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Spartacus – Wrath of the Gods

There are a few shows that know what the word “finale” really means, and Spartacus is certainly one of those  shows. In the season finale that was basically a climax after climax, everything came to a head. It really was the moment the show has been working toward for two seasons. And it all started with a confrontation at the mountain.

Ashur was left to fend for himself as his legion was easily persuaded into joining Gaber. Gaber wanted to deal with Spartacus as quickly as possible so he could have his baby born in Rome. He used Ashur to make a deal with the slaves-turned-free-men. This was the episode’s first of many turning points as Ashur was certain that no one could harm him. But, after Spartacus and his men turned down Gaber’s offer, Ashur found himself in quite the predicament. Everyone wanted to see his head on a stick, but it was Naevia who wanted it the most. Willing to die in her attempt for revenge, naevia fought with Ashur. The scene was pretty spectacular, but it lasted too long. It’s not like we couldn’t see the end coming or anything. This season is dubbed “Vengeance,” so Naevia was bound to get hers. 

The episode soon went uphill (figuratively) as Spartacus and the others went downhill (literally). In a touching speech about being free and building new roads, the legion attacked the Romans on their own terms. The road to the epic battle might’ve been long, but now it had finally arrived and there certainly was blood. The slow-motion was terrific, the special effect blood was beautiful and the fighting skills were perfectly choreographed. As Spartacus and his loyal friends made their way to the camp, they also attacked the Roman army from the right flank. Don’t ask questions about how lousy the Roman’s shields and protective gear must’ve been if men in leather and wool could hurt them, just simply enjoy the gore. 

It proved that “Wrath of the Gods” had everything this show is good at... highly entertaining fights, enormous amounts of blood, and shocking deaths. The Grim Reaper had a field day in this episode. Perhaps it was to make up for the lack of sex in this week’s installment, but the writers certainly had no problem getting rid of nearly everyone in the cast. It did make the epic battle even better, as it really was up for grabs as to who would kick the bucket. In a fight this large, it’s understandable that there are a lot of casualties, but even for a show like Spartacus, there were a lot of dead folks. 

One of the best storylines in the episode actually included the two women of the show facing off. In one scene, Lucretia and Ilithyia were planning on going back to Rome, in a second scene, they were confirming their life-changing friendship, and in another scene they were backstabbing each other. Just normal female companionship. All joking aside, the story saw a lot of twists. It was a continuous guessing game as to which of the two ladies would end up dying, and the answer was certainly surprising. This led to an ending that was shown simultaneously with the men bashing each other’s brains in, and was accompanied by some heavy classical doom music—epic television for sure.

The end was pretty tightly knit, as most storylines were wrapped up nicely. The bloodbath that was this episode left a lot of possibilities for season four. It’s easy to say that there will be a lot of new characters that will evidently change the course of the show completely—probably only to die a horrible, painful death later. Whatever may come next, we’re certainly up for it. Spartacus remains an entertaining hour of television you definitely want to see, if only for the nice special effects, the nice cinematography and all the action you could wish for.

Rating
7.5

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