Domina shows that there is life after Rome. I mean the television series Rome. Let me say that Domina does not have the class of that classic. Domina does show that the old Roman Empire still produces beautiful, manipulative and intriguing stories.
The screenplay was written by Simon Burke. He used a number of starting points for this series. Livia Drusilla is the strong woman behind Augustus (he calls herself after the death of his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar). Through Livia's family, she is heading for a republic. The latter is at odds with other interpretations of this history. Livia is extremely driven to get her son on the throne. Where the television series indicates that it is based on truth, it is immediately stated that this is an interpretation. No one is 100 percent sure what happened during that turbulent time.
Don't expect battlefields or other mass violence in Domina.
The first two episodes have trouble setting things up. The actors who play the young versions of the later adult main characters play an important role in this. They don't really convince me. Not that they fail, but it all comes across as a bit more wooden and therefore more unbelievable. This is especially noticeable when the actors are replaced by their adult versions. Kasia Smutniak (Diavoli) portrays a strong woman who knows how to manipulate, cheat and seduce. Matthew McNulty (The Bay (2019)) portrays an emperor driven by ambition, passion and impatience. His strong right hand Agrippa is portrayed with verve by Ben Batt (The English Game). Antigone, Julia's right-hand man, is portrayed by Colette Dalal Tchantcho (The Witcher).
Don't expect battlefields or other mass violence in Domina. It's about the battle in Rome. The takeovers are at the political level. Julia knows how to maneuver through that world at least as skillfully as Augustus this season. It makes for exciting television. Generally by spoken word, but death and destruction are not forgotten.
Regardless of the starting points, the makers adhere closely to the historiography. The historical facts, as so often, leave a lot of room for interpretation. The creators of this series make smart use of this. Where it generally feels quite realistic, my eyebrows did raise at the kisses that men give each other when they meet. I had never seen or read that meeting ritual before.
The storylines follow the historical facts fairly closely.
Domina is a good television series for lovers of ancient Rome. The storylines follow the historical facts fairly closely. There is plenty of room to let go of a different interpretation. Currently, people are still investigating how manipulative Livia really was. There are still different opinions on that. However, everyone agrees that she was an important and strong woman in Roman times. The television series (which has been renewed with a second season) does justice to that in my opinion.
Because of the first two mediocre episodes, I am tempted to only give a 7.5. If I were to do that, I wouldn't do the other episodes justice. Because of this, and to give you some extra motivation to watch this solid series, I've decided to give it an 8.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
