-Starz
Spartacus: Vengeance continues its bloody fight in the aftermath of Spartacus: Blood and Sand, ransoming its eighth episode “Balance,” as Spartacus struggles over what to do with Ilithyia (Viva Bianca) in the wake of a startling revelation, while Glaber descends deeper into his obsession with killing Spartacus. A strong, if somewhat indecisive episode, “Balance” might leave a few questioning how much time remains to deliver a satisfying end to the season.
Last week I made mention of the fact that Spartacus: Vengeance had me a bit worried in its dash to the finish line, where the seventh out of tenth episode focused on incorporating a new group of characters rather than build toward the season finale. It was a great episode to be sure, but we’re at that point where people in the theater begin checking their watches, trying to get a sense of where the season will end up, and I saw from the sentiments expressed around the internet that some people thought ‘Sacramentum‘a bit of a mis-step. I maintain that ‘Sacramentum’made for an important insight into why slaves would follow Spartacus in fighting for others’freedom rather than revel in their own, but I can see why drifting back and forth between Capua and the rebel camp might frustrate some looking for conflicts to finally erupt.
To that end, ‘Balance’falls more or less along the same lines. We do get something of a showdown between Spartacus’camp and Glaber’s men by the end (including some pretty spectacular fight parings), but we never really expected there to be much weight to the sequence, because ‘Balance’hadn’t been building to that. Instead, ‘Balance’focused more on the ethical concerns between Glaber and Spartacus, where the two men draw their different lines, and how something like Ilithyia’s life divides their purpose. And that’s a worthy idea to explore, particularly allowing Liam McIntyre a chance to further make the role his own with the inner conflict of killing a villain pregnant with his child, but I’ll very much understand if viewers and other critics take the thread to be a diversionary hour that brings more words than plot progression. After all, Ilithyia ends the episode near of exactly where she began out in the woods, so it’s hard not to feel like we too have simply gone in a circle for the hour.
-Starz
What ‘Balance’really does, however, it does rather well, questioning the very idea of ‘vengeance’itself, and how revenge stands in relation to purpose. Gannicus brings Ilithyia to Spartacus for the purpose of creating a literal balance, allowing him to take the life of Glaber’s woman as payback for his own and ideally ending the crusade* that has seen countless men and women to their end. Understandably so, Spartacus begins the hour eager to take that debt, and while the truth behind Ilithyia’s pregnancy stays his hand, it ultimately allows for a clear character separation between he and Glaber. When presented with Ilithyia’s life, Spartacus learns that balance can never be struck by adding further blood to the scales, where Glaber only sees opportunity for himself and advancement of his legacy.
(*) For one, I might question how ending Ilithyia’s life would really balance things. Glaber may have been the one to put both Spartacus and Sura in shackles, but it was still Batiatus who murdered her to break Spartacus, a debt seemingly balanced by his death at the end of ‘Blood and Sand.’If now the fire of Spartacus’passion has shifted to killing Glaber for putting them into slavery, I wonder how next Spartacus would reason his crusade after Glaber’s death.
And by the same token, I wonder if Spartacus’abandoning his crusade after killing Ilithyia would really end the rebellion, as Gannicus hopes, what with the dozens of other men and women looking for vengeance against the Romans without a thought toward Sura.
A lot of ‘Balance’devotes itself to further buildup of the season’s climax, between Glaber and Spartacus as well as the other characters. ‘Sacramentum’was all about identifying both Glaber and Spartacus as leaders, contrasting the manner in which they inspire loyalty from their men. If ‘Sacramentum’was the why, ‘Balance’is the what, taking further care to paint what differences lie between the two foes. We need to know what they hold most dear* before we take them into the real conflict, and I have to hope that the end of the season will pay off as much as the season has been building toward. I’ve sadly stopped seeing Spartacus: Vengeance as a completely perfect season of television, though I give it as much confidence as I can toward presenting a satisfying conclusion.
(*) Glaber does seem to have shifted his motivations rather dramatically, whereas he began the season as a reasonable man burdened with an embarrassing quest, now he abandons the child he craved so dearly in episodes past and seems to have lost himself within the quest for Spartacus. And why, exactly? It’s not like Varinius, Seppius or Ilithyia’s father are around to rub it in his face anymore.
But it isn’t all about Spartacus vs. Glaber of course, and a number of truths and other ‘Balances’manage to come out over the course of the hour. Most notable of which is the confirmed (as much as it can be) parentage of Ilithyia’s child, which presents a rather interesting dilemma for Spartacus, though I wish we were somewhat more privy to the reasoning of leaving Ilithyia out in the woods, presumably to return straight to Rome. The child was important enough that Ilithyia live, yet Spartacus seems perfectly content to allow the baby whatever life it might find in the very society Spartacus eschews, even allowing Glaber to remain ignorant of his heir’s true heritage. I imagine carrying Spartacus’child would prevent Ilithyia any gruesome fate at least until next season, so in the meantime it’ll be very interesting to see where her loyalties lie now that Glaber abandoned them both to die.
-Starz
Similarly somewhat lost in the woods is Lucretia, who continues playing manipulator to Seppia (Hanna Mangan-Lawrence) and Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay), though to exactly what end I’m still not sure. Lucretia has been drastically transformed this season as well, though it’s still difficult to pinpoint whether she truly loves her friend Ilithyia, or only wants the baby to replace her own. And without stirring up any hot-button debates about sexual abuse, it remains similarly unclear what she seeks to gain from allowing Ashur to mistreat and dominate her so. Both she and Ashur seem somewhat equally unhinged , and it’s getting more than a little complicated on the Roman end of things to keep in line who allies with who, or moves against one another internally.
‘Balance’does a good job of its namesake however in devoting time to the supporting characters as well, giving a little bit of spotlight to Gannicus’efforts to re-build his brotherhood with Oenomaus, Crixus’molding of Naevia into someone strong enough to love again, Mira’s insecurity about Spartacus, and even Lucius with his heroic death. Everyone seems to explore a certain ‘balance’in their own way, Gannicus offering his life to Oenomaus as payment for Melitta, or Crixus evening the scales of power between he and Naevia. ‘Balance’is not always about making things literally even out, but rather finding enough peace with the uneven scales to push forward.
With only two episodes left, I’m definitely ready for major conflicts to erupt and a real war to begin, so however intelligent it may be, I can understand that ‘Balance’isn’t going to please everybody. At least the big fight was pretty cool, right?
Right?
And Another Thing…
- My retort to Glaber telling Seppia ‘I would have a moment’was, ‘more like ‘˜I would have a BONE-ment!”Very clever, Kevin.
- Pretty sub-par CGI for The Egyptian snapping the brothel patron’s neck, but it could have been cleaned up in time for final air.
- You know, it would be just wrong and depraved enough that I would be willing to explore Spartacus having some kind of relationship with Ilithyia.
- And for the record, I’m not sure why anyone was surprised, or even doubted that Ilithyia’s baby could belong to Spartacus. The moment she announced her pregnancy I made that assumption, it’s just how TV works. It’s Chekhov’s…sperm.
- Andy Whitfield sighting! I’m not sure exactly how much of Spartacus’tryst with Ilithyia was re-shot for Liam McIntyre, but that overhead shot of Spartacus cradling Sura definitely wasn’t.
- Crixus Vs. The Egyptian. This must happen again. Three arrows, that dude took! Boromir would be proud!
What did YOU think?
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The series has not been the same since episode 5, and I am getting just a tad worried whether the writers have finally ran out of clever schemes and idea to end the season, or if this is just building towards an orgasmic and intense final episode.
That being said, this has been my favorite episode since the above mentioned, and I can only hope next week's is even better.
And no,you're not alone in thoughts running through your head when Illythia tried to seduce Spartacus when he wanted to kill her. For some reason, it sounds oddly hot.
"Next season"?? what are you talking about. Why don't they end the darn thing already !!!!
I loved it!!! But then I liked the end of Lost, since I am truly character driven, and as these characters become more tangible to me, I have come to truly care about them…gee I even had a moment of sympathy for Illythia, and I, too, think a little tryst with Illythia might do Spartacus some good (not for the same reason though, your male minds fixate on) I feel perhaps it might knock some sense into Spartacus, causing him a "lightbulb" moment and he might begin to understand how fortunate he is, that the gods have placed Mira in his life. Surya, no matter how wonderful, has taken on an ethereal aura, becoming more and more Goddess, and less human with all it potential failings. Competing with a "perfect" memory is impossible, and that being said, I also believe that Mira needs some personal insight into her own worth, though the curse of being both slave and woman in a time that valued neither, surely has its impact. I did enjoy the playful interlude between Agron and Nasir bringing a somewhat lighter moment to all the episodes intensity…and the look on Seppia's face at the end…delicious…you go girl! I generally turn away at the violence but I understand that the ending needs to be akin to the all out bloodfest of Kill Them All, to bring some relief to our frazzled "nerves" need for…well, Vengenance…..
I agree about the meaning of balance, making Spartacus a humane figure in an inhumane circumstance. An explicit theme of the show (mentioned with Lucius, Gannacus, and Ilythia specifically) is that when life is in the balance, life is often the worst possible fate and death would be a gift. I thought leaving Ilythia in the woods to live, while maybe an iffy move strategically for the reasons you note, was perfect vengeance on her.
Now, the question that I can’t believe no one is asking–is Spartacus’s son going to be Octavian (aka, Caesar Augustus). He came from obscure birth of a wing of a minor noble family and was elevated by adoption by Julius Caesar. I believe he would have been born around the time of Spartacus’s uprising.
Okay, Octavius was born in 63 b.c.e. and Spartacus’ uprising was 73-71 b.c.e. Maybe Spartacus’s kid is Gaius Cilnius Maecenas who was one of Augustus’s two closest allies and was born in 70. (or Cleopatra or Virgil, also born in 70). The kid has got to be somebody though, because I don’t think Spartacus is known to have had a kid. Besides losing his wife, Spartacus is driven by the injustice of being denied a legacy. An epilogue with Spartacus’ offspring rising to prominence would be a nice twist.
I think you are viewing Ashur's and Lucretia's relationship in context of modernity. Women had no power. Lucretia is only important inasmuch Glaber thinks she's some kind of oracle. Ashur is a tangible asset, no dependent on omens. I think given Glaber's switch as a pressed upon man to an obsessive one, he'd want results, which Ashur gives him. So, with that being said, Lucretia can really only have true influence and security if she is associated with something Glaber has clear value and in this case it's Ashur. She's attached herself like a leech in the hopes that she can actually be a player and manipulate events in her favor.
As far as Lucretia and Ashur's relationship, if you recall he is pretty blackmailing her. Remember the episode when he first raped her he mentioned a few things that he has over her:
1). He could tell Glaber that Lucretia new about the medicine to kill the baby
2). He was the one who told Lurectia about Onemaeus (sp?) and that it wasn't some foresight that she had from the Gods which is the only reason Glaber kept Lucretia around
Definition of “breast” (brst)n.1.a. Either of two milk-secreting, glandular organs on the chest of a woman; the human mammary gland.b. A corresponding organ in other mammals.c. A corresponding rudimentary gland in the male.2.a. The superior ventral surface of the human body, extending from the neck to the abdomen.b. A corresponding part in other animals.3. The part of a garment that covers the chest.4. The seat of affection and emotion: “Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast” Shakespeare.5. A source of nourishment.
Loved this program since episode 1 of blood and sand, I know it’s over the top and sometimes way over the mark but that’s what makes it work, it’s pure fantasy and pure gold, most entertaining program on tv, I wish it would never end and long may it continue
Spartacus did not spear Ilithya beacuse of a child. In fact he was ready to kill her despite of it. The only thing that stopped him in the end was the realisation that her death wouldn't even up anything,because Glaber does not care for her as much as Spartacus did for Sura. The thing most worth to Glaber is power,true power..the very thing he's been denied for so long So that's where Spšartacus intends to hit him.
The theory about Spartacus' son is AWESOME!! And regardless of when exactly Octavian was born..and even that isn't certain,but it's certainly sometime around Spartacus' rebellion.In fact so close to it that the producers could allow themselves that much freedom as to not be fully accurate.Plus Julius Caesar was in Pompeius' army returning from Spain that ultimately quelled the rebellion.That could be worked into a story & I'd love it!!