As promised, here's my (somewhat) thorough review of the Spartacus series which is currently airing on Starz. We don't actually get the Starz network here, so I shamelessly watched it online. So far, I've watched, in entirety, the first two seasons. I'm really looking forward to the third season (this January) with a rapt curiosity, which I will explain shortly. There might be a few spoilers below, but the series is definitely worth your while even though you know how it ends. This is also a pretty long post, but bear with me.

Season One Header

Season One (Blood and Sand) begins with an unnamed Thracian going about his life, being a Thracian. For those of you who are geographically challenged when it comes to the ancient world, Thrace is over in Greece. Some Romans show up, and want the Thracian warriors to join with them so as to prevent their lands from being invaded. The Thracians agree, even though the unnamed Thracian's wife wholeheartedly objects. They go off to war, and then the Romans betray their trust, so the Thracians kill the Romans and run home. This makes the Romans mad, so they arrive, capture Unnamed, and his wife. They sell her into slavery, but he is shipped to the city of Capua, and sentenced to death by gladiator. He fights his way through four gladiators, and his life is spared. However, instead of being killed, he is given to Batiatus, who owns a gladiator school (ludus) and is to be trained as a gladiator. He is then renamed Spartacus, after a Thracian king, because of his awesome sword skills.

The rest of this season follows Spartacus in his adventures. He meets a lot of people, some of which don't survive until the end of the season. The main ones are Lucretia (the wife of Batiatus), Doctore (also called Oenemaus, trainer of gladiators), Illythia (a noblewoman), Crixus (a champion gladiator), Ashur (a Syrian man from the ludus) and several others. In addition to Spartacus' main story, there are many side plots which all interweave up until the finale, where they come to a head.

But then disaster strikes. Spartacus is picked up for a second season, but Andy Whitfield, who portrays Spartacus, is diagnosed with cancer. Rather than replacing him, they come up with a genius idea: they shoot the second season without him.

Season Two. Note...this man is not Spartacus

The second season, called Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, doesn't have Spartacus in it at all. It's a prequel that provides further information about Oenemaus, Crixus, Batiatus, and Lucretia, mainly. If you paid attention during the first season, all the rich details make sense after watching the second season.

So, a quick list about the pros and cons of this series. Some of them are a little on-the-fence, meaning to some people they could be pros, and to others they could be cons.

• This show is really bloody. It's about gladiators, and it's rated R. Seriously. I'm not squeamish, but there are scenes where a man's face is removed. Lots of death. 
• It's by the same special effects team that brought you 300. This means lots of slow motion death, slow motion blood splatter, and rippling abs.
• Speaking of rippling abs: the guys in this movie are hot. So are the girls for that matter.
• There is a ton of nudity. And not like, classy "maybe-they're-having-sex" nudity. I mean, pretty damn close to pornography. There's lots of naked women walking around, and occasionally a naked man. They have a lot of sex. You've been warned.
• There's also quite a lot of profanity. But it's used in witty ways. Just be warned, once again.
• The acting is phenomenal. John Hannah plays Batiatus, and he deserves every award I can think of. His portrayal of the character is amazing.
• Ditto for Andy Whitfield.
• The transitions between the scenes are amazing. Their special effects/cinematography team also deserve tons of awards.
• If you have any knowledge of Latin, or of the actual workings of Roman society, this show is dang great. If you don't, it's great too. My boyfriend doesn't have the working knowledge of Classics that I do, but he still loves this show.

I could name a thousand more. I loved this show. I'm super excited for the next season. I'm a little concerned about how it shall be, however, because Andy Whitfield lost his battle with cancer this past September.

The Late Andy Whitfield

They've replaced him, using someone that Andy himself helped pick, and this is possibly the best place in the series to have to do that, from an acting point of view. That being said, Andy was amazing, and I don't know how it's going to be. I hope they keep with the great acting, and the great writing, because I am tingling with anticipation for the next season.

Season 3 Header, note the new guy.

I'll also include the trailer to the third season. Watch it, and see if it piques your interest.


As always, I appreciate your feedback! Happy watching.