moved to purpose

Let me just say something ...

I was suspicious of it when engrossed in The Sopranos. It became undeniable when I was watching Band of Brothers. And having just concluded Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, I am convinced that the extremely talented writer/directors of these premium cable TV outlets have more talent in their little pinky then then most of Hollywood's feature film makers, combined. I could be offered free movie tickets for myself and children, for life, on the condition I could never watch Spartacus again, and I would unhesitatingly say "NO!."

Consider this the perfunctory "spoiler alert."

It would seem both Jambo and I were right, to a degree. It was in fact a rouse sale of Gannicus that saw Tellius meet his end. And although Gannicus and Onemaeus saw their swords through his body, it was by Battiatus' steel that Tallius received the initial, and in all reality fatal (not like they could rush him to Biloxi Regional) run through.

The Primus battle was exquisite. Nothing more can nor need be said.

Gannicus ending with his freedom, superb twist that I did not see coming. Only right that he should retire undefeated (even Crixus would contend his one "loss" didn't count).

All this being said I must admit the idea of Spartacus Season 2 not including Quintas Battiatus seems, well, wanting. I assume that Legatos Claudius Glabber (sp?) will assume the role of chief villain for season 2, I hope he can measure up.

Now 2 things that did catch my eye near the end - 1) Lucretia's finger twitching at the end scene seemed more pronounced then in the final scene of "Kill Them All", which ended season 1. I did hear (& subsequently text you guys) that Lawless was set to reprise her role in season 2, and now I'm sure of it. Interestingly enough, according to her own lips' recitation of Roman law, she will have to remarry to maintain any property or wealth left behind (such as it is amidst the wrecking ball that was the last episode of season 1), given she has no heir. It won't be Selonius, he fell near Tellius body (as it turns out). Perhaps she will contrive a way to become the wife of the Legatos? #2) was among the last few words of Gannicus to Crixus. As Gannicus bids the brotherhood farewell, set to go and claim his freedom, Crixus notes that they never met in "proper battle." And Gannicus' answer is, "Win your freedom as well, then seek me out." I think one of the first recruits among Spartacus' new slave army in season 2 will be none other then Gannicus.

Alright, off to sleep for me. That was one hell of a 6 episode series. By the way, on that note - Netflix experienced technical difficulties in affording its members episode 6. It wasn't up Saturday morning. And it wasn't up this morning (I couldn't take it anymore and sought the episode out by other means). But before that I called the netfilx 1-800 number. I asked them about the delay, wanting to know if it were just me or a larger problem. Apparently the formatting from Starz to Netflix, due to the unusual time it aired on Starz, caused a 24-48 hour delay. I jokingly asked the fella how many complaints had been registered. He rather seriously responded, "More then 10,000 ... so far." And that's just the small percentage of people that watch it via Netflix, and felt inconvenienced enough within the first few hours to call. And as I write this, they still don't have it.

It'll be a long day at the Netflix customer care center to be sure ... hehehe.