SPARTACUS SEASON 1 EPISODE 8 CAST SERIES

Next week the showвЂ™s taking a week off, though, so weвЂ™ve plenty of time to mourn the (mostly) undefeated Gaul. Similarly, seeing him die a matter of moments after saying вЂњgoodbyeвЂќ to Spartacus was disappointing, but at this late stage thereвЂ™s only so much time they can give each plot, and CrixusвЂ™ death had to happen for the story to reach the end. Plot-wise, there was a lot here that felt truncated or skipped over, not least the montage that shows Crixus and his army fighting the Romans вЂ“ exploits that could have filled an episode (or series) in themselves. Overall, though, this was an episode that got by on the strength of its character moments. Still, since we know that Caesar survives, we can perhaps guess how Tiberius will meet his end nowвЂ¦ ItвЂ™ll be interesting if his vendetta ultimately destroys him, turning victory into defeat.Д®lsewhere, the rivalry between Caesar and Tiberius took a completely unexpected and unpleasant turn in this episode, but in a show as uncompromising and egalitarian in its depictions of both violence and sexuality as Spartacus attempts to be, it wouldвЂ™ve almost been unfair for the show to avoid depicting male-on-male rape when it made sense for the plot. The scene of him losing his nerve and beating the hell out of poor Metellus (who was completely reasonable in his displeasure with Crassus having allowed Spartacus to escape) was a great moment that let us see how deeply the typically cold, calculating Crassus had been affected by his campaign. On the Roman side of things, Crassus was finally compelling in this episode. Given that Agron was felled in a reasonably non-committal way AND we didnвЂ™t see Naevia die, itвЂ™s a safe bet that one or both of them might make it to Spartacus next episode to deliver the bad news. WeвЂ™re seeing it as sheвЂ™s seeing it: just another violation of her hopes and dreams committed by Romans. We didnвЂ™t actually see it directly вЂ“ only as a reflection in NaeviaвЂ™s eye. Much can be read into the final shot of CrixusвЂ™ death. At least Caesar had the fighting skills to do it.

SPARTACUS SEASON 1 EPISODE 8 CAST SERIES

But it was a death tinged with glory, even if it could have been handled slightly better: Tiberius, despite proving himself a monster multiple times over (not least in this episode) isnвЂ™t the complex or worthy foe the series wants him to be, and seeing him be the one to take Crixus down feels unearned.

Had Crassus not turned up, he might even have succeeded. Obviously, it hurt to see Crixus get so close to his goal of routing Rome and then fall. And, of course, there was the question of how the series would deal with the inevitability of CrixusвЂ™ demise.

Spartacus season 1 episode 8 cast