Those About to Die – Episode 3 “Death’s Door” Recap & Review

Death’s Door

We start our ‘Those About to Die’ episode 3 recap and review with Scorpus and Andria, one of the Spanish brothers, gathering yellow ash at Mount Vesuvius. Andria reveals that he rode two-horse gigs and has ridden six as well. He wants to ride like Scorpus in the future. Meanwhile, back at the shed, the first Andalusian horse dies.

Viggo is training Kwame about the Roman ways when they learn that Colon is to fight Flamma in the next games. Viggo and Kwame plan to retrieve Colon’s body and sell it for a good price.

Later, Cala somehow meets Kwame and promises to free him. At the shed, Scorpus feeds the horses yellow ash, but after a while, Elia realizes there’s nothing more they can do and prepares to leave with his brothers. This is when the horses miraculously get back up, leading the people to rejoice.

Cala negotiates work and pay for herself and Aura at Tenax’s betting tavern. It’s decided that Andria will be Scorpus’ co-rider for the upcoming race.

Claudia, Tenax’s worker, takes Cala to Jula at the House of Marsus. She buys some red berries on her way and hands them over to Jula, who uses them to fake her menses, keeping herself away from Lord Marsus’ bed, for which Antonia bought her. This is also where Jula learns that Antonia plans to kill Scorpus.

Jula relays the news to Tenax, who stages Scorpus’ death in front of the people to safeguard him until the games.

Meanwhile, Domitian smuggles gold from the Imperial treasury for betting, and the news reaches Titus through Berenice. Titus then confronts Domitian and orders an audit of the treasury.

Marsus and Antonia hire Xenox as their new driver, offering him three times his current salary and protection from Leto, the leader of the white faction.

In the meantime, Vespasian’s health is deteriorating. At the games, Colon is mercilessly killed by Flamma. This is also when Caltonia learns that Marsus and Antonia have become the leading shareholders of the blue faction, and she is not happy about it.

Tenax then enters as the leader of the fifth faction, shocking the crowd with Scorpus racing for Tenax in the next games. Cala joins the choir of those scrambling to bet on Scorpus.

After a close match, Scorpus and Andria barely manage to win after Scorpus manipulates his former horse into slowing down while Xenon is riding the chariot. Tenax, Domitian, and Cala win big money with Cala successfully negotiating Aura’s freedom. However, trouble ensues as some oppose the existence of the fifth faction, and riots begin.

Domitian is able to sneakily return the smuggled money back into the treasury, and Titus is confused and wonders if Berenice betrayed him. Meanwhile, Vespasian dies as the rioting fills the streets of Rome.

The Episode Review

Once again, Cala has proved to be a likable character. She’s intelligent and resourceful, which makes us root for her even more. Meanwhile, although Tenax seems to have achieved his dream, it appears that this wouldn’t be without a challenge. With Vespasian’s death, Domitian has stepped into his nightmare as his brother assumes the role of king.

Overall, the plot is certainly entertaining with likable characters, even though they live via plotting and planning. The events nicely tie together, and even though the show might not be as dense and demanding as others in its genre, it still manages to capture our attention.

With this, we come to the end of our ‘Those About to Die’ episode 3 recap and review. We’ll meet you in the next one!