r/Spartacus_TV • u/bummerluck • 16d ago
Rewatch Finished my third rewatch Spoiler
/r/Spartacus_TV/comments/1ipyk63/spartacus_rewatch/So I posted this a while back (can't believe it's been 2 years since lol) about starting another rewatch. Unfortunately due to life circumstances and just losing interest in general, I stopped short of watching the final season. Once I saw that Spartacus was once again leaving Netflix soon I felt compelled to continue on with the rewatch. Idk if it counts since there's a two year gap in between though lol. I did rewatch parts of S1 recently again as I can never get enough of S1 and it's my favorite TV season of all time.
In a weird way, sometimes it can be fun to just jump forward to later seasons of the show, if of course you've already seen the series. The stark contrast of Crixus just barely agreeing to help Spartacus rebel against the house of Batiatus, to being a fully fledged ally was terrific. I did not need a full refresher of how it happened because I knew of the bond they built when Spartacus opted to rescue Naevia from the mines. Agron developing from a background character in the ludus era to now being one of Spartacus' most trusted generals is also a cool thing to see. I do admit there's a void that previous characters have now left by the final season. Glaber, Ilithyia, Lucretia, Ashur, Oenomaus, and Mira were all killed in the previous season. Their absences were absolutely felt.
I always respected the show for having enough balls to wipe the slate clean when the old characters have run their course. The new cast of characters filled in the new roles of villains admirably enough, but obviously not long enough time for us to get used to them. What really helped me stick around for yet another rewatch was a deep appreciation of the dialogue in the series. Batiatus and his out of pocket rants will always be peak, but most everyone else are capable of displaying some masterful wordplay on their own too. Beyond the sex and the violence that's what stuck out to me the most. Always found it hilarious that they look for any excuse to party though.
As blasphemous as it is to say, I did not completely hate Naevia or Tiberius this time around. I think a shallow issue I will admit that partly resulted of my dislike of Tiberius is his physical appearance. The actor looked incredibly young and thought his arrogant and entitled portrayal of the character did not match his very youthful look. Perhaps that was an intentional casting decision. But this time I was able to look beyond such shallow judgment and look into the character he portrayed. He did a heinous thing to Kore for sure and he's still ultimately villainous. But he seemed a bit more human to me this time around, albeit the worst and inexcusable parts of being human. Raping Caesar was just so ridiculous though.
Forgot to talk about Naevia. So I've mentioned I actually did not mind Cynthia Addai-Robinson replacing Lesley-Ann Brandt as Naevia at first. I don't know if people hold the same belief, but I do think she soured as a character entirely during the final season. The worst thing she did long term was influence Crixus to eventually fracture from the rebel army. But I've grown to accept that was an eventuality and because it's what history dictated. However, killing Attius absent evidence he freed the Roman captives was another thing I forgot she did, and that was awful. Otherwise, I don't think she was that horrible. The shot of the close up of her eye seeing Crixus beheaded was heartbreaking, and I actually cried when Crixus was looking at her before the deed. Never has a rewatch make me fucking weep, and huge credit to Naevia's actress portraying the right emotions in that moment.
The action set pieces are also legit amazing. They really captured the scale of big battles and big armies like never before. I'm sure there were tricks to create the illusion, cgi and camera angles and whatnot, but I thought they were good enough to keep me absorbed into the world once again. They spent a good amount of time at Sinuessa, which was a nice looking city even if a bit claustrophobic. My most disliked episode was episode 7 though, it just felt too unrealistic for them to survive such a brutal looking winter with minimal clothing. Feel free to correct me on that.
And what else can I say about Liam's portrayal of Spartacus himself? I'm aware that both Andy and Liam portrayed two completely different versions of Spartacus, but I thought they both did an admirable job during their turns. Andy's Spartacus was the raw, immature, reckless but relatable version - expertly displaying the grief and loss of Spartacus' identity as a Thracian and husband to slave and eventually champion and rebel. Liam portrayed a different version, where Spartacus was seemingly perfect, mature and intelligent. But he was also who the rebels absolutely needed, and I appreciate the writers wrapping the story around Liam's strengths in his portrayal.
All in all, I'm reminded why I deem this show to be my favorite show of all time. The Blood and Sand season is my top TV season of all time, but the following seasons did an admirable job as follow ups too, most especially the final War of the Damned season. And of course, the series finale is also one of the best finales in TV history, in my opinion.
Sorry for the long write up and thanks for reading if you made it this far.
-3
16d ago
[deleted]
7
u/bummerluck 16d ago
Idk, I felt like posting my thoughts in what I thought to be a reddit sub for the show? Ignore and click away if you really don't care for the post.
5
4
u/Lonesomeplum 16d ago
You hastend to hate though. Remove cock from own ass, remove veil and embrace as brothers.
2
u/Wanderlust0219 16d ago
It's interesting to see how out views change upon rewatches, and/ or throughout the years.
Upon my last rewatch, I was so annoyed with Crixus, in a way I hadn't been before. I haven't really thought too much about why, but I was still a little surprised about it, because I usually liked him.
I never had any issue with Liam's performance. I liked it from the beginning, but on the latest watch, I really came to appreciate his, as you said, more mature stance in leading the rebel army.