History Recap / AsterixAndCaesarsGift

* BrickJoke: When we first see Asterix and Obelix, Obelix is trying to learn Dogmatix to fetch menhirs. During the Roman attack, Obelix crushes one of the catapults with a menhir, but to his dismay Dogmatix thinks they are playing fetch again and runs after it.

** While Tremensdelirius claims to have served in the guards of the Pontifex Maximus, footnoted as “A sort of Cardinal of the period.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Inasmuch as the four Roman camps around the village qualify as "characters", this is the first volume in which the camp of Laudanum gets a major subplot.[[note]] Compendium is featured in ''Gaul'', ''Gladiator'', ''Banquet'', ''Cauldron'', and ''Soothsayer''; Totorum is an important setting in ''Big Fight'', ''Spain'', and ''Corsica''; and Aquarium gets time in the spotlight in ''Olympic Games'', ''Roman Agent'', and ''Mansions of the Gods''.[[/note]]

The following morning, the inn's furnishings are smashed in, Orthopaedix is sporting a black eye, and Angina is reduced to sobbing as Influenza tries to comfort her. The innkeeper has already had enough and vows to return to Lutetia (to Influenza's delight), but Angina now wants revenge against Impedimenta, and she makes a claim to the leadership of the village on her husband's behalf. Vitalstatistix is shocked; never in all the time he has been chief has his position been thus challenged. He asks the bard Cacofonix to conduct an opinion poll, with disappointing results: no-one cares who runs the village except Geriatrix, who is only backing Vitalstatistix out of xenophobia. Cacofonix offers to sing in Vitalstatistix's support, but the chief can only pretend to like the bard's music for so long before he orders him to shut up, and the furious bard throws his support behind Orthopaedix. An attempt to rally support backfires when Vitalstatistix discovers the hard way that it is impossible to please Fulliautomatix and Unhygienix simultaneously, with the latter defecting to Orthopeadix, and even one of his shield bearers takes him at his word when he says anyone unhappy with his position is welcome to leave.

* SeriesContinuityError: While it's necessary to do a story satirising politics and election campaigns, the story hinges on the fact that Gaulish law allows anyone to challenge Vitalstatistix for the chieftainship of the village, requiring them to hold an election, which doesn't really jive with the plot of Recap/AsterixAndTheBigFight where the plot hinged on the fact that Gaulish law [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority allows any village chief to challenge another one to a fight with the winner taking over the loser's village]].

* ItsAllMyFault: Orthopaedix has this reaction when the Romans attack the village, and Getafix still refuses to give anyone magic potion. He even tries to go talk to the Romans, forcing Vitalstatistix to hold him back since that would be suicide.

The Gauls are reconciled following their victory. A much more confident Orthopaedix befriends his former rival, and decides to withdraw his claim for leadership and return to Lutetia, to Influenza's delight. Now he has something to brag about to Dithyrambix. Impedimenta and Angina have nothing left to fight about, and they exchange recipes and addresses of their relatives in Lutetia. Geriatrix abandons his candidacy, and Vitalstatistix is once again the undisputed chief of the village. With Influenza due to leave, Asterix and Obelix are friends again. There is a victory celebration at night and everyone (men and women alike - yes, even Cacofonix) takes part.[[note]] The women of the village began attending the banquets on a regular basis starting with ''Asterix and the Secret Weapon''.[[/note]]

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Eggandlettus tries to help a friend get his property back. It gets him demoted back to legionary, beat up by the Gauls, and said friend throws him to the wolves when his idiocy catches up to him.

** Getafix finally realizes the severity of the situation when Vitalstatistix begs him to give Orthopaedix magic potion.

* DirtyCoward: When Orthopaedix is advancing on Tremensdelirius with every intention of beating him up, the latter tries to throw his friend Eggandlettus under the bus. Orthopaedix instead smashes the deed of ownership (a marble plaque, Caesar's titular gift) on his head. When Tremensdelirius wakes up, he sees the unhappy Egganlettus walking towards him brandishing a nasty-looking club.

* EveryEpisodeEnding: Subverted; as part of the newly-restored harmony among the villagers, Cacofonix is allowed to attend the final banquet (while Geriatrix's discarded "VOTE FOR ME!" sign occupies the bard's usual position under a tree), and is seen in silhouette talking to Influenza.

** Could be justified with the argument that Orthopaedix is an official resident of the village at the point he is provoked to stand for election (albeit a brief one) where Cassius Ceramix was an outsider with established ties elsewhere; as a result, Cassius Ceramix didn't have legitimate grounds to stand for or provoke a purely internal election in the village, but could make a more legitimate challenge.

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