Tuesday 31 August 2021

Spartacus: Vengeance, Season 2 (2012)

 



Having slaughtered their former master, Spartacus (now played by Liam McIntyre, following the unfortunate passing of Andy Whitfield) and his band of gladiators and house slaves have become a feared menace to the Roman citizens of Capua. In fact, given the rebels' lack of arms and armour, the public fear of the group much exceeds the amount of immediate threat they present.

Spartacus, however, intends to see their actual threat increase to match the one that Capua's citizens perceive.  His goal is to gather more weapons and more trained warriors, expanding and equipping his force until it is genuinely able to challenge Roman troops in the field.  His rallying cry for this is one of fighting for freedom, but also once of vengeance.  Every man and woman in his group has been enslaved and mistreated by the Romans.

But for Spartacus the quest for vengeance is even more personal than that.  For the commander the Roman Senate has sent to catch him is none other than Claudius Glaber, the very man who enslaved both Spartacus and his wife, and who has also made several attempts to have Spartacus killed.

I should note that this personal enmity between Spartacus and Glaber is a creation of the show's writers, not historical fact.  Of course, Spartacus-the-show has never been especially worried about historical accuracy when it got in the way of sex or violence.  

This seems a good time to mention that lashings of profanity, nudity and CGI gore very much remain a core part of the show, in this, its second or third season (depending how you count the prequel series, Gods of the Arena).  Your tolerance/appetite for such things will probably significantly impact your enjoyment of the program.  If you're at least okay with such things, though, then I think it is worth taking a look at the show.  It's got plenty of action and drama, and some delightfully hateable villains.

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