Paul English of The Daily Record wrote that " Rome is visually dazzling , full of vim and tantalizingly seductive , " adding that " McKidd 's growling turn as Ceasar 's [ sic ] footsoldier Lucius Vorenus will undoubtedly propel him into the US major league . " Writing for the Los Angeles Daily News , David Kronke failed to find the series very remarkable , writing that " notwithstanding some lurid sex and gruesome violence , [ it is ] as conventional as anything the network have ever done . Sword @-@ and @-@ sandals epics have become familiar Hollywood staples ... and those expecting something that take up where the legendarily decadent BBC / PBS series I , Claudius left off may be in for something of a disappointment . " Television Without Pity graded the episode with a B.