While waiting for fresh episodes of Rings of Power, another show on Prime Video caught my attention. Epic historical drama Those About to Die (2024) is directed by Roland Emmerich and stars Anthony Hopkins. It is based on the book by Daniel P. Mannix, which also inspired the Gladiator (2000) movie. Is it worth a watch?
WARNING: This post contains spoilers !
Plot
Those About to Die is an epic drama set in the corrupt world of the spectacle-driven gladiatorial competition, exploring a side of Ancient Rome never before told — the dirty business of entertaining the masses, giving the mob what they want most.. blood and sport.
Thoughts
After Rome (TV Series 2005-2007) there hasn’t been a historical drama set in Ancient Rome that has managed to fully pull me in. Yeah, sure — Spartacus: Blood and Sand (TV Series 2010-2013) on Starz and the first season of Barbarians (TV Series 2020-2022) on Netflix were quite enjoyable. I had low expectations when I started watching Those About to Die. I never expected I would be fully invested as the show came to an end.
I love that the show follows multiple characters with their own goals, motivations and hardships to overcome. There are the historical characters such as Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian. But, also the fictional characters such as Tenax, Cala and the three brothers. I felt all characters were fleshed out pretty well, including the supporting cast. All characters big or small had purpose. Something I felt lacking in the second season of House of The Dragon (2024) on MAX.
Those About to Die has nicely designed sets and costume design. There are even some impressive sequences when it comes to the races in the Circus Maximus, but the visual special effects are often lacking. The low quality special effects definitely took me out of the immersion which is truly a pity. Fortunately the strong cast makes up a lot!
Hopkins might have convinced viewers to start watching, it’s the performances of Iwan Rheon (Tenax), Sara Martins (Cala), Moe Hashim (Kwame), Dimitri Leonidas (Scorpus), and Jojo Macari (Domitian) that kept me watching. Rheon plays the horrible Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones (TV Series 2011 – 2019). It’s been refreshing to see him in different roles. Even though all actors did a solid job, Macari definitely stole the show playing the cunning Domitian.
I would have loved to follow all the characters multiple seasons, but unfortunately most story threads come to an end in the final episode of the show. We live in a time showrunners do not automatically get the chance to make a follow up season, so in a way I understand they wanted to wrap up the story in one season. I will definitely keep an eye out for a season two announcement. While waiting, I might just go pick and up the book by Mannix to get my Ancient Rome fix.
Final Verdict
I thoroughly enjoyed Those About to Die (2024). I was amazed by how much I felt invested in all the characters and I truly felt sad the show came to an end. If you also enjoy stories from Ancient Rome, I can definitely recommend streaming the show on Peacock or Prime Video!
