If asked to described Spartacus: Blood and Sand, how would you respond? I'd call it a freak of nature. Spartacus began as a purely visual aberration, shots of blood and boobs flowing across the screen every second with no redeeming qualities. And then the second half of the first season happened, and it's nothing short of miracle--plot twist after plot twist, killings that actually mattered, and characters we could care about.
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which actually doesn't feature Spartacus, is a prequel, thus there are several safe assumptions we can make based on what we already know. Batiatus and Lucretia will survive, Crixus wil rise to the top, and Oenomaus will become Doctore.
"Past Transgressions" doesn't contain anything particularly revealing or shocking, but given the experience of the first season, the writers surely have several bombshells lying down the road. Again, Battiatas tries to rise above his station and immediately faces trouble from all sides, left bloodied at the end of the episode as Lucretia participates in odium induced revelry with Gaia. The most interesting new infornation is that Battatiatas is not only friends with Solonius, but actively wants to improve both their positions.
In the arena, carefree Gannicus destroys everyone, even while blindfolded. Battiatus buys Crixus, who is deemed too small by the other wannabe gladiators. As usual, there's the excessive nudity and sex, blood, beheadings, and unrealistic physics--yes, Spartacus is back.
Score: 8.5/10
Saturday, January 22, 2011
View Comments
