Rome, season 2 revisited

I've been rewatching season 2 of Rome. Which has the advantage that knowing the entire story, there are almost no inner shouts of "but what about *insert historical event* and where is *insert historical person*?" anymore; instead, I can enjoy the rich tapestry the show gives us. Which is very enjoyable indeed. It's even, dare I say, an improvement over the first season; I'll elaborate on that later. Mind you, what didn't work for me the first time around still doesn't, but those minuses are far oughtweighed by the pluses. The most major plus being: this is one of the few on screen treatments of a specific time in history which actually gives you a sense of period, of a mentality and emotional make-up different from our own. The contrast to its wannabe successor, The Tudors, is startling, but then, The Tudors fails in most other respects as well. Rome - upon first time viewing - makes you occasionally go SAY WHAT?!? when making certain changes, but a) they're mostly caused by storytelling necessities, and b) they're not at the expense of that alienness, that genuinenly different world created on screen. Which occasionally breathtaking cinematography.

( Friends, Romans, Fellow-Watchers, lend me your ears )