Plebs

Things take an upward turn for the boys when Marcus meets some fit Britons in the courtyard and Stylax finds a flyer to a party. With his grocery budget now spent on party tickets, Grumio must scrimp and save in order to put food on the table.

Everyone is quickly charmed apart from Marcus who hopes that, one way or another, their relationship will be short-lived. Meanwhile, Stylax plays a prank on Aurelius which gets out of hand.

Stylax buys Grumio an erotic vase for his birthday featuring a character who bears a striking resemblance to someone nearby. Marcus, under pressure from the girls, suggests they swap roles for the day. Meanwhile, Stylax hangs out with his cousin Lucretia, with whom he has an unusually close relationship.

Having won 100 denari each through Stylax's betting on a chariot race, he and Marcus have very different ideas on how to spend the money. Marcus, naturally, wants to spend it on Cynthia, whilst Stylax prefers a more laddish approach.

Surprisingly, Aurelius is getting married. Even more surprisingly, he invites his "best mate" Marcus to be his best man. Reluctant to say the least, Marcus plans a night on the cheap, avoiding the hottest club in town.

While doing the recycling, Grumio finds a baby behind the bins and takes it home to raise as his own. Stylax uses it to strike up a relationship with an attractive young wet nurse. Meanwhile, Marcus tries to avoid seeing Cynthia's painfully boring one-woman play.

The boys are desperate for tickets to one of the `beast shows' at the Games, while Marcus meets Delphine, a fiery activist from Gaul, and Grumio clashes with Landlady, their missing landlord's formidable mother.

Grumio meets Justin, the father who left him on a hill as a baby and who now wants to make up for lost time, and Marcus and Delphine come to terms with their respective pasts.

When Marcus's parents visit for the weekend, he is keen to keep them and Delphine as far apart as possible. Meanwhile, Stylax pursues a romance with Ursula, one of the Vestal Virgins who guard the city's sacred flame, and Grumio spots a business opportunity.

Following a catastrophic industrial accident, the boys respond in their own ways: Marcus immediately seeks financial compensation, while Grumio prefers to 'go to seed' at home. Then Jason, a cheery out-of-work builder steps into their lives.

Despite only being open a few days, the boys' bar receives a devastating '1 Fork' review from Athena, the leading food critic in Rome. Grumio invites her back for a re-match with his experimental new menu; while Jason can't stop hiring waitresses.

Marcus spies a money-making opportunity when the city goes into a frenzy of fundraising at marathon time, and Jason bets Aurelius he can beat him in the big race.

The boys set off on a wine-buying trip to Tuscany, but a cart collision sees Jason hooking up with a local milk maid and Grumio developing a taste for foraged truffles.

Marcus offers to tutor Gloria's teenage son Barney, who's struggling at school, while Jason gives him coaching in his own specialist subject, romance.

The boys gate-crash a posh banquet, where Marcus tries to win favour with the host, Jason seduces a bored aristocrat and Grumio overhears a poison plot.