I have long been a fan of Starz’s Spartacus, the performances and the plot told within a story so violent and adult is a god send to someone like me who has never quite understood our culture’s aversion to nudity, sex, and all things inexplicably Roman. While the show itself has had its detractors thanks to its portrayal of graphic sex and nudity, it is but a device to make its setting more authentic and dark, which is essential for the no-holds barred story telling it portrays. I talked about all the things behind Spartacus that makes it such a good show in another article that you are free to check out if you like.

*WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW – SCROLL TO FINAL CALL AND RATING IF YOU WISH TO AVOID SPOILERS*

While the premiere will not be airing until Friday, January 27th, Starz has done an amazing thing and put the premiere online for fans to watch early. Which is exactly how I was able to view it and enjoy the return of a series that has had far too long a break. The premiere does a fine job at pulling people right back into the story by going full bore into the next plot line with very little back-tracking to attempt to catch anyone up. The most fans will get is a slight introduction in text that will pick right up into Spartacus (Liam McyIntre) and his fellow freed slaves taking on a group of mercenaries hired by a powerful citizen within Capua named Seppius (played by Tom Hobbs). Be prepared to be a bit lost at first  if you haven’t seen Blood & Sand in awhile. Seppius is introduced as a figure of note in Capua that is looking to gain favor with his fellow nobles through the defeat of Spartacus and his rebels. His sister, Seppia (the quite stunning Hanna Mangan-Lawrence turning in a rather creepy performance), steals the scenes she is in and comes off as a new female player in the game that will likely be just as evil and conniving as the returning Ilithyia (Viva Bianca).

“Fugitives” spends most of its hour introducing new players as well as getting us up to speed on what a lot of the returning characters are up to. While Gannicus (Dustin Clare from the prequel series, Gods of the Arena) nor Ashur (Nick Tarabay) make an appearance at this time, plenty of others do. Spartacus and Crixus (Manu Bennett) have come together as partners while leading their team of freed slaves and gladiators, but tension as it always has been, is at a high as Spartacus’ followers clash heads with Crixus’ Gauls. Yet, they all stay as one when it counts, due mainly to the respect that everyone has for Spartacus, including Crixus. The entire rebellion lives within the sewers and tends to make waves in the cities above by killing a few Romans and stealing supplies for themselves and all those with them that can not fight within their group. Their numbers are small and they have to re-think their abrasive tactics when their actions catch the attention of those within the higher echelons of Roman culture, and a small army of Roman soldiers is sent to stop them.

These soldiers are lead by the man who started it all, Gaius Claudius Glaber (Craig Parker), who is none too happy about being dispatched to deal with a few rebelling slaves after being promoted within the senate. Any that followed the first season will know that Glaber is the man that captured Spartacus and his wife, and was one of the main players in taking away everything that Spartacus loves. Glaber’s fellow elites know this as well, and give him no choice but to deal with a mess that they feel he started. Returning with him to Capua is of course his wife, Ilithyia, who is now pregnant and would like nothing more then to leave her past within the house of Batiatus behind.

There is a reason this season is aptly named “Vengeance” and the first episode makes that plenty apparent when it is seen that virtually every main player is after someone else for a crime done to them. Spartacus wants the head of Glaber for sending him into this life and being one of the reasons his wife is dead, Crixus wants to find his lover, Naevia, that was sold off by Batiatus last season (an action that lead to Crixus joining Spartacus in the first place), and many of the smaller characters that are with Spartacus are out for revenge themselves. One surprise return is with Oenomaus (Peter Mensah), who appears as a broken man without purpose. He shows no interest in joining the rebellion, and is lost without the arena. Hopefully with the coming return of Gannicus, his mind will change. I can not help but be interested in how those two will fold into the growing numbers under Spartacus.

It will take an army of antagonists to replace the big gaping hole that is the death of Batiatus.

Overall the premiere does a good job of setting up the rest of the season, and while I don’t know if Glaber or the new villains of Seppius and Seppia will be as interesting as the one man tour de force that was John Hannah’s performance as Quintis Batiatus, but the stakes are certainly higher, and the dangers far more poignant. Anybody that comes back to the series looking for more sex and violence, you will receive it in spades. The premiere does not shy away from the colorful language, the sea of nudity, nor the waves of blood and gore. It would appear that the shows creators wanted to remind everyone what this show was about with a scene in a brothel that displayed quite the spectacle, and for the first time since I started watching, I felt the show used sex in this scene for the simple purpose of gratuity. Plenty will enjoy the scene, especially as sex gives way to vicious bloodshed in a hurry, but the out of place use of a strap-on made me feel a bit off, it didn’t serve a purpose outside of shock.

Liam McIntyre has big shoes to fill in the titular role, and while all us fans will feel the loss of Andy Whitfield, Liam does an admirable job in the role given. He is intense when he needs to be, and his softer features and more pretty boy looks give him a bit of heart. It took me awhile to adjust to the change, as would be expected, but the premiere was good enough to remind me why it was worth getting use to something that can usually break a show for me. An actor change in a lead role is incredibly difficult, but the series is littered with tons of great characters that I would have hated it more if the show never came back. Liam McIntyre impressed me by how quickly he took over Spartacus and made the character his own, I am more then willing to accept him, even though I will always feel the loss of Andy Whitfield. That man was truly incredible as the character, and he will be sorely missed.

When Liam McIntyre turns on the badass, I learned to accept him.

Final Call: “Fugitives” may have slipped into the gratuitous a bit more than the series usually does, but it has set up a second season without any time wasted. Spartacus and his rebellion are starting their way towards building an army to stand against Rome, and with all the stories of the individuals wrapped up within a multi-layered tale of revenge, I can’t help but feel that this will be another great season of a great show. You may want to catch yourself up on all the character’s and events of the last season though, because this episode will not hold your hand nor bother to give you much in the way of reminders.

Rating:

4.5/5 this is a welcomed return to the series, and while it moves briskly, it does a great job at never being boring, and presenting what to expect in the coming episodes.

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