“If you go to war, you are destined for great and unfortunate things.” – Sura
The opening of Spartacus: Blood and Sand*, the first season chronicling the life of Spartacus as gladiator and eventual revolt leader, finds Spartacus chained and frightened as gladiators in the arena nearby battle bloodily to the death.
* There’s also an outstanding prequel limited series, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, that does not involve Spartacus but features outstanding performances from the likes of John Hannah as Quintus Batiatus and Lucy Lawless as Lucretia.
We then swiftly get a flashback where we see Spartacus (Andy Whitfield) prior to his being forced into slavery. He’s a Thracian soldier, and clearly one of its leaders.
“If we are to align with Rome, the purpose must be clear,” young Spartacus says in negotiating a deal with the Romans. The Thracians will align with the Romans to wipe out the Getae.
We meet Spartacus’ wife, Sura (Erin Cummings), and understand quickly that Spartacus’ aim in going to war is peace so that he can be with his wife (and future family, perhaps) and not blood, vengeance, or conquest.
“The gods came to me last night in my sleep,” she tells him before he heads off to fight. “My husband on his knees, bowing before a great red serpent. The life draining from his veins.”
“If you go to war, you are destined for great and unfortunate things,” she concludes.
He assures her that it’s just a dream, and that he gave his word to his people and his cause. “Blood and honor, it speaks to the man,” he says.
Segue to a brutal winter battle* in a forest between the Thracians and the Getae. The Romans eventually do show up after the Thracians are victorious, and it seems like they may have been just fine with having skipped out on the fighting part.
* If you’re uninitiated to the world of Spartacus, be warned that there’s LOTS of blood and gore flying around at any given time, though it is stylized enough to make it an artistic decision that mostly works. Same goes for the sexual content (of which there is also lots), but this is not a show that’s going to be for everyone (especially kids).
Back at their military camp, the Roman leader, Legatus Claudius Glaber (Craig Parker), is surprised by Ilithyia (Viva Bianca) in his tent (which looks more like a luxury glamping setup). We learn that she’s the daughter of a Senator, and also one not all that beholden by the rules (sneaking into a Roman encampment in Thrace, for one).
It’s not just a social visit. She strongly implies that if Glaber were able to defeat Mithradates and the Greeks (which he’s not even in a position to do; Consul Cotta has that command), he could take a position of political power with Ilithyia’s father back in Capua.
Glaber develops a scheme he believes will satisfy her father and then sends Ilithyia back to Capua. His promise to her is that he will be “a colossus, towering above the enemies of Rome.”
This scheme is contrary to the agreed upon plan Spartacus and the Thracians believed they were embarking upon, of course. When Glaber commands the Thracians to march east to fight the Greeks, Spartacus balks at the order, and shortly after a battle commences between the Romans and the Thracians.
The Thracians are successful against the small band of Romans in a brief skirmish, but we then cut to the Getae – adorned as scary/fierce warriors that viewers of U.S. Westerns would find familiar – attacking Sura back in Thrace. She’s no stranger to combat herself, it seems, and while she’s fighting them off Spartacus “miraculously” returns and together they kill off the band of marauding opponents. However, the couple is too late to stop the burning and presumable pillaging of their village.
After a night of… uh, let’s call it romance, the couple awakes to see Glaber and his men ready to pounce. Sura is dragged away*, and Spartacus is beaten and captured.
* In a show where there’s a lot of nudity, this scene in particular is pretty gratuitous. I typically have no problem with it but this time it’s a bit overdone. I’m just gonna leave it there.
“The shadow of Rome is vast. And you, Thracian, will die under it,” Glaber tells him.
Cut to Spartacus chained to a ship at sea – the Adriatic, bound for Capua – with some of his fellow captured Thracians. Bloodied and terrorized though he is, Spartacus can only think of Sura.
Meanwhile, it’s good times back in Capua for Glaber and Ilithyia… or is it? She quickly tells him that pops ain’t happy with his son-in-law. Glaber has returned home “too soon,” it seems. Glaber, unbowed, thinks that talking to his father-in-law will help – along with showcasing his newly captured Thracians in the arena.
Gladiator stuff is finally coming, in other words, after half an hour of prequel-ish stuff that is not the finest quality that Spartacus: Blood and Sand is capable of putting on offer.
We meet pop pop, also known as Senator Albinius, who is presiding over some kind of bacchanalia – which is like a combination of Eyes Wide Shut-style orgy and fancy-dress party.
And we get to meet Quintus Batiatus for the first time (the central figure of the Gods of the Arena prequel series, played by the brilliant John Hannah) and some of the gladiators from his ludus, including reigning champion Crixus (Manu Bennett), “the undefeated Gaul,” and Barca (Antonio Te Maioha), “the beast of Carthage.”
Quintus’ one-time friend and now bitter frenemy Solonius (Craig Walsh-Wrightson) also appears, showing off his own gladiators. True to form, Quintus refers to his old friend and partner as a “preening s— eater,” to his wife, Lucretia (Lucy Lawless). And we’re quickly reminded that the pairing of Lawless and Hannah is one of the pure joys that Spartacus brings us.
Finally, Claudius Glaber enters with Spartacus and the newly captured Thracians. “More gifts” for Capua, Glaber glows, before relaying that they are to be executed in the following day’s games. The contrast of the chained, bloody, and dirty slaves is striking against the wild opulence of the party and its, uh, guests.
And then finally we return to the present, with Spartacus set to fight in the gladiator arena for the first time. We see a pile of bodies and know that his fellow Thracians have been cut down by an experienced brute one by one.
When it’s finally Spartacus’ turn, we see that he’s meant not only to be slaughtered for the entertainment of Capua, but humiliated as well by way of the seven or eight fighters who also enter the arena. Spartacus merely has a sword to defend himself with.
The gladiators toy with Spartacus for a while, smashing him about at will. But then Spartacus sees a red serpent on an opponent’s shield and recalls Sura’s plea back in Thrace: “kill them all.”
And then of course we get to see Spartacus showing off his legendary fighting skills in a gory but satisfying scene.
Spartacus is the last man standing, and the citizens of Capua in the arena demand that he live. This is where the crafty Quintus Batiatus steps in, offering to “take Spartacus off the hands” of Glaber by making purchase of the Thracian for his gladiatorial ludus.
While Glaber glowers about it, this allows Senator Albinius (Kevin J. Wilson) to tell the rapturous crowd that Spartacus has been “granted life.”
While “The Red Serpent” ends on a rather satisfying note, I do feel the lengthy flashback sequences could have been better served in shorter segments spread out more evenly over the course of Blood and Sand – especially as the action really picks up once things move more fully into the world of the ludus that Batiatus and Lucretia preside over.
Some stats and info about Spartacus: Blood and Sand – “The Red Serpent”
TV SHOW – Spartacus: Blood and Sand
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 1, Episode 1
AIRED ON – January 22nd, 2010
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – Starz
GENRE – Drama, Period Show, Historical Epic, Swords & Sandals
CREATED BY – Steven S. DeKnight
CAST – John Hannah, Manu Bennett, Peter Mensah, Dustin Clare, Nick E. Tarabay, Lucy Lawless, Stephen Lovatt, Daniel Feuerriegel, Viva Bianca, Pana Hema Taylor, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Heath Jones, Katrina Law, Ellen Hollman, Barry Duffield, Andy Whitfield, Craig Parker