YMMV / The Eagle (2011)

• Alternate Character Interpretation: With regards to Esca, as to just when he starts seeing Marcus as a friend instead of his duty? Was it only until Marcus lay injured and unable to go on that he felt sorry for him? Or earlier when Marcus had to pretend to be his slave and he saw the treatment he had to endure did he have something of a Heel Realization? Or did he view him as a friend much earlier but his own prejudices prevented him from accepting it? Or more cynically, once they had made enemies of the Seal tribe, did Esca simply latch onto the only ally he had?
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Denis O'Hare as Lutorius, Paul Ritter as Galba, James Hayes as Stephanos, Donald Sutherland as Uncle Aquila and Pip Carter as Placidus.
• Fridge Brilliance: Esca demanding Marcus free him, before informing him that he will return with reinforcements. That way he can honour his father's name and not leave Marcus to die in the wilderness - as staying with Marcus would mean disobeying an order, thereby violating his promise.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Or at least supremely ironic: Centurion Galba advises Marcus that there is too much unrest in the villages and he would not send out a patrol at that time; Marcus overrules him and Galba is proved right when the patrol is captured. The film thus features Paul Ritter advising caution and turning out to be right, eight years before he blew up Reactor Number Four at Chernobyl.
• Ho Yay: Marcus and Esca look at each other with rather long looks throughout the entire film, and eventually start a farm together at the end of the film. There's also this line from Marcus during the Seal tribe camp sequence.
  "I thought I'd lost you."
• WTH, Costuming Department??: Its pretty clear to anyone with decent knowledge of ancient Celtic tribes that the filmmakers took a bit of artistic liberty when designing the outfits of the Seal tribe warriors.
• The Woobie:
  • The Seal tribe chief's son. It's implied that he's terrified of his father and he asks Esca to take him with them. Esca refuses, and the chief later slits the boy's throat to prove a point.
  • Esca himself has been on one big Trauma Conga Line for most of his life, and has to end up a slave to a man who represents everything he hates. Thankfully Marcus is a Benevolent Boss to him, as much as one can be in such a situation.

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