I've been silent about Starz' Spartacus: Blood and Sand since I effusively praised its premiere episode. There no point in reviewing it on a week-by-week basis because as a purely plot-driven show with scant thematic depth, there's little to analyze.
There's nothing wrong with being a plot-driven show, of course, especially when the storylines converge extraordinarily well. Such was the case with the other week's episode, "Party Favors." You'd have to be an idiot to think that Numerius' birthday party would go without a hitch, and with how the show emphasized the friendship between Spartacus and Varro so thickly, I'm amazed I didn't see Varro's death coming a mile away. And Ilithyia's plot to have Spartacus kill Varro isn't as far-fetched as it seems - she'd spent enough time at the games and the ludus to know that Spartacus and Varro were friends, and if she bribed Numerius with sex he'd cut off his own arm, let alone replace Crixus with Varro and command Spartacus to kill him. Most episodes of Spartacus seem as if the writers started with controversial plot points - "let's have a guy get castrated, and then we'll crucify him!" - and worked backwards from there, but "Party Favors" demonstrated that they had some epic story arcs in mind. In a show awash with miscreants, Varro was one of the few sympathetic characters. Who wouldn't want to see Spartacus avenge his death?
While the most recent episode, "Revelations" wasn't as satisfying as "Party Favors" as a whole, its final ten minutes pointed every arc of the season towards one glorious collision. You'd need a flow chart to decipher all the individual conflicts, which are too densely layered to bother summarizing. But suffice it to say that each character is pissed off at at least one other character while simultaneously beholden to him/her.
The episode's most stunning revelation, though, was that the show has finally figured out how to treat Spartacus himself. I've never been impressed with Andy Whitfield; he fulfills the Sam Worthington role of a buff attractive guy that interesting things happen to (despite my disrespect for Whitfield's talent, I do wish him the best in his recovery from cancer). Imagine trying to describe Spartacus to someone who'd never seen the show before. He's a good fighter, although primarily against substandard competition (remember, he got an assist from Crixus in his win against Theokoles). Otherwise he isn't particularly noble, or bright, or charismatic. Batiatus is apoplectic, Ilithyia is an ice queen, Crixus is hulking, Doctore has presence, and so on. Spartacus is just... there. When he singlehandedly takes down a handful of Glaber's finest soldiers, he's finally used to perfection. He hardly says a word, dishes out some sweet violence, and when forced to kneel before his nemesis, realizes how to put the odds in his favor. With Glaber as Batiatus' patron, Spartacus has the two men he hates most dead in his sights.
Whether he knew then that he'd have the support of his fellow gladiators is up for debate. But now Doctore and Crixus have reason to stick it to Batiatus and the Romans are, to use the show's verbiage, spreading everyone's cheeks to ram cock in ass. Since one slave attacking his master is cause to put them all down, why not let everyone have a slice of the action? Spartacus telegraphs the episode's final words - "kill them all" - well before he speaks them and I can't help but wonder if the writers intended for it to happen. Given all the betrayals, backstabbings, and injustices, anticipating Spartacus to say those words is as sweet as hearing them.
It's uncertain how much of its prodigious wad Spartacus will blow in the season's final episode. Looking to history (by which I mean Wikipedia) as a guide, there's a big slave rebellion looming in the distance. It's inevitable that some vengeance against the House of Batiatus will take place, and at least one main character has to die. But Batiatus is far too entertaining of a character to lose and Lucretia is preggo (I'll gladly take Ashur's death as a consolation prize). And besides, Spartacus has to rally the slaves around his cause first. Killing them all probably won't happen just yet. But this is Spartacus. The show has so much blood, it should get top billing. Shit is going to go down. And given how the last episode ended (how great was it to see Spartacus bludgeon a guy using the handle of his broken sword?) it's going to be fucking awesome.
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