Why did no one tell me ‘Those About To Die’s main character is just like one of my faves?
I know a variant when I see one!
Maybe it’s anticipation for Gladiator II’s release or maybe it’s the fact that I have recently been to Rome for what has to be the umpteenth time, but I’m going through a bit of an Ancient Rome hyper fixation moment.
And that means that besides rewatching some great faves like the original Gladiator and HBO’s short-lived but always amazing Rome, I also burned through Prime Video’s most recent historical drama, Those About to Die.
While I still maintain that no other show about Ancient Rome comes even close to Rome’s unique combo of wild historical inaccuracy with somehow perfect spiritual understanding of what the late days of the Republican era were, Those About to Die is magnificently entertaining. It hits all the tropes—unhinged emperors, backstabbing nobles, shrewd crime bosses, gratuitous nudity, bloody gladiator fights, and high-adrenaline chariot races.
But let me tell you, the one thing that I liked the most about Those About To Die was slowly realizing that its protagonist is none other than Shadow and Bone’s Kaz Brekker, Ancient Rome Edition.
Let me explain. One of the main characters of the show is Tenax, played by Iwan Rheon of Ramsay Bolton fame. After a particularly difficult past that includes its fair share of trauma, he has risen through the ranks of Rome’s underbelly and now owns the city’s largest betting tavern, in which he makes absolute bank on the chariot races that are held in the Circus Maximus. He also hopes to establish his own racing faction, which would be the first one to be owned by a man of the people rather than by a noble and ancient patrician family.
And Tenax has all the personality traits you would expect from a character with this particular kind of background: alculating, ruthless, sarcastic, and seemingly uncaring about anything that isn’t money and profit.
Does that sound familiar? Maybe like someone who famously said, “My father is profit. I honor him daily”? That sure does sound like a Kaz Brekker-like series of characteristics to me. And sure, it’s not that unheard of of a character type—but that’s not all.
Enter Cala, played by Sara Martins, a woman with literal daggers hidden in her hair who has traveled to Rome from Numidia to search for her three children, who were all taken as slaves by Roman soldiers. She starts working for Tenax as a way to stay close to one of those children and keep an eye out on the other two, and as the days go by she reveals herself to be an incredibly smart businesswoman—so much so that Tenax’s betting business flourishes even more than it already was under her management. Cue Tenax starting to look at her like she hung the stars in the sky and being excessively worried about her for someone who allegedly only cares about himself.
And it might just be that I am nothing if not a staunch Grishaverse fan who has been living in Leigh Bardugo’s world for the better part of ten years, but this all feels very Kanej to me. Add to that the fact that Tenax passes the final episodes of the show moving around with the aid of a cane after a bad encounter with his enemies, and you truly have the complete picture of a Kaz Brekker variant.
So to all the Grishaverse fans who might be missing their beloved Bastard of the Barrel—since it doesn’t seem like a new book is coming out anytime soon and Netflix did what Netflix does best and axed Shadow and Bone after two seasons—try to see if the King of the Suburra fills at least part of that void. That is, unless Prime Video decides to do another My Lady Jane and cancels Those About to Die as well.
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