"One day we will see proper reward for all we have done." Quintus Batiatus
The best and truest line of the Gods of the Arena series was delivered last. That line however was foreshadowing the events of Blood and Sand. On this day, all debts would be paid and all business would be settled.
The questions going into the finale were: How would Batiatus exact his revenge on Tullius for what he believed was the murder of his father? Could Gannicus bury his secret relationship with Mellita in his grief and hide it from Doctore? Would this be the day Crixus ascends to become the champion of Capua? What happens between Batiatus and Solonius to make them such bitter enemies in Blood and Sand?
With so many questions to answer tonight's episode had little time for things like gratuitous sex scenes or gladiators disrobing to wipe the sweat from a hard day of training away. The episode and Batiatus wanted to get right on with things as soon as his father's remains were interred to the gods. And the first order of business was Tullius.
Batiatus and Solonius are able to lure Tullius onto the streets of Capua unprotected by feeding him false information through his trusted spy Solonius. Once on the street is only a minor skirmish by Spartacus standards before he and Vettius find themselves taken prisoner by their assailants. Taken to separately, Vettius with Solonius and Tullius with Batiatus the prisoners are dealt their fates. Vettius is allowed to live if he leaves town while corroborating a story that Tullius had to hastily leave Capua to attend to urgent business in Antioch. Such fortune was not to be for the scumbag Tullius. Batiatus allows him to bargain and beg for his life before mortally wounding him and burying him deep within the walls of the new arena he himself has built for the city of Capua.
I was glad they settled the Tullius business early. This gave them time to build and create the rift that would arise between Batiatus and Solonius. Solonius is no longer going to be content as a sounding board and messenger for the house of Batiatus. He has plans of his own and takes advantage of his time alone with Vettius to cross Batiatus in the process. Instead of splitting Tullius' gladiators equally Solonius has Vettius sign them all over to him alone. This sets up a battle in the new arena between the gladiators of Batiatus and Solonius.
The gladiator scenes in the arena were exactly what we've come to expect from the series, bloody, over the top and highly entertaining. Out manned and out sized the gladiators of Batiatus are able to win their fair share of fights leading up to the primus. A group battle between the two houses culminating with a fight between the last two men standing to crown the champion of Capua. The problem with Batiatus' side is that the men are fighting not only the gladiators of Solonius but with one another. Dagan looking for revenge attacks Ashur, ultimately leading to Dagan falling in the arena. Crixus has his eye set firmly on Gannicus. When the brutal battle is down to four combatants Gannicus, Crixus, Ashur and the lone remaining gladiator of Solonius, Crixus attacks Ashur and gives him the injury that he will carry through to Blood and Sand. With one swing of his sword he breaks Ashur's leg and knocks him out of the battle area and out of the tournament. Alas, final victory will not belong to Crixus as he is knocked out of the arena by Solonius' gigantic gladiator. Gannicus inspired by his Doctore is able to defeat the giant in the most brutal and graphic death to date. The victory celebration is short lived for Batiatus as Solonius once again out smarts him and urges Quintillius to reward the gladiators efforts with his freedom.
OK let's talk about the good and the bad of all that transpired. The action and fighting is outstanding. It officially became an episode of Spartacus when a woman in the crowd ripped off her top and began waving her breasts around. Up until that point there had not been any nudity and an episode does not count until there is both blood and nudity. The entire series Solonius had been a weak messenger for both Tullius and Batiatus. Tonight we finally got to see the calculating snake we saw throughout Blood and Sand. Welcome to your home Solonius. They really packed a ton of backstabbing and animosity into about thirty minutes between Batiatus and Solonius. They battled as long and hard for the favor of Quintillius as their gladiators did in the arena. I'd have to say Gannicus may have won the battle in the arena but Solonius won the battle in the grandstand. One question I have about the battle in the arena though is where did Tullius get all these giants? I swear every one of his gladiators were a foot taller than both Crixus and Gannicus.
Here's what I didn't like though. The writers tried to bring the series back to being about Gannicus the same way Blood and Sand is about Spartacus. The problem though is Gannicus essentially disappeared for much of the series as we found more interesting characters to care about. By the time he wins his freedom, you either don't care much at all about Gannicus or you find him to be completely despicable and the way he leaves a conquering hero is epically unsatisfying. My only guess is that we are going to see more of Gannicus in the future. I don't think anyone can feel good about the unresolved issues between he and Doctore.
I guess "The Reckoning" was the climax of Lucretia's story line. She disposed of Titus and remained Domina of the house. Her role in the finale was marginal at best. The only significant thing she did all night was make Crixus shave and cut his hair. Which by the way I had been waiting for all season.
The highlight of the episode by far is the speech by Batiatus at the end. Since we already know how things turn out for him and Lucretia there is a tremendous amount of irony in what he says. We know though his gladiators rise to be champions and heroes of Capua, his house never reaches the level of greatness and notoriety for which he strives. I'm going to miss John Hannah and the passion he's brought to the role of Batiatus. No one will ever say "By Jupiter's Cock" with the conviction and fervor he was able to. The entire series was beautifully cast except for the role of Gannicus. I never warmed to the character nor the actor playing him. Some of the slaves could have been better but the major roles like Solonius, Tullius, Lucretia, Gaia and Titus were spot on.
The original programming on Starz is now rivaling that of Showtime and HBO. In fact I would put it ahead of Showtime at this point. I excited to check out Camelot and hopefully they'll produce another comedy on the level of Party Down. As for Spartacus, we say goodbye to a few characters we've spent two tremendous seasons getting to know. So long Batiatus, Lucretia and Solonius may you find your place among the gods by way of Jupiter's cock.
