The death of Andy Whitfield has left a hole at the centre of the show. But viewers should give Spartacus a chance to hit its stride once more
The one-time gladiator fishes around in the slave trader's mortal wound and pulls out his entrails ? as Spartacus returned to screens last night, it was clear that it had lost none of its eye for the macabre. But great as it was to see familiar faces such as Manu Bennett as Crixus and Peter Mensah as Oenomaus, there was one face whose absence cast a shadow over proceedings. Andy Whitfield's death has left a gaping hole at the heart of the show and while Spartacus is the role of a lifetime for Whitfield's replacement Liam McIntyre, those are not easy sandals to fill.
And much as I want to say that McIntyre is every inch the Spartacus that Whitfield was, he lacks something in terms of charisma and physical presence when compared with his predecessor. Nonetheless, we've so far seen a solid unfussed performance, and McIntyre deserves time to grow into the role.
In any case, this third season is a big ask for everyone given that we pick up the action after Kill Them All, one of the best executed season finales of recent times. Emotional resonance, biblical payback and gloriously choreographed slaughter combined in a jaw-dropping resolution to a season that got better and better as it progressed. How do you follow that?
With difficulty. But the big theme of the opener was a good one: private revenge conflicting with the common good; Spartacus recklessly endangering the slave rebellion in going after Glaber. While he may no longer be a slave to Rome he's still a slave to his past and the memory of his dead wife ? something new love interest Mira can't fail to notice. It takes Aurelia's deathbed cursing for Spartacus to realise that while you can kill some of the Romans some of the time, choosing your moment is everything. They head to the mountains. Welcome to Guerrilla Warfare 101.
The big surprise of the premiere was that Lucretia survived being kebabed courtesy of Crixus's impromptu family-planning clinic ? although I'm presuming that the child she was carrying did not. Currently, Lucretia stands a babbling half-crazed shadow of herself, it seems a safe bet she will be back to her fearsome best and out for blood at some point during the season.
But she's grieving a loss we all feel and that's the death of Quintus Lentulus Batiatus. One of the reasons I respect Spartacus so much is that it made me care about John Hannah, an actor whose presence in a film was previously a guarantee I wouldn't see the closing titles. His Batiatus was terrific ? raging, devious and profane. He was both villainous and the most human character on Spartacus ? above the common herd yet not nobility, enduring frequent humiliations at the hands of his overbearing father and brutal hen peckings from his formidable wife.
Beset by the demands of social climbing, ludus politics and being quite literally pissed on by the ruling class, Batiatus was the most unlikely everyman character. He saw the insanity of the times yet did his best to work with them and find his place within them. Of course, he deserved to die like the dog he was but the show misses him terribly.
It's good to see that the gorgeous language of Spartacus remains intact. I particularly liked "Let us split darkness with the cries of Romans" and "see her bathed and tended ? and what fragments her shattered mind yet holds" and Crixus gently admonishing Spartacus with "when the sun rises I would see reason dawn". It's a good demonstration of that character's development from snarling meathead to three-dimensional human being ? one of my favourite character journeys of the first two seasons.
More than ever, the show needs those high-impact characters and Oenomaus did not disappoint with as casual an eye gouging, arm break and evisceration as you're likely to see. The former Doctore is not a man to go looking for trouble ? but if trouble finds him he'll give it back double. Bounty-hunters better watch their backs. Glaber too needs to keep on his toes as he faces strong competition to capture Spartacus from the young upstart Seppius, and I don't think I'm the only one who detected an incest vibe between him and sister Seppia. If you think the writers lack the stomach to go down that particular road then we've clearly been watching different shows.
Overall, I was happy with the Spartacus Vengeance opener even if the show is palpably weakened by the loss of Whitfield and Hannah. No show loses its two biggest assets and operates at full strength but the quality of its first two seasons means Spartacus deserves to be given a chance. It's a story Steven DeKnight and crew are passionate about ? and a rebel slave army looking to shake Rome to its core is a promising enough premise for me to keep watching.
Let us know how it grabbed you. Is it good to have it back? What did you think of McIntyre in the leading role ? and where do you see the show going in its difficult third season?
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2012/jan/31/spartacus-vengeance-cutting-edge
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