Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston (2026) s01e03 Episode Script
Survival
[rumbling]
♪
[explosion]
[screaming and shouting]
[Praetorian] Everyone
into the boat sheds. Now!
[Amalthea] This isn't
just an earthquake, is it?
[screaming]
[Tom Hiddleston] Pompeii
isn't buried instantly.
It took a day.
So, by combining evidence
Wow!
and imagination
I'm tracing three real Romans
to see if they survive that day.
A teenage boy.
[Professor] Avianius
was possibly apprenticed
to bronzesmiths
called the Masuri.
[Claudia] Avi! I've got you.
I've got you.
[Tom] Julia Felix, the one
I can't quite figure out.
[Julia Felix]
We are leaving Pompeii.
[Cassius]
I'm staying right here.
[Julia] You haven't paid
your bill since when?
[Amalthea] A month.
[Cassius] Impossible, woman.
[Professor] Maybe it's
her attachment to the people.
[Tom] And the third,
an old soldier
who was once
the best of the best.
[Helvia] Not everyone is
just out for themself.
[Praetorian]
Sweet fantasy, rich lady.
[Julia] Hear me, Isis.
I pray to you.
[Darius] There seemed to have
been some sort of attempt
of an evacuation.
[Praetorian] Get them going!
Everyone is getting to safety!
Come on!
[Tom] Something did happen
on this beach.
[watch beeping]
[watch beeping]
So, is this it?
Praetorian's out of time?
[Chris] Unfortunately, yes.
We've now entered the last phase
of the eruption, phase 5,
and it's the most deadly, what
we call a pyroclastic surge.
That eruption column,
it's collapsing in on itself,
generating these
huge boiling clouds,
these burning avalanches
of rock and ash.
They're hurtling down
the mountainside
at over 60 miles per hour.
Herculaneum is first
in the firing line.
[Tom] They've helped
hundreds evacuate,
but there are still so many
people on that beach.
How long do they have?
[Chris] Minutes.
♪
[explosion]
[Praetorian]
Into the boat sheds, now!
[screaming and shouting]
[Helvia] Let's go!
[Praetorian]
Now! Come on! Come on!
[screaming and shouting]
[Helvia] Hurry!
[Praetorian] Shelter.
♪
[Chris] These flows
are traveling fast,
but they're also incredibly hot.
Over 900 degrees Fahrenheit.
[Tom] Wait. 900 degrees?
[Helvia] Wait at the back!
[Chris] It's hot enough
to fuse metal to your bone.
[shouting]
Hot enough to even
vaporize the blood
in people's veins.
[sobbing]
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
♪
♪
[Tom] In those final moments,
the boat sheds
were the only option,
but tragically,
it wasn't enough.
Although almost no remains
were found in the town above,
roughly 300 bodies were found
when the boat sheds
were excavated.
So many people--
men, women, and children.
The last citizens
of Herculaneum,
all huddled together,
holding on to one another
as they died.
The archaeologists estimate
that Herculaneum was home
to roughly 5,000 people.
So if it weren't
for the evacuation,
if it weren't for the sacrifice,
the loss could have
been so much more.
The remains of the Praetorian
guard were discovered here,
where he fell on that beach.
He was found with his
military belt, his full pay,
and of course, his sword.
These personal possessions,
as well as his physical remains,
were all that was left of him,
but they tell us so much
about the man he was.
♪
♪
♪
We don't know his name.
We know him only
as a Praetorian.
♪
♪
But I know what he did.
I don't need his name.
I found the man.
♪
♪
♪
♪
So, is that the end
of phase 5, Chris?
[Chris] I'm afraid not.
The pyroclastic surge
that hit Herculaneum
was just one in a series
that would be unleashed
by Vesuvius that day.
[Tom] So the very same thing
is coming for Pompeii,
coming for Julia and Avianius?
[Chris] Yes. The eruption column
will continue to collapse,
generating pyroclastic surge
after pyroclastic surge.
[Tom] So these surges
are about to hit Pompeii.
I can't imagine
Avianius and Julia
have more than an hour left
before the city
is completely buried.
[Tom] If anyone's
still alive down there,
they're living in a nightmare.
[screaming]
[screaming]
[screaming]
This is Avianius' and
his mother's last chance.
Their window for survival
is closing.
[Claudia] Avi, are you ready?
[Tom] They need to leave.
And they need to leave now.
[Claudia] We don't need
Granddad's mask, love.
Leave it.
Just take what we need
for the journey, okay?
[Avianius] Alright, Mother.
[Claudia] Okay, got everything?
[Avianius] Yeah.
[Claudia] Okay. Come. Here.
[Tom] But escape
isn't gonna be easy.
Temperatures are still rising.
[rumbling]
Rocks are raining down
in the darkness,
blocking exits out of the city.
[coughing]
[explosion]
And the air is
so full of ash and gas,
it's like being inside
a burning black sandstorm.
They wouldn't have
been able to see
more than a few feet
in front of them.
[rumbling]
[coughing]
[Claudia] Are you okay?
Come here. Come here.
Here, Avi. Hold this.
Hold this over your mouth.
Breathe. Breathe.
♪
♪
Avi, don't look. Stay with me.
[explosion]
[Tom] This is the tipping point
for human survival.
But by now, Julia's household
will be packed up.
At last, she's ready to leave.
[Julia] Is everything ready?
[Amalthea]
Everything is packed.
[Julia] Do you have water?
Enough blankets for the guests?
[Amalthea] Of course.
[Julia] Cassius?
[Amalthea] Already
complaining of blisters.
[Julia] Mm-hmm.
[explosion]
Then we are ready to leave.
♪
[Amalthea] Come on.
We have to leave!
Head to the city gate.
This way!
♪
Come on. Mind your step.
Come on.
♪
♪
[Amalthea] Julia!
[Tom] So she lost everything,
but she found a way to escape.
I knew Julia would find a way.
[Caitie Barrett] Well,
I'm afraid I might have to
correct you again
on that one, Tom.
[Tom] Oh, dear.
Please tell me
there was an evacuation.
[Caitie] So that is consistent
with how few human remains
they found.
[Tom] Okay.
[Caitie] But also, I think
there's something here
you're gonna really want to see.
[Tom] Wow.
That's Julia's shrine
to the goddess Isis.
[Caitie] That's right.
So, remember in the garden, I
showed you where it used to be.
Obviously, it's on its side
at the moment
because it's undergoing
restoration.
[Tom] It seems large
for a shrine
you'd have in your home, no?
[Caitie] It's actually one of
the largest domestic shrines
excavated at Pompeii.
[Tom] Wow.
[Caitie] But when they excavated
the shrine in 1952,
they found a body.
[Tom] You think it's Julia?
[Caitie] We don't really know.
The physical remains
actually no longer survive.
Archaeology has changed
a lot since those days.
But the excavators describe
the remains as an adult woman
wearing very expensive jewelry.
It was found right
near this shrine.
[Tom] If that body was Julia's,
what was she doing
at the shrine?
[sigh]
What did I get wrong?
She's smart. She's a leader.
People listen to her.
We know the horses and carts
were gone from the household.
She's organized an evacuation.
She stays.
It doesn't make any sense.
♪
♪
[bell rings]
Let's try that again, shall we?
[rewinding]
[rewinding]
[distant screaming]
[sobbing]
[sobbing]
[Julia] Isis. Isis, hear me.
♪
♪
Is everything ready?
[Amalthea]
Everything is packed.
[Julia] Then we are
ready to leave.
I have one final thing to do.
Follow.
[Tom] But I don't understand,
Caitie, if that body was hers,
why does she stay?
[Caitie] Well, one
possible reason could be
right here in front of us.
[Tom] What, Isis?
[Caitie] Romans
had many, many gods,
including a lot that originally
came from other cultures
like Egypt, in this case.
And individuals could
pick and choose which ones
they wanted to be
most devoted to.
Isis was a cosmic creator.
She could embody
all of the gods in one,
and she was also
a mother figure.
So she's a protector,
she could keep people safe.
She's certainly a god you might
want to have on your side
during a natural disaster.
Also, when the shrine was found,
it was all set up for worship.
There were sacred objects,
offerings.
If people were taking other
valuables from the estate,
it is striking these
were left in place.
[Tom] There was someone praying
here during the eruption.
[Julia] Give me your hands.
[Tom] I don't know,
it just feels so fatalistic
for Julia not to leave.
[Julia] Come to me, Isis.
Hear me, lady of the flame.
Mother. Protector.
I revere you.
I beg your favor
and beseech you.
Come to me, Isis.
[Caitie] Could be
the opposite of fatalistic.
[Tom] How?
[Caitie] The Romans had a really
active approach to religion.
They believed you could appeal
to the gods directly.
You could use
offerings, prayers.
We might imagine her feeling
like she needed to intercede
with a divine protector
to save her household.
[Tom] I see.
So by appealing to Isis,
because she believes
that she can provide
her household
and the people she loves
with safe passage.
[Caitie] That's certainly
a story that we can imagine.
She's got a responsibility
to protect people,
and there weren't any other
eruption victims found
in domestic parts of the estate,
so maybe it worked.
Who can say?
[Amalthea] You aren't coming?
[Julia] You know I cannot.
[Amalthea]
Please. You must come.
[Julia] Amalthea, you've always
put your faith in me, hmm?
Do so one more time, please.
No, don't cry. Don't cry.
[Amalthea] Please!
[Julia] Ah. Shh.
[Amalthea] I can't.
[Julia] Oh, look.
The clasp's come loose again.
Can you fix it for me?
[Caitie] This was found
with the body in the garden.
[Tom] It's like being
in her presence.
[Caitie] Such a personal
object was there,
touching this
real person's skin.
[Julia] Thank you.
[Caitie] The crescent moon,
there, it's an amulet.
Represents protection,
for women and girls especially.
[Julia] Keep this with you.
You'll need it. Mmm?
[Amalthea] Thank you.
[Julia] Now go, or Cassius
will drink all my wine.
[Amalthea] I'll make sure
he gets the bill.
[Julia] Go. Go, darling. Go.
[Tom] I think
I finally get it now.
She was doing everything
she could for them,
so of course she stays.
She was always gonna stay.
♪
♪
[Julia] Hear me, Isis,
lady of the flame.
♪
♪
[Amalthea] Come on. Come on.
We need to leave,
and we need to leave quickly.
You'll be alright.
[Julia] Guide them and save them
from the monster.
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
[Amalthea] Come on. Come on.
Come on. We're nearly there.
Come on. Come on.
Come on. Come on.
[Townsperson]
I can see the gate!
[Tom] If you look at the world
through Julia's eyes,
understand it
the way that she did,
her decision makes total sense.
The final act of a woman
who defied all conventions,
lived her life on her terms.
The final act of someone
who history tells us
should be impossible.
The final act
of impossible Julia.
[rumbling]
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
[Claudia] Okay. Here.
Careful, careful.
Okay, step, step, step.
[Tom] These are literally
Pompeii's final minutes now,
in this total darkness.
All the records,
all archaeological
evidence, vanishes.
[Claudia] Okay,
I've got you, I've got you.
[Tom] The people of Pompeii
completely fade from history.
It's like a fog that
we can't see through.
[Claudia] Ah.
Ah.
Eh.
Avi, I'm sorry, I,
I think we took a wrong--
I don't know where we are.
[Avianius] It's down there, Mum.
[Claudia] Are you sure?
[Avianius] Yeah. It's that way.
Granddad built half the roads
in this city, remember?
[Claudia] Oh, I love you
so much, my Avi.
Lead the way.
[Avianius] Come on.
[Tom] Avianius completely
fades from history, too.
It's like a light that goes out.
♪
♪
[typing]
[Steven] Hmm, that's it.
[printer whirring]
[Tom] Steven?
[Steven] Tom, is that you?
I found it.
[Tom] What? What, what,
what have you found?
[Steven] The missing piece
of the puzzle.
Evidence that tells us
the end of Avianius' story.
[Tom] So, what happened?
[Steven] It's all there
in that very short inscription.
[Tom] Okay.
Uh, dis manibus.
Is that right?
[Steven] Mm-hmm.
[Tom] Dis manibus.
To the spirits of the dead.
[Steven] Mm-hmm.
[Tom] This is a gravestone.
[Steven] It is.
[Tom] Avianius' gravestone.
[Steven] But it's from
long after the eruption
and from a completely
different community.
[Tom] I don't follow.
[Steven] It means he got out.
It means he escaped Pompeii.
[Tom] Avianius survives?
[Steven] Yes.
[Tom] We did it.
We found a real survivor.
Ha!
This is a story of survival,
after all.
It's a story
of Avianius' survival.
Avianius Felicioni.
Felicioni.
That's the first time
we've seen his full name.
[Steven] It is, but there's
more on there as well.
[Tom] Okay.
Alumno carrisimo
masyri fecerunt.
So, to carissimo,
is "dearest," right?
Dearest Avianius.
Uh, alumno.
Alumno.
Um, alumno is "student," right?
[Steven] Or
[Tom] No.
The inscription reveals
that Avianius was orphaned.
That's the secondary
meaning of alumno.
He survives,
but his mum does not.
That's all it says.
And we don't know
what happened to her.
Maybe there are some stories
that are just too hard to tell.
Some things you just
can't even imagine.
Like a child
losing their mother.
♪
♪
♪
[Avianius] Please, please,
please, please,
please, please, please.
[Tom] To lose the person
who heard your first words.
The person who picked you up
when you fell.
The person
who is always there
who knows you better
than you know yourself.
♪
♪
♪
And he's alone.
Completely and utterly alone.
Maybe imagination,
like history, just runs out.
[clock ticking]
[watch beeping]
[watch beeping]
[Tom] That's it.
Their time's up.
Pompeii's last day is over.
The eruption column finally
collapses, and Pompeii is hit
by wave after wave
of pyroclastic surge.
All that life is extinguished.
The town is buried,
along with its people.
Their stories
sealed in ash for millennia.
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
[Tom] When I started
this project,
I had the idea that it was noble
not to show the tragic
plaster casts of the bodies
from the people of Pompeii,
people frozen
in their final moments.
They're known
all over the world,
and I worry that we have become
desensitized to them.
Desensitized to their lives,
to the real people
and their real suffering.
But the only way
you become desensitized
is if you don't engage
with their stories.
By tracing Julia and by tracing
the Praetorian and Avianius,
we're engaged now, these
aren't just plaster casts,
they are people
and these are their stories.
And these people,
they lived, they loved.
They had families,
they had homes.
They had people who cared about
them and in the aftermath,
who, who searched for them, and
when they couldn't find them,
would have grieved for them.
At the beginning
of this project,
I set out to tell the story
of Pompeii that we don't know.
Somehow, maybe stories
of survival.
Avianius might have made it
out of the city alive.
He might have survived
physically.
But what does it mean to survive
if you lose everything
in the process?
♪
♪
♪
[Sarita] You know, I think
survival is not just about
staying alive, and it's
certainly not about forgetting
or trying to erase the past,
it's about continuing to live,
to choose to live and to grow.
And it's when trauma and growth
can coexist in the same space
that's going to allow
for a way forward.
Psychologists will talk about
post-traumatic injury,
but there is this
related phenomena
called post-traumatic growth,
and that's what can lead
to a future.
[Tom] Hang on, is that a real
thing, post-traumatic growth?
[Sarita] Yeah, it's experienced
by some people
when they've been through
a traumatic event, like Pompeii.
People try to find meaning
from what's happened to them,
and that can lead to a deeper
sense of appreciation of life,
a new purpose.
[Tom] Maybe Avianius
can feel that.
[Sarita] I think we do have
reason to be hopeful for him.
♪
Trauma is always going to be
part of his story,
but it's not gonna be all of it.
[Tom] Hmm. Thank you, Sarita.
I think I'm learning
that there's more
to disaster psychology than just
fire alarms and the amygdala.
[Sarita] You know, I've
never really been that keen
on the term
disaster psychologist, though.
[Tom] Oh.
[Sarita] I'd much
rather be known
as a survival psychologist.
[Tom] I'm pretty sure
I can help you with that.
[rewinding]
[Sarita] Aw, thanks.
[Tom] That's okay.
That's the least I could do.
[Sarita] Ah, guess I'm
a survival psychologist now.
Thanks.
[Tom] Just promise to not
set off any more fire alarms.
[Steven] You know, I think
what people never consider
about Pompeii is the immediate
aftermath of the eruption.
[Patient] Ah!
[sobbing]
Avianius is just one
of so many stories
of people that made it out.
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
There could be thousands, maybe
tens of thousands of evacuees
from Pompeii, Herculaneum, and
the other affected communities.
[Tom] Mmm.
[Steven] All displaced.
All of them homeless.
All desperate.
[Amalthea] We can rest here.
[Tom] God, I never
thought about,
I never thought about it
like that.
It's, um, it's so resonant,
it's such a contemporary
image as well.
[Amalthea] Can you go
and get some water?
[Evacuee] Yes.
[Amalthea] Thank you.
[Tom] The aftermath
of Vesuvius, in fact,
would have been a full-blown
humanitarian crisis.
♪
And there would have been
temporary camps,
there would have been lines
for food, separated families.
Whole communities of people
fragmented and lost forever.
[Steven] Wait. Not lost forever,
Pompeii wasn't lost.
[Tom] Steven, Pompeii was lost.
It was buried in tons and tons
of ash and pumice
and waves of pyroclastic surge.
Vesuvius has obliterated it.
[Steven] That's fair.
The city of Pompeii is buried,
but a city is not
just its buildings,
it's not just its mosaics or
frescoes, it's its community.
The people escaped and
they rebuilt their lives,
and they prospered, they fell
in love, they started families.
Pompeii survived because its
community, its people survived.
[Tom] Pompeii isn't a place,
it's a people.
[Steven] Exactly.
And I've even been able
to trace patterns
of post-eruption resettlement
all across the Bay of Naples,
communities and entire families.
They relocated,
rebuilt their lives,
and they kept their faith, too.
There's even evidence
for new temples to Isis,
built in the years
following the eruption.
[Tom] I suppose as devastating
as these disasters can be,
they're also opportunities
for humanity to shine.
[Steven] I think they are.
They are indeed.
But let's take another look
at this inscription.
I don't think you gave enough
attention to that word, alumno.
[Tom] What?
[Aurelia] Can we stop?
[Marcus] Oh, okay. We'll stop.
[Aurelia] Yeah. Yeah.
[Marcus] We can stop.
[Aurelia] Uh-huh.
[Tom] Um, alumno means
"orphan," right?
[Steven] Oh, you should brush up
on your Latin, Hiddleston.
Um, it has another
meaning as well.
Instead of orphan,
try reading it as "foster."
[Tom] To the spirits
of the dead,
the Masuri made this
for Avianius Felicioni.
Their dearest
foster son.
That's what happened?
The Masuri.
[Aurelia] Avi. Avi!
[Tom] The bronzesmith family.
[Aurelia] Marcus, it's Avi!
[Tom] They adopt Avianius.
[Steven] That's how
I read it. Yeah.
[Aurelia] Avi!
Avi!
♪
♪
♪
♪
[sobbing]
Oh, Avi!
[Marcus] Alright, alright.
We've got you. We've got you.
You found us.
[Tom] They've got him.
History gives us facts--
names, dates, places--
and while all of this evidence
is critical,
it'll never give us
the full picture.
How people felt. How people
lived. How people loved.
And that's another
kind of truth.
It's the truth
that comes from empathy
and imagination
and storytelling.
[bell rings]
I hope that by combining
these two things,
evidence and empathy,
history and story,
I hope I found a fuller truth.
I know I found the people
of Pompeii,
and I hope I've told
their historia.
[knock on door]
Yep?
[David] Tom, they're
ready for you on set.
[Tom] Great. Thank you, David.
I'll be right there.
♪
♪
♪
So, why do any of this?
Why try to understand?
[Actor] I'll see you
at the wrap party.
[Tom] I'll see you there.
Connect with the people
of the past?
We've come all this way,
gone to all this effort.
Hey, Dario. Hi.
And why use storytelling
to travel in time?
[Crew member]
Okay, right. So, uh
[Tom] I think that we tell
stories about the past
to understand something
about our present.
It becomes a lens through which
we can examine who we are, now,
and maybe by listening
to our ancestors
[Director] Okay, come on,
quiet on set now.
[Tom] empathizing with them,
understanding them,
we learn something
about ourselves
and perhaps
even our future, so.
[Director] I said quiet on set.
[bell rings]
And action.
[Marcus] So what we do now,
in this moment,
forges what this
bronze will become.
[Avianius] Whoa! That's deep.
We should put that
on the sign outside.
Marcus Masurius.
Forging the future.
[Marcus] Alright.
[Avianius] No, seriously.
Future generations
will want to know.
[Marcus] Alright. Very clever.
I'm sorry, sorry,
uh, I've forgotten.
What's my line?
[Director] Cut!
It's alright, don't worry.
[bell rings]
Hold on. Let's get going again.
[Marcus] Sorry. Sorry, everyone.
[Director] Let's go again.
[muffled voices]
[Crew member] 242 take 58.
[Tom] Let's try that
again, shall we?
[bell rings]
♪
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♪
♪
♪
Well, thank you, Steven.
[Steven] You know, there's hope
for you yet, young Hiddleston.
If this whole acting thing
doesn't work out,
there's always room in the
Pompeii Survivors' Project
for somebody fluent in Latin.
[Tom] Well,
fortaus fortuna uvet.
[laughing]
♪
[explosion]
[screaming and shouting]
[Praetorian] Everyone
into the boat sheds. Now!
[Amalthea] This isn't
just an earthquake, is it?
[screaming]
[Tom Hiddleston] Pompeii
isn't buried instantly.
It took a day.
So, by combining evidence
Wow!
and imagination
I'm tracing three real Romans
to see if they survive that day.
A teenage boy.
[Professor] Avianius
was possibly apprenticed
to bronzesmiths
called the Masuri.
[Claudia] Avi! I've got you.
I've got you.
[Tom] Julia Felix, the one
I can't quite figure out.
[Julia Felix]
We are leaving Pompeii.
[Cassius]
I'm staying right here.
[Julia] You haven't paid
your bill since when?
[Amalthea] A month.
[Cassius] Impossible, woman.
[Professor] Maybe it's
her attachment to the people.
[Tom] And the third,
an old soldier
who was once
the best of the best.
[Helvia] Not everyone is
just out for themself.
[Praetorian]
Sweet fantasy, rich lady.
[Julia] Hear me, Isis.
I pray to you.
[Darius] There seemed to have
been some sort of attempt
of an evacuation.
[Praetorian] Get them going!
Everyone is getting to safety!
Come on!
[Tom] Something did happen
on this beach.
[watch beeping]
[watch beeping]
So, is this it?
Praetorian's out of time?
[Chris] Unfortunately, yes.
We've now entered the last phase
of the eruption, phase 5,
and it's the most deadly, what
we call a pyroclastic surge.
That eruption column,
it's collapsing in on itself,
generating these
huge boiling clouds,
these burning avalanches
of rock and ash.
They're hurtling down
the mountainside
at over 60 miles per hour.
Herculaneum is first
in the firing line.
[Tom] They've helped
hundreds evacuate,
but there are still so many
people on that beach.
How long do they have?
[Chris] Minutes.
♪
[explosion]
[Praetorian]
Into the boat sheds, now!
[screaming and shouting]
[Helvia] Let's go!
[Praetorian]
Now! Come on! Come on!
[screaming and shouting]
[Helvia] Hurry!
[Praetorian] Shelter.
♪
[Chris] These flows
are traveling fast,
but they're also incredibly hot.
Over 900 degrees Fahrenheit.
[Tom] Wait. 900 degrees?
[Helvia] Wait at the back!
[Chris] It's hot enough
to fuse metal to your bone.
[shouting]
Hot enough to even
vaporize the blood
in people's veins.
[sobbing]
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
♪
♪
[Tom] In those final moments,
the boat sheds
were the only option,
but tragically,
it wasn't enough.
Although almost no remains
were found in the town above,
roughly 300 bodies were found
when the boat sheds
were excavated.
So many people--
men, women, and children.
The last citizens
of Herculaneum,
all huddled together,
holding on to one another
as they died.
The archaeologists estimate
that Herculaneum was home
to roughly 5,000 people.
So if it weren't
for the evacuation,
if it weren't for the sacrifice,
the loss could have
been so much more.
The remains of the Praetorian
guard were discovered here,
where he fell on that beach.
He was found with his
military belt, his full pay,
and of course, his sword.
These personal possessions,
as well as his physical remains,
were all that was left of him,
but they tell us so much
about the man he was.
♪
♪
♪
We don't know his name.
We know him only
as a Praetorian.
♪
♪
But I know what he did.
I don't need his name.
I found the man.
♪
♪
♪
♪
So, is that the end
of phase 5, Chris?
[Chris] I'm afraid not.
The pyroclastic surge
that hit Herculaneum
was just one in a series
that would be unleashed
by Vesuvius that day.
[Tom] So the very same thing
is coming for Pompeii,
coming for Julia and Avianius?
[Chris] Yes. The eruption column
will continue to collapse,
generating pyroclastic surge
after pyroclastic surge.
[Tom] So these surges
are about to hit Pompeii.
I can't imagine
Avianius and Julia
have more than an hour left
before the city
is completely buried.
[Tom] If anyone's
still alive down there,
they're living in a nightmare.
[screaming]
[screaming]
[screaming]
This is Avianius' and
his mother's last chance.
Their window for survival
is closing.
[Claudia] Avi, are you ready?
[Tom] They need to leave.
And they need to leave now.
[Claudia] We don't need
Granddad's mask, love.
Leave it.
Just take what we need
for the journey, okay?
[Avianius] Alright, Mother.
[Claudia] Okay, got everything?
[Avianius] Yeah.
[Claudia] Okay. Come. Here.
[Tom] But escape
isn't gonna be easy.
Temperatures are still rising.
[rumbling]
Rocks are raining down
in the darkness,
blocking exits out of the city.
[coughing]
[explosion]
And the air is
so full of ash and gas,
it's like being inside
a burning black sandstorm.
They wouldn't have
been able to see
more than a few feet
in front of them.
[rumbling]
[coughing]
[Claudia] Are you okay?
Come here. Come here.
Here, Avi. Hold this.
Hold this over your mouth.
Breathe. Breathe.
♪
♪
Avi, don't look. Stay with me.
[explosion]
[Tom] This is the tipping point
for human survival.
But by now, Julia's household
will be packed up.
At last, she's ready to leave.
[Julia] Is everything ready?
[Amalthea]
Everything is packed.
[Julia] Do you have water?
Enough blankets for the guests?
[Amalthea] Of course.
[Julia] Cassius?
[Amalthea] Already
complaining of blisters.
[Julia] Mm-hmm.
[explosion]
Then we are ready to leave.
♪
[Amalthea] Come on.
We have to leave!
Head to the city gate.
This way!
♪
Come on. Mind your step.
Come on.
♪
♪
[Amalthea] Julia!
[Tom] So she lost everything,
but she found a way to escape.
I knew Julia would find a way.
[Caitie Barrett] Well,
I'm afraid I might have to
correct you again
on that one, Tom.
[Tom] Oh, dear.
Please tell me
there was an evacuation.
[Caitie] So that is consistent
with how few human remains
they found.
[Tom] Okay.
[Caitie] But also, I think
there's something here
you're gonna really want to see.
[Tom] Wow.
That's Julia's shrine
to the goddess Isis.
[Caitie] That's right.
So, remember in the garden, I
showed you where it used to be.
Obviously, it's on its side
at the moment
because it's undergoing
restoration.
[Tom] It seems large
for a shrine
you'd have in your home, no?
[Caitie] It's actually one of
the largest domestic shrines
excavated at Pompeii.
[Tom] Wow.
[Caitie] But when they excavated
the shrine in 1952,
they found a body.
[Tom] You think it's Julia?
[Caitie] We don't really know.
The physical remains
actually no longer survive.
Archaeology has changed
a lot since those days.
But the excavators describe
the remains as an adult woman
wearing very expensive jewelry.
It was found right
near this shrine.
[Tom] If that body was Julia's,
what was she doing
at the shrine?
[sigh]
What did I get wrong?
She's smart. She's a leader.
People listen to her.
We know the horses and carts
were gone from the household.
She's organized an evacuation.
She stays.
It doesn't make any sense.
♪
♪
[bell rings]
Let's try that again, shall we?
[rewinding]
[rewinding]
[distant screaming]
[sobbing]
[sobbing]
[Julia] Isis. Isis, hear me.
♪
♪
Is everything ready?
[Amalthea]
Everything is packed.
[Julia] Then we are
ready to leave.
I have one final thing to do.
Follow.
[Tom] But I don't understand,
Caitie, if that body was hers,
why does she stay?
[Caitie] Well, one
possible reason could be
right here in front of us.
[Tom] What, Isis?
[Caitie] Romans
had many, many gods,
including a lot that originally
came from other cultures
like Egypt, in this case.
And individuals could
pick and choose which ones
they wanted to be
most devoted to.
Isis was a cosmic creator.
She could embody
all of the gods in one,
and she was also
a mother figure.
So she's a protector,
she could keep people safe.
She's certainly a god you might
want to have on your side
during a natural disaster.
Also, when the shrine was found,
it was all set up for worship.
There were sacred objects,
offerings.
If people were taking other
valuables from the estate,
it is striking these
were left in place.
[Tom] There was someone praying
here during the eruption.
[Julia] Give me your hands.
[Tom] I don't know,
it just feels so fatalistic
for Julia not to leave.
[Julia] Come to me, Isis.
Hear me, lady of the flame.
Mother. Protector.
I revere you.
I beg your favor
and beseech you.
Come to me, Isis.
[Caitie] Could be
the opposite of fatalistic.
[Tom] How?
[Caitie] The Romans had a really
active approach to religion.
They believed you could appeal
to the gods directly.
You could use
offerings, prayers.
We might imagine her feeling
like she needed to intercede
with a divine protector
to save her household.
[Tom] I see.
So by appealing to Isis,
because she believes
that she can provide
her household
and the people she loves
with safe passage.
[Caitie] That's certainly
a story that we can imagine.
She's got a responsibility
to protect people,
and there weren't any other
eruption victims found
in domestic parts of the estate,
so maybe it worked.
Who can say?
[Amalthea] You aren't coming?
[Julia] You know I cannot.
[Amalthea]
Please. You must come.
[Julia] Amalthea, you've always
put your faith in me, hmm?
Do so one more time, please.
No, don't cry. Don't cry.
[Amalthea] Please!
[Julia] Ah. Shh.
[Amalthea] I can't.
[Julia] Oh, look.
The clasp's come loose again.
Can you fix it for me?
[Caitie] This was found
with the body in the garden.
[Tom] It's like being
in her presence.
[Caitie] Such a personal
object was there,
touching this
real person's skin.
[Julia] Thank you.
[Caitie] The crescent moon,
there, it's an amulet.
Represents protection,
for women and girls especially.
[Julia] Keep this with you.
You'll need it. Mmm?
[Amalthea] Thank you.
[Julia] Now go, or Cassius
will drink all my wine.
[Amalthea] I'll make sure
he gets the bill.
[Julia] Go. Go, darling. Go.
[Tom] I think
I finally get it now.
She was doing everything
she could for them,
so of course she stays.
She was always gonna stay.
♪
♪
[Julia] Hear me, Isis,
lady of the flame.
♪
♪
[Amalthea] Come on. Come on.
We need to leave,
and we need to leave quickly.
You'll be alright.
[Julia] Guide them and save them
from the monster.
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
[Amalthea] Come on. Come on.
Come on. We're nearly there.
Come on. Come on.
Come on. Come on.
[Townsperson]
I can see the gate!
[Tom] If you look at the world
through Julia's eyes,
understand it
the way that she did,
her decision makes total sense.
The final act of a woman
who defied all conventions,
lived her life on her terms.
The final act of someone
who history tells us
should be impossible.
The final act
of impossible Julia.
[rumbling]
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
[Claudia] Okay. Here.
Careful, careful.
Okay, step, step, step.
[Tom] These are literally
Pompeii's final minutes now,
in this total darkness.
All the records,
all archaeological
evidence, vanishes.
[Claudia] Okay,
I've got you, I've got you.
[Tom] The people of Pompeii
completely fade from history.
It's like a fog that
we can't see through.
[Claudia] Ah.
Ah.
Eh.
Avi, I'm sorry, I,
I think we took a wrong--
I don't know where we are.
[Avianius] It's down there, Mum.
[Claudia] Are you sure?
[Avianius] Yeah. It's that way.
Granddad built half the roads
in this city, remember?
[Claudia] Oh, I love you
so much, my Avi.
Lead the way.
[Avianius] Come on.
[Tom] Avianius completely
fades from history, too.
It's like a light that goes out.
♪
♪
[typing]
[Steven] Hmm, that's it.
[printer whirring]
[Tom] Steven?
[Steven] Tom, is that you?
I found it.
[Tom] What? What, what,
what have you found?
[Steven] The missing piece
of the puzzle.
Evidence that tells us
the end of Avianius' story.
[Tom] So, what happened?
[Steven] It's all there
in that very short inscription.
[Tom] Okay.
Uh, dis manibus.
Is that right?
[Steven] Mm-hmm.
[Tom] Dis manibus.
To the spirits of the dead.
[Steven] Mm-hmm.
[Tom] This is a gravestone.
[Steven] It is.
[Tom] Avianius' gravestone.
[Steven] But it's from
long after the eruption
and from a completely
different community.
[Tom] I don't follow.
[Steven] It means he got out.
It means he escaped Pompeii.
[Tom] Avianius survives?
[Steven] Yes.
[Tom] We did it.
We found a real survivor.
Ha!
This is a story of survival,
after all.
It's a story
of Avianius' survival.
Avianius Felicioni.
Felicioni.
That's the first time
we've seen his full name.
[Steven] It is, but there's
more on there as well.
[Tom] Okay.
Alumno carrisimo
masyri fecerunt.
So, to carissimo,
is "dearest," right?
Dearest Avianius.
Uh, alumno.
Alumno.
Um, alumno is "student," right?
[Steven] Or
[Tom] No.
The inscription reveals
that Avianius was orphaned.
That's the secondary
meaning of alumno.
He survives,
but his mum does not.
That's all it says.
And we don't know
what happened to her.
Maybe there are some stories
that are just too hard to tell.
Some things you just
can't even imagine.
Like a child
losing their mother.
♪
♪
♪
[Avianius] Please, please,
please, please,
please, please, please.
[Tom] To lose the person
who heard your first words.
The person who picked you up
when you fell.
The person
who is always there
who knows you better
than you know yourself.
♪
♪
♪
And he's alone.
Completely and utterly alone.
Maybe imagination,
like history, just runs out.
[clock ticking]
[watch beeping]
[watch beeping]
[Tom] That's it.
Their time's up.
Pompeii's last day is over.
The eruption column finally
collapses, and Pompeii is hit
by wave after wave
of pyroclastic surge.
All that life is extinguished.
The town is buried,
along with its people.
Their stories
sealed in ash for millennia.
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
[clock ticking]
[clock ticking]
[Tom] When I started
this project,
I had the idea that it was noble
not to show the tragic
plaster casts of the bodies
from the people of Pompeii,
people frozen
in their final moments.
They're known
all over the world,
and I worry that we have become
desensitized to them.
Desensitized to their lives,
to the real people
and their real suffering.
But the only way
you become desensitized
is if you don't engage
with their stories.
By tracing Julia and by tracing
the Praetorian and Avianius,
we're engaged now, these
aren't just plaster casts,
they are people
and these are their stories.
And these people,
they lived, they loved.
They had families,
they had homes.
They had people who cared about
them and in the aftermath,
who, who searched for them, and
when they couldn't find them,
would have grieved for them.
At the beginning
of this project,
I set out to tell the story
of Pompeii that we don't know.
Somehow, maybe stories
of survival.
Avianius might have made it
out of the city alive.
He might have survived
physically.
But what does it mean to survive
if you lose everything
in the process?
♪
♪
♪
[Sarita] You know, I think
survival is not just about
staying alive, and it's
certainly not about forgetting
or trying to erase the past,
it's about continuing to live,
to choose to live and to grow.
And it's when trauma and growth
can coexist in the same space
that's going to allow
for a way forward.
Psychologists will talk about
post-traumatic injury,
but there is this
related phenomena
called post-traumatic growth,
and that's what can lead
to a future.
[Tom] Hang on, is that a real
thing, post-traumatic growth?
[Sarita] Yeah, it's experienced
by some people
when they've been through
a traumatic event, like Pompeii.
People try to find meaning
from what's happened to them,
and that can lead to a deeper
sense of appreciation of life,
a new purpose.
[Tom] Maybe Avianius
can feel that.
[Sarita] I think we do have
reason to be hopeful for him.
♪
Trauma is always going to be
part of his story,
but it's not gonna be all of it.
[Tom] Hmm. Thank you, Sarita.
I think I'm learning
that there's more
to disaster psychology than just
fire alarms and the amygdala.
[Sarita] You know, I've
never really been that keen
on the term
disaster psychologist, though.
[Tom] Oh.
[Sarita] I'd much
rather be known
as a survival psychologist.
[Tom] I'm pretty sure
I can help you with that.
[rewinding]
[Sarita] Aw, thanks.
[Tom] That's okay.
That's the least I could do.
[Sarita] Ah, guess I'm
a survival psychologist now.
Thanks.
[Tom] Just promise to not
set off any more fire alarms.
[Steven] You know, I think
what people never consider
about Pompeii is the immediate
aftermath of the eruption.
[Patient] Ah!
[sobbing]
Avianius is just one
of so many stories
of people that made it out.
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
There could be thousands, maybe
tens of thousands of evacuees
from Pompeii, Herculaneum, and
the other affected communities.
[Tom] Mmm.
[Steven] All displaced.
All of them homeless.
All desperate.
[Amalthea] We can rest here.
[Tom] God, I never
thought about,
I never thought about it
like that.
It's, um, it's so resonant,
it's such a contemporary
image as well.
[Amalthea] Can you go
and get some water?
[Evacuee] Yes.
[Amalthea] Thank you.
[Tom] The aftermath
of Vesuvius, in fact,
would have been a full-blown
humanitarian crisis.
♪
And there would have been
temporary camps,
there would have been lines
for food, separated families.
Whole communities of people
fragmented and lost forever.
[Steven] Wait. Not lost forever,
Pompeii wasn't lost.
[Tom] Steven, Pompeii was lost.
It was buried in tons and tons
of ash and pumice
and waves of pyroclastic surge.
Vesuvius has obliterated it.
[Steven] That's fair.
The city of Pompeii is buried,
but a city is not
just its buildings,
it's not just its mosaics or
frescoes, it's its community.
The people escaped and
they rebuilt their lives,
and they prospered, they fell
in love, they started families.
Pompeii survived because its
community, its people survived.
[Tom] Pompeii isn't a place,
it's a people.
[Steven] Exactly.
And I've even been able
to trace patterns
of post-eruption resettlement
all across the Bay of Naples,
communities and entire families.
They relocated,
rebuilt their lives,
and they kept their faith, too.
There's even evidence
for new temples to Isis,
built in the years
following the eruption.
[Tom] I suppose as devastating
as these disasters can be,
they're also opportunities
for humanity to shine.
[Steven] I think they are.
They are indeed.
But let's take another look
at this inscription.
I don't think you gave enough
attention to that word, alumno.
[Tom] What?
[Aurelia] Can we stop?
[Marcus] Oh, okay. We'll stop.
[Aurelia] Yeah. Yeah.
[Marcus] We can stop.
[Aurelia] Uh-huh.
[Tom] Um, alumno means
"orphan," right?
[Steven] Oh, you should brush up
on your Latin, Hiddleston.
Um, it has another
meaning as well.
Instead of orphan,
try reading it as "foster."
[Tom] To the spirits
of the dead,
the Masuri made this
for Avianius Felicioni.
Their dearest
foster son.
That's what happened?
The Masuri.
[Aurelia] Avi. Avi!
[Tom] The bronzesmith family.
[Aurelia] Marcus, it's Avi!
[Tom] They adopt Avianius.
[Steven] That's how
I read it. Yeah.
[Aurelia] Avi!
Avi!
♪
♪
♪
♪
[sobbing]
Oh, Avi!
[Marcus] Alright, alright.
We've got you. We've got you.
You found us.
[Tom] They've got him.
History gives us facts--
names, dates, places--
and while all of this evidence
is critical,
it'll never give us
the full picture.
How people felt. How people
lived. How people loved.
And that's another
kind of truth.
It's the truth
that comes from empathy
and imagination
and storytelling.
[bell rings]
I hope that by combining
these two things,
evidence and empathy,
history and story,
I hope I found a fuller truth.
I know I found the people
of Pompeii,
and I hope I've told
their historia.
[knock on door]
Yep?
[David] Tom, they're
ready for you on set.
[Tom] Great. Thank you, David.
I'll be right there.
♪
♪
♪
So, why do any of this?
Why try to understand?
[Actor] I'll see you
at the wrap party.
[Tom] I'll see you there.
Connect with the people
of the past?
We've come all this way,
gone to all this effort.
Hey, Dario. Hi.
And why use storytelling
to travel in time?
[Crew member]
Okay, right. So, uh
[Tom] I think that we tell
stories about the past
to understand something
about our present.
It becomes a lens through which
we can examine who we are, now,
and maybe by listening
to our ancestors
[Director] Okay, come on,
quiet on set now.
[Tom] empathizing with them,
understanding them,
we learn something
about ourselves
and perhaps
even our future, so.
[Director] I said quiet on set.
[bell rings]
And action.
[Marcus] So what we do now,
in this moment,
forges what this
bronze will become.
[Avianius] Whoa! That's deep.
We should put that
on the sign outside.
Marcus Masurius.
Forging the future.
[Marcus] Alright.
[Avianius] No, seriously.
Future generations
will want to know.
[Marcus] Alright. Very clever.
I'm sorry, sorry,
uh, I've forgotten.
What's my line?
[Director] Cut!
It's alright, don't worry.
[bell rings]
Hold on. Let's get going again.
[Marcus] Sorry. Sorry, everyone.
[Director] Let's go again.
[muffled voices]
[Crew member] 242 take 58.
[Tom] Let's try that
again, shall we?
[bell rings]
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
♪
Well, thank you, Steven.
[Steven] You know, there's hope
for you yet, young Hiddleston.
If this whole acting thing
doesn't work out,
there's always room in the
Pompeii Survivors' Project
for somebody fluent in Latin.
[Tom] Well,
fortaus fortuna uvet.
[laughing]