The plot of Ancient Roman action thriller Those About to Die is now fully underway, with different characters now busy fighting for their lives, their freedom, or lots and lots of money.
Those About to Die is set in 79AD and it follows various groups of characters affiliated with the racing and combat arenas of Rome including a bookmaker creating his own race faction, the two sons of the dying emperor who vie for control and a family of slaves who want to return to Nubia.
This fast-paced action show combines action, intrigue and drama, but the episodes have a lot going on, and that's true in episode 3 "Death's Door". It centers on Domitian's attempt to revitalize his coffers and Tenax trying to keep his faction together before the first race.
So let's get into our Those About to Die episode 3 recap to see what happens, and spoilers ensue.
A cure for the horses
We begin on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, where Scorpus (Dimitri Leonidas) and one of the Spanish horse breeders named Andria collect yellow ash to cure the horses. Andria mentions to Scorpus that he wants to be a horse racer too. Back in Rome, Elia (Gonçalo Almeida) is told that another horse has died.
Next, to Cala (Sara Martins): she asks one of Tenax's (Iwan Rheon) servants about the bookmaker, and he overhears the answer about how he's neither good nor evil. Then Cala heads out to try and make contact with her Jula, her daughter who's a slave to a different family.
Cala gets into the home after Jula has been examined by matriarch Antonia (Gabriella Pession), and gives the daughter some berries (we're not told why). Cala then wants to see Kwame, who she learns is at the Ludus Magnus.
Back in the stables, Tenax dismisses his veterinarian who refuses to try the yellow ash cure for the horses. Elia demands to be the one to try it instead.
At the Ludus Magnus, Viggo (Johannes Haukur Johannesson) teaches Kwame (Moe Hashim) about using a trident and net, a common gladiatorial weapon combo. Afterwards Kwame tells Viggo about how his father was killed in a Roman war in Nubia. Viggo tells Kwame that he was captured in the Roman conquests in the north, when he surrendered to protect his family, and his wife and son are slaves in Rome.
Another gladiator called Colon is set to fight Flamma (Martyn Ford) before the next chariot race, and Viggo and Kwame are set to be his arms men, to collect the body parts afterwards. Later, Colon approaches the two and pays them to cremate his body instead of feed the parts to tigers.
Cala talks her way into the Ludus Magnus and finds Kwame, updating him on his sisters.
The culprit of a plot
In the bath, Domitian (Jojo Macari) tells his aide and lover about how his brother Titus used to bully him as a child, and that this will probably get worse when Titus is emperor. Domitian threatens that his companion will likely be killed too.
At the stables, another horse dies, and so Elia and his two brothers begin to leave Rome. However stable master Gavros stops them on the way out, because the rest of the horses have recovered.
Cala cooks Tenax some food from her region, and he seems to enjoy it. She asks him for regular work and he agrees to give her a job at one of his betting taverns. Then a messenger tells him that the horses are okay, so he visits them at the Circus Maximus. We're told that they're weak but are building up their strength. When Tenax tells Scorpus that no-one wants to join their faction as a second racer, the latter volunteers Andria to do it, and the Spaniard is overjoyed.
Jula is taken by Antonia to a chamber and told to wait. As she does she overhears Antonia tell Marsus (Rupert Penry-Jones) that she poisoned the horses, and wants to arrange Scorpus' death.
Marsus agrees, and is then led by Antonia into Jula's chamber with the young girl presented as 'a gift'... however Antonia lets Jula go when she discovers that she's bleeding. Jula immediately goes to Cala and Tenax, to tell them about the plot to kill Scorpus.
Domitian bets big... literally
At the Circus Maximus that evening, Andria examines the sand he'll be racing on the next day. Scorpus arrives to do the same thing, and we learn that the way he wins every race is because he does this kind of research.
On his way back, Scorpus is attacked by thugs. He fends himself off for a while but eventually they pin him down, stab him to death, and drag him away, all while being watched by shocked citizens.
Soon afterward, Marsus congratulates Antonia for her successful plot, only to be told that it wasn't her! She also tells him that they'll need to find a new racer now that Scorpus is gone. Later they speak to Xenon, a racer for the white faction, and convince him to join the blue faction by promising triple wages, protection from his old owner and the promise of him getting to use Scorpus' famous horse.
Domitian goes to the empire's Imperial Treasury, ostensibly to "tally the Imperial accounts". What they actually do is take the gold and melt it down into bars without the Imperial seal. Then Lucius takes the new bars and puts all the money on bets for each of the four classic factions to lose the upcoming race.
The goldsmith steals one of the bars, though, and brings it Titus' lover the Judean queen, who immediately tells the emperor-to-be about it. Titus (Tom Hughes) confronts Domitian about the plot who denies it, but Titus commissions an account of the treasury to see if his brother is being truthful. Domitian realizes that he has very limited time and hopes to use his upcoming gambling winnings to hire Praetorian guards to protect him.
Before the race Domitian visits Emperor Vespasian (Anthony Hopkins). However his father is rambling about the pasts, clearly senile, and mistakes Domitian for Titus. At the race, Domitian tells Titus that their father won't be attending, only for Titus to take the emperor's chair.
The race and the death of an emperor
The fight between Flamma and Colon before the race ends quickly as Flamma chops of his opponent's arm, and then executes him. Viggo and Kwame rush out to collect the body pieces.
In one of the boxes, Marsus and Antonia mock the former leader of the blue faction Caltonia for her demotion.
In the catacombs of the Circus Maximus, Scorpus awakes; the attack was a fake organized by Tenax to throw off any other assassination attempt. When spectators of the race see Scorpus alive, under the banner of the new gold faction, people rush to make new bets on the race. Even Cala places a bet on Scorpus.
In the race Scorpus and Andia work together, and Scorpus wins the race after he shouts to his old horse to slow down which stops Xenon winning. After the race, Xenon chastises Scorpus for this cheating.
Marsus tells Antonia that they bet heavily on Xenon, and upon hearing the result of the race, they're both chastised by the old leader for their poor judgement. Brawls erupt around the Circus Maximus due to the results.
When Tenax collects his race winnings, the other faction leaders don't seem happy, though when he brings it back to his bookmakers his companions are pleased. Cala uses her winnings to buy the freedom of her daughter Aura.
However the brawling from unhappy bettors causes Tenax to close his betting shop. The brawls turn into a riot and people begin to set fires around Rome. Kwame and Viggo watch these from afar as they burn Colon's body.
During this Titus goes to the treasury to see the results of the accounting, and another recognizable figure there is Lucius, who is dressed up as a Roman legionary to do something. We can guess what, when Titus finds that none of the money is missing.
In the palace, Vespasian begins to ring his bell, and tells his attendees that he's about to die. He does soon afterwards, and his two sons only get to him after he's already dead.
