Before I review the season of Spartacus – Vengence, I just wanted to let you know that I’m waiting for my beta to proof-read my fanfic, Dirty Little Secret! So…my patient little Jax and Tara fans…expect an update VERY SOON! 
And so it begins…if you haven’t watched the season finale of Spartacus: Vengence…first of all, WTF are you doing reading this and NOT watching the show? Secondly, I suggest you DO before reading this review! I will be getting very specific and will reveal many, many spoilers! You have been warned!
I know I haven’t reviewed any episodes of Spartacus: Vengence in the past, but I felt that I HAD to – after watching the season finale! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! (This is NOT my review! But basically how I felt after it was all over.) Quite frankly, I was speechless. Just like after watching every episode of the series, it left you feeling breathless and dying for more!
Before I break it down for you, I just thought that I would share with you: the fact that normally I’m what one might call a “spoiler whore”. Take for example, True Blood…I search endlessly for spoilers, so I can write about them on Eric & Sookie Lovers. That isn’t the case with Spartacus. It’s one of those very few shows I watch, where I remain “spoiler-free”. The Walking Dead is another example of not knowing what’s going to happen from one episode to the next. The main reason being; Spartacus is one of those shows that I watch with my husband, who refuses to be spoiled! You can probably imagine that we’ve had some disagreements in the past, when I’ve inadvertently revealed some teeny-tiny spoilers. Oopsie! I sometimes forget that he doesn’t want to know. So I watched this season without knowing what’s going to happen. Which was actually kind of refreshing! I may have to remember this in the future….hmmm.
Getting back to the subject on hand…I live in Canada, and Spartacus airs on Sunday nights, not on Fridays. After the season finale of Spartacus: Vengence aired in the U.S., I stumbled across a very spoilery interview with producer DeKnight on what had happened in the season finale. It basically gave away the results, but it didn’t really explain how and why it happened. Anyways, I spoiled my husband AGAIN, after we watched the season finale…oh well. I just can’t seem to keep my mouth shut. (He didn’t want to know that Ilithyia had really bit the dust.) More on this later…
Back to the season of Vengence…
Spartacus kicked off the season with a bang. Glaber and Ilithyia moved to Capua, which must have left a sour taste in Ilithyia’s mouth, and not because she was pregnant either. Spartacus and his band of former slaves were living in hiding, trying to gather up enough people to take on Glaber. Oenomaus was fighting in a ring for money. Ashur was Glaber’s right-hand man. And we were introduced to Seppius and Seppia, a snotty brother and sister duo from a rich, noble family. Plus, many other characters, but those were the main ones.
The season reunited us with some old and familiar faces too. Nobody was more excited than me, when Gannicus played by Dustin Clare came back, not to mention when we found out Lucretia (played by Lucy Lawless) was alive and well, but understandably had gone completely off her rocker. Since when had she ever been religious? (Not that I blame her, after what she had lived through at the end of season one. I would probably be insane too.) It was also a season of recasts (Spartacus and Naevia) with impossible shoes to fill. I warmed up to Liam McIntyre’s Spartacus by the end of the season, but I’m still trying to get a handle on the ‘new’ Naevia, now played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson. I will always miss Andy Whitfield as Spartacus, may he R.I.P…
The season took us on a journey of changes and maneuvering…kind of like the reality show, Survivor – where they try to outwit, outlast and outplay each other, with a few scuffles in between. We saw many, many violently gross death scenes. I’m not one to be squeamish, but when the one guy’s face got cut off (sorry, I forget which episode that was in), and his brains slid out…yeah, that was kind of gross. We saw the destruction of the arena, where we witnessed all of the gladiator fights. I guess we won’t be seeing those anymore, will we?
There were many shocking moments too. I loved how they revealed that Ilithyia’s baby was really…Spartacus’s, and not her husband, Glaber’s. SHOCKER! That might put a kink in all of Ilithyia’s plans…LOL You remember in season one, when Lucretia set up Ilithyia with Spartacus? Haha, if that’s not a ‘hate’ child, I don’t know what is? But for some reason, I thought they were hot together and could actually see something more out of them as a couple. I fear I’m not alone in this either. I’ve heard Andy Whitfield himself, wanted them to pursue a relationship between the two. They shared a special connection, which I think the child would’ve forced them to deal with. I really thought; after Gannicus kidnapped Ilithyia in order to use her as bait, was when this connection may have been addressed, especially when Spartacus’s girlfriend, Mira tried to choke her after finding out the baby was Spartacus’s.
Mira, I found to be boring…though she was a kick-ass fighter and was one of those really good people. Kind of like how Oenameous was. You need characters who are honorable and the moral compass of the show to balance out all the rest of the characters. Ilithyia, on the other hand, had no moral compass, but I could see she could be redeemed through the love of her baby.
BTW, I knew Oenameous (Peter Mensah) was going to be one of the casualties this season. When the casting news came out, that he was going to be on True Blood as one of the members of the Authority, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. I’m going to miss him. He was the unspoken leader, IMO. He taught all of the gladiators what they knew. I can’t imagine the show without him. But I guess I’ll be still watching him on True Blood, so that’s good!
Getting back to the romantic aspect of the show. I am one of those people who loves a good romantic story, even on a TV show like this. In fact, romances are what keeps me tuning in. I could see why Spartacus would be attracted to Mira. I just felt that Ilithyia was more three-dimensional as a character, whereas Mira was…just plain blah. Plus, I loved how Ilithyia would try to make plans, only to see them backfire in her face. Poor girl. I felt sorry for her, but also laughed at her attempts. She was truly one of those characters you loved to hate, but could also see some redeeming qualities too.
Probably one of the most shocking moments for me, was the finale, when Lucretia jumped off the cliff holding Ilithyia’s baby in her arms. I had a feeling that Lucretia was “playing” everyone – but didn’t think she would actually take the baby along with her. It’s too bad…Spartacus’s “hate” child is gone. I would’ve loved to see what he might be like as a father, especially during the times when he’s constantly fighting the Romans. But a part of me, wishes they hadn’t killed off Sera in season one either. I think it shows a different side of Spartacus, and one I like to know more. You can find out anything about what happened in history, by researching it, but you rarely get a look inside the character to see the softer, gentler side.
I honestly think Ilithyia cared about that baby more than anything else. I’m not sure if it’s because I think she WAS in love with Spartacus, since she often flashbacked to season one when they had sex, throughout the season, or if it’s because the baby was something that was hers or what? But look at the way she would touch her stomach throughout the season. I definitely think this would’ve been something I would have liked to see. I cried when Spartacus let her go, because he found out Glaber didn’t really love her. That’s so sad…but I guess it did save her life. Who knew something like that might help? Oh well…I guess I may have to write a fanfic instead.
This season had some moments where I would jump up and say, “YAY”! One of them, was when Naevia and Crixius were reunited. Another, was when Naevia got her vengence on Ashur on the mountain top. And another moment, was when the Spartacus FINALLY killed Glaber. It’s about freakin’ time… It only took him, what…two seasons?
What was probably the most shocking thing about the season finale, was the fact that SO MANY main characters died. Let’s take a moment to remember some of our good, and not-so-good friends from the show…
May all of them find some sort of…peace. (Although some of them don’t really deserve it.) I don’t recall seeing 5-6 characters bite the dust before in one single episode, and all of them important characters of the show as well. The Roman days were rough and troubled times. I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to handle living in those days.
And judging by what DeKnight said about next year…? It looks like we’re in for some big changes. If you’re interested in reading the same interview I read, you can read it here.
All in all, it was a spectacular ending to an already awesome show! Each season keeps getting better and better, IMO. I’m looking forward to the next year, hope Spartacus returns soon!
What are your thoughts? Did you feel the same way as me? Sound off below!
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, Sookie had to get shot. *YAWN* By this time, Eric was now being controlled by Marnie…yep, can you say…plot point? The only reason why, was to somehow get Bill’s blood into Sookie, so she could have that awkward, terrible, unsexy threesome fantasy of hers.
Oops! Did I neglect to inform you, I may have been slightly inebriated while writing this post? But only slightly! Hope you won’t hold it against me!
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