For LaT - why the Spartacus series rocked my world
latxcvi asked: Why did the Spartacus series(es) rock your world?
This is one of my favorite topics in all the world, and I really regret that I don't have time to go into deep, detailed meta on everything I loved. I'll have to hit the highlights. There will be some very minor spoilers in this post. I'm not cutting them because a) the show's been over for a while now and b) the historical events played out a couple thousand years ago, so the spoiler period on that has ended. *g*
Spartacus is not a show that's about reality, or even about history. (Although, hilariously, I think it does a passable job capturing the basics of the historical record - better than any other version.) It's a show about slaves and former slaves who face incredible hardships and torment, and emerge from those things stronger and more capable of making their own choices. They exercise their free will in every decision, and sometimes, that freedom brings their downfall. By contrast, the Romans on this show are equally fascinating, but they are trapped within the strictures and rigidity of politics, military protocols, orders, and classism. The contrast plays out in fascinating ways throughout the series, as the Romans frequently don't behave quite as you might expect, and the former slaves find that freedom comes with a distinct and terrible price, at times. Each and every one of the characters exhibits growth and change, and most have significant arcs which make sense and are sometimes terrifying and emotional. This is not a universe of small events; it's a universe of drastic, life-altering events, and the show really rocks that entire concept. In the 'go big or go home' sweepstakes, Spartacus goes HUGE.
I loved the fact that the show was capable of truly shocking twists and events that I never saw coming, but which weren't just there for the shock value alone - they made sense in the show's context, and were immensely satisfying! I also loved that the show never left a loose end dangling. When Andy Whitfield became ill with cancer after the first season, and Starz produced Gods of the Arena, it was SO GOOD and SO SATISFYING to see the backstory for every single character I had grown to love in season one. It all made perfect sense, and it gave depth and richness to the entire show - a full grown universe, sprung from something they hadn't even planned to do. And it just got better from there! The recasting of Andy Whitfield was hard for me, and I don't think I ever really grew to like Liam McIntyre until the last episode, when WOW. But that's a minor and unavoidable point. And character motivations which were seeded in the first season and the prequel carried through straight to the final episode, in some cases, and left me a sobbing heap on the couch. Literally.
To be honest, the violence never bothered me. The gore and blood are so obviously fake that I have trouble not laughing at them, so I handwave all of that. Grape juice, dude. If you can just ignore that for about six episodes - as well as the nudity, and the actors trying to get used to pulling off heavy drama while their man parts are hanging out - you will be richly rewarded, I promise you. Just ask tripoli; I think she will vouch that what I'm saying is true. *g*
OTHER AWESOME THINGS ABOUT THIS SHOW! -
The women! - What a show for amazing, diverse, strong female characters. There is Naevia, whose journey takes her from semi-sheltered house slave to a warrior woman who rose from the ashes of what she had once been and what she'd endured. There's Saxa, the uncompromising Germanic warrior who fights as well as the men and absolutely gives no quarter. There is Mira, who is one of the few characters with wisdom and good sense on this show. Heh. (She thinks with her head instead of her heart; the reverse is a failing even Spartacus falls prey to sometimes.) There is Lucretia, who plots and schemes and is AMAZING, and Ilithyia, who is her lover/best friend/worst enemy. All of them are layered and interesting. Probably Saxa is the most one-dimensional and received the least screen time, and yet she has her moments to shine, too.
The relationships! - never is a woman valued less than a man; never is any thread of a relationship dropped. And while love and connection informs the journey of all the characters, it is not the journey entire. Old hurts and betrayals come back to haunt characters (ex. Oenomaus and Gannicus). Men whose women have been harmed to the point of breaking support and encourage them, and do EVERYTHING RIGHT (ex. Crixus and Naevia). A man goes to war with the entire Roman empire for the sake of a woman he loved and lost, and he never gives his heart to any other woman (ex. SPARTACUSSSSSS). The female friendships are sometimes solid, and sometimes like a pit of vipers, but they are utterly glorious (ex. Ilithyia and Lucretia). Husband and wife reach a perfect understanding (ex. Batiatus and Lucretia). People use each other, and then the tables turn (ex. Lucretia and Ashur). And through it all, the relationships and the characters are the most important thing about the show.
The eye candy! - I have never seen so much completely unapologetic objectification of men. Oiled-up men in a loincloth, standing around for women to ogle. It's even part of the plot. I just. SO MUCH BEAUTIFUL MAN FLESH. If ladyparts are your thing, there's quite a lot of that as well, and I love that the show is equal opportunity in this regard. Everyone gets naked! There is no hiding. *g* In the first season I made a post about the objectification of the men, and I love that of all things, this is what inspired meta to go along with my flail.
The sex! - Women with women, men with men, men with multiple women. Some of it is non-con. Most of it is just hot.
The diversity! - Seriously, characters of color, gay characters, women, the entire spectrum of diversity. PHENOMENAL CASTING. So much love.
The canon gay characters! - In the first season we had warrior Barca and fragile Pietros, and while I loved them, I really wanted more. I got more, sort of, in the prequel, but the producers really knocked this out of the park when they took Agron - a warrior/gladiator we already knew from season one - and had him fall in love with Nasir. They basically built a gay relationship from the ground up, from the first moment they laid eyes on each other to the last scene of the show, and allowed it to build and develop naturally. It was a real love story, and it had a happy ending. I just. ALL STEREOTYPES WERE SUBVERTED. I still to this day cannot believe that happened on my TV.
The Romans! - ugh, they are all PERFECTLY CAST and I loved to hate them all, but ESPECIALLY Batiatus and Glaber.
In conclusion, once a long time ago I linked to this adorable post on Tumblr where some people explain u a thing about Spartacus. I still think it's the best post - they say it all better than I do. (If you're not familiar with Tumblr, just click on the first graphic and the post will expand to slides, so you can right/left-arrow through them all.)
I LOVED THIS TV SHOW. Most of you would probably love it too. If it were a fic, I'd warn for consent issues and abuse and violence, but I'd also tell you to never let that put you off, because the show is spectacular. Just...don't judge it until about episode 8. Watch and endure the growing pains, and you will be rewarded.
This is one of my favorite topics in all the world, and I really regret that I don't have time to go into deep, detailed meta on everything I loved. I'll have to hit the highlights. There will be some very minor spoilers in this post. I'm not cutting them because a) the show's been over for a while now and b) the historical events played out a couple thousand years ago, so the spoiler period on that has ended. *g*
Spartacus is not a show that's about reality, or even about history. (Although, hilariously, I think it does a passable job capturing the basics of the historical record - better than any other version.) It's a show about slaves and former slaves who face incredible hardships and torment, and emerge from those things stronger and more capable of making their own choices. They exercise their free will in every decision, and sometimes, that freedom brings their downfall. By contrast, the Romans on this show are equally fascinating, but they are trapped within the strictures and rigidity of politics, military protocols, orders, and classism. The contrast plays out in fascinating ways throughout the series, as the Romans frequently don't behave quite as you might expect, and the former slaves find that freedom comes with a distinct and terrible price, at times. Each and every one of the characters exhibits growth and change, and most have significant arcs which make sense and are sometimes terrifying and emotional. This is not a universe of small events; it's a universe of drastic, life-altering events, and the show really rocks that entire concept. In the 'go big or go home' sweepstakes, Spartacus goes HUGE.
I loved the fact that the show was capable of truly shocking twists and events that I never saw coming, but which weren't just there for the shock value alone - they made sense in the show's context, and were immensely satisfying! I also loved that the show never left a loose end dangling. When Andy Whitfield became ill with cancer after the first season, and Starz produced Gods of the Arena, it was SO GOOD and SO SATISFYING to see the backstory for every single character I had grown to love in season one. It all made perfect sense, and it gave depth and richness to the entire show - a full grown universe, sprung from something they hadn't even planned to do. And it just got better from there! The recasting of Andy Whitfield was hard for me, and I don't think I ever really grew to like Liam McIntyre until the last episode, when WOW. But that's a minor and unavoidable point. And character motivations which were seeded in the first season and the prequel carried through straight to the final episode, in some cases, and left me a sobbing heap on the couch. Literally.
To be honest, the violence never bothered me. The gore and blood are so obviously fake that I have trouble not laughing at them, so I handwave all of that. Grape juice, dude. If you can just ignore that for about six episodes - as well as the nudity, and the actors trying to get used to pulling off heavy drama while their man parts are hanging out - you will be richly rewarded, I promise you. Just ask tripoli; I think she will vouch that what I'm saying is true. *g*
OTHER AWESOME THINGS ABOUT THIS SHOW! -
The women! - What a show for amazing, diverse, strong female characters. There is Naevia, whose journey takes her from semi-sheltered house slave to a warrior woman who rose from the ashes of what she had once been and what she'd endured. There's Saxa, the uncompromising Germanic warrior who fights as well as the men and absolutely gives no quarter. There is Mira, who is one of the few characters with wisdom and good sense on this show. Heh. (She thinks with her head instead of her heart; the reverse is a failing even Spartacus falls prey to sometimes.) There is Lucretia, who plots and schemes and is AMAZING, and Ilithyia, who is her lover/best friend/worst enemy. All of them are layered and interesting. Probably Saxa is the most one-dimensional and received the least screen time, and yet she has her moments to shine, too.
The relationships! - never is a woman valued less than a man; never is any thread of a relationship dropped. And while love and connection informs the journey of all the characters, it is not the journey entire. Old hurts and betrayals come back to haunt characters (ex. Oenomaus and Gannicus). Men whose women have been harmed to the point of breaking support and encourage them, and do EVERYTHING RIGHT (ex. Crixus and Naevia). A man goes to war with the entire Roman empire for the sake of a woman he loved and lost, and he never gives his heart to any other woman (ex. SPARTACUSSSSSS). The female friendships are sometimes solid, and sometimes like a pit of vipers, but they are utterly glorious (ex. Ilithyia and Lucretia). Husband and wife reach a perfect understanding (ex. Batiatus and Lucretia). People use each other, and then the tables turn (ex. Lucretia and Ashur). And through it all, the relationships and the characters are the most important thing about the show.
The eye candy! - I have never seen so much completely unapologetic objectification of men. Oiled-up men in a loincloth, standing around for women to ogle. It's even part of the plot. I just. SO MUCH BEAUTIFUL MAN FLESH. If ladyparts are your thing, there's quite a lot of that as well, and I love that the show is equal opportunity in this regard. Everyone gets naked! There is no hiding. *g* In the first season I made a post about the objectification of the men, and I love that of all things, this is what inspired meta to go along with my flail.
The sex! - Women with women, men with men, men with multiple women. Some of it is non-con. Most of it is just hot.
The diversity! - Seriously, characters of color, gay characters, women, the entire spectrum of diversity. PHENOMENAL CASTING. So much love.
The canon gay characters! - In the first season we had warrior Barca and fragile Pietros, and while I loved them, I really wanted more. I got more, sort of, in the prequel, but the producers really knocked this out of the park when they took Agron - a warrior/gladiator we already knew from season one - and had him fall in love with Nasir. They basically built a gay relationship from the ground up, from the first moment they laid eyes on each other to the last scene of the show, and allowed it to build and develop naturally. It was a real love story, and it had a happy ending. I just. ALL STEREOTYPES WERE SUBVERTED. I still to this day cannot believe that happened on my TV.
The Romans! - ugh, they are all PERFECTLY CAST and I loved to hate them all, but ESPECIALLY Batiatus and Glaber.
In conclusion, once a long time ago I linked to this adorable post on Tumblr where some people explain u a thing about Spartacus. I still think it's the best post - they say it all better than I do. (If you're not familiar with Tumblr, just click on the first graphic and the post will expand to slides, so you can right/left-arrow through them all.)
I LOVED THIS TV SHOW. Most of you would probably love it too. If it were a fic, I'd warn for consent issues and abuse and violence, but I'd also tell you to never let that put you off, because the show is spectacular. Just...don't judge it until about episode 8. Watch and endure the growing pains, and you will be rewarded.