“The Thing in the Pit”
Four Torches (Out of Five)
Warning: This review contains spoilers for the “The Thing in the Pit” episode of Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
Depending on your point of view, the latest episode of Spartacus: Blood and Sand will either be your favorite episode so far, or you will want to take a nail to your corneas in an attempt to scratch the images out of your body.
I’m kind of in the second camp.
After Spartacus’ humiliating loss to alpha male Crixus in last week’s episode, his owner Batiatus is furious with him. After all, the crowd was into Spartacus when he obliterated four gladiators, but now he’s lost their favor, which makes him much less valuable to old Batty.
The only way to redeem himself, Spartacus is told, is to fight in the pits, which are essentially human cockfights in which fighters are given weapons and told to fight to the death.
But wait, you ask. How is that any different than the gladiator arena?
As we soon find out, while the gladiator matches are fought out in the sun between two fighters in armor and swords, the pit fights are perverse, sadistic bloodbaths in which opponents draw weapons randomly out of a pot (brought to them by a pantsless, one-armed hermaphrodite) and fight — without armor — in a tiny sand pit amidst a throng of drooling, frenzied lunatics.
To put it another way, if the gladiator arena is Wrestlemania, the pits are barbed-wire-laden backyard wrestling at its most disgusting.
Needless to say, Spartacus has several fights, and his main opponent is a fighter who cuts off the faces of his victims and wears them as masks, Texas Chainsaw Massacre-style.
Lovely.
He’s actually a terrifying villain in the way that Glaber, Crixus, or Barca can never be, in that he’s a creature right out of a horror movie, and provides a truly grisly obstacle for Spartacus to overcome.
Speaking of Barca, this episode contains the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it revelation that he and the younger slave we’ve seen him with in the past are lovers. The directors have dropped hints of this to anyone who’s been paying attention, but in this episode we, as well as Spartacus, get a real eyeful of the carnal nature of their relationship. The truly 
ground-breaking thing is that the show treats it as a non-issue, in that it’s just another part of Roman life to the characters. Just one more example of how this show pushes boundaries in all the right directions.
Well, except maybe the face-cutting direction.
To be honest, this was my least favorite episode so far. I don’t mind stories getting very dark, as this one certainly does, but I miss the bombastic, over-the-top feeling that the first two episodes had. I loved the slo-mo battles set to heavy metal, which of course seems ridiculous. I loved the freeze-frame-spurting-blood effect, because it looked like a comic book, and so I never felt bad that people were getting hacked to bits. It never felt real.
But this episode went for realism, and as the first face was carved off, I kept wishing the scene would cut to Lucy Lawless pouting and posing, and I’d be saved the gore. Didn’t happen.
That having been said, it’s still getting four stars, because this show takes serious chances, and goes places other shows don’t even dream of daring to go.
The cast consistently puts in admirable performances, and in fact they’re so good they even seem to adapt their acting styles to the story-telling style of the particular episode: when it’s fantastical and comic book-esque, they chew the scenery like they haven’t been fed in a week, but when it gets grim and realistic, the performances become quieter and introverted.
The action is top notch. I’d kill to train with their stunt team. Both Spartacus and Legend of the Seeker – which is made by the same duo of Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi — put a lot of big-budget action movies to shame on a weekly basis.
And, of course, we get to see Lucy Lawless on television again.
This is just a damn good show.
Similar Posts:
- SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND Episode Review (1-11): The Plot Totally Thickens
- SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND Episode Review (1-2): First Day of (Gladiator) School!
- SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND Episode Review (1-3): Spartacus vs. Crixus, the Rematch!
- SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND Episode Review (1-12): Revelatory Revelations are Revealed!
- SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND Episode Review (1-6): Did That Just Happen?!
This was definitely my favourite episode to date, even if I did have to look away from the screen a couple of times (notably when the “Fugitive’s” face (complete with tattoo) was removed from his skull). I really enjoyed the exploration of Spartacus’ character and I thought it was very telling the lengths to which he would go (essentially suicide by Freaky Face Mask Guy) in order to ensure Sura’s safety. Speaking of which, I do hope we see Sura other than as Spartacus’ Invisible Friend again this season. I doubt she’s become a female gladiator, but I wouldn’t mind seeing where she has ended up (although I’m sure it’s pretty depressing).
I’m also enjoying the relationship development between Lucre-Xena and Batty. She really seems to love old Batty, but she also seems to really love being loved by Token Naked Dude aka Crixus. The mounting pressures of their ever growing debts, the fact “someone” is out to dispose of Batty (perhaps the creepy fellow Gladiator trainer who has a thing for Lucre-Xena) and Lucre-Xena’s ongoing attempts to bear a child (by any means necessary) are all interesting story threads.
The side love stories for Crixus and slave girl and Barca and slave boy were okay and helped to develop their characters that little bit more. Varro and Spartacus’ friendship also seems to be developing nicely. Can’t wait for next week! And I’ll just note, I’m not missing the repeated slow-motion fight scenes with heavy metal music and copious blood splatter. The “fight” style of the past two weeks is much more appealing to me.
I want to see Spartacus have some time to grow up. The “Blood and Boobs” at this stage is a bit silly. I’m hoping it’s just adolescent exploration that will settle down a bit with age. Yes, they’re going for the groin right now and visceral is good, but they also need some heart and more mature character driven stuff (or at least a sense of humor!)if they expect an adult audience to keep tuning in every week. There’s a B grade sensibility to it right now. That’s fine for a ninety minute horror movie - not so good for an ongoing series. For the record - I suspect Mr Hartinger and Mr O’Leary are crushin’ on Lucy…just a bit…not that there’s anything wrong with that!
Well, I’m on record as saying I LOVED this episode. I thought it really really “went there,” and hey, it’s pay cable, right? I felt like the show was signaling to me, “You think you know where this show is going, but you don’t. You have NO idea. But stick with us, and we’ll take you somewhere you’ve never been!”
There have been hints of that, of course, like that great second episode “slaves-servicing-the-masters” sex scene. But this something new.
Plus, I just like Spartacus’ arc more now. It seems like the stakes are much higher. Not your usual “good always wins out” simplistic stuff.
I have been a big fan of Lucy Lawless for years, but god I hate this show.
Episode 104, was overly inhuman in its brutality, the things (no pun intended) that happened in the pit and the creators stretching of the notion of what is an acceptable sexual encounter for all viewers appears to be based on the “there something for everyone” idea. However, many of the scenes in the episode were not acceptable by all and were viewed as an outright exploitation of many viewers’ moral sensibilities. Setting aside the issue of morality, the creators’ initial idea appeared to be a great one but now has the potential of placing the fledgling series in jeopardy of losing viewers, as well as marring the success of their other more mainstream projects, such as Legend of the Seeker.
Eka Darville (Barca’s bottom boy) used to be the Red Power Ranger from Power Rangers RPM - quite a departure!
Well, you cannot say I didn’t warn you. After Spartacus: Blood and Sand, The Things In The Pit, Ep. 104, aired this past Friday, quite a few viewers started rethinking the idea on what makes a good series and most definitely, what makes a bad series. Sadly, even with its name-dropping cast, Spartacus: Blood and Sand fell short of its mark of being a good series, and it didn’t fulfill many of its viewers’ expectations.
Episode 104, was overly inhuman in its brutality, the things (no pun intended) that happened in the pit and the creators stretching of the notion of what is an acceptable sexual encounter for all viewers appears to be based on the “there something for everyone” idea. However, many of the scenes in the episode were not acceptable by all and were viewed as an outright exploitation of many viewers’ moral sensibilities. Setting aside the issue of morality, the creators’ initial idea appeared to be a great one but now has the potential of placing the fledging series in jeopardy of losing viewers, as well as marring the success of their other more mainstream projects, such as Legend of the Seeker.
According to Starz’ PRNewswire, in Spartacus: Blood and Sand’s premiere week, the series earned a record audience of 3.3 million viewers worldwide, and its Nielsen ratings showed that the series increased its viewership with episodes 102 and 103. However, the numbers are not out on The Things In The Pit, Ep. 104, and from what is floating around on the web if the same type of creative blunter happens in Spartacus: Blood and Sand’s future episodes, its well earned high rating will probably fall like the dropping of hot coals on a midsummer day.
This coming Friday will be the first of the series new episodes since viewing the promotional episodes back in December, which I haven’t revisiting since the series official airing, I am looking forward to Spartacus: Blood and Sand Ep 105 - Shadow Games in which Batiatus is presented with a gladiatorial opportunity of a lifetime. Spartacus and Crixus must overcome their mutual hostility to fight as a team against a legendary and unbeaten opponent.
While this show probably won’t win any emmy’s i think it’s got the grittiness of the gladitorial times down.
also about the gay sex part - it’s just treated as another part of the show and nothing’s made an issue out of it. I think that’s a step forward in tv.
I’m just surprised by Eka Darville’s (Barca’s bottom boy) choice to do this role after being a lead character in a kids tv series (he was the Red Power Ranger in Power Rangers RPM). Quite a departure - but hey, what better way to get the stink of being a power ranger off you… =p
While the show isn’t an emmy winning masterpiece, it shows the grit and lifestyle that what we think roman gladitorial times were about.
I agree with the editor’s position about the gay sex part tho it’s just like hmm ho-hum here we are. *double take* I’m just more surprised that Eka Darville (Barca’s bottom boy) chose to do this role after being a lead character in a kids tv show (he played the Red Power Ranger in Power Rangers RPM). Quite a departure!
Ouch. This ep was nasty business, and I’m rarely squeamish.
Spartacus: Blood and Boobs.
So far, yes I agree - crapola. I don’t care about the presence or absence of blood and boobs and swinging dicks - the story just has no soul! I think the main problem is I don’t care about Sparty and his missus (the fact she looks like a porn star and not in a good way doesn’t help). This was a hack’s premise to begin with…and Rob Tapert - stop pimping your wife!
Damn you really think this crap of a show is good, the bad writing , lousy acting especially the blonde chick who did get the job because she could act because they are non-existent. Wooden acting,poorly written dialogue. The producers stole from every show they could think of. They don’t have an original idea at all. Please someone kill the producers and kill this crap of a show.Tits and ass and blood do not make a show good it makes good porn though and throw in some good old child porn. yeah it great- what a loser.Trash plain out white trash.This is garbage for perverts and we have many.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/3/19/
ROTFL!