Original subtitles

[people screaming]

[screaming]

[explosion]

[screaming]

♪ ♪

[Tom Hiddleston] In Pompeii, you can time travel.

And by combining evidence and imagination,

two timelines, the past and the present.

I'm tracing two real Romans

through the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

First, there's Avianius.

[Avianius] Well, maybe I am like Dad.

He didn't want anything to do with you either.

[Claudia] Avi, wait.

[Tom] And he's working at a blacksmith's outside the city.

[Avianius] It was an earthquake.

[Marcus] You've got to grow up.

[Tom] He's a little bit headstrong.

Then there's Julia Felix,

a successful businesswoman and leader of her household.

[Julia] We will give thanks to Isis.

She'll protect us.

[Tom] They're both right there,

beneath the volcano with a bomb about to go off.

That's it, they're out of time.

[Marcus] Avi? You okay?

[Julia] Get them inside. Now!

Inside, everyone!

Inside now!

[Aurelia] Avi, please!

[Avianius] I can't. My mum.

[Marcus] You find her, then find us.

[Tom] He goes back into Pompeii to get his mum.

Avianius, Julia, all of Pompeii...

...they're almost out of time.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Okay, Chris.

This is where we're at.

I think Avianius and Julia have survived phase 1,

the earthquakes, and phase 2, the initial eruption.

So, if they've made it this far, do they stand a chance?

[Chris Jackson] Unfortunately, they're not out of the woods yet

because 600 million tons of superheated rock and magma

was blown 20 miles up into the atmosphere.

[explosion]

We've now entered phase 3,

what we call the eruption column.

And within minutes,

that rock and magma would start to rain down on Pompeii.

[Tom] Oh, it must have been like a war zone.

And Avianius,

he's running right into the heart of it.

[screaming]

[Julia] Get inside now!

[Cassius] Out of the way, out of my way.

[Amalthea] Quickly, Cassius, move!

Hurry, get inside, inside, inside!

Get inside!

[screaming and shouting]

♪ ♪

This isn't just an earthquake, is it?

[Julia] No. This is something else.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[clock ticking]

[Tom] I mean, what would it have been like to be there,

to see it with your own eyes?

Steven, are there any firsthand accounts

of experiencing the eruption column?

[Steven Tuck] Well, there is one in the database,

one firsthand account from that day in A.D. 79.

Come with me.

[Tom] Yeah.

[Steven] We'll take a look,

see if we can find this on the shelf here.

In the Ps, in the Ps.

Pliny. Ah, here it is.

A firsthand account from the ancient world.

[Tom] Ah, the letters of Gaius Plinius.

My old friend Pliny the Younger.

[Steven] Right.

You did study classics at university, didn't you?

[Tom] That's what they told me.

[Steven] [laughs] Well, Pliny was right there

on the Bay of Naples on that day.

Pliny is your eyewitness.

[Tom] Yes, okay.

This is how he described it.

"The shape of the cloud can be best described

"as resembling an umbrella pine tree.

"For it rose up to a great height, like a tree trunk,

then branched out in all directions."

[creaking]

[Amalthea] This isn't going to stop, is it?

[Julia] No. We need to get away from Vesuvius

as quickly as possible.

[Amalthea] The guests, they're horrified, hurt.

We can't. We can't go out.

[Julia] I know, but this will only get worse. Okay?

[crash]

[Tom] "A terrifying pitch-black cloud split open

"by quivering blasts of fire, shooting out in all directions,

"revealing longer fiery shapes.

"My uncle was stationed at Misenum,

in command of the fleet that day."

Hang on. What?

Pause.

A fleet?

[Steven] That's right. The Roman imperial fleet,

they were anchored on the Bay of Naples.

[Tom] Is this describing a rescue mission?

[Steven] Exactly.

And one of the earliest ever recorded in history.

[Tom] The Roman navy is right there?

[Steven] Right there. Yeah.

[Tom] What happens?

I mean, do they make it? Do they succeed?

[Steven] The letter is a little vague on details.

We don't know for sure.

[Tom] There must be a way to find out.

There must be some way of finding out.

Okay, so what do we know?

We know the Roman fleet has been mobilized in an attempt

to rescue the people stranded beneath Vesuvius.

Maybe I'll find survivors if I trace the rescue mission.

But do they make it to Pompeii?

Do they rescue Avianius and Julia?

I've got to find a way of tracking that rescue mission.

♪ ♪

I need a boat.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

This is how Pliny describes what they sailed into that day,

"Ash was falling on the ships

"hotter and thicker the closer they approached.

"Then pumice and blackened stones

"burnt and fractured by the fire.

"They hurried to the place others were fleeing from,

setting their course straight for danger."

[Darius Arya] Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Tom, no. This was never a rescue mission about Pompeii.

Now listen.

[Tom] Oh. Forgive me. I should introduce you

to helpful archaeologist

and killjoy Dr. Darius Arya.

[Darius] Take a look at this map.

[Tom] Hang on. Hang on.

Are you saying the fleet isn't coming

to rescue Julia and Avianius?

[Darius] I'm afraid so.

There's no archaeological evidence that the Roman Navy

ever got to Pompeii.

However, there were other Roman towns along the coast.

It's filled with communities. It's densely packed.

[Tom] Right. Right, right. Okay, so not just Pompeii then?

There's many towns along the coast

the fleet could have gone to.

[Darius] Exactly, and right here only nine miles just above it

is the town of Herculaneum.

[Tom] Ah, yes, Herculaneum.

I, um, I've been there, I came when I was 17, on my trip.

It was grander, posher than Pompeii.

[Darius] It's more intimate. It's better preserved.

But definitely richer.

And it's right here, at the base of Vesuvius,

in even more imminent danger than Pompeii.

All those people are under threat.

All those people need to be rescued.

[Tom] Okay, well, what are we waiting for?

Let's go to Herculaneum.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

This place really is opulent, isn't it?

[Darius] Yeah, there's a lot of serious money here.

And the houses, I mean, they're some of the most lavish

to be unearthed from the Roman world.

In fact, the town is,

it's kind of like a beach resort for the elite of Rome.

[Tom] Right. Almost like a modern-day Capri

or Palm Beach or something.

[Darius] Exactly.

[Tom] But, Darius, is there any evidence of the rescue mission?

Does the fleet make it to Herculaneum?

[Darius] It is complicated.

We do know that there's at least one member of the military

that was here during the eruption.

And there's something of his that I want to show you.

Come on.

Check this out.

[Tom] Ah! Wow.

[Darius] Ta-da!

[Tom] Wow, wow, wow.

[Darius] Okay, so here is our sword.

[Tom] A soldier's sword?

[Darius] Soldier's sword.

[Tom] Wow!

[Darius] From Herculaneum.

And look at this scabbard. Look at all the decoration.

The craftsmanship is phenomenal.

[Tom] Look at the detail. Amazing.

[Darius] This soldier would have seen a world of experience

in the battlefield.

[Tom] Ah, it makes the past feel so close.

I mean, it's as if, as if his hand was holding it moments ago.

[Darius] Right.

And here, this is his belt.

[Tom] Okay.

[Darius] A cingulum militare.

Look again, all these intricate details.

This could even be the belt of a Praetorian Guard,

bodyguard to the emperor.

So, this is an elite member of the military.

[Tom] A soldier? [Darius] Yeah.

[Tom] An elite soldier? [Darius] Yeah.

And then we have this other curious bit of evidence.

He was found with this money,

the exact monthly paycheck for a Praetorian Guard.

[Tom] But, Darius, who brings their paycheck

on a rescue mission?

And are we talking about one guy like a single soldier,

or are we talking about a unit, do you think?

[Darius] I mean, that's the question.

Right here, this represents one soldier.

[Tom] This is one guy?

[Darius] Yeah.

[Tom] Hmm, interesting.

[Tom] I think I've found my third and final

real Roman to follow.

A soldier.

A member of the Praetorian Guard.

However, is that enough to say with certainty that this guy

is a part of Pliny's rescue mission?

I need something else, I need more,

I need another explanation.

Another historia.

[sigh]

Okay, what have we got?

We know he's a veteran.

We know he is on his own.

We know he is definitively in Herculaneum.

Why? What's he doing in Herculaneum?

Why this town?

Herculaneum is a place of decadence,

a place of indulgence.

It's a beach resort for the elite.

A place of boozing, feasting.

And he's a battle-hardened soldier.

So why is he there? He's out of place there.

Unless, of course, he's on holiday there.

He's got money to spend there.

He could be on shore leave there.

Good place to drink. Good place to forget.

Maybe he just happens to be in Herculaneum

on the day before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Maybe he's just one unlucky guy

who is in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[bell rings]

Let's try that again, shall we?

[rewinding]

[muffled voices]

[Helvia] Here we are.

The centerpiece has arrived!

[Praetorian] For me? Wonderful.

[Helvia] Thank you.

[Caecillius] Helvia, my dear.

I don't think this was such a good idea.

[Helvia] He's a member of the Praetorian Guard.

It's an honor to have him at our table, I think.

[Praetorian belches]

[Tom] Wait, pause, Darius.

You said the Praetorian Guard was the most prestigious

in the Roman army, right?

[Darius] Yes. We're talking about the best of the best.

And let's think about that Roman Empire.

[Tom] Yeah.

[Darius] Right, all the way from Britain to Syria.

I mean, this is the great Roman Empire.

[Tom] Vast.

[Darius] So, what does Rome do? It extracts.

It takes wealth from those provinces.

And that wealth, where does it go?

Primarily it goes to Rome.

[Tom] Right, yeah.

[Darius] But it's also coming

into a lot of other cities and towns, like Herculaneum.

[Tom] Right.

[Darius] It's a beneficiary.

[Tom] So, our soldier, he would be coming here

to enjoy that, to...

[Darius] Yeah, but, I mean, he's also seen

the dark side of the empire.

He knows truly firsthand the cost of that,

of that wealth and success of the empire.

[Tom] Which in real terms is

theft and pillage and bloodshed.

His own blood, I would think.

I mean, I guess if this was a contemporary soldier,

we might even be talking about post-traumatic stress.

[muffled voices]

[muffled voices]

[Praetorian] Who wants to hear a story?

[Guest] Yes.

[Praetorian] Mmm?

[Guest] Just what we need.

[Praetorian] That's why you asked me here, right?

Stories. The glory of war.

So where shall I begin?

Betrayal!

Corruption. Greed!

[Helvia] Actually, we'd rather you...

[Praetorian] So refined.

So civilized.

But all this...

...I've seen what it really costs.

Blood.

[Caecillius] I think we've heard enough. Time to go.

[Praetorian] You wallow...

...in all your wealth.

Who do you think stole it for you?

Or do you just not care?

Of course not.

Just out for yourselves.

Oh, we all are.

Good night, rich lady.

[muffled voices]

[Helvia] Wait, hold on.

Wait, you've left your sword.

[Tom] So, he'd have seen some things.

Some hard things.

[Darius] Yeah. What he experienced

would have been hell.

He would have lived through one of the worst periods

of Roman history, the Year of the Four Emperors.

So, you've got, you know, Galba, and then you have Otho,

Vitellius, and finally Vespasian.

And each time, you're fighting wars

against your brothers in arms.

[Tom] Facing death every day,

taking life or defending his own.

That's enough to take you down,

make you disillusioned and disenchanted.

Make you lose your faith in people.

[Helvia] Wait, wait.

Hold on. Don't go.

Here, you left this.

You're wrong, you know.

Not everyone is just out for themself.

There are acts of kindness, bravery, self-sacrifice,

small and often barely noticed

in every household all around you,

maybe even still in you.

People aren't always predictable.

They can surprise you.

[Praetorian] Sweet fantasy, rich lady.

[Helvia] Get some sleep.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Tom whispering] We don't know his name.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Hang on,

you said this place was a beach resort,

so where's the sea?

[Darius] Well, we are on the beach,

and the sea was right there.

So you'd have the, the waves, you have the boats in the water.

[Tom] Hang on. What are you talking about?

The coast is, is half a mile away.

[Darius] Yeah, but that's the power of the eruption.

It's gonna radically change the whole geography

of the entire Bay of Naples.

[Tom] Wow.

[Darius] So, when we look at this cliff,

it's actually a deposit, 82 feet high,

of volcanic debris accumulated in a single day,

covering over everything, the entire city.

[Tom] They're gonna be buried even deeper than Pompeii.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[clock ticking]

[Tom] Okay, so we have a Praetorian.

In a matter of minutes, unbeknownst to him,

he'll come face-to-face with one of the worst natural disasters

ever to hit the ancient world.

Now, on the face of it,

he is exactly the sort of person needed in a situation like this.

He has the experience, he has the authority,

he has the expertise, but he's also been through a lot.

He's seen the horror and reality of war.

He's a soldier in the autumn of his years.

Is he up to it?

Does he have it in him?

Does he even want to help these people?

♪ ♪

Or do we have ourselves a classic redemption story?

Because I know a thing or two about those.

♪ ♪

[screaming and shouting]

[screaming and shouting]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Vesuvius is so close.

I mean, they're completely boxed in.

They're trapped, right?

[Darius] Yeah.

[Tom] And the only possible way out is off this beach.

The Praetorian has to act.

He has to do something now.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Chris] The ash and pumice contained in the eruption column

was falling on the residents of Pompeii.

But amongst that are much larger blocks of solid rock

called volcanic bombs.

[Tom] Volcanic bombs?

[screaming and shouting]

[screaming and shouting]

[Child] Take cover!

[Townsperson] Livia!

No!

[Avianius] No! It's not safe! No!

[crash]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Tom] So, Pompeii is a city under fire.

But Julia, I mean, her and her household

have taken shelter by now, right?

She's, she's safe, isn't she?

[Chris] Not exactly, Tom, because of

the falling ash and pumice would be kind of accumulating,

building up on rooftops at the rate of up to two feet an hour,

becoming so heavy it would cause those roofs to fall

on top of people who are sheltering.

And worse was still to come

because the eruption column is still growing,

becoming so dense, so heavy that the geothermic energy

won't be able to support it anymore, and it will collapse,

burying Herculaneum and Pompeii.

[Tom] How long do they have?

[Chris] Not long.

Herculaneum is first in the firing line.

Soon, it will be completely buried.

[Tom] But there's still time, right?

There's still some chance that they can evacuate?

[Chris] It's a slim chance.

[Tom] So Julia's got an almost impossible choice to make.

Either she stays and risks her and her guests

being buried alive...

...or she evacuates

and faces bombardment on the streets of Pompeii.

[Julia whispering] Lady of the flame,

I pray to you, I beg you, I beseech you.

Isis, save us.

[Tom] Sarita, so the city's being buried alive

in a blizzard of volcanic rock and ash.

Can psychology tell us how the Praetorian, Avianius,

and Julia might react?

[Sarita Robinson] Well, yes.

When we're in any sort of environment,

we're always scanning for danger and looking for threats.

And if...

[Tom] A threat like a volcano going off over there?

[Sarita] Exactly, and when we see something like that,

it activates a part of our brain known as the amygdala,

and if that's triggered,

the fight-or-flight response will then happen automatically.

[Tom] Fight-or-flight.

[screaming and shouting]

[screaming and shouting]

[Sarita] So the flight response, it's about self-preservation,

it's about trying to get away from the danger.

[crash]

[Praetorian] Oh!

[breathes]

[breathing heavily]

[Distant voice] Guard!

Retreat!

[Tom] So I guess the Praetorian is in flight mode,

like everyone else in the city.

[screaming and shouting]

[Townsperson] Out of my way.

Get it off him.

You're breaking the boat!

Hey!

That's my boat!

[Tom] And, Sarita, what about the fight response?

[Sarita] Well, fighting doesn't always mean

that you're physically fighting someone,

it can also mean that you're fighting against the environment

to get to something you need.

We want to maybe rescue a loved one.

[Tom] Just like Avianius is doing.

He's running into harm's way,

trying to reunite with his mother.

[Avianius panting]

[Tom] Oh.

But what about Julia?

She's the one I can't quite figure out.

Is she fight or is she flight?

[Sarita] Well, actually,

she might be neither of those two things.

There is a third "F", and that's the freeze response.

It's sometimes also known as cognitive paralysis,

and that's when the brain is so overwhelmed

that it can't generate a response.

[Tom] Do you think she freezes, though?

I'm not sure, you see. It just doesn't sound like Julia

is the type of person who would freeze.

She's intelligent, she's tough, she's practical, she's a leader.

[Sarita] I think you might be right.

You know, if you look around at everything

that she's created here,

it's clear that she's a very successful businesswoman.

[Tom] Absolutely.

[Sarita] She keeps cool under pressure.

[Tom] But there has to be a reason.

Oh, um, why does she stay?

[Sarita] It could be that she's actually

physically tied to this place.

She's got an emotional bond to everything here.

[Tom] And yet, I think that she's the kind of person

who would believe if she built it once,

she could build it again.

[Sarita] So maybe it isn't a tie to the place, then.

Maybe it's a tie to the people.

[Tom] That's it.

It's the people.

Of course.

Julia needs to convince her guests to evacuate.

She wouldn't abandon them.

She wouldn't leave until she'd got everyone out.

[Julia] My dear friends,

please, listen to me carefully.

It's not safe to stay here.

We must leave as soon as possible.

So, please, try to collect only those things

that are necessary for a journey, please.

I know you're scared, but this is only going to get worse.

[Cassius] Hold on.

[Julia] What?

[Cassius] You, you expect us to go out into that?

[Julia] Cassius.

[Cassius] Are you mad?

Do you really think the goddess Isis is going to protect us

after your pathetic offerings?

Huh?

It's death out there.

She can't protect us!

A woman?

No.

I'm staying right here. Mmm?

The rest of you, do what you like.

[Guest] I think we should stay.

[Amalthea] No, no, come on.

[Guest] It'll be fine.

We're safe here.

[Julia] Of course, you're my guest, Cassius.

♪ ♪

[Tom] It's hopeless.

People are running, fighting amongst themselves.

You heard her.

It's not safe to stay.

People are making the wrong decisions

when they should be working together to evacuate.

It's just self-preservation. They're out for themselves.

Just as the Praetorian said.

[Helvia] They'll send more boats.

I'm sure there will be more boats.

[indistinct shouting]

[Townsperson] The sun is disappearing!

The sun has gone!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Tom] So, Chris, what's happening now?

[Chris] This is now phase 4 of the eruption.

The eruption column now becomes so vast, so dense

that it was actually stopping sunlight reaching Herculaneum,

Pompeii, well, the whole Bay of Naples.

It turned day to night.

[Tom] Phase 4.

Eclipse.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

This is how Pliny describes being inside the ash cloud.

"Darkness fell,

not like a moonless or cloudy night,

but like a closed room when the light is extinguished."

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[baby crying]

[screaming]

You could hear the howls of women,

the wailing of babies, and the shouts of men.

Some were calling for their children,

some for their parents, some for their spouses,

trying to recognize their voices.

[Julia] Hear me, Isis, come to me.

Lady of the flame, I pray to you,

I beg you, I beseech you.

Isis, save us.

[Tom] "There were some in their fear of dying, begged for death.

"Many raised their hands to the gods.

"Still more concluded there were no gods left,

an everlasting night had descended on the Earth.”

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

"In this darkness, on your own...

"...the swirl of ash and smoke in the air,

"the constant cracking from deep in the earth,

"rocks raining down on you,

how do you find your way in this?"

[Avianius] Mum?

♪ ♪

Mum, please.

Mum?

Where are you?

Mum!

♪ ♪

[Tom] I've reached a point in the story

that I really wanted to avoid.

And that's the story of those tragic plaster casts,

the plaster casts of the people of Pompeii

who were frozen in death.

The thing about those casts

is they're not recreations of human shapes.

They are human shapes.

They're people.

Maybe I was naive.

How can I avoid the truth?

[Avianius sobbing]

[Avianius sobbing]

Maybe the story of Pompeii

is only a story of death, after all.

And how,

how does anyone, how does Avianius,

survive that?

[Tom] Sarita, is this where their story ends?

[Sarita] Well, even in the heat of an emergency,

people are capable of engaging

in what we call pro-social behavior.

[Tom] Pro-social behavior?

[Sarita] Yes. So, we see people helping

and supporting each other, rescuing each other--

friends, family, or even total strangers.

[Tom] They rescue one another?

[Sarita] Yes.

[Townsperson] Get away from my boat!

[Helvia] Please, listen to me. Listen.

[Townsperson] That's my boat!

It's mine!

[Helvia] Stop!

Please!

[Sarita] And there is something else, Tom.

[Tom] Okay.

[Sarita] There are some people who will know how to respond.

[Tom] And who are they?

[Sarita] Those that have had specific training.

[Helvia] Please! Please!

[Tom] So, an experienced soldier might know?

[Sarita] Exactly.

[Tom] Well, they have one.

[Townsperson] Aah!

[Helvia] No! [screams]

[Praetorian] Hello, rich lady.

[Sarita] It's what the military calls skills and drills,

which means that they can take the decisive,

unemotional, and effective action

that's needed to get people to safety.

[Helvia] We have to do something.

You're a Praetorian.

They'll listen to you.

[indistinct shouting]

[Townsperson] Too many people.

[Praetorian] Right, listen to me.

[shouting and arguing]

Listen to me.

Listen to me!

[shouting and arguing]

Enough!

Enough now! Listen to me!

Everyone needs to work together.

Women and children, form lines to my left, quickly.

Experienced sailors, prepare the boats, keel lamps lit.

Men, start loading people as fast as you can.

Rich lady, I need a head count.

Do we have any doctors?

[Doctor] I am.

[Praetorian] Good.

Everyone is getting off this beach.

Come on. There's no time to waste.

Come on!

[Tom] Okay, so the people on the beach have the Praetorian,

but no one's coming to save Avianius, are they?

[Sarita] Well, not necessarily.

There's one thing that my research has shown,

and that's across the world,

throughout time and in every culture,

every crisis imaginable,

mums, mums will go and look for their kids.

♪ ♪

[Claudia] Avi?

Avi?

Avi?

Avi?

Avi?

Avi?

Avi?

Avi?

[Avianius] Mum?

[Claudia] Avi?

[Avianius] Mum!

[Claudia] Avi!

[Avianius] Mum?

[Claudia] Avi?

Avi?

Avi!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Ah.

[sobbing]

[Tom] She's got him.

[Claudia] I've got you.

[Avianius] Mum, I, I'm sorry for what I said,

and everything's my fault.

[Claudia] No, no. Love, you don't need to say a thing, okay?

None of that matters. We're together. Okay?

Come. It's not safe here. Let's go.

Okay. Go, go, go.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Tom] So maybe it isn't the Roman fleet after all.

Maybe I've been looking in the wrong place all along.

It isn't Rome to the rescue, it's the people.

They rescue each other.

[Helvia] Everyone, if you can form lines.

[Praetorian] Come on, quickly, quickly.

[Townsperson] Let's go. Quickly. Quickly. Come on now.

[Helvia] Let's get you to the front.

We'll get you on the first boat.

[baby crying]

[indistinct shouting]

[Praetorian] Right, how close are we?

[Townsperson] The first boat's nearly ready.

We're going as fast as we can.

[Praetorian] How long? [Townsperson] 10 minutes.

[Praetorian] Make it five. [Townsperson] Yes, sir.

[Praetorian] Don't let up.

Everyone, listen up.

Get ready to start boarding the boats.

[Tom] Darius.

[Darius] Yeah.

[Tom] Question. Does the evacuation work?

[Darius] Well, there's another piece of information

you need to know.

[Tom] Okay.

[Darius] Unlike Pompeii, a city filled with casts of all those,

you know, bodies of people.

[Tom] Yeah.

[Darius] When they excavate Herculaneum,

a city of approximately 5,000 people, up in the city,

they basically don't find any bodies.

[Tom] So, something did happen on this beach, right?

[Darius] There does seem to have been

some sort of attempt of an evacuation.

[Helvia] Next group, keep moving forward.

[Praetorian] Into the boats! Hurry!

That's it. Another two full.

Get them gone. Now!

[Helvia] We've got the next group ready.

[Praetorian] Keep them coming.

[Helvia] Keep coming, everyone.

Keep coming.

[Townsperson] Boat's full.

[Praetorian] Boat's full. Go, go go!

[Townsperson] Three, two, one, heave!

[Praetorian] Next group, get up.

Quickly but orderly.

[Helvia] Come now.

[Praetorian] Into the boats, fast as you can.

Hurry, hurry.

[Tom] It's working.

They're all finally getting out.

They might just make it.

But what about Julia?

It's got to be now or never.

[Julia] Can we talk, Cassius?

[Cassius] I told you, woman, I'm staying right here.

[Julia] I'm afraid you are not.

[Cassius] Oh. I'm afraid that I am.

[Julia] Your bill.

[Cassius] What?

[Julia] Your bill.

You haven't paid your bill since when, Amalthea?

[Amalthea] A month.

[Julia] Right. A month.

[Cassius] Now is not the time for this.

[Julia] I gave you fair warning.

[Cassius] I, I, I was going to pay it.

[Julia] It's too late, Cassius.

You're past due, and now you have to leave.

Actually, you all have to leave.

[Guest] What? What?

[Julia] We are officially closed for business, right?

[Cassius] Oh, I see.

You're going to, uh, hoard all the supplies for yourselves.

[Amalthea] No. They're coming with us.

Let's go.

Let's go.

[Guest] Let's go.

[Julia] We are leaving Pompeii!

[Cassius] Impossible, woman.

♪ ♪

[explosion]

[Claudia] Okay, we're leaving in one minute, Avi.

[Tom] There's one more line from Pliny's letter...

[Livia] Get some water.

[Tom] ...that I'd like to read to you.

“The fortunate man is he to whom the gods have granted the power

to do something which is worth recording.”

I think the people on the beach that day, whoever they were,

did something that was worth recording.

And here we are, 2,000 years later,

telling their story, witnessing their actions,

acknowledging and understanding their humanity.

We don't know their names.

But this is their legacy,

a legacy of survival.

[watch beeping]

[bell rings]

[clock ticking]

[clock ticking]

♪ ♪

[Praetorian] Everyone,

into the boat sheds.

Now!

[bell rings]

[clock ticking]

♪ ♪

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