About time the Maestro gets some asks: Any theories of how the second season might progress?
ahh thank you! you honor me 😅
i have, of course, been thinking about this a lot since friday haha. and it’s nearly impossible to say, really, aside from the little nuggets in that DeKnight interview (Ashur "unleashed," Cornelia needing to find a Roman man & to find out what happened to her husband, fallout from Achillia & Tarchon’s roll in the hay)—i got some things right this season, but was way off base on plenty of others!
i do wonder whether we’ll see more repetitions like we saw in season one, up to the very end, and i see some potential areas where Vengeance echoes might arise: Cornelia & Cossutia both finding themselves husbandless & in a precarious situation in Roman society reminds me of Lucretia & Ilithyia—perhaps they will grow closer and work together to get rid of Uncle Servius & Proculus; meanwhile Viridia gradually coming to realize that the man she loves murdered her father reminds me a lot of Seppia & Glaber. obviously not saying these are one-to-one parallels or that outcomes will be the same but it’s something i’ll surely be tracking! (also possible & even likely they break out of this pattern entirely.)
i also wonder how much more involved Korris, Hilara, Achillia, et al will get in Ashur’s schemes/problems, and how much that will increase discontent among the ranks. Hilara & Messia’s argument about Gabinius’ death in the finale put a point on that (“If it were discovered that I—” “All with a hand in it would suffer.”) and now there’s another high-profile death to cover up. the more "unleashed" Ashur gets, the more his house will be implicated—and that did not work out well for his predecessor. i think we will see more betrayals & manipulations within the house next season as a result of this.
i do believe that the Cilicians will be a much bigger deal going forward, with Gabinius & Pompey out of the picture & given their bogeyman status in season one. as for the alternate history of it all, that could really go anywhere!! i feel underqualified to talk about it tbh.
on the gladiator side it’s much hazier for me. i don’t think Tarchillia will be a romance for the ages. i hope we get a new face or two in the ludus, and/or for Erato and Ephesius to have a bit more to do (likely Ashur's dirty work).
speaking of wishlist items: i want to see Cornelia scheme & really have to get her hands dirty a la Lucretia & Ilithyia—she’s so wealthy & powerful she didn’t need to get in the mud herself in season one, but all bets are off now… and then i hope she dies in Ashur’s villa, because no temporary occupant should be allowed to escape. and i hope we get a lot more of Galatea!! i assume we will.
thank you again!!














