Michael Nardone

While Pullo descends into Erastes' netherworld, Vorenus negotiates a severance for veteran soldiers on behalf of Caesar, who invites him and Niobe to one of Atia's parties. Cassius attempts to convince Brutus that the life and death of the Republic is indeed 'in your hands.'

Cleopatra arrives in Rome to pay her respects to Caesar--and to attempt to get her young son legitimized. The Egyptian Queen's arrival intrigues Mark Antony and rankles Atia, who barely tolerates her new rival and Servilia during a fete. Called off a grisly mission at the last minute, Timon returns home to find his brother Levi has unexpectedly arrived from Jerusalem, his disdain for all things Roman intact. Meanwhile, Erastes' death has plunged the Aventine Collegium, and Rome's river commerce, into chaos. In an effort to restore order, Mark Antony orders Vorenus to assume Erastes' captaincy, and he and Pullo bully the warring gangs into an uneasy truce. Frustrated by Mark Antony in his attempt to secure his inheritance, Octavian takes out a loan to pay off Caesar's promise to the people, angering his mother and especially Mark Antony, who refuses the boy's offer of a power-sharing strategic alliance. The confrontation leads to Octavian leaving Rome.

As the nomadic Brutus and Cassius struggle to raise foreign money for an army, Mark Antony changes his post-consul itinerary from Macedonia to Gaul. The plan is derailed when Cicero delivers an in-absentia message to the Senate, then throws his support to Octavian, the new Caesar. Vorenus, meantime, is in a battle of his own, having provoked an all-out gang war in the Aventine Collegium that he blames on Pullo. At Atia's villa, Octavia passes the hours getting high on hemp, while a duplicitous youth named Duro looks for the chance to set in motion a deadly plan hatched by Servilia.

Against Pullo's advice, Vorenus returns to the Collegium with his rescued daughters and Lucius, who are soon reunited with Lyde and undergo a cleansing ritual for past sins. Denied a triumph in Rome, Octavian urges Cicero to embrace his request to be made Consul; in exchange, Octavian promises not to make a move without consulting Cicero first. Octavian is reunited with Atia and Octavia; while the former begs for forgiveness, the latter doesn't like what her brother has become. Octavian's first act as Consul takes Cicero and the Senate by surprise. Vorenus attempts to make peace with Memmio and Cotta, who wonder if he's gone soft. To gain advantage over Brutus and Cassius's army, two adversaries patch up their differences.

Servilia's incessant cries for justice drive Atia to distraction, and result in an unfortunate public denouement. Meanwhile, Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus agree to divvy up Rome's territories, sharing a common treasury. The coalition is immediately tested when Mark Antony fails to report a substantial bribe. At the Collegium, Eirene insists that Pullo punish Gaia for insubordination, but the slave turns the flogging to her advantage. Levi urges a reluctant Timon to help him kill Herod, who has arrived from Judea with a secret agenda. While the newly freed Posca takes a bride, Octavian turns a more public wedding into a political statement of unity.