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As tales of Roman splendor have been depicted practically as long as television and film have been in existence, through productions both celebrated (I, Claudius) and denigrated (Caligula), almost all of them presented a juxtaposition of decadence, debauchery, and cruelty. And when it came to telling the story of a Thracian slave-turned-gladiator who led a massive rebellion against Roman oppressors, Spartacus’ tale was no different.
First acquiring acclaim through the eponymous 1960 epic film, which starred Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons, and Tony Curtis, this story and script made an indelible mark in pop culture. Inevitably, tastes change and the once-lauded sword and sandal genre eventually faded away. But this style of historical drama then regained popularity with 2000’s Gladiator, and 40 years later, audiences weren’t quite done with Spartacus. With a series premiering on Starz in 2010 and airing for three seasons, the medium may have changed to television, but Spartacus once again lit up our screens.
Season 1 (entitled Blood and Sand) follows Spartacus’ (Andy Whitfield) initial alliance with the Romans, subsequent capture and enslavement, separation from wife Sura, and transport to the Capua ludus (or gladiatorial school) of Quintus Lentulus Batiatus (John Hannah), a smarmy low-level lanista who desperately wants to be the “big man on campus.” Batiatus is so thirsty for power that over the course of one season he alienated, backstabbed, and snowed important governmental officials, his own henchmen, and the very gladiators under his ownership. His wife Lucretia (Lucy Lawless) meanwhile is Ancient Rome’s answer to a wannabe society matron: pretentious and haughty, with the scent of “new money” enveloping her. Certainly a conniving social climber, she presents herself as a successful, proper Roman wife, but is just as sneaky and underhanded as her husband.
We are talking about the seeds of revolt here, so all of the Romans are branded as villainous, self-serving, and having grossly inflated egos. But Batiatus is small potatoes compared to the legatus Gaius Claudius Glaber (Craig Parker) and his high-maintenance wife, Ilithyia (Viva Bianca). Glaber was directly responsible for Spartacus’ captivity, and as due to her position and power, Ilithyia displays even worse behavior than that of her counterpart.
Throughout Blood and Sand, the underlying rationale for Spartacus’ actions lie in being constantly distressed over being separated from his beloved Sura. While Spartacus ingratiates himself to the masters by satisfying spectators’ bloodlust through the games, thereby stuffing his master’s coffers in the sole hope Batiatus will help him get her back, his interactions with the other gladiators don’t particularly endear him to others—least of all the reigning champion of Capua, Crixus (Manu Bennett). Crixus is used to being top dog in the house of Batiatus, and does fight for what he believes to be the (misplaced) honor and glory of such a title. Yet he is just as much of a victim as Spartacus, as he’s been forced into sex by and with Lucretia for her to get pregnant. But because he is in love with her body slave, Naevia (Lesley-Ann Brandt), he attempts to keep his domina appeased for his true love’s sake. As for the rest of the slaves, they are simply suffering at the hands of Batiatus and are resigned to their fate—until Spartacus starts to plan his next move and tries to get the rest of the slaves to finally see the truth and battle for their own freedom.
In a nod to the episode where, after learning that her husband will be going to war against the Romans, Sura tells him to “kill them all,” the first season finale (aptly titled “Kill Them All”), was poignant in the fact that while he was regarded to be the golden boy of the ludus and the moneymaker for Batiatus, Spartacus finally breaks rank. He begins to enact his revenge against not only the man he backed down for, the one who double-crossed him, but the Roman people as a whole for their abominations. Having to convince the rest of the slaves in Batiatus’ house took a little time, but it did work. Every single one of them turned on their masters and punished them the same way they did: with violence. Batiatus and Lucretia are certainly among the masses and just how they meet their ends (or not, in one case) can certainly be justified. To quote one KMFDM banger, the rebels took control.
“Kill Them All” would also mark the last episode Whitfield would star in, as he would undergo treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma and eventually departed the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While production was originally halted prior to his leaving the role, a prequel miniseries was shot and aired in 2011. Entitled Gods of the Arena, and taking place five years before the events of Blood and Sand, viewers got to see younger versions of Batiatus, Crixus, and Lucretia, learned of their origin stories, and be introduced to the then rock star of the gladiatorial games, Gannicus (Dustin Clare). Liam McIntyre would replace Whitfield in the title role beginning in Season 2. Whitfield died on September 11, 2011 at age 39.