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| Image from Britannia, streamed via iFlix |
When I watched the Pilot of Britannia for the first time, I could barely get past the trippiness. Still, I was not ready to give up on Britannia, a show that I looked forward to seeing since I first heard of the project some time last year. On second viewing, for this recap, I had sufficiently prepared myself for the trippiness that I could now see more clearly promises of a diverting story.
It was near the end of this episode that Lucius (Hugo Speer) asked General Aulus Plautius (David Morrissey) the question that could become central to this tale. Why did Aulus petition the Emperor for leave to return to Britannia? Yes, it was the land that Julius Caesar himself could not conquer. Did Aulus simply want to accomplish what Julius Caesar could not?
Aulus told a tale of an incident whilst they were in Egypt. A man chopped off the heads of one black and one white chicken, and swapped them off. Aulus and Lucius examined these chickens; they were dead. When they placed them on the ground, they ran off, alive. The next day, Aulus went looking for the man. He brought with him two slaves and told the man he would be rewarded handsomely if he would perform the trick again. What happened? We were not told, because there were eight more episodes of this season (I have not watched ahead, by the way, so I am writing these recaps without any idea what was going to happen).
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The Roman conquest of Britain began with a small settlement of the Cantii at Locerly Cross. On the day before the Solstice, young Cait (Eleanor Worthington Cox), with her face painted white, broke an important rule with her sister Islene (Callie Cooke). She was not supposed to speak to Islene until after the Solstice, else, her sister would disappear. The ceremony was to transition Cait from a girl to a woman. She would have a new name, known only to her and the goddess.
The party was ongoing when the Romans attacked. Cait's father remained behind to fight, and was captured. Islene and Cait ran to the woods. Islene was a capable fighter, she defeated several Roman soldiers, but she was eventually killed by Antonius (Aaron Pierre), a soldier who tried to desert just before sailing to Britannia but who was caught and given a second chance by Aulus. Cait would have been captured by the Romans had it not been for The Outcast (Nikolaj Lie Kaas). He took pains to emphasise that he was not an outcast, he was the outcast. I did not catch his name in the Pilot, but according to Wikipedia, his name was Divis.
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Divis claimed that he went to the underworld and saw the coming of the Romans. He also had a mission --- send the Romans home, go to Rome and kill the Emperor, then face down the Great Earth Demon Lokka. Divid and Cait bickered their way through the countryside. Though Divis said he would only take Cait as far as the river, their dynamic implied they were going to be spending a lot of time together.
Cait's tribe was part of the Cantii kingdom of Pellenor (Ian McDiarmid), that was at war with Queen Antedia's (Zoe Wanamaker) Regni. King Pellenor's son Phelan (Julian Rhind-Tutt) proposed that peace be achieved via a marriage between his cousin and a Regni royal. At the border between the two kingdoms, the two parties met for the wedding. Queen Antedia had no interest in peace. Her soldiers attacked, and the Regni bride killed her would be husband. It looked like she cut off his arm as well. The King's life was saved by a female archer who remained in the woods.
The archer was Kerra (Kelly Reilly), daughter of the King, whom he blamed for the ongoing war with the Regni. Even when word reached Court that the Romans have come, the King refused to allow Kerra to leave his stronghold to help scout. At Court, we were shown that Phelan was married to Amena (Annabel Scholey), who was now married to Lindon (Stanley Weber), the son of a Chieftain from Gaul. It was the Druids who advised this union.
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Back in the Roman camp, the soldier Antonius was taken by the Druids. When he returned, he was clearly not himself. He spoke as Numerious Plautius, great grandfather of Aulus, and strongly advised the General to leave Britannia. Aulus wrote a message on parchment, shoved the parchment down Antonius' throat, then ordered him buried. He then yelled and asked if anyone else had a message from the underworld.
I honestly don't know what to make of Britannia just yet. Based on what I have seen on my Twitter feed, I am not alone in this. I am, however, more willing now to go along with this trippy ride. Maybe, just maybe, this could end up being good.
Strays
■ The Romans arrived in Britain on 43AD, with 20,000 men and more to come.
■ Four men, including Antonius, were set to be stoned for attempted desertion. Only Antonius appeared to have accepted his punishment. Aulus released him and told him to kill the others.
■ Veran (Mackenzie Crook) appeared to be the leader of the Druids.
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■ When Divis tried to speak to Veran about his visions, Wila (Jodie McNee) sent him on his way.
■ There was a scene when Divis threw himself down a cliff and right into the ocean. The ocean floor was covered with bones. It opened, and he fell further before rising in wherever that was (underworld, perhaps, as he told Cait) where he saw the Romans coming.
■ General Aulus: 'Behold, gods of Britannia. I am Rome, and where I walk is Rome.'
■ Crugdonon was the citadel of the Cantii.
■ During the fight with the Regni, Lindon remained behind to cover the retreating Cantii. He was captured, but he managed to get free. It was him who first saw the marching Romans and informed King Pellenor.
■ Cait's father was amongst those kept prisoner by the Romans.
■ According to Divis, the Romans were devils, foot soldiers of Lokka, the great earth demon. Rome was one of the seven mouths of hell.
■ Cait wanted Divis to take her to the underworld so she could say goodbye to Islene and her grandfather.
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■ Aulus noted that when Caesar landed, Celts were waiting on the beach by the thousands. When they landed, not a single Celt was there. The Celts had no idea they were coming. There was no organised resistance. Britannia was a land at war with itself.
■ Phelan took the Regni bride prisoner; she called him her saviour. She also said the Druid's suggestion to forge bonds across the sea with the Bretons was smart.
■ Phelan was not allowed to sh-g Amena. I have no idea if this will become somehow relevant later but just in case, this is another detail the Regni bride worked out.
■ Divis hypnotised a man and a woman who attacked him and Cait in the woods.
■ Divis took pride in his smell. He said that if he saw a dead animal in the woods, he would roll over it so he could catch the smell.
■ Aulus' plan of conquest was to find the local chieftains and learn what they want.
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