Embarking on our recap and review of 'Those About to Die' episode 4, we find Titus summoning the faction leaders, also known as senators, to deliberate on the unrest sparked by the games. The senators swiftly deflect blame onto the fifth faction, harking back to the tradition of four factions alone. Their unspoken agreement soon emerges: the senators will lend their support to Titus' deification ceremony for Vespasian, provided he disbands the gold faction. This action causes Tenax's glass empire to crumble as the fifth faction is disbanded. Scorpus, enraged by the turn of events, leaves the team.
On Titus' coronation day, Cala stumbles upon the Vestal Virgins, realizing that a mere touch from one of them can liberate a slave. Among them is Antonia's daughter, reluctantly taken at the tender age of seven. Titus then unveils a grandiose public bath project for his citizens. Berenice, however, raises objections, pointing out that enslaved Judeans are expected to build it, contrary to Titus' promise of liberation upon his ascension.
After Berenice departs, Titus hears whispers about Domitian's involvement in the grain shortage and the recurrent riots in the city. Meanwhile, Cala finds herself as the translator and manager at the betting tavern, having observed the impediment language posed to the business.
Elsewhere, Domitian seeks Tenax's assistance to silence the rumors about him, offering to revive the fifth faction in return. Soon after, all potential witnesses against Domitian mysteriously perish overnight.
Titus confronted Domitian head-on about the whispers, intuitively surmising that Domitian's aim was to shame him in the presence of their father. After Domitian vehemently denied the accusations, he was promptly imprisoned in his chambers, leaving Titus to dig deeper into the matter.
Meanwhile, Domitian stumbled upon a damning revelation: some Judean citizens held the queen in contempt for her union with Titus. Fuelled by this, Domitian devised a cunning plan. It seemed the Judeans were brewing a rebellion as well.
Scorpus, determined to rejoin the Blue faction as a driver, was rejected once again. In a last-ditch effort, he struck a bargain with Leto, accepting only a third of his original asking price. But even then, he refused to return to Tenax.
Caltonia sought out Salena, Rufus's wife, who had once possessed 500 shares in the Blue faction but had been stripped of them by her husband. Once a woman of privilege, Salena now lived in despair. Caltonia vowed to take Rufus to court for stealing the shares and promised Salena her unwavering support and refuge.
As Tenax scrambled to devise new spectacles for the impending games, a novel idea emerged. On the day dedicated to Titus's honor, Berenice boldly took the throne intended for the queen, defying public disapproval. The games commenced with a symbolic invasion of Judea, and the mighty lion—a symbol of Titus, captured with Kwame's assistance—was unleashed on the rebellious Judeans, decimating them. Berenice fled the arena in horror, while Titus spied Domitian watching the carnage from his chamber.
When Titus confronted his brother through the lethal dance of swords, Domitian confessed that the Judeans had plotted to kill Berenice, and he had merely killed two birds with one stone. Berenice, resolute to depart, was begged by Titus to stay. She demanded that he take a queen the people would accept and keep her in the shadows, for they would never acknowledge her as such.
In the bustling tavern, Cala skillfully bargained for a more lucrative salary for herself and Aura, her companion, leveraging her indispensible translation abilities that had significantly contributed to the tavern's booming profits. Later, she encountered Antonia's daughter, now a Vestal Virgin, and pleaded for her assistance in liberating her children from their plight. Though the priestess acknowledged her inability to act alone, she solemnly promised to convey Cala's request to the matron.
Meanwhile, Tenax was unexpectedly visited by Ursus, a former slave he had abandoned to perish in a fiery inferno many years ago. Ursus, filled with vengeance, swore to bring Tenax's downfall and departed, leaving a trail of malice and vengeance in his wake.
