Rome S2 (halfway)

Every hero is depraved.

• Pullo, Rome's Sam Gamgee, is a brute who murdered his slave's beloved husband so he could have his slave
• Vorenus, the protagonist if there is one, fell so far and hard. His crimes at this point have been heinous almost beyond redemption, and he is generally difficult to like
• Caesar, the magnificent martyr, is an egomaniac who toys with women
• Antony, the charismatic leader of men, is slimy with women and with law
• Octavian, brilliant enough to come out on top, turns out cold and greedy
• Cicero, the legendary philosopher and senator, befriends whoever threatens him most

Meanwhile none of the women are even suggested as being the hero of the series. So we're hero-less. I will say the last four above do interest me. They're historically crucial, they're cunning, they're magnetic.

This is off the topic of heroes, but I figure Brutus deserves a word. While he's repellant, he isn't sheer villain by any means, because he's pitiable. They chose an actor to give him a wretched countenance, a perfect face for guilt and vacillation. It's the same actor as Edmure Tully, who if I recall right is the groom whose wedding redshifts and who persists wretchedly as a hostage. A piteous pawn in both HBO series. There are far less noble men out there, but it's Brutus who gets history's scorn, Brutus the byword for backstabber. He earns your pity more than your spite.