Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
The Senate grants Caesar a ten-year dictatorship, and he marks his victories with days of public celebrations. Brutus and Cicero must praise the man whose power has displaced the Republic they claim to defend. Vorenus enters municipal politics with Posca coaching him, but his candidacy becomes less appealing when he learns that the election has already been arranged in his favour. Posca urges him to accept the chance to provide work and stability. Away from the celebrations, Octavian retrieves Octavia from a temple where she has withdrawn and begun harming herself, forcing her back into the family she hoped to escape.
Servilia and Quintus use Brutus's name on pamphlets attacking Caesar, putting him at risk without his consent. He denies responsibility when Caesar confronts him, but the episode leaves him caught between his mother's wishes and his powerful friend's suspicion. Pullo imagines a quieter future of his own, asking for Eirene to be freed so that he can marry her. Her happiness at the news conceals a different intention: she wants to marry another enslaved member of Vorenus's household. Pullo responds by killing the young man in a jealous fury. Vorenus drives him out after the murder, and Eirene is left grieving. Alone and drinking again, Pullo receives an offer of paid violence from Erastes Fulmen.