'BRITANNIA ' RULES
Romans, Druids clash in magical, thrilling, gory series
“BRITANNIA” Series streaming premiere tomorrow on Amazon Prime. Grade: B
When people talk on “Britannia,” listen.
Yes, there’s plenty of action and enough gore in this vaguely historical drama — set in 43 A.D., with Roman forces invading the Celtic isle of Britannia and a whiff of magic — to quench your fix for “Game of Thrones.”
Every TV provider wants a “Game of Thrones,” and if you’re going to imitate, do go after the best.
But when the people here speak, the stories they tell.
There’s the Roman general Aulus (David Morrissey, “The Walking Dead”), who reminds his prefect about the time they were in Egypt and encountered a street vendor with a penchant for magic tricks: He cut off the heads of two chickens, swapped them, and the chickens went off, clucking away.
It sounds like an innocent remembrance, but it becomes the stuff of nightmares fast.
Then there’s one tribe leader, Queen Antedia (Zoe Wanamaker, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”), who explains why she is warring against a rival tribe by revealing what happened to her son on his wedding night. It’s the kind of grievance you can never overcome.
Dialogue on TV series tends to be purely functional, getting person from point A to bedroom or transporter pad or Westeros. The longer you stick with this nine-episode season, the more the players reveal themselves. It’s a big part of how “Britannia,” written and co-created by Jez Butterworth (“Black Mass,” “Edge of Tomorrow”), transcends its genre roots.
The first warning of the Roman invasion comes from Divis (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), who sees the general in a vision. The druids who turned him out do not believe him and threaten to eviscerate him.
While Aulus is driven to invade Britannia, many of his men are terrified. The land is believed cursed, a legend used by Roman parents to frighten their children. At least some of those stories are true. At least one soldier, Antonius (Aaron Pierre), is right to be wary of this unknown land. He’s just ahead of the curve.
Aulus and his legions obliterate one village, sending a young survivor, Cait (Eleanor Worthington Cox), running into the forboding woods for her life.
Taking the rest of the land will not be as easy.
One native, Kerra (Kelly Reilly, “True Detective”), is willing to defy her father to negotiate with the Romans. Her father holds her responsible for the ongoing tribal war. Now how can that be possible? Oh, there might be a reason for his rage and another equally good one to explain her rebelliousness.
There are assorted Roman foot soldiers and tribespeople in the mix, and many make impressions in ways unexpected.
Like “Game,” no one is safe, and good people die, often in horrifying ways. The violence can be wrenching and is not for the squeamish.
Much of the Druids’ supernatural actions — but not all — can be chalked up to their use of plants as psychotropic drugs.
Divis’ ability to hypnotize others into doing his bidding borders on a convenient Jedi trick. There’s a lot to be said for building a fantasy world slowly. “Game of Thrones” didn’t start with dragons, it started with dragon eggs.