History is full of mighty empires on every side of the globe. So mighty were these empires that they blessed their men and women with more privileges in life as compared to their conquered foes. None had arguably as much of an effect on present-day life as the Roman Empire. Season 1 of Barbarians showed off the brutality of the Roman legions and the eventual rebellion by the Germanic tribes of the Germania Magna – called barbarians by the Romans – against Rome. Centered around Arminius (Laurence Rupp), a former barbarian in service of Rome who would eventually rise to inflict one of the empire’s most famous defeats at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest with the ambush of three Roman legions. Now once again, new legions are coming. Rome is coming.
The Battle of Teutoburg Forest was a resounding success that saw the death of Publius Quinctilius Varus (Gaetano Aronica) by suicide and the ascension of Arminius to become reik. The trailer begins with Thusnelda (Jeanne Goursaud) and the Germanic people enjoying a year of “peace and healing.” But when you offend the most powerful military might in the world, be sure to expect retribution and Thusnelda knows exactly that when she warns that the Romans will return. And return they did. A year after the defeat, the Romans return led by Flavus (Daniel Donskoy) Arminius’s brother who still serves Rome, and the Roman general, Germanicus.
Arminius is not oblivious to the threat either, and he is struggling to put together the men needed to stave off this next assault from the empire. In what seems like a council meeting, Thusnelda suggests, “Marbod, he has 70,000 men.” Murathan Muslu will play Maroboduus, the Marcomanni King whom Arminius intends to form an alliance with to defeat the Romans. The trailer shows that Thusnelda does not entirely trust Marbod, however, it would seem Arminius has little choice but to do so. Arminius is seemingly betrayed by this king to the Romans but eventually emerges victorious.
Arminius and his brother, Flavus would come into direct conflict both verbally and physically. It remains to be seen how Segestes (Bernhard Schütz) who is pro-Roman and Thusnelda’s father handles himself and how his relationship grows with Folkwin Wolfspeer (David Schutter), Thusnelda’s scorned lover and Arminius’s best friend. Chances are that there is a treasonous fellow close to the center of leadership with the trailer offering a warning, “Treason has no allies.” In the end, this is a battle for self-determination. Strife for freedom and just as has been done for centuries, the underdogs with just a little courage will stand up to any power seeking to subjugate them. They will stand together in war and in peace.
Barbarians is created by Andreas Heckmann, Arne Nolting and Jan Martin Scharf. Other members of the cast for season 2 include Robert Maaser, Andrea Garofalo, Stefan Ruzowitzky, Katharina Heyer, Alessandro Fella, Cynthia Micas, Gabriele Rizzoli, and Giovanni Carta.
Check out the synopsis and the trailer below. Barbarians returns to Netflix on October 21.
“A year after the Varus Battle, the Roman troops have returned to Germania, stronger than ever, and Ari is once again confronted with his Roman past. His brother has joined the Roman side to punish Ari for his betrayal of Rome. While Thusnelda and Ari try to unite the tribes against Rome, Folkwin makes a sinister challenge to the gods.”