History Recap / AsterixAndTheLaurelWreath

* VacationEpisode: Asterix and Obelix travel to Rome. We never even see the Gaulish village until the customary victory feast on the final page.

* UnexpectedlyDarkEpisode: Considered to be the most adult-orientated of all ''Asterix'' adventures, with examples of unusually graphic violence, themes such as debauchery and slavery, and Dogmatix (popular with younger fans) reduced to a small cameo. Even the font is changed to one more cursive than usual.

* VacationEpisode: Asterix and Obelix travel to Rome.

* SpringtimeForHitler: After becoming slaves, Asterix and Obelix find out that the Roman family that bought them aren't close to Caesar, and do everything they can to be abandoned, only for their antics to please the family instead.

The next day, the guards regain consciousness and find the palace in disarray but the Gauls still in their cell; suspecting them of wizardry, the panicked Romans schedule their trial for that very day, and the lawyer Nisiprius arrives to defend Asterix and Obelix. He notes their conviction is assured, and Asterix is intrigued to learn that this will mean being thrown to the lions in front of Caesar himself. As the trial's verdict is already known, Nisiprius plans to use it as a chance to show off his oratory skills, but when the prosecutor begins to give the same speech, Nisiprius tries to have the trial postponed. The judge and prosecutor are about to agree to the request when the impatient Asterix interrupts and makes an impassioned plea to the court that their crimes - wrecking Typhus' stand, getting into Humerus' house under false pretences to get closer to Caesar to assassinate him - cannot be overlooked, and the emotionally overwhelmed court sentences them to be thrown to the lions.

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Asterix and Obelix travel to Rome with the sole purpose of stealing Caesar's laurel wreath. And not even for some noble goal, but just so Vitalstatistix can win a bet he made while drunk. Yet, the reader is still supposed to root for them.

* KangarooCourt: The whole trial of Asterix and Obelix is just a façade; even their lawyer already knows from the start they will be found guilty and sentenced to the circus. And since Asterix and Obelix want to be send to the circus since Caesar will be there, they happily play along.

* SpitTake: Astérix spits out his food when chief Vitalstatitix announces that they're going to cook a stew with Caesar's laurel wreath as ingredient.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The various slaves [[HappynessInSlavery tend to treat their status as a job of sorts, even taking pride in being higher-ranked than other slaves or belonging to Caesar]], because in Ancient Rome they were (usually) treated as people, if with far less rights than even foreigners, and even paid a small stipend so they could eventually buy back their freedom ([[PragmaticVillain so the masters wouldn't have to maintain them once they were too old to work]]), with the higher rank among slaves or belonging to Caesar being status symbols and indicating better prospects once they bought their freedom.

* MadeASlave: Inverted, they're ''trying'' to become slaves in Caesar's palace, so as to get access to Caesar's laurels.

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Asterix and Obelix travel to Rome with the sole purpose of stealing Caesar's laurel wreath. And not even for some nobel goal, but just so Vitalstatistix can win a bet he made while drunk. Yet, the reader is still supposed to root for them.

* HideousHangoverCure: While trying to get thrown out of the Roman family they've become slaves to, Asterix and Obelix wind up creating one. The narration states that this allowed Romans to drink without consequence, leading to the decline of Rome.

An unwilling Asterix and Obelix have accompanied an even more unwilling Vitalstatistix on a visit to Lutetia with his wife, Impedimenta, to see [[ObnoxiousInLaws her wealthy and uppity brother, Homeopathix]], who has always looked down on Vitalstatistix. Over the course of the evening, Vitalstatistix gets very drunk and, tiring of Homeopathix' snobbery, [[LiquidCourage bets him that he can cook him something he's never eaten before]]--a stew flavoured with UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar's laurel wreath. The equally drunk Obelix declares that he and Asterix will go to Rome on the chief's behalf to get the wreath, and Homeopathix decides to take him up on his boast.

Sleeping rough on the streets of Rome, they are nearly attacked by a group of thieves; impressed by Obelix' strength in rebuffing their attempted theft, they decide to recruit the two Gauls into their gang, and the next night they are ordered to rob a young drunk. The drunk turns out to be Humerus' son Metatarsus, who is ecstatic to see them again. After thrashing the bandits to save Metatarsus from harm, Asterix and Obelix learn that he has been celebrating with Goldendelicius, who was made Caesar's personal slave after denouncing the Gauls as assassins, and will be holding Caesar's laurel wreath over his head during his triumphal procession after his victory over the pirates.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Homeopathix, the wealthier brother of Impedimenta, barely even makes the effort to remember Vitalstatistix' name. In the final banquet, when Vitalstatistix makes good on his promise to cook a stew with Caesar's laurels, Homeopathix, far from being impressed, criticises the meat for not being a choice cut or well cooked.

** Asterix and Obelix seem to be completely unable to get a good night's sleep while in Rome, to Obelix' ever-increasing anger. On their first night as Humerus' slaves, they are kept awake by the family having a loud party (though they only had themselves to blame for this); when imprisoned in Caesar's palace, they are woken by the guards barging into their cell (and as they have spent the night searching the palace, they have had hardly any sleep); when sleeping in a doorway in Rome, they are almost robbed by bandits.

* CharacterFocus: Even by the usual standards of the "Asterix and Obelix go on a journey" albums, this album keeps the main duo front and centre from start to finish. The only other series regular to even get a look in outside the final ''panel'' (never mind the final page) is Vitalstatistix, who only appears in the Lutetia flashback and the final banquet. Even Dogmatix is almost completely absent.

** Caesar's campaign against the pirates may be a reference to an incident in the life of the real Creator/GaiusJuliusCaesar in which he was kidnapped by pirates and held for ransom (the amount of which they increased at Caesar's own suggestion). After the ransom was paid, Caesar told the pirates he would return to kill them one day; the pirates assumed he was joking. He wasn't.

An unwilling Asterix and Obelix have accompanied an even more unwilling Vitalstatistix on a visit to Lutetia with his wife, Impedimenta, to see [[ObnoxiousInLaws her wealthy and uppity brother, Homeopathix]], who has always looked down on Vitalstatistix. Over the course of the evening, Vitalstatistix gets very drunk and, tiring of Homeopathix' snobbery, [[LiquidCourage bets him that he can cook him something he's never eaten before]] - a stew flavoured with [[Creator/GaiusJuliusCaesar Julius Caesar's]] laurel wreath. The equally drunk Obelix declares that he and Asterix will go to Rome on the chief's behalf to get the wreath, and Homeopathix decides to take him up on his boast.

* AlcoholInducedIdiocy[=/=]LiquidCourage: The whole plot starts because a drunk Vitalstatix offers his brother-in-law a stew flavoured with Julius Caesar's laurel wreath. And a possibly drunker Obelix gets enthused at the idea.

As the book begins, Asterix and Obelix are in Rome, where a thoroughly fed up Asterix is venting his frustration on Obelix for landing them in their predicament. The story pauses and rewinds to explain [[HowWeGotHere what Asterix and Obelix are doing in Rome to begin with]].

** The animal keeper in the arena who has had to watch the animals eat each other as Asterix and Obelix refuse to go into the arena is a caricature of French actor and circus owner Jean Richard (whose other claims to fame include a 23-year stint on French television as [[GeorgesSimenon Jules Maigret]]).

* AccentDepundent: This exchange in the English edition:
--> Flawed, at that.
--> You'll be floored too if you're not careful!

'''Impedimeta''': [[CurseCutShort VITALSTATISTIX!]]

Fortunately for the Gauls, Humerus has business at Caesar's palace the next day; as he is too hung over from the previous night's party to go himself, he sends the delighted Gauls in his place. However, Goldendelicius, ever more paranoid about being replaced as major-domo by Typhus' museum pieces, has gone ahead of them and reported them as assassins plotting to murder Caesar; reasoning that at least they'll be in the palace at last, Asterix plays along, and they are arrested and imprisoned. That night, they search the palace for the laurel wreath in secret, knocking out every guard they pass as quietly as possible. The search turns up empty, and Asterix vows to continue the next night.

The next day, the scene of disarray prompts the panicked Romans to schedule the two Gauls' trial for that very day, and the lawyer Nisiprius arrives to defend Asterix and Obelix. He notes their conviction is assured, and Asterix is intrigued to learn that this will mean being thrown to the lions in front of Caesar himself. As the trial's verdict is already known, Nisiprius plans to use it as a chance to show off his oratory skills, but when the prosecutor begins to give the same speech, Nisiprius tries to have the trial postponed. The impatient Asterix interrupts and makes an impassioned plea to the court that their crimes - wrecking Typhus' stand, getting into Humerus' house under false pretences to get closer to Caesar to assassinate him - cannot be overlooked, and the emotionally overwhelmed court sentences them to be thrown to the lions.