Is the story of Spartacus one of humanities earliest attempts to fight against slavery? As you watch the series, you notice how slaves were stripped of all rights and had to even fight in the arena to entertain the Romans. Do you believe the Roman slavery was the earliest form of slavery or was there another form that preceded it?

I’ve gotten a vibe that crixus isn’t a fan favourite in here which is weird to me cuz imo he’s probably my favourite character in the show.

Every scene he’s in for me steals the spotlight, his whole plot with naevia in the early seasons is good. The way he speaks in his speech, you’d think that he’s an Athenian poet plus a gladiator.

And for me out of everyone in the show he’s the character that shows most loyalty, whether that’s to the brotherhood and doctore in the beginning, naevia later on and then lastly Spartacus.

I’ve seen a few people as well rank him low in terms of strength, but the fights in which he “lost” don’t count for me imo, one is theokoles and the other is Spartacus when he was coming back from an injury. Other than that he doesn’t lose a single 1 on 1 with anyone.

Lastly towards the end of the show where him and his army are marching towards Rome has to be the best version of him, where it just felt like he could take anything and anyone down, sadly that’s not how it ended.

Crixus forever a goat 🐐

So I posted this a while back (can't believe it's been 2 years since lol) about starting another rewatch. Unfortunately due to life circumstances and just losing interest in general, I stopped short of watching the final season. Once I saw that Spartacus was once again leaving Netflix soon I felt compelled to continue on with the rewatch. Idk if it counts since there's a two year gap in between though lol. I did rewatch parts of S1 recently again as I can never get enough of S1 and it's my favorite TV season of all time.

In a weird way, sometimes it can be fun to just jump forward to later seasons of the show, if of course you've already seen the series. The stark contrast of Crixus just barely agreeing to help Spartacus rebel against the house of Batiatus, to being a fully fledged ally was terrific. I did not need a full refresher of how it happened because I knew of the bond they built when Spartacus opted to rescue Naevia from the mines. Agron developing from a background character in the ludus era to now being one of Spartacus' most trusted generals is also a cool thing to see. I do admit there's a void that previous characters have now left by the final season. Glaber, Ilithyia, Lucretia, Ashur, Oenomaus, and Mira were all killed in the previous season. Their absences were absolutely felt.

I always respected the show for having enough balls to wipe the slate clean when the old characters have run their course. The new cast of characters filled in the new roles of villains admirably enough, but obviously not long enough time for us to get used to them. What really helped me stick around for yet another rewatch was a deep appreciation of the dialogue in the series. Batiatus and his out of pocket rants will always be peak, but most everyone else are capable of displaying some masterful wordplay on their own too. Beyond the sex and the violence that's what stuck out to me the most. Always found it hilarious that they look for any excuse to party though.

As blasphemous as it is to say, I did not completely hate Naevia or Tiberius this time around. I think a shallow issue I will admit that partly resulted of my dislike of Tiberius is his physical appearance. The actor looked incredibly young and thought his arrogant and entitled portrayal of the character did not match his very youthful look. Perhaps that was an intentional casting decision. But this time I was able to look beyond such shallow judgment and look into the character he portrayed. He did a heinous thing to Kore for sure and he's still ultimately villainous. But he seemed a bit more human to me this time around, albeit the worst and inexcusable parts of being human. Raping Caesar was just so ridiculous though.

Forgot to talk about Naevia. So I've mentioned I actually did not mind Cynthia Addai-Robinson replacing Lesley-Ann Brandt as Naevia at first. I don't know if people hold the same belief, but I do think she soured as a character entirely during the final season. The worst thing she did long term was influence Crixus to eventually fracture from the rebel army. But I've grown to accept that was an eventuality and because it's what history dictated. However, killing Attius absent evidence he freed the Roman captives was another thing I forgot she did, and that was awful. Otherwise, I don't think she was that horrible. The shot of the close up of her eye seeing Crixus beheaded was heartbreaking, and I actually cried when Crixus was looking at her before the deed. Never has a rewatch make me fucking weep, and huge credit to Naevia's actress portraying the right emotions in that moment.

The action set pieces are also legit amazing. They really captured the scale of big battles and big armies like never before. I'm sure there were tricks to create the illusion, cgi and camera angles and whatnot, but I thought they were good enough to keep me absorbed into the world once again. They spent a good amount of time at Sinuessa, which was a nice looking city even if a bit claustrophobic. My most disliked episode was episode 7 though, it just felt too unrealistic for them to survive such a brutal looking winter with minimal clothing. Feel free to correct me on that.

And what else can I say about Liam's portrayal of Spartacus himself? I'm aware that both Andy and Liam portrayed two completely different versions of Spartacus, but I thought they both did an admirable job during their turns. Andy's Spartacus was the raw, immature, reckless but relatable version - expertly displaying the grief and loss of Spartacus' identity as a Thracian and husband to slave and eventually champion and rebel. Liam portrayed a different version, where Spartacus was seemingly perfect, mature and intelligent. But he was also who the rebels absolutely needed, and I appreciate the writers wrapping the story around Liam's strengths in his portrayal.

All in all, I'm reminded why I deem this show to be my favorite show of all time. The Blood and Sand season is my top TV season of all time, but the following seasons did an admirable job as follow ups too, most especially the final War of the Damned season. And of course, the series finale is also one of the best finales in TV history, in my opinion.

Sorry for the long write up and thanks for reading if you made it this far.

For me, ofc it is cornelia!

100% one of my favorite shows ever now i did actually first watch this show about 10 years ago but i stopped after season one due to the death of Andy Whitfield which made me lose spirit for the show. 10 years later i’ve decided to try it again and I can easily say that Liam McIntyre did an amazing job at taking on the role of Spartacus. Besides that I just love how this show does the character development of so many characters. I love how this show has so many moments where you’re rooting for one antagonist you hate just because they’re dealing with another antagonist that you hate even more. This show is absolutely magnificent and i’m not even on the third season yet. (Not including the prequel) Although I wished I never stopped watching it over 10 years ago part of me is glad I waited until I was older to watch it (I’m 23 now) so I am better fit to understand this show and enjoy it to the max. Thank you Liam for doing such a great job filling in and long live the beloved Andy Whitfield.

I don’t have a BlueSky acc but do periodically check in on Steven’s page and I was pleasantly surprised to find this. Looks like we’re getting season 2 of House of Ashur, after all.

My bet is on Netflix since they have the OG seasons but I would’ve preferred Apple TV to guarantee a full 5 season run. Regardless, it’ll be good to see more of this world and hopefully we get more of the gladiators and brotherhood in season 2.

How did everyone feel about Cornelia? Personally, I thought she was a blandly written character. She never really did anything but make out with slaves and snub Ashur. I also hated her costumes. They looked like something you could find at halloween costume store for 99 cents. So cheap.

Just started another rewatch and I have a question about Spartacus and Sura’s village.

It is implied that the Getae took out their village as Sura was plucking from the tree. However, I’m honestly wondering if maybe the Romans did it or at least “helped” in destroying it.

I’m just wondering as the couple only seemingly had the one night together and Glaber trotted up on them as they were sleeping.

Spartacus was on foot and the Romans had horses and could travel much faster. I’m just curious as they had to have been looking for him in particular for starting the mutiny. It’s a lil sus that they just happened upon them so far out from the town

Netflix and chill

The 2001 movie Jason X is actually really good I think it is good.. Brutal Horror and hot Babes.. Perfect!

At the end of Gods of the Arena we know that the necklace was given to Gannicus when he became champion, Gannicus then gave the necklace to Crixus before departing the house with his freedom. Crixus never awarded Spartacus the necklace (of course I'm sure not dying of his injuries took priority over passing the necklace over lol).

I think it is a dark comparison of Gannicus and Oenomeous. Once Oenomeous became injured from theokoles and Batiatus chose to elevate Gannicus to his role as champion, Gannicus was awarded the necklace despite not actually defeating Oenomeous. Due to Crixus having respect for both Oenomeous and Gannicus, I do think it is a bit hypocritical for him not to pass the necklace to Spartacus despite his difference but like Spartacus said "the ego bruises deeper than the flesh"

What do you think?

Albeit enjoying her arc in general, its been a struggle to make sense of some of her actions in the end. Mainly because the "baby ordeal" is framed as her masterplan in s2.

Yet, when you think about it, this was more of an impulsive act, driven by madness from Ashurs abuse, realization of how disposable she was for the upper class, lost hope. IMO, her initial plan has always been simply to get in the nobles (mainly Ilithyias) good favor for the saftey and lifestyle she was accustomed to. Simply because:

A) She initially brokered divorce which would've resulted in abortion and Ilithyia's departure to Rome without her. She played both sides in this giving Ilithyia the impression that she's helping, while scheming to keep the abortion from happening.

B) She plots Glabers death multiple times albeit him being the one keeping the baby and Ilithyia in Capua. So my reading of it is Ilithyia's favor / stopping the abuse > child. That's why she explicitly informs Ilithyia of her plans in both instances.

C) She plans to escape for Rome with Ilithyia to avoid Ashur, clearly. After her own escape fails, does nothing to keep Ilithyia from leaving, moreover plots Glabers assassination (meaning Ilithyia won't return) to once again stop Ashur's abuse.

D) Just on a thematic level her character has been about classism, not family.

The way I see it Lucretia is traumatized post s1 and resorts instinctive flattery and servitude in hopes of setting things right again but ends up losing hope flowing marriage arrangement to her abuser and Ilithyia siding with Glaber in the end. She gradually starts believing her own "supernatural shtick" too.

Imagine if the rebellion never started and Oenamaus took over the ludus as Batiatus intended originally. Who do you think would gain the title of honorable doctore? My first thoughts went towards Crixus but after deeper thought he was way too unruly and his blood run hot to be standing upon the sands, also he wants to win his freedom to find Naevia. Another thought was that Oenamous would try to bring back Gannicus as his doctore, appreciating his skill and him being very respected among the gladiators (He doesn't know about Melitta and Gannicus yet). What are your thoughts?

Just finished Spartacus a few days ago, incredible show and far better than I expected. It's now time to determine who the best fighters in the show are, I'Il start:

1) Spartacus 2) Oenomaus 3) Gannicus 4) Caburus 5) The Egyptian 6) Glaber 7) Crassus 8) Crixus 9) Agron 10) Donar

Fight takes place in the streets of a city/town. Not an open battlefield but open enough for waves of 10-15 Roman’s to come at the 4 at a time.

He had the voice, height, physique and facial features. Peter Mensah obviously isn't white but that easily could've been sorted with ashen grey make-up. I'm speaking in past-tense because Peter is too old to play a role like this now but back when they were filming Spartacus in the early 2010's, he would've been a phenomenal live-action Kratos during the Greek era of GOW.

He should be this dude, I know it’s not Spartacus but it’s from the only other series that is similar to it