Released: 22nd October 2022
Number of Episodes: 6
Where to Watch: Netflix
Created by: Andreas Heckmann
Starring: Laurence Rupp, Jeanne Goursaud, Daniel Donskoy, David Schütter, Bernhard Schütz, Alessandro Fella and Giovanni Carta
The well-trodden if novel Barbarians brought a seminal battle of ancient history to the small screen in 2020. It was a straightforward yet effective recreation and the second season heads into the aftermath phase.
One year after the Battle of Teutoberg Forest, an uneasy tension remains between the Germanic tribes and Roman legions. The ruthless empire continues to press into native lands while some tribe members search for a way of appeasing the enemy. Thusnelda (Jeanne Goursaud) and her husband Arminius (Laurence Rupp) continue to press their case as a Roman fort garrison slowly bears down on them. Like the first season, the shorter set of six episodes makes for a compact story that does away with the baggage; if the first season of Barbarians was a devastating blow to the most powerful army in the world then the second is all about allegiances and backgrounds. The focus shifts away from Thusnelda and her husband Arminius and more towards those caught in the middle. Ari’s son finds himself ripped out of Roman luxury and pressed into the more primal life of the Barbarians, Flavus (Daniel Donskoy) struggles to balance his loyalties to Rome with his close bond with Margod, another tribal leader and Folkwyn (David Schütter) experiences a growing distance between himself and his brethren. All of these side stories are well developed, but they do create an imbalance with the main leads. Ari and Thusnelda are mostly unchanged; they seek freedom from the Romans while raising their newborn son, a step down from their roles in the original.
The characters rely on simple yet effective archetypes, defined more so by their bonds than complex characteristics. Thusnelda and Arminius are freedom fighters, but the latter’s connection with his son takes him a step further. Even if the story is a tad unbalanced, the series still takes time to slow down and build some tension between the characters. A tender moment between Thusnelda and Forwyn towards the end of the season feels very poignant. Marbod (Murathan Muslu) is one of the more interesting characters; as he attempts to play both sides off each other, you see the moral dilemma that hangs over him. One new character is Dido (Cynthia Micas), a refugee of Carthage who assists the main characters. She’s easily the weakest link as a grievous injury prevents her from achieving the same development as the rest of the cast.
Portraying a nearly 2000 year old setting is no easy task, but Barbarians carries out the task with capable confidence. At a base level, the Romans speak real Latin while the Barbarians speak in native German. It’s a touch of authenticity that many larger scale historical properties have missed over the years, contributing to the story and the distance between the two factions. The series mainly unfolds within vast forests which are all shot and presented beautifully from start to finish. The fight scenes are suitably gritty with a ton of bloodshed, though they also get into the habit of frequent cuts which occasionally diminishes the intensity. The music is much like the first outing, a mixture of themes for the Barbarians and Romans, accompanied by tense action cues.
Barbarians stays the course for its second season, delivering another visceral showdown between warring factions. At times the tale of changing motivations comes at the expense of its lead characters, but it remains committed to showing off how simple woodland clans stood against the most powerful empire of the time. If you’re a history buff, you shouldn’t miss it.
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars (Good)
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