Treason is the fifth episode of the first season of the Netflix original series Barbarians, and the fifth episode of the series overall.
Synopsis[]
Ari and Thusnelda forge a political marriage and begin uniting the fractious Germanic tribes. Folkwin is believed dead but has actually been enslaved.
Plot[]
Arminius is left with a black eye as a result of proposing he and Thusnelda get married. Although Folkwin is not favorable towards the idea, he does agree that this may be their only chance of uniting the tribes. Arminius reminds Folkwin that he can’t come to Cherusci as they must maintain the ruse that he’s dead.
Arminius and Thusnelda return to Cherusci together, where they reveal to Segestes and Irmina that they’re engaged to be married.
Thusnelda explains Arminius’ plan to Runa and how the wedding should hopefully change the tribes’ view of Arminius. Only then can they beat the Romans. Runa then confronts Thusnelda for claiming that she has the gift when in fact she doesn’t. She reminds Thusnelda that the gods punish hubris and that pretending to be a seer will end badly.
The wedding ceremony commences. The entire tribe is in attendance, including Segestes and Irmina, the former of which does not approve of the marriage as Arminius didn’t even bother to ask for his approval. Reik Aldarich of Marsi and Reik Golmad of Bructeri also attend. Folkwin watches from the nearby woods as Runa officiates the ceremony.
The tribe gathers to feast. As a wedding gift, Aldarich promises Arminius 2,000 of his warriors. Golmad remarks that Arminius’ army is growing. Arminius then looks to Rurik, who has nothing to offer. Rome has three legions, and they don't have nearly enough men to stop them. He also recalls how Arminius beheaded Gernot Redbeard of Bructeri. Rurik doesn’t trust any of the other tribes and denounces any kind of alliance. A messenger then arrives with a gift from reik Hadgan — horse feces to be exact.
After the feast, Arminius and Thusnelda are blinded together by Runa in front of the entire village, though Segestes and Irmina leave as they don't approve of the marriage. The tribe leaves soon thereafter as the newlyweds are expected to consummate their marriage, but Arminius is well aware that Thusnelda loves Folkwin.
Folkwin gets drunk in the woods while the Cherusci celebrate. Unfortunately for him, he crosses paths with a group of Romans leading slaves to camp. A fight ensues, and Folkwin is beaten senseless.
Segestes and Irmina swear their loyalty to Arminius and Thusnelda. The two intend to leave soon and are putting the village in the care of Segestes. Before parting ways, Segestes tells Thusnelda that they’re more alike than she’s willing to admit.
Talio arrives with Folkwin’s necklace and takes Arminius and Thusnelda to the campsite where he found the necklace lying next to a pile of charred remains, who they believe to be Folkwin.
Folkwin awakens in a prison cell at the Romans’ camp with the rest of the captured slaves. There, he meets a girl named Raskild from the tribe of the Marcomanni. She reveals how he drunkenly attacked a group of Roman soldiers the night before. Another slave tried to escape during the fight. He was killed and thrown into the fire. And they took Folkwin in his place. Given the fact that he is supposed to be dead, Folkwin claims his name is Berulf, having assumed his fallen friend’s identity. Folkwin then spots Arminius and Thusnelda in camp, but they don’t notice him.
Arminius and Thusnelda arrive at the Roman’s camp to meet with Varus. Pelagios enters and Arminius reveals that he is the interpreter, meaning they will understand any snide comment and rude remark Thusnelda makes. Quintus isn’t convinced that Arminius is a true son of Rome, looking at him as nothing more than another barbarian. Varus insists that Arminius is true to the cause and it's his loyalty to the Roman Empire that Varus officially offers him knighthood. Varus fears a rebellion is afoot. They need to restore the priest, so he tells Arminius to bring him a son from every reik as a hostage.
After meeting with Varus, Thusnelda questions where Arminius’ loyalties lie. She noticed how the Romans admire him and how Varus is like a father to him. Arminius does intend to gather the reiks’ sons as commanded, but he also has a plan.
Folkwin and Raskild witness as one of the slave girls are pulled from the cell. Folkwin attempts to intervene, attacking one of the soldiers. For this, he is punished. They bind his hands and publicly whip him.
Following through with Vargus’ orders, Arminius and Thusnelda begin taking the sons of known reiks, starting with Rurik. He draws his sword, but Arminius explains there’s nothing he can do as Rurik is surrounded by Roman soliders. So he lowers his blade. As they leave, Thusnelda tells Rurik to come to the moon festival at the next full moon.
In the weeks that followed, Arminius and Thusnelda continued to take more and more sons. They camp out in the woods on their journey. He reveals that he hated his father for so long after he had been given to Rome, though Varus was always good to him. He taught Arminius a lot about the lights in the sky and how some believe them to be planets. The Romans think the Greeks are clever, which is why they’ve borrowed so much from them. However, Thusnelda argues that the lights, in reference to the stars, are actually campfires of the spirits in the sky. They both hysterically laugh at the notion of planets and big spheres.
The moon festival has come and the tribes meet. Segestes, Rurik, Golmad, Hadgan, and Aldarich attend. Rurik demands to know the whereabouts of his son. Arminius points out how they’re all too weak to stand up alone. Not even one single time could they band together to stop Rome from taking their sons. Arminius explains that their sons are safe in his village and protected. He never intended to give them over to Varus. In Rome, he was taught to despise his people and his roots. And he doesn’t want that for any other child. So they must come together to defeat Rome. In barely a moon, three Roman legions will return to Vetera from their summer campaign. That will be their chance. Hadgan argues that that is a fight they will surely lose as they lack manpower. Thusnelda explains that if they don’t fight, Rome will be their judge instead of their gods. Together, Arminius and Thusnelda convince the tribes to unite and fight.
Despite the fact that they’ve convinced the tribes to an alliance, Arminius knows that they still don’t trust him. He’s but a useful tool. It’s Thusnelda they trust. At dawn, he rides to Varus to lead the Romans into the woods. Thusnelda confesses to Arminius that she doesn’t want to be without him and the two have sex.
Folkwin asks Raskild to distract the guard. Free from the watchful eye, Folkwin calls over a merchant and asks her to deliver a message to Thusnelda. He asks that she tell Thusnelda that she saw an old friend from the eye hut in the Roman camp.
Rather than delivering the message to Thusnelda, the merchant reports to Segestes and Irmina. The merchant added that the slave didn’t look much like a dyer, and he had blond hair. They believe that the slave is actually Folkwin and that Arminius never killed him. With this knowledge, they can take down Arminius.
Arminius returns to camp and meets with Varus and Quintus, who question the whereabouts of the hostages. Arminius claims that the reik of Marsi refused to give his son up. This led the others to follow suit, the makings of a rebellion. Arminius proposes that the three legions take a detour on their way back to Vetera and teach the tribes a lesson. Quintus wants to wait until spring, but Arminius insists that they handle the matter immediately, and Varus agrees. Segestes suddenly arrives and demands an audience with the governor. Varus and Pelagios exit the tent and confront Segestes, who reveals that Arminius will betray Rome.
Cast[]
Starring[]Guest Starring[] |
Co-Starring[]
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Death Toll[]
- Unnamed Germanic Slave — A small group of Roman soldiers stumbled upon Folkwin while on their way back to camp with a chain of slaves. As they were dealing with Folkwin, one of the slaves attempted to escape and was killed in the process.
Gallery[]
Episode Guide[]
| Season 1 | |
| SE1E01: Wolf and Eagle | SE1E04: A New Reik |
| SE1E02: Vengeance | SE1E05: Treason |
| SE1E03: On the Edge | SE1E06: The Battle |