Five Torches (Out of Five)
Warning: The following review contains spoilers for the “Shadow Games” episode of Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
One would think that the formula of lots of gladiators training in an arena, Spartacus lamenting the loss of his wife, Batiatus and Lucretia scheming their respective schemes, and the plot leading up to a boss fight would be stale by the fifth episode, but Spartacus: Blood and Sand is still managing to keep things fresh. The latest episode gives us a much-needed insight into a character we’ve seen a lot of (nudity pun intended) but don’t really know that well: Crixus.
The hook of this episode is that the Magistrate is interested in using one of Batiatus’ men in the main event, or Primus, of his latest games. One fighter has already been chosen, belonging to Batiatus’ rival, Solonius.
Batiatus, naturally, chooses his best fighter, Crixus, but is distraught to learn that his man will be fighting Theocles, the “Shadow of Death.” (Although, unless my Greek is rustier than I thought, I think his name translates to “Glory of the gods,” but any brainiacs can feel free to correct me in the comments.)
Theocles is a villain of whom we’ve only heard tall tales referring to his gigantic height and invulnerability, and the only man who ever survived a fight with him was the trainer, Doctore.
Solonius, a mustache-twirling villain if ever there was one, suggests Crixus be joined by Spartacus, and Batiatus agrees. (Spartacus’ friend Varro teases him later about how they make a cute couple, so I’m copyrighting the name “Spartacrix” right now.) The problem? Crixus hates Spartacus somethin’ fierce.
But why does he hate him? Up until now we weren’t sure, other than he was a bully/antagonist, and so it’s his job to hate the main character. But as it turns out, there’s a bit of depth there.
In a review of a previous episode, I talked about how the gladiators talked big about how they were gods among men (with Crixus the most vocal), but we could tell that it was just a cover so they didn’t have to admit they were slaves. Well, once Spartacus and Crixus learn they have to work together, Crixus starts to go on the familiar tirade, and Spartacus calls him on it, saying they’re all just slaves. And naturally Crixus responds by attacking him.
This ep had an incredible character moment for Illyithia, a character who had so far been shown to be little more than a flighty airhead. She is the wife of Glaber, the main villain, and we caught a glimpse of the power she wields when she and Lucretia summon Spartacus and Crixus to their chamber for a private viewing.
As she stalks around Spartacus and tells him how she’ll delight in telling her husband of his death at the hands of Theocoles, she stops being flighty and starts being very dangerous. Then Spartacus leaves and she’s back to her old self. It’s a great moment, and it made me finally like Illyithia.
It should also be said this was definitely the sexiest episode so far, even though it didn’t boast the most sex scenes, and it was without a doubt the most homoerotic. The brief loving exchange between Barca and Pietros was far sexier with its chaste kiss than the full-on scene of carnality we saw last week, because with an emotional exchange, we’re starting to connect with their characters.
I mentioned earlier that Crixus attacks Spartacus, but I failed to mention this fight took place in the baths while they were both completely naked, and it has to go down as the most obviously homoerotic fight in the history of celluloid.
The power play between the genders is fascinating. We have a notion that in the ancient world, women were automatically subservient to men, but the scene in which Lucretia and Illyithia are ogling Crixus is interesting because even though he could kill them both with his bare hands in seconds, he has to do everything they say.
Illyithia commands him to take off his loincloth and stand there naked, and when he complies you see on his face how he’s fighting his feelings of humiliation. And of course Naevia, the slave he is in love with and who loves him in return, has to stand there and do nothing while all of this is going on. There are a lot of layers at play here.
The fight against Theocles was exciting, but the least interesting aspect of the plot, which means the writers are doing a great job populating this world with people we care about. (Although I was giddy to see the blood spatter effect return.)
One final thought: I was describing the series to a friend the other day, and for the first time I articulated something that I realize I should have said a while ago, regarding Lucy Lawless. There are iconic characters, and then there’s Xena, who stands mountains above the rest. But when viewing Spartacus, not once do I think, “Hey, it’s Xena!” I’m just wondering what mischief Lucretia will get up to next.
And that’s an accomplishment.
