Aidonian's blog

When i first heard about this series, i will admit that i was sceptical of it. The character died at the end of season 2 on mount Vesuvius. So how they would do it, i had no idea. It would be a kind of alternative history and it was the case. Ashur was still himself, but now a lanista thanks to Marcus Crassus who aligned himself with Julius Caesar against Pompey. Personally, i would have liked that they explored the triumvirate between Crassus, Caesar and Pompey further after the third season. That would have meant that they would steer away from gladiators, which had made the show popular.

There are similarities between season 1 of Spartacus: Blood and Sand and this season. Batiatus was down on his luck, trying to bring his men into the primus to score big. Ashur is also experiencing the same thing.

I do think that the actors did their bast. The fight scenes were terrific. I do know that some right wing morons are upset that there is now a female gladiator but it seems it wasn’t uncommon. But for the right wing morons, this means that the show went woke. Fine, they are morons. Anything they don’t like, is woke. I do think that the creators went out of their way to make it seem that Achillia earned her victories and that these were not easy to get.

I do think that there are similarities between season 1 of Spartacus: Blood and Sand and this spin off. The rampant racism that Ashur had to endure of the Roman elite is on full display and back than it was the case. Like with the Greeks, Romans viewed anyone who wasn’t Roman beneath them, not worthy of respect.

Spoiler alert: the show ended with the death of Julius Caesar by the hands of Ashur. Further showing that they are not dealing with actual history anymore. I do have mixed feelings about this season, but overal i did enjoyed watching it. Ashur always was a tragic figure. Under Batiatus he was scorned by his fellow gladiators, unworthy of their respect. In this show we see that he is still conniving as he was in the first season of Spartacus. He hasn’t changed much. Nick E. Tarabay does seem to enjoy playing this character. while he does things out of self interests, he still cares what happens to those he cares about and wants to make it in the Roman world. Caesar and his wife do remind me of Glaber and his wife. I can recommend watching this if you like gladiators and ancient Rome. At this moment, i have no idea if there will be a season 2. If there is, it would be different than season 1 where Ashur will be likely on the run from the authoriteits for killing Caesar. We will see how it goes. In the mean time, you can enjoy season 1.