Finally...

I got to watch Gods of the Arena last night when I got home. A DAMN good episode, too. These writers are really kicking ass... I was as surprised by the first few minutes as I was the last!

The next Spartacus is going to be an Aussie named Liam McIntyre... near as I can tell, his only familiar role was a small spot in the Iwo episode of Pacific. The down-side is that his "role" isn't even produced yet, so it won't be on screen till the 2012 season.

Even if this is a short season (the prequel series is only six episodes, I think), it is SO worth it... I had forgotten how much I liked watching the old series till the gladiator scene in Past Transgressions came up... every bit as good as anything last year. While I'm on the topic... did anyone think that the guy playing Gannicus (Dustin Clare... I don't think I'd ever heard of him before this) could have been a pretty good replacement of Whitfield all by himself? I mean, haircut and some makeup... they have similar builds and if Clare/Gannicus doesn't smile so much, he'd have fit pretty well.

Some things to watch for:

I think Oenomaus kills his wife. He mentioned something about this in past episodes, and prayed to her statuettes even though he seems agnostic in these early shows. She seems enamored with Gannicus... and he to her. That can't possibly end well.

Ashur seems to be building his role into much more of a back-stabbing blackguard then he led us to think in the early episodes of Blood and Sand. His view was that Crixus and Barca betrayed him, and that is how he became lame and without honor... but he has shown no propensity for honor or courage thus far, either. Ashur will be the villain grande of the new series, too... just watch.

I'm beginning to think that Batiatus kills his father... his attitude about his "daddy" in these shows is far from what it is later, and to get what he wants he is rapidly learning that the ends justify ANY means taken. He already doesn't trust his "dad's" doctore... prefering instead the advice and council of Oenomaus.

This is going to be a good series...