Synopsis: “Spartacus and his men liberate a Roman villa, but its slaves are wary. Oenomaus throws himself into the brutal Pits, and Glaber supports Lucretia’s prophecies, despite Ilithyia’s protests.”
If you have not seen this episode yet and do not wish to be spoiled, do not continue reading!
Recap: The episode opens up with a young Oenomaus fighting for his life in the dreaded Pits. After being beaten quite badly for the majority of his fight, the young boy manages to grab a sharp object. Needless to say, we see the end of his opponent rather quickly. We then see Titus Batiatus (Jeffrey Thomas) watching from above. He comes to forceful agreement with Oenomaus’ owner and becomes his dominus. We cut to present day Oenomaus preparing to fight in the Pits once more.
At the House of Batiatus, we see Marcus (Luke Pegler) and Glaber (Craig Parker) discussing a possibility of working with Seppius (Tom Hobbs) in order to bring down Spartacus (Liam McIntyre). Lucretia (Lucy Lawless) enters imploring Glaber to allow a ritual to be performed in honor of the house. She makes Glaber feel that she is a prophet, so he grants her permission to gather her necessities in the marketplace on the next day, hoping that she continues to give Capua’s residents hope.
We next see Spartacus and the slaves fighting and taking control of a ludus in the south. After quite a bit of slow motion kills, Spartacus presents the ludus slaves choice to fight with them and be free. Crixus (Manu Bennett) violently interrogates the dominus of the house regarding Naevia’s whereabouts. He learns that she was there and has been given to another ludus. Crixus puts an end to his life.
Mira (Katrina Law) discusses her feelings for Spartacus briefly with a new woman to join the rebels. Spartacus talks to Crixus and reassures him that they will find Naevia. He then presents the new men with weapons and begins to train them.
Ilithyia (Viva Bianca), while bathing, has sexual thoughts toward her night with Spartacus. Glaber enters and commands her to see Lucretia to the marketplace in the morning. Ilithyia cannot believe that Glaber trusts her prophecies, for she believes it to be an act.
As Spartacus begins to lie with Mira, she asks him about his thoughts toward their relationship. She learns that she means a great deal to him. He is then attacked from behind by the body slave of the now deceased dominus of the house. Spartacus decides to train him despite his intent to kill him moments before. The other gladiators disagree with his decision but respect it.
In the treacherous Pits Oenomaus fights with the hope that someone can kill him and end his dishonor. In the middle of the battle, we are taken back to a discussion between his younger self and Titus. Titus informs him that he must discover his purpose in life. He must fight for something greater than merely his own survival. We also get a glimpse at the young Quintus Batiatus. Back in the present time, Oenomaus kills his opponent and tells the host to send another to face him. A strange, hooded figure watches on.
At the newly claimed Ludus, Spartacus trains his attacker. He tells him that his will is his own. The others continue to agree that Spartacus should have killed him.
In the marketplace in Capua, Lucretia recalls her first meeting with Ilithyia. Lucretia then proceeds to walk around blessing the townspeople. Ilithyia is confronted by Seppia (Hanna Mangan) with discussion of her envy for Ilithyia’s own life. Lucretia is handed a piece of parchment by the same hooded figure from the Pits and he then disappears into the crowd.
At the newly cleansed Batiatus ludus, Seppius and Glaber discuss terms of working together. Glaber promises Seppius second-in-command behind him. The discussion becomes rather heated regarding Ilithyia’s “well-timed” escape from the slaughter with all of Glaber’s soldiers. The tension forces him to leave without them coming to terms.
Spartacus and Crixus speak of the newly acquired slaves part in their plan. Crixus does not believe that many of them can further their cause, but Spartacus assures him that they will play their parts when the time comes. Agron (Dan Feuerriegel) approaches Spartacus’ attacker to learn that he is a Syrian and he is called Tiberius. Agron recalls that Syrians are treacherous, referring to Ashur (Nick Tarabay). He implores him to follow them.
Lucretia begins the ceremony. Ilithyia questions Glaber about whether it is wise to allow Lucretia to have a knife. Glaber seems to fully trust Lucretia. He orders Ilithyia to see Lucretia fully attended after the completion of the ritual.
Oenomaus further requests to have an opponent capable of ending his life. We flash back to him getting branded with the Batiatus “B.” He tells Titus that he knows his meaning and wants to fight for the House of Batiatus. Presently and in the Pits once more, Oenomaus battles for his life. We cut back and forth between the fight and Lucretia’s ritual. As Oenomaus is about to be killed, the hooded figure interferes and kills his opponent and the host. Oenomaus recognizes him before being knocked unconscious. Ilithyia falls into temptation while noticing the knife behind Lucretia. She raises it to kill her before being interrupted by one of her house slaves.
Crixus approaches with word of six men coming upon the ludus. Spartacus requests Tiberius to give them false word of his dominus fulfilling business away from the ludus in order to keep the rebels whereabouts hidden from Glaber. Tiberius offers them to come inside the ludus, so the gladiators rush out to kill the Romans. As one aims to strike Spartacus down, Tiberius saves his life. Crixus aggressively questions why he did not let them leave as planned, and he replies that the Roman noticed his slave collar missing. He said they would have returned with more men. The gladiators spare Tiberius again.
Oenomaus is brought forward to Glaber by the hooded man, revealed to be none other than Ashur. He offers him to Glaber as a gift. Lucretia, clutching onto the parchment from the marketplace, exclaims that the gods truly heed her prayers.
Things I liked: Liam McIntyre continues to make the role his own as Spartacus. He has the tone set and feels like the character we love. Many people feel that he lacks the physical presence that Andy Whitfield brought to the role. Though I agree to a point, Liam really is doing a phenomenal job as the slave leader. The other actors and aactresses are also turning in terrific performances with a special nod towards Katrina Law as Mira. She is assuming a leadership role and is fun to watch as she further develops it. Peter Mensah as Oenomaus is always fantastic. You get a true sense of his shame in this episode as well as the reason he so strongly feels it.
This episode is split between flashbacks of Oenomaus and the slaves’ hunt for Naevia. Both of these storylines were strong performance-wise as well as visually. It was interesting seeing Oenomaus as a young man with no direction. We have only seen him as a man of honor and devotion. It seems as if he were born that way, but we now know his true devotion to the House of Batiatus was because it saved his life. It was a pleasure to have Jeffrey Thomas back as Titus Batiatus in this episode.
Spartacus and his band of rebels got to have some fun clearing out another Roman ludus. It brought us several new and intriguing characters to potentially get used to. The storyline worked perfectly in showing how well-known Spartacus is becoming among slaves. He seems to be developing into the leader they truly need.
In the present while the slaves strengthen their numbers, we continue to see Glaber and Ilithyia babysitting Lucretia. While she is slowly gathering memories of the past, one can only wonder how much she really knows. It is an awesome storyline given to us by the writers. This week seeing the return of Ashur is also another strong promise for the future backstabbing this show is known for. Although he is a snake, I really enjoy his presence in the show. He and Lucretia must attempt to fill the huge void that Quintus Batiatus left behind in his death. You have to wonder what is going on between the two as well. Have they been working together? What will Glaber do with Oenomaus now that the scoundrel Ashur has turned him over to him?
The dialogue is back in proper Spartacus form with this episode (Thank, Jupiter!). I love that when I watch this show I find myself rewinding scenes for dialogue as much as the action pieces. My only wish is that Romans really did speak the way that this show portrays.
The visuals were great for the most part. Nothing too special was done setting-wise. The special effects looked awesome. The fight scenes were gruesome, especially the ones including Oenomaus. The writers certainly can write some graphic death scenes. They are always original, too. This was an impressive looking episode.
Things I did not like: The slow motion during fight scenes is way too much. It takes away from the action. I really feel that the show could have unmatched fight choreography if they were to cut back on the use of it. It actually hurt this episode in my eyes.
I wanted to see more this week. The time was used wisely, but I feel like something was missing. It is probably the fact that I expected more action on Lucretia’s end, but the time will come for her deviance. Especially now that Ashur is on the playing field with her.
Rating: 4 hooded figures out of 5
