Introduction
Stories about ancient Rome have always captivated the masses, and the stories about their gladiators even more. Those About to Die dives into all of it.
It’s hard to watch the series without comparing it to the Starz Spartacus series that set the tone for what a Roman gladiator series is supposed to be.
Spartacus is the perfect blend of enigmatic characters, focused narratives, gore, and sex.
Those About to Die also features an extensive narrative, bringing characters worldwide to Rome.
From North Africa to Spain and Germany, Rome takes center stage as characters arrive at the city through various means, and survival is not guaranteed.
The Bad
In Episode 1, the series rushes through its introduction as it sets the circumstances and desires of the characters.
From siblings captured and enslaved to others escaping awful living conditions, it is clear that the episode has a point to make.
But when the final episode rolls around, it becomes clear that the point made in the first episode deserved an entire season of buildup for the payoff to be great.
The show tries to tackle many characters, much to its detriment. It affects everything, from the stories told to character development and the entertainment factor.
In North Africa, it picks four characters with arcs; in Spain, several three brothers arrive and are given arcs; finally, in Rome, there are many characters who also have arcs.
It is also interesting that all the characters speak English but with varying accents.
Following all these stories in 50 minutes is challenging for the first couple of episodes.
Before the narrative gets a footing, the scenes battle for supremacy as each tries to develop something quickly.
The characters are not dull, but they are effectively strangers if they don’t get enough screen time.
For a narrative of this magnitude, one can’t win with an equal episodic focus of characters. Focusing on some characters more than others in certain episodes would have been beneficial in driving their motivations home.
Though all the characters are entertaining, cutting some of them would have reduced the pressure on the show.
In a show about gladiators and survival, death doesn’t come soon enough to reduce the characters.
As a result, the final product feels haphazardly made because of the overcrowded narratives.
The Good
The series features two types of games.
While Spartacus features grueling sword fights, Those About to Die adds horse racing. Horse racing can never be as interesting as swordfighting, but funnily enough, it works.
The show has a fatal overcrowding flaw but wins with action scenes.
The gladiator fights are as bloody as one would want them to be, and horse racing is thrilling.
It feels like one’s in the middle of it with the roaring crowds and the galloping of horses.
Series creator Roland Emmerich talked to Comicbook about bringing those scenes to life and admitted that, given the inclusion of non-human animals, they were the most challenging to choreograph.
“It was probably the horse races, the chariot races. I think they’re so intricate, and they’re so different.
“There’s also great movies made about it, but there [weren’t any] where you look behind the scenery, where you look behind to see what goes into it … the trainers and the charioteers, and the horses.
“And then, I tell you, seven rounds on the Circus Maximus, the horses were wet at the end. It’s really kind of amazing.”
Roland Emmerich – Comicbook
The sword fighting might not be Spartacus-level, but Those About to Die delivers enough gore to get a pass. The horse racing scenes are out of this world.
Okay, But How Gay Is ‘Those About to Die’?
It would be criminal to make a show about ripped, half-naked gladiators in a show set in the infamous era of Rome, where everything went sexual and did not have anything gay.
Given that the show is created by the director behind the despised Stonewall film, the show almost absolves him of that atrocity.
Those About to Die follows the social structure of Rome, where the ruling class, the middle class, and the absolute poor class are present.
In all these classes, there are several achillean and sapphic characters.
When it comes to gay characters, there is a particular trope where creators craft idealized versions of queer people. By the end, the characters end up looking like angels.
When someone who’s used to seeing queer people from this perspective meets a regular queer person, they are shocked that queer people can also be absolutely sh*tty.
With Domitian (Jojo Macari), Those About to Die challenges this notion by introducing one of the absolute worst characters, who happens to be queer.
Domitian is the emperor’s son who views everyone as a means to an end. He is the younger of two brothers and is greatly ignored by his father, Emperor Vespasian (Anthony Hopkins).
He develops a self-preservation mechanism of treating everyone as a disposable means to an end.
Domitian has a lover who is effectively called his “boy.” Their first interaction reveals Domitian’s nature.
Domitian: I keep you around for your mouth and your ass, not for your advice.
He has learned to use sex and authority as his way to control people. Even interactions with his constant collaborator Tenax (Iwan Rheon) have severe sexually predatorial undertones that, thankfully, don’t amount to anything.
Domitian is among some of the characters with a more significant screen time, and the show explores his scheming and growth from being bad to the very worst.
The other achillean arc develops in the races when a drunken night between star racer Scorpus (Dimitri Leonidas) and Xenon (Emilio Sakrya) leads to something unexpected.
Verdict
Those About to Die has a huge flaw that can affect the viewing experience. It requires someone to stay glued to their TV to avoid missing anything.
However, it is a thrilling tale of gladiators, racers, survivors, and rulers set in an epic time. It is elevated by a great score that heightens the senses and transports the viewer to the setting. Incredible performances are the cherry on top, making it the product it is.
The series ends in a cliffhanger that begs for another season for that to be resolved.
Those About to Die Season 1 premieres on July 18 on Peacock.
Rating