Notes: Sorry, I have already uploaded this review twice, but I apparently have very limited skills on this site. To make up for you possibly re-reading this, I am also uploading my review of Julius Caesar-Master of Rome at the same time, so make sure to give that a read. Also, major spoilers for ancient historical events/Commodus: Reign of Blood.
So I finished this first season of the Roman Empire Netflix series a couple weeks ago and en up actually really enjoying it. It’s a very entertaining mixture of expert analysis and character-based drama, so if you’re looking for something that qualifies as a super-curricular or just something educational but also exciting, then I would seriously recommend watching this.
Historically, you can tell it's fairly accurate because of the historians who are adding their own insight after scenes have been played. However, it embellished some aspects for dramatic effect; for example, a quick Google search will tell you that (Marcus Aurelius) Cleander was beheaded on Commodus' orders, rather than stabbed by Commodus himself in a fit of rage at having been betrayed by him, and Narcissus strangled Commodus to death rather than symbolically stabbing him with one of the dulled gladiator blades. However, the overall plot seems pretty accurate to Commodus' life.
It's definitely more of a sympathetic analysis of Commodus who is very often portrayed as merely a tyrant and not someone unprepared and paranoid due to his own betrayals rather than a desire to keep his power. I enjoy that we almost root for Commodus for most of the series, he's just someone who's only as bad as the people around him, it seem; we see a caring side of him after his mother and father's deaths, and the killings of Cleander and Lucilla appear almost justified due to their own deceitful, power hungry actions, so for large parts of the series it is difficult to see Commodus as a tyrant, more as someone willing to protect their position to extreme lengths. It only truly becomes the "reign of blood" after the truth about the gladiator fights is revealed; Commodus, competing in the Gladiator games, fixes the fights, giving his opponents weakened blades so he may have the advantage, killing them all with ease. (They don't actually mention this in the documentary but it was common for gladiators to be spared being killed in the games, amplifying Commodus' brutality.) When Narcissus, his former trainer, confronts him about this, we see Commodus' true colours at last, as he angrily brands the fallen gladiators as slaves lucky to die at the hand of the emperor, evidently completing his arc from arrogant yet well-meaning young heir to brutal, murderous tyrant.
The production value is excellent, the acting surprisingly compelling (though it is vaguely off-putting hearing “Romans” speak in a mix of Australian and English accents) and there’s a pretty engaging intro in which characters are introduced whilst marble statues crumble to mirror the descent into chaos of the Empire and Commodus himself. So in summary, unless you’re a purist who solely values plain historical fact, or someone who can only watch a Netflix series for drama rather than any sort of expert analysis, then you’ll probably find Roman Empire, in particular Reign of Blood, a pretty entertaining watch.
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