Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Mark Antony returns to Rome as Caesar's tribune, accompanied by Octavian, Vorenus and Pullo. For Vorenus, the journey means seeing his household after years of separation. Niobe had believed him dead, and the baby she is holding immediately troubles him. She says the child belongs to their eldest daughter, allowing him to accept a place in a family he barely recognises. The reunion remains uncomfortable even after his suspicions ease. Pullo takes a different route through the city, returning to drinking, gambling and paid sex. A dispute over cheating at dice leaves him badly injured, and Vorenus brings in help to keep him alive.
The quarrel reaches beyond the tavern when Pullo encounters his enemies again near Antony's escort. Pompey and Cicero have been relying on Antony's veto to prevent a hostile Senate motion from taking effect, making a show of opposition without forcing an immediate war. Disorder in the Senate and then street violence prevent that safeguard from working. Antony escapes to Caesar with news that he has been attacked and Caesar declared an enemy. Caesar uses the apparent assault on a tribune to win his soldiers' support for crossing the Rubicon. At home, Niobe nurses the baby herself, revealing to the audience the truth she has hidden from her returning husband.