01x03 - What Must Be Done

[bunniefuu]

[ominous music]

[narrator] Destiny can be shaped

by an encounter between two people.

[panting]

If their paths never crossed,

how different would history be?

[suspenseful music]

But brought together by the fates

and driven by fierce ambition,

determination, and love,

empires can be built

or shaken to their very core.

[yelps, sighs]

[Mark Antony] Got you.

You cheat.

- How did I cheat?

- [exhales]

You cheated.

[laughs]

[narrator] Together, Mark Antony

and Cleopatra will do both

blazing their own unforgettable trail

through history.

What?

I'm pregnant.

[gasps]

[theme music]

[insects chirping]

After Cleopatra entertains

Mark Antony in Tarsus,

she invites him back to Alexandria.

[upbeat music]

[laughs]

[pants]

The relationship

between Cleopatra and Mark Antony

definitely begins

as a pragmatic political arrangement.

But it seems to quickly develop

into something more

where there really is love between them.

While Mark Antony is in Alexandria,

he's having a great time there.

But he's also gonna be uneasy

because in Rome,

there is an agreement now

that power is being shared.

[Islam] Octavian pretty much

holds the West.

Mark Antony, the East.

[Islam] They both have ambitions

to get the other person

out of the picture.

[ominous music]

Where have you gone to?

I am here.

[Mark Antony] Nothing is wrong.

Don't do that.

- [Mark Antony] Do what?

- Lie to me.

I'm not.

You can't share my bed and lie to me.

[sighing]

It's Octavian.

[sighs]

There are rumors he's threatening

to break the alliances,

making moves of his own.

[ominous music]

What sort of moves?

It isn't clear yet.

Then why are you waiting?

Mark, you should be in Rome right now

finding out for yourself.

I'll not give him the satisfaction.

How dare he try to upset an alliance

that you made possible?

No, Mark, you need to go back to Rome

and put that little bird back in his cage

before he grows wings

and tries to destroy

everything you've fought for.

[instrumental music]

[Shelley] Mark Antony stays away too long.

He isn't doing Roman business.

[soft upbeat music]

That leaves Octavian in Rome,

in the seat of power, close to the Senate.

[Shelley] All they hear back in Rome

is about the extravagant banquets.

[insects chirping]

Go, my love.

We will be here waiting for you

when you get back.

[chuckles]

[inhales deeply]

[ominous music]

[Shelley] Octavian is beginning

to undermine

Mark Antony's reputation in Rome,

hinting that the same thing that happened

to Julius Caesar with Cleopatra

is now happening to him.

[Shelley] Cleopatra persuades him.

"Go back to Rome.

Make sure Octavian is under your thumb

instead of the other way around."

- [rattling]

- [horses snort]

When Mark Antony leaves Egypt

and goes back to Rome

to repair his relationship with Octavian,

Cleopatra is pregnant.

[soft music]

[Islam] Mark Antony may have been

infatuated with Cleopatra,

but when it comes to marriage,

he picks what he thinks

is the most politically sound person.

[soft music]

[in Latin]

When you are Gaius, then I am Gaia.

[in Latin]

When you are Gaius, then I am Gaia.

Mark Antony marries

Octavian's sister, Octavia.

[yelling]

[Cleopatra yelling continues]

[murmuring]

[panting]

[Islam] It's somebody

who's related directly to Octavian.

It's someone who ensures, or so he thinks,

that Octavian will be on his side.

[applause]

[crowd cheering]

[yelling]

[Debora] In ancient Egypt,

when she was having a child,

that was considered

a very dangerous time for a woman.

Not only is she at risk

of losing the baby and losing her life,

but the country itself

is at risk of losing its ruler.

[prolonged yelling]

No!

- [laughter]

- [cries]

[laughter]

[Shelley] Cleopatra gives birth to twins.

It was seen as something divine.

It was seen as a gift from from the gods.

And it cemented Cleopatra's image as !sis.

[dramatic music]

Cleopatra knows the Roman tradition

of political marriages.

She understands

why Mark Antony had to do this.

[Sally-Ann] Mark Antony marries Octavia

for political reasons,

to appease her brother Octavian.

It's, again, a strategic move.

[cries]

In Cleopatra's mind, it's fine.

Go ahead, take a Roman wife. Sure.

But he doesn't come back for three years.

What's that? What's that? Yeah.

[Shelley] Caesar had a Roman wife.

He still wrote to her,

took an interest in their child.

Mark Antony, not a word.

Not a word.

Even after Cleopatra delivers twins.

Not a word.

[horses neighing]

Essentially, he ghosts her. He's gone.

[dramatic music]

[Islam] But during that time,

Cleopatra turns Egypt's fortunes around.

She's increased taxes a bit,

but she's also increased exports.

She's increased employment.

And suddenly, Egypt's situation

is looking very prosperous.

[Shelley] The sources on Rome

don't have any details about

what Cleopatra did during the three years.

But from Arabic accounts,

Egypt was thriving.

The economy was, like, booming.

The people loved Cleopatra.

She was seen as an effective leader.

[crowd applauding]

- [horse neighs]

- [fighting grunts]

[soldiers yelling]

[Colleen] During those three years

that Mark Antony stays away

from Cleopatra,

he's busy building an Eastern Empire

and waging w*r against Parthia,

a major power

in what is now modern-day Iran.

[tense music]

[Jacquelyn] Mark Antony wants to be able

to gain control of the Parthians

because this will elevate

his own standing within the Roman Empire

and establish him

as a significant power player

in association with Octavian.

[Jacquelyn] The Romans have been trying

to conquer the Parthians for a while

and haven't been successful,

and so, that would be

an important establishment for him.

[Islam] He thought he was going to be

supported by Octavian,

but Octavian doesn't really help him

in the way that Antony expected.

He needs m*llitary support.

He needs money.

[Colleen] Mark Antony has the expectation

that by marrying Octavia,

Octavian's sister,

he's going to get

what he needs from Octavian

for the Parthian campaign.

However, Octavian only provides him

with two legions,

and so he still requires more forces

if he's going to have

a successful invasion of the East.

[soldiers yelling]

[Colleen] As conflict intensifies,

Mark Antony knows

that now he needs to seek alliances,

and Cleopatra has to be top on his list.

[Islam] Mark Antony summons Cleopatra.

He can't rely on Octavian,

and he's realized

that he does need Cleopatra.

[Colleen]

After Mark Antony summons Cleopatra,

she travels to Antioch in Syria.

[Islam] At this stage,

Cleopatra does have the upper hand,

and she's the one who can make demands.

[wind gusting]

[Islam]

She wants old Ptolemaic territories,

and she wants to ensure

that these territories

can return to her kingdom.

Those territories being Cyprus

and Crete, especially.

[tense music]

Please clear the room.

- Cleopatra

- No.

You don't get to explain.

You had three years.

Not a word.

Not to me

or the children.

The children, did you bring them?

[scoffs]

Did I bring them?

To you?

I know the reason you summoned me here.

I know

about your sorry little dance

with Octavian.

I have spies of my own.

I know you need my help.

Why should I give it to you?

[Mark Antony] You're right.

You're absolutely right.

What we're seeing

are two power players coming together

to try to figure out how to best promote,

uh, each other's mutual interests.

And so Mark Antony needs Cleopatra

for his ongoing structuring

of the Eastern Roman Empire.

He doesn't have enough men.

He doesn't have enough supplies.

She needs him

for her associations with Rome.

[Shelley] She gives him a list of demands.

And it's basically,

"I want everything back

that Julius Caesar took away."

[Shelley] She wants Mark Antony

to claim the twins as his

and also be given territories

to be in charge of.

And also Caesarion, she wants recognized

as the son of Julius Caesar.

That's still important.

[insects chirping]

[Cleopatra] I want it.

I want it all.

Cleopatra and Mark Antony

spend an entire winter

in Antioch, Syria, negotiating.

What Cleopatra wants

is to restore the glory

of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.

So, I thought about your demands,

about everything you want.

Everything I deserve.

Everything Egypt deserves.

Well, it's still an enormous price.

For an enormous ask

which only Egypt can provide.

I'm not here to argue with you, Pharoah.

Why are you here then?

Why am I here?

[sighs]

[breathes deeply]

[sighs]

I'm here because you win.

I win what?

Everything.

Why?

Because of us.

Can I really trust you?

I can't share your bed

and lie to you, now can I?

Your rules.

This means that Cleopatra

is more powerful than ever.

She's now restored

the Ptolemaic Kingdom to its former glory.

And in return, Mark Antony

gets the m*llitary manpower that he needs

for his Parthian campaign.

[Jacquelyn] Egypt regaining control

of these territories

allowed Egypt to prosper

in truly remarkable ways.

The more a nation owns land,

the wealthier the core

of that empire becomes.

So, these lands would have added

substantial power, wealth,

and security to Cleopatra,

which are key elements

that she always wants,

that every Ptolemaic King wants.

[birds chirping]

[Shelley] And it's at this point,

Mark Antony meets for the first time

his children by Cleopatra.

My little god. Hello.

Hello to you.

- Are you gonna come here too?

- Yeah. That's it.

[Mark Antony] My perfect little gods.

Look at you both.

Look at you both.

[Shelley] And from all accounts,

he is absolutely besotted with them.

[gasps]

[Colleen] He does name his twins

the Sun and the Moon.

Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene.

[laughter]

Mark Antony and Cleopatra

are elevating their children

to, literally, the sun and moon

in the heavens.

They are setting them up

to be the inheritors

of a massive Eastern Empire

that Mark Antony and Cleopatra

are creating together.

We bow too. Yes.

- My lord.

- Aw.

[Colleen] Although Mark Antony

is preparing to inv*de Parthia,

these are months

where Mark Antony and Cleopatra

have a chance to rekindle their romance

and time together as a family.

And she becomes pregnant

with their third child.

Then life got in the way.

And life for them

is kind of, like, very serious.

Politics, strategy, wars,

trying to stop the Parthians

from, uh, invading his territory.

[soldiers yelling]

[soldiers continues yelling]

[Colleen] Despite Cleopatra's

financial support,

Mark Antony's Parthian invasion fails.

Much of this is because his former ally,

the King of Armenia, betrays him.

[soldiers yell]

[Islam] The Parthians

essentially defeat Mark Antony.

It's it's a disastrous campaign

for Mark Antony.

He loses thousands of men.

Huge damage to his supplies.

And it's a perfect opportunity

for Octavian to make use of that.

But now he has this tangible evidence

that Mark Antony

is an inefficient commander.

[tense music]

[Colleen] At this point,

Cleopatra is back in Egypt.

She's not able to accompany

Mark Antony on the campaign

because she's giving birth

to their third child together

- [crying]

- Ptolemy.

[baby Ptolemy coos]

- [Charmion clears throat]

- What?

His campaign is not going

exactly according to plan.

And Octavian grows in confidence

with each of Antony's defeats.

And this last battle, Antony is

It annoys me when you stop like that.

Pharaoh, right now, these are just rumors.

[Charmion] We should know more

from our trusted official channels soon.

How soon?

In a few weeks or

That isn't good enough.

If we're hearing these rumors,

you can be sure Octavian

is hearing them as well.

[Charmion]

I will push for a faster response.

Hm.

[Charmion] In the interim,

how else would you like to proceed?

Find out where Antony is.

[tense music]

Cleopatra is concerned

about Mark Antony's losses,

and so she goes to visit him

in Antioch, Syria,

where he has retreated with his troops.

[ominous music]

[breathing heavily]

I said do not disturb me!

[yells]

[clatters]

Cleopatra.

[shaky breathing]

[exhales]

Nothing is working.

[breathing heavily]

That hairless little prick

is trumping my every move, all of them.

Then make new moves.

I have. A dozen times.

[inhales sharply]

It's as if he can read my mind.

[breathing heavily]

[Cleopatra] Enough.

No matter what I do, he is there.

How could he possibly read your mind?

Have you forgotten who you are?

You are a better man

than Octavian will ever be.

You're stronger. You are a better soldier.

A better fighter.

And you can do it.

You have all of Egypt behind you.

You must go out there

and act like you know what you are.

What am I, Cleopatra? What am I?

You are a warrior.

You are my warrior.

[breathing heavily]

- Remember that.

- Yes.

- Okay?

- Yes.

Okay.

Act like you know you've already won.

I already won.

I won.

And I love you.

[Islam] Cleopatra is in quite deep now

with Mark Antony.

Also, three kids involved.

And Mark Antony

has not just promised her support,

he's also promised

to take care of her kids

by giving them different territories

around the region.

[Islam] Mark Antony needs

her financial support.

Cleopatra is the one calling the sh*ts.

To cement their relationship

and to give it a divine validity,

Cleopatra marries Mark Antony.

[dramatic music]

[Colleen] Mark Antony's marriage

to Cleopatra is frowned upon in Rome.

He is already married to Octavia,

Octavian's sister.

In Egypt, it's a different story.

Kings often had multiple wives,

and Cleopatra is only married

to one person at this point in time.

Mark Antony.

[ominous music]

There's a big ceremony

that follows the marriage.

[Shelley] The Donations of Alexandria.

[crowd cheering]

[crowd whistling]

Your !sis greets you.

I pity enemies of Egypt.

I pity them more

when Egypt and Rome are united.

These vipers underestimate

our divine union,

our wisdom,

our wealth,

our numbers,

the favor of our gods.

[crowd cheering]

Today, I stand here.

We stand here before you

with our divine future thriving before us.

[Sally-Ann]

The ceremony was extremely lavish.

We have the children dressed in costume,

we have Cleopatra dressed as !sis.

And Mark Antony is essentially giving

the territories of Rome to the family.

And I promise you,

anyone who dares

to thr*aten our divine union

will regret the day they were born!

[crowd cheering]

At the Donation of Alexandria,

Mark Antony stands up and proclaims

that Caesarion

is, is Julius Caesar's heir.

[Shelley] Mark Antony formally hands over

all of the territories

that Cleopatra wanted.

[Colleen] The Donations of Alexandria

not only recreate the Ptolemaic Empire

at its greatest extent,

but it actually gives to Egypt

more territory than the Ptolemaic Empire

had ever controlled before.

[crowd cheering]

In addition to giving away

the Roman territories, um,

Mark Antony now divorces, um,

Octavian's sister.

So, to add insult to injury,

uh, Mark Antony almost seems

as if he's cutting his ties with Rome.

You know that emoji

where the head explodes?

[shaky exhale]

[Shelley] That's Octavian when he hears

about the Donations of Alexandria.

"What is Mark Antony doing?

He's lost his mind.

He doesn't have the power to do this."

But at the same time, this gives Octavian

the perfect piece of propaganda.

Look at Mark Antony

behaving like an eastern king.

Look at Mark Antony not acting the part

of a true and proper Roman.

It's very easy then for Octavian

to cast the Donations of Alexandria

as an anti-Roman plot.

[dark tense music]

Mark Antony gives Octavian

the excuse for w*r.

But not against Mark Antony

because the Roman people

cannot endure another civil w*r.

[Shelley] Who's the scapegoat then?

Cleopatra.

"It's that witch."

"It's that witch."

And that's the beginning.

That's the beginning of the propaganda

against Cleopatra by Octavian.

And it's the beginning of the unraveling

of Mark Antony's reputation in Rome.

[ominous music]

- Mm.

- [laughs]

So

[kisses]

Octavian thinks you've bewitched me

and put all of Rome in danger.

Hm.

Good.

Octavian is very angry and offended.

He's released

this vicious propaganda against Cleopatra.

So, even though Mark Antony was the one

who was unfaithful to his sister,

uh, Cleopatra is framed

as this great seductress,

and she's done these,

these things to trap him.

Little angry men often make big mistakes.

Octavian's mistake

is how much he underestimates us.

I think we should destroy him.

Hm.

[both breathe heavily]

At this particular point, um

Octavian has declared w*r on Cleopatra.

[suspenseful music]

[Colleen] In 31 BCE,

Cleopatra and Mark Antony go head-to-head

in all-out naval warfare with Octavian

in what is known as the Battle of Actium.

[thrilling music]

[Colleen] This is the climax

of a decade of rivalry.

[tense music]

[soldiers grunting]

[Islam] She goes with many ships,

thousands of soldiers,

and they head towards Greece.

Cleopatra is very actively involved

in m*llitary life.

She wants to know the details,

she wants to know the tactics,

she wants to play a part in them.

And she she's not a leader

who's in the palace.

She's very much on the front line.

[tense music]

[Islam] This is gonna be a showdown

that's gonna change

the history of Rome

and change the history of Egypt.

Cleopatra and Mark Antony

plan their naval strategy together.

She's supplying 200 of their 800 ships

and nearly all of the financing.

But this doesn't sit well

with all of Antony's generals,

some of whom don't want

to take orders from a woman.

[officer] With all due respect,

our allegiance is to the General, not a

You will do well to remember

what I bring to the table.

- Oh, you dare to talk to me like

- Enough!

- What she suggests goes against

- She?

What I think you meant to say was,

"Thank you, !sis,

for providing us with the world's

most invincible naval fleet,

which we will deploy immediately,

with a force so mighty

that Octavian won't know what's hit him."

Am I correct?

Yes, General.

Thank you.

But I had it.

Mark Antony's Roman allies

become increasingly suspicious

of Cleopatra.

She represents an absolute monarchy.

She represents an eastern empire.

And she's a woman.

[Colleen] Mark Antony needs to be

a strong Roman general,

and his alliance with Cleopatra

threatens that identity

in the eyes of his Roman allies.

They are worried that he is acting less

like a Roman general

and more like an eastern king.

And because of that,

many of Mark Antony's commanders defect

and join Octavian's army.

[dramatic music]

[Colleen] Once the battle begins,

Mark Antony and Cleopatra

are on separate ships.

Mark Antony leading the fleet at the front

and Cleopatra behind.

On the morning of September 2nd,

Mark Antony and Cleopatra attempt

to punch through the blockade

that Octavian has at the Bay of Actium.

Now, Mark Antony and Cleopatra combined

have fewer ships than Octavian.

The other major difference

between the two navies

is that Mark Antony's ships

are much larger.

They have more firepower,

but they also are way less maneuverable

than Octavian's lighter ships.

[Jacquelyn]

Cleopatra and Mark Antony both made

a series of problematic battle decisions,

which is sort of surprising,

due to the fact

that they're both pretty savvy.

But they strung out their fleet, uh,

and allowed themselves to become trapped.

Octavian's lighter

and more maneuverable ships

managed to nearly surround the forces

of Mark Antony and Cleopatra.

[Sally-Ann] We're told by the Roman

sources that Cleopatra,

when she realized

that Mark Antony was being defeated,

turned her ships around

and decided to sail back to Alexandria.

[Cleopatra] Row!

Row! Faster! Harder!

[Cleopatra] Row!

[Sally-Ann]

She doesn't want to be captured.

There would have been no point

at all in her staying

in a battle

that they were effectively losing.

Her primary goal remains

the safety of her own kingdom.

The safety of Egypt.

[Colleen] She has no choice

but to try to make it back to Egypt

with as many of her ships as possible.

If she loses all of her navy

at the Battle of Actium,

Egypt will be defenseless.

Her ships' gone.

General, all of them.

She did what?

It's easy to see

from the Roman perspective

that Cleopatra taking her fleet

and leaving Actium is an act of treachery.

What did you do? Did you try to stop her?

- No.

- Did you try to stop her?

It might have actually been

the best decision even for Mark Antony,

at least keeping part of the Navy intact

in order to fight Octavian another day.

[Colleen] Mark Antony,

knowing the battle is all but lost,

flees and manages to catch up

to Cleopatra's fleet.

[thunder crackling]

What have you done?

- I couldn't risk my fleets.

- Ours!

And you should have asked me first.

I'm the General, not you.

Useless without my army.

How dare you?

How dare you?

Mark Antony is the commander

of the forces,

so he is the one

that's going to make the final decision.

But it is interesting

that when things go wrong,

Cleopatra is the one that gets the blame.

If you're going to give me an army,

let me govern it.

It was the right decision.

But you cut me out.

I did what I had to do.

But you did it without asking me.

I did what I had to do

to protect what is mine.

Ours, Cleopatra!

Not yours! Ours!

It's not something that your average Roman

would have done at the point of a battle.

Um, but actually, Cleopatra's thinking

about herself and her own power.

She's putting herself

and her family first.

Who do you think you are, Cleopatra?

The Pharoah! That is who!

Watch who you are speaking to.

[breathing shakily]

[Mark Antony]

They can hear all of this up there.

My men, my loyal men are laughing at me.

I'm not responsible for you

and how you feel.

I made a decision and I stand by it.

All I want

is your trust.

The Battle of Actium is a disaster

for Mark Antony and Cleopatra.

They have lost their one opportunity

to meet and b*at Octavian

outside of Egypt's borders.

Now they have no choice

but to fall back to Egypt

and simply defend their territory.

[Islam] Octavian, with this victory,

he's proven his power against Mark Antony,

against the Ptolemies.

This puts him in a great position,

and he, he already had a great position

because he was in Caesar's will.

But now he's proven it.

It's tangible. It's undeniable.

[Shelley] After the Battle of Actium,

Cleopatra takes control.

She writes to Octavian.

"If you allow me and Mark Antony to live,

we will go anywhere.

And you can have Egypt."

Mark, no one, can ever know. Please.

She doesn't quite try to appeal to him

in the, in the same way

that she did to Caesar

and to Antony in the past,

but she is pragmatic.

At this stage, she probably knows

that she will be exiled,

but she still wants her children

to have rule at least over Egypt.

She also asks Octavian for Antony to live.

[Colleen] Cleopatra needs to cut a deal

with Octavian just to survive.

Her fate, that of her family

and her kingdom,

are entirely in Octavian's hands.

[birds squawking]

My lord, Octavian, thanks Pharoah

for your message

and instructs me, as his ambassador,

to inform you

he's willing to grant your request.

[whispers]

Okay.

[Thyrsus] On one condition.

A simple request.

k*ll Antony.

His life for yours.

And your children's, of course.

[tense music]

[closing theme music]