Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Pullo takes killing jobs for Erastes Fulmen, spending the money as quickly as he earns it. His attempt to murder Aufidius Dento goes wrong when a witness sees him and he cannot bring himself to kill her. Arrest brings him before a court where his guilt offers little room for defence. Octavian wants Caesar to intervene, but Caesar refuses to appear above the law and keeps Vorenus from helping. Octavian arranges a lawyer instead, without changing the outcome. Pullo is condemned to die in the arena, where he initially seems prepared to let the execution proceed without a fight.
Vorenus's new office brings complaints from neighbours and demands from fellow veterans who want land in Italy. Negotiating with Caesar requires compromises that leave him uncomfortable, while a party at Atia's exposes the distance between his household and the nobles now surrounding him. Brutus also faces pressure: Cassius urges him against Caesar, and Caesar's proposed posting to Macedonia feels like removal from Rome. In the arena, insults against the Thirteenth Legion finally make Pullo fight back. He kills successive opponents but is exhausted and close to defeat. Vorenus abandons the order to stand aside, enters the arena and saves him. Their loyalty earns the crowd's admiration, even as Caesar's private dealings with Erastes complicate his public distance from Pullo's crime.