I’ll admit it, I had my doubts when a friend told me I needed to watch the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Really? I asked him. You’re talking to a girl who was underwhelmed by 300 and shrugged at Gladiator.
Luckily, my friend is pretty stubborn. He sat me down and we began a journey through the 13-episode first season.
Man, am I glad I listened to him.
Spartacus: Blood and Sand is, at its heart, a potent tale of a warrior trying to fight the Romans. He wants to find his captured wife as well as escape his own captivity. In order to do so, he must compete in the old gladiator arenas and play the rules of the Romans’ convoluted political game; meanwhile, however, Spartacus plots his revenge. The first couple of episodes depend too much on expository material, and the visual effects are unimpressive. But stick it out. By episode three, the story gears up – and the translation on screen is luminescent.
The key player is, of course, Spartacus, portrayed with a gritty exterior and raw emotional power by Andy Whitfield. (It’s a shame Whitfield was snubbed by the Emmys.) The Romans that control the gladiators provide a deliciously dramatic plot as well; John Hannah, Lucy Lawless, and Viva Bianca transcend their roles as aristocrats, creating characters more dynamic than television viewers are used to. Lucky for us.
What is wonderful about Spartacus is the m̩lange of drama, violence, and pure emotion. It is as if the best drama from The OC, Rescue Me, and 24 were rolled into one series and catapulted 2000 years into the past. We get the bitchy backstabbing, bureaucratic games and hero complex Рbut with an adult spin on it.
The show is absolutely daring in the characters it kills off. I even gasped aloud at the TV during certain episodes (and it takes a lot to surprise me). The relationships twist unexpectedly. And the final three episodes tie together threads you never realized were being sewn throughout the season – all culminating into one of the most satisfying season finales I’ve watched.
The infamous story of Spartacus is a complex one to tell, yet one also brimming with potential. Starz’s adaptation rises to the occasion, blending old-world swordplay with radical dramatics to create a sweeping, adrenaline-packed adventure.
It’s nice when risks pay off.
- Sonya Chudgar
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