'Britannia' Season 2 Episode 1 Review: Aulus is on power spree while Amena bides her time with a secret ploy
Spoilers for 'Britannia' Season 2 Episode 1 'Imperial Visit'
'Britannia' finally arrived for US audiences on Epix. Following a delay of almost a year - the second installment of the historical fantasy drama premiered in the UK in November 2019 and after a good deal of display of impatience by its fans in the US, it premiered on Epix on October 4.
'Britannia' picks up pretty much exactly where it left us - General Aulus Plautius' (David Morrissey) conquest of Britannia. We open into two years from the invasion that took place at the beginning of Season 1. In Season 2 Episode 1 of the series, it is understood that Rome's grip on Britannia is tightening and the tribes can either become Roman citizens and pay taxes or be killed. At the same time, the Druids have vanished from the land as a result of which there may be little hope to save them from the Romans, in particular, Aulus. The episode synopsis foretells that a chosen one by the gods will be the savior.
Aulus is busy Romanising Celt tribes with the help of the Celt Queen Amena (Annabel Scholey), who has an agenda of her own and works without Aulus' knowledge. She is working towards trying to unite her forces with another tribe in order to take down the Romans from the inside.
Episode one largely focuses on Aulus' drive to live in Britannia. Even after the arrival of Emperor Claudius (Steve Pemberton), who wants him back in the Roman Empire - he is quite the trophy for the man who keeps arrogantly referring to himself as God. But Aulus is not one to succumb to the fancies of a "fat, inadequate, slobbering mark". So he makes sure to prove his point.
Elsewhere Vern (Mackenzie Crook) communicates with his brother (also played by Crook), who makes a promise to him - he will find her. Who? Cait. And so Vern announces, "The time has come for the druids to fight. Only through her will Britannia be saved. She will grow stronger than Kings, wiser than druids and she will lead us into the light. "
It is towards the end of the episode that we finally see Cait (Eleanor Worthington Cox) albeit for a few minutes. Divis (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) is trying to teach her how to fly. But as it happens often with Divis' devised plans, she fails and unfortunately plummets to the ground. Of course, she's not dead - there's the prophecy but Divis might benefit with some caution.
'Britannia' returns with a decent episode that viewers might find a little all over the place - evidently, not a lot has changed from Season 1. There is so much happening that the mix of history piece with black comedy and melodrama might feel tiresome. But the upside is that the Season 2 premiere episode 'Imperial Visit' runs way shorter at roughly 45 minutes when compared to the Season 1 pilot which stood at a little over an hour, which makes it a crisper watch.
Written by Jez Butterworth, Tom Butterworth, and Richard McBrien and directed by Luke Watson, 'Imperial Visit' sets the pace for a strong Season 2 that tells the story of power and survival, of fantasy in the face of reality. Most interesting would be to watch Aulus' rise to power (and fall?). As he predicts in the premiere episode, "I am hell where I walk is hell." But the serious warning would have beat its purpose if it becomes exactly that - predictable.
Season 2 Episode 1 'Imperial Visit' of 'Britannia' is currently streaming on Epix.