If you haven’t been watching Spartacus: Blood and Sand, or, worse, you started watching it but gave up on it, go give it a look-see. I’ll admit, the first episode or two is a bit of a slog, but it picks up. If you can get past the heavy-handed homage to 300 – which, yes, probably goes beyond the definition of “homage” – the show really is a dramatic treat.
Last Friday was the season finale and, holy smokes, does it end with a bang. The conclusion wasn’t as strong as episodes 11 and 12, but it does a great job of tying up all of the individual plotlines that have slow-burned up until the frenzy of the final three episodes.
The breakout star of the show is Manu Bennett, who plays the Gaul Crixus, the Champion of Capua until events conspire to take the title away from him. His surprisingly vulnerable love affair with the slave girl Naevia takes him beyond the position of Spartacus’s foil with a dramatic range that’s surprising to see from a beefcake actor.
On the whole the cast is great, from the charismatic Spartacus to the loathsome Ashur to despicable Batiatus to the sneering Ilythia to the doomed Varro and honorable Doctore. The only cast member who doesn’t really pull her weight is Spartacus’s wife, but, uh, at risk of spoiling, you don’t have to worry too much about her for too long.
Spartacus is a great plot model for a Vampire game or an action-combat game of your choice, depending on where you place the emphasis. The action happens not in Rome but in a distant city of the empire, which makes for a wonderful example of “other places matter, too” in the context of a large setting with an important central location. Indeed, you never even see Rome, but you feel its influence.
Give it a shot if you haven’t already. It’s Netflixable and the first two episodes are available at the Starz site. It’s an action-heavy soap opera for men with enough emotional tension and cliffhanger betrayal to satisfy the intrigue junkie as well.
Huh. I gave up after the first ep, which I thought was serviceable but not really compelling. Sounds like I need to head back and revisit. Thanks for the excuse to check out more blood and cleavage.– c.
Oh, yeah: There’s LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of sex. That’s not a selling point for me, but if you dig it, it’s there in vast quantities.
P.S. My wife loved it, so it’s potentially a thing to be shared with a spouse or SO.
This show really surprised me. I watched it for the gratuitous gory violence, then it sprouts all of these compelling subplots, while still managing to offer a daily dose of RAAAAAGH. The season finale was downright brutal, and it was stunningly successful at tying everything up, and washing the series clean for the next season’s dramas.
I’ve been following this aggressively thanks to Netflix Instant View’s arrangement with Starz, and like you I thought the show’s weakest hours were its first. The thing ramps up into a splendidly sordid, twisted knot that burns like a fuse. More characters survive the show than I expected, frankly, given both the setups and the finale’s title: “Kill Them All.” It’s one hell of a curious, insane spectacle, that show. Operatic.Rumor, based on a tweet from the creator of the show, is that Season Two is called SPARTACUS: VENGEANCE. I’m fascinated just to see how they set up the next season of the show and where they take it from here.
Second season is on hold at the moment. Spartacus lead actor Andy Whitfield was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma therefore will not be able to get back to work as he undergoes treatment.The film sets are currently shutdown. I have also heard a rumor that a prequel is to be filmed in place of the now delayed season 2.
It’s good to hear that they will do something. I’d be pleased with a ‘Rise of Crixus” with plenty of Batiatus and Lucricia. Batiatus was far and away my favorite character. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen the actor in any role that wasn’t a carbon copy of his goofy performance in The Mummy series. It was nice to see him do a full 180 and pump up the intrigue.
Yes, I’d definitely be interested in more Crixus. And more Doctore!