rome.” We’re sad to see you go.

Man, this show isn’t afraid to jump ahead in time! Apparently, “all these years” in Egypt has corrupted Mark Antony and it’s obvious that the spicy Cleopatra holds a lot of influence over him. After the dynamic duo multitasked by negotiating with a delegation from Rome while practicing their archery (on a slave, no less!), there was a great exchange between the Lucius and the representative from Rome:

Roman representative: Is he always like that?
Lucius: Like what?

Speaking of Lucius, he’s still in Egypt and is spending his nights having sex with scary bald prostitutes and dreaming about Niobe. He’s also charged with raising Caesarion, who is Titus’…er…Caesar’s son. Lucius certainly thinks it’s the former, because whenever the kid asks about his dad, Vorenus describes Titus.

It was a cold move for Octavian to send his sister and mother to Egypt and it was even colder that Antony sent them packing without even meeting with them. I was a little worried that their ship might sink on the trip home, but when Lucius said it wasn’t a bad idea for Posca and Jocasta to stow away, I figured killing Atia and Octavia wasn’t a part of the “delicate mission” that Antony gave him. Once back in Rome, Posca provided Octavian with justifcation for war (Antony’s will), so now everybody’s happy.

Titus had apparently been with Gaia for some time. The relationship felt rushed (as does the entire season), but the fight with POW Memio was still effective. You just knew that once Gaia confessed, the big fella was going to kill her. I thought Gaia was one of the more interesting (and more attractive) characters on the show, so I’m sad to see her go.

But I have to say that she had one of the best sendoffs ever. That final shot of her drifting in the water was simply gorgeous.

Quite a bit happened this week, and you can really sense that the series is getting ready to wrap up.

Octavian is busy trying to clean up the morality of Rome, but is having difficulty keeping his own family in line. In reality, it’s his own fault since he tried to keep Antony and Atia apart and was oblivious to Agrippa’s affections for his sister. Regardless, his heavy-handedness resulted in Antony’s banishment to Egypt and Agrippa’s decision to break up with Octavia, but not before she could drop a pregnancy bomb on Agrippa’s head.

Meanwhile, Octavian has his own marriage lined up, and it started with a great exchange:

Octavian: Tell me, how would you like to be married to me?
Girl: I would like that very much if my husband does not object!

Wow.

Maecenas was in the middle of everything this week and I was really hoping that Lucius would lay him out when they were questioning him about the missing gold.

Down on the Aventine, Titus’ world is turned upside down as Eirene dies from a miscarriage caused by Gaia’s treachery. Gaia is scary-hot, and it looks like she might work her way into Titus’ good graces. The only thing that could blow that deal is if the alchemist decides to tell someone about what Gaia bought from her. Kudos to Chiara Mastalli’s work in Eirene’s death scene – it was amazing. You could literally see the life leave her body.

Lucius’ discovery of his daughter’s betrayal leads to his decision to leave for Egypt with Antony. Titus was kind enough to take responsibility for his children and for the business, but it’s a lot to ask of the big man.

Mark Antony had a great line when Lucius asked to come with him: “You’ll not turn to drink, will you? You stoic types often do when disappointed in life.”

Memio’s makeshift alliance with the other captians runs into a brick wall on the Aventine. He underestimated Titus’ ferocity in the wake of his wife’s death. And did you see the way Gaia handled herself in the battle? She and Titus probably belong together. Even though she’s inherently evil and he’s inherently good, they both solve problems in the same way – with violence. Titus killed his competition when he murdered Eirene’s husband. Gaia did the same thing - only she did it intentionally.

One of the very first scenes this week set the tone for the entire episode. During Jocasta’s wedding, while Antony winks at a not-that-attractive slave girl, Atia mentions to him that she’d like to get married. The point? Men and women are rarely on the same page.

Even though she’s an insufferable bitch, I actually felt sorry for Atia this week. First, Servilia lays the mother of all curses on her before committing suicide in front of her house. The real Servilia died of natural causes, but like Antony said, the fictional Servilia knows how to make an exit. Then Octavian arranges for his sister, not Atia, to marry Antony as a show of goodwill to the people of Rome. This, of course, does not sit well with Atia or Octavia. While in bed with his new wife, Antony had a great line that pretty much sums up the situation – “This is strange, isn’t it?”

Even with the marriage, it’s clear that the conflict between Octavian and Antony isn’t resolved.

Meanwhile, Eirene’s run in with Gaia led to a great scene between Titus and the slave girl. It seems that the temptress Gaia is looking to climb the social ladder, and she isn’t afraid to use all of her......um......assets to that end. When she laid the “she’s such a mouse of a woman and you’re such a lion of a man” line on Titus, I knew the big fella was going down. If nothing else, a man has needs and it certainly didn’t help that Eirene decided to withhold sex because the baby started moving. Just like Titus, I almost spit up my drink when Eirene said that he should beat Gaia the same way once a month to keep her in line.

The Timon/Levi storyline ended unceremoniously when Timon stabbed his brother to keep him from trying to assassinate Herod. Other than Timon’s decision to release Servilia, this storyline hasn’t had much of an impact on the show. It will be interesting to see how much of Timon we’ll see now that this thread with his brother has come to a conclusion.

The episode ended with Gaia buying a concoction that presumably causes a miscarriage. Obviously, she intends to use this on Eirene. But what’s her end game? Does she truly want Titus, or does she just want to screw up Eirene’s life?

And how will Vorena’s actions affect Lucius? What will he do when he discovers his daughter's betrayal?

Once Octavian rose to power, it was only a matter of time before Lucius and Titus became directly involved in his organization. Octavian put what might be the first ever hit list together (1,000 strong!) in order to quell support for Brutus and Cassius. Interestingly, the writers’ decision to use Titus in the role of Cicero’s killer isn’t based on any historical fact. The assassination itself was quite brutal, which is a perfect example of how unusual this series is. Titus and Lucius do nasty deeds time and time again, but they’re somehow still completely likable. While most of TV deals with heroes against villains, “Rome” uses anti-heroes, and with great success.

Even though Titus was used for such an important task, he wishes he were a soldier again. Eirene’s announcement that she was “preglant, or whatever you call it” was both comical and sad as the girl burst into tears. Titus seemed happy about the news, so it will be interesting to see if he sticks around for the child’s birth. Complicating matters, the temptress Gaia also has her eye on him, and it seems like she’s bound and determined to land a man in power, damn the consequences.

Agrippa’s scene with Octavia was the lone bright spot in an episode of murder and mayhem. It looks like this relationship is headed for disaster, however, as Atia has made it clear that the two will not be married. Her daughter has already proclaimed her love for the young man, so it’s bound to get pretty ugly.

We were treated to a gorgeous shot as the two armies clashed in the Battle of Philipi. In the real world, there were actually two battles, but for creative purposes, it was condensed to one. Also, in real life, Brutus fled the battlefield and committed suicide. But I’ll admit that his one-man attack made for pretty good television, especially since he died of multiple stab wounds, just like Caesar.

The best line of the episode goes to Mark Antony, during the battle…

Octavian: “What is happening? Do you know?”
Mark Antony: “No idea. When in doubt, attack!”

In the middle of last season, Cicero said that he wanted to retire to the country. For someone that was thisclose to retirement, he’s certainly back in the middle of things. After getting outsmarted by Octavian (which is becoming a trend, methinks), he tries to intimidate the young man by trumping up Brutus’ and Cassius’ army. He says they have 20 legions, but in reality, they have nine. Octavian realized that was enough to defeat his four, which is why Atia went to Mark Antony. If the two generals come to a truce, they could make life very difficult for Cicero and his pals.

But I’m not sure why Atia went to Octavian in the first place. It’s clear by the shifty looks that she’s up to something. Maybe peace between her son and Antony is her end game, but it’s doubtful. After her fumbling of the Servilia situation, she definitely needs protection.

Pullo’s wife admitted that she’s jealous of the bond he has with Lucius. That was a nice moment when Titus said that he’d definitely save her if the two were drowning. She seems to be warming up to him, and it’s probably a good sign that she’s jealous. At least he can be sure that she cares about him.

I sensed that Gaia was into Lucius, and I don’t think that the two are quite done. There’s a good chance that she’ll create some conflict between Lucius and his third in command. (I still haven’t caught his name.) She seems pretty intent on not being viewed as a prostitute, so Lucius forcing her to take the money may come back to bite him in the ass.

Finally, I loved the scene where Agrippa brought Octavia home from the orgy. Octavia’s drugged explanation was terrific – “So I was at an orgy. Who cares?” - and Atia’s mood changed from embarrassment to anger, and finally to amusement when Agrippa professed his love for her daughter.

Looking forward, Brutus and Cassius intend to wait for Octavian and Antony to weaken each other before they step in to take control of Rome. Man, are they in for a surprise!

You have to hand it to HBO. When every other network either goes dark against the Super Bowl or has programming aimed at the fairer sex, HBO just goes about its business, airing new episodes of “Rome” and “Extras.”

I also like how they edit the previews together at the end of each episode. It’s an art, really. Show enough to keep the viewers coming back but don’t show too much as to ruin the surprise. These days, it seems that there are very few series that follow these rules.

Based on last week’s previews, I thought for sure that Atia would be poisoned, but they didn’t actually show her on the ground. One of her servants bit the dust, which allowed Atia to unleash her wrath on the assassin, and later, on Servilia. With the show delving into Timon’s life at home, it was clear that he was going to do something out of character. By letting Servilia go, he really put Atia in a tough spot. Of course, Atia made her own bed, so to speak.

She had a couple of great lines during the scene where her men tortured the assassin, calling Octavia’s friend a “bad influence” (now that's the pot calling the kettle black) and later saying, “it isn’t a legal confession unless there’s torture.” It’s just another example of how much times have changed.

We met the new Octavian/Caesar, who is now played by Simon Woods. Max Pirkis did a great job building the role, and probably could have played it for a while longer, but Octavian’s break gave the show the perfect opportunity to make age. Agrippa appears to be Octavian’s most trustworthy friend. It looks like they are setting up an angel/devil scenario with Octavian’s two advisors. Agrippa’s budding romance with Octavia provided a few laughs, and is just another example of how little times have changed.

It’s good to see Titus and Lucius together again, because at its core, “Rome” is just a buddy story. I knew it wasn’t going to end well for the slave boss when he took them down that hallway with all the little rooms. You’re not going to get very far in life pimping out Lucius’ daughter, knowingly or unknowingly. I’m interested to see how Lucius plans to deal with his bastard son. It’s clear he’s got too big of a heart to kill an innocent kid, but will he be able to deal with the constant reminder of his wife’s infidelity?

Next week, Octavian and his army should return to Rome, which sets up nice conflict between he and Cicero. Speaking of the Senator, he sure has his swagger back, doesn’t he?

I was wondering about last week’s long, drawn out shot of the slaves in Octavian’s caravan, but that turned out to be Lucius’ children, who are actually alive. They weren’t on screen much prior to that, which is why I didn’t recognize them. Lucius is floundering right now, but expect that news to get him back on track. It’s tough to see his friendship with Titus in such bad shape, but he’s just lashing out at everyone who loves him, and at this point, Titus is the only person that falls into that category.

Duro – the slave boy trying to assassinate Atia – turned out to be working for Servilia. On that subject, what’s with all the man rape? This week we saw Duro and his boss, heard about some child prostitution and saw another rape that starts a gang war. I can only take so much of that.

Cicero sure got the last (cowardly) laugh on Mark Antony, though I wonder if that’s where the saying, “don’t shoot the messenger” comes from. The series jumped forward three months and Antony has fled the city (with Lucius). Now, he prepares for a war with Octavian, but my guess is that neither man’s blood will be shed.

Speaking of Antony, he had a couple of great lines when he met Atia in the bathroom. When he arrived, he said, “Uh-oh, wine in the bath. This can’t be good.” When she questioned his tardiness, he quipped, “Revise your expectations and I will always be early.”

I’m going to try that line on my wife next time I’m late getting home!

About a month passed between episodes and Lucius is still mired in guilt over the deaths of his wife, children and Caesar. Titus continues to be a good and loyal friend, but it’s clear that his new wife doesn’t want to stay with Lucius any longer.

Mark Antony has bit off more than he can chew and is quickly finding that the day-to-day responsibilities of consul are more than he can bear. He has to deal with Octavian, who justifiably wants his inheritance, with Cleopatra, who wants her son proclaimed to be Caesar’s, and with the gangs, who have all tried to fill the power vacuum present after Lucius’ antics last week. For the last bit, Antony enlists Lucius’ help, giving the soldier a swift kick in the ass in the process.

Lucius takes to his new mission with vigor and declares himself a “son of Hades.” Titus continues to worry about the dark path that his friend is taking, but hasn’t shown any signs of leaving Lucius’ side.

Atia’s loyalty to Antony has more to do with her underestimation of her own son than any true affection she has for the consul, though she did throw out a unreturned “I love you” early in the episode. She is still distracted by her hatred for Servilia, but has a new foil in Cleopatra, who has certainly caught Antony’s eye.

Towards the end of the episode, Octavian made his move by promising to deliver the money that Caesar originally pledged to the plebes. He decided to borrow against his inheritance, which caused the throw down between he and Antony. Octavian has decided to leave Rome, and will no doubt return with an army and loads of support from the citizens of Rome.

Now, for a few of the best lines from this episode:

Atia: (to Antony) “I love you.”

Antony: (to Cleopatra) “Your son will eat shit and die before I make him legal.”

Antony: (to Lucius) “Look at the fucking state of you.”

Cleopatra: (to Atia) “I have made a friend for life.”

Lucius: (at the parlay) “I am a son of Hades and I fuck Concord in her ass!”

Cicero: (to Servilia) “I doubt [Octavian] will be more than a nuisance to Antony.”

It’s been more than a year since we’ve had a new episode of “Rome” to watch, and I always find it interesting, especially with these shows on HBO, how our everyday lives roll on as the cast and crew work furiously to but together twelve or thirteen episodes to entertain us for three months before the process starts all over again for another season.

Tonight’s episode picks up moments after Caesar’s murder, and all hell's breaking loose in the city. For the most part, the creators did a beautiful job of seamlessly rolling the first season into the second. But Atia (Polly Walker) looks quite different to me, so much so that I almost didn’t recognize her when she first hit the screen. It’s possible that they wanted her character to look like she’s aged five to ten years and gained ten to twenty pounds, but something tells me that was an issue the creators had to deal with when they started shooting for the second season.

This episode dealt with the aftermath of not only Caesar’s death, but Niobe’s as well. It’s not often that a show will kill off two of their main characters at the same time, but the parallel storylines make for compelling television.

First, the political implications of Caesar’s death had to be dealt with and it was clear right from the start that Octavian was stepping up his role in the political realm. He’s extremely savvy, so it’s no wonder why Caesar bequeathed his estate to the young man, effectively making Octavian his son. As his mother tres to get the family out of the city, he quickly formulates a plan, and with Mark Antony’s help (and his mother’s approval), he effectively seizes control of the city. Brutus made the mistake of trusting Antony against the advice of all of his advisors, including Servilia. When she put in her two cents, his line – “You too, mother?” – was priceless.

Meanwhile, Lucius is reeling from Niobe’s suicide, but it was clear that he was going to kill her anyway for having a child by another man while he was away at war. He made the mistake of cursing and banishing his children and almost immediately regrets it.

Titus and his slave girl have a nice moment in the woods when he had the best line of the show: “I know I didn’t get us started off on the right foot, killing your man, and I’m sorry for that.” He proposes to her and she agrees to be his wife, but it’s clear that she’s having a tough time understanding that she’s a free woman now. Anyway, once someone rides by yelling about Caesar’s death, Titus hilariously knocks the guy off his horse and uses it to head back to the city.

There, he finds Lucius in a serious tailspin, but helps his friend pull things together. Lucius is torn up about placing a curse his children and the two men discover that their old boss abducted them. After a bloody attack on the boss’ hideout, the man informs the duo that for Lucius’ past transgressions, he “f*cked them, killed them and threw them in the river.” And that was the end of that guy.

It may take a while for Lucius to recover from he day’s events, and he’s not unlike the city of Rome trying to recover from Caesar’s death. Brutus has been sent to the country, so it looks like Antony, Octavian and Atia will control the city for the time being. Octavian and Titus also had words during the episode and it’s clear that kid trusts the big man. Over the season, Octavian is going to develop into more of a leader and it will be interesting to see what role Titus (and Lucius, for that matter) play in the future of the empire.

All in all, it was a great premiere and I can’t wait to see more.