Spartacus' lone big misstep for its final episode of the season was its title. I get it, it works on a certain level, but when I think of a finale and "bitter" I think of fan reaction to the final episode of Lost. Not good.
Otherwise, "The Bitter End" was surprisingly satisfying. After last week's episode I wondered what ground was left for the show to cover, since most of the storylines had come to a climax and three major characters had already died. Spartacus' solution: have everyone fight each other for most of the episode. Good call. Compared to Blood and Sand, Gods of the Arena was curiously light on gladiator battles. Fortunately, the entire third act takes place in Capua's new arena and provides us with the CGI-blood spurting action we know and love. We also get more epic crowd shots, which means those of us playing Spartacus Bingo can finally mark down "people having sex among the spectators." Like all of the series' big action set-pieces, it's a pulse-pounding, over-the-top, tremendously scored and edited spectacle and an excellent high note to end the prequel with. Gannicus' big kill was pretty disgusting too, and the one gladiator being immolated was satisfyingly predictable.
And how about Gannicus winning his freedom? Good for him. Even though it was a ploy by Solonius to undermine Batiatus, Gannicus certainly deserved it, and not only because of his prowess in the arena. He's one of the few decent characters in Spartacus, and although he did go behind Oenomaus' back by boning his wife, he tried to remove himself from the ludus so it wouldn't happen again. Early in the episode, Batiatus says something to the effect of that his House is built on the foundation of honor, which of course is a complete lie. The most honorable characters are usually the slaves, and Gannicus is one of the better ones. Spartacus usually doesn't allow a decent character to get the fate he or she deserves, so Gannicus' sendoff was refreshing.
On the douchier end of the ludus, Batiatus continues the slow process of digging his own grave. Tullius is dead and Vettius is run out of town, but Solonius has finally had enough of Batiatus' shit and completes a full-blown heel turn. We all knew it was coming, but it was deserved and actually pretty awesome. Nothing is better than seeing Batiatus helpless while backed into a corner. Unless it's Batiatus being blind with rage. Or Batiatus... okay, anything he does is amazing, but backstabbing and mind games are surefire ingredients for a good time.
The rest of the episode is filling in the blanks. Hey, that's how Ashur injured his leg! That's why Crixus cut his hair! Gee, Barca really was only ever around for the gay sex scenes! And so forth. Plus, Gannicus and Vettius have their exits so they can return for the true second season of Spartacus, and that's that.
That's that for Gods of the Arena, too. It was a prequel series, so it was by nature limited in what it could accomplish. Being half as long as Blood and Sand didn't help it either, since the newer characters didn't get a chance to have strong arcs. But there was blood, nudity, cursing, and backstabbing. It didn't reach the delirious highs of Blood and Sand, but it didn't have the low points either. Even an average episode of Spartacus is nothing like anything else on television. I can live with that. Gratitude.
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