Perfect score Let's be clear -- this series was already setting a new standard for "sword and sandals" drama even before this episode.
But this episode pretty much is the icing on the cake.
Not merely for the writing (brilliant) or the delicate special effects and dream scenes (brilliant) or the way John Hannah consistently steps up to take control when the protagonist (Spartacus) is incapacitated (brilliant) but specifically for the way the viewer is caught offguard by all these things happening at once.
I cannot over-emphasize this. The elements of drama (protagonist, antagonist, conflict, resolution, reversal, conclusion) have not changed in 1000s of years.
The real trick was, and is, the ability to delight the audience. In this episode you will be entranced by the way that many loose ends are tied together in ways you did not expect.
In particular (this is one man's view) when Spartacus at the conclusion delicately applies pressure to the neck of the driver who "claimed" that bandits killed Spartacus' wife, the scene was so realistic, the acting so strong, that I could not help thinking ... this the last guy on the planet to whom you'd ever want to admit that you killed his wife .... and in fact, if you watch closely, there is a moment when Spartacus (who has already been warned about breaking the strict rules of the School by killing people at random) seems about to let up ... and then does the deed anyway.
This is great TV.
But this episode pretty much is the icing on the cake.
Not merely for the writing (brilliant) or the delicate special effects and dream scenes (brilliant) or the way John Hannah consistently steps up to take control when the protagonist (Spartacus) is incapacitated (brilliant) but specifically for the way the viewer is caught offguard by all these things happening at once.
I cannot over-emphasize this. The elements of drama (protagonist, antagonist, conflict, resolution, reversal, conclusion) have not changed in 1000s of years.
The real trick was, and is, the ability to delight the audience. In this episode you will be entranced by the way that many loose ends are tied together in ways you did not expect.
In particular (this is one man's view) when Spartacus at the conclusion delicately applies pressure to the neck of the driver who "claimed" that bandits killed Spartacus' wife, the scene was so realistic, the acting so strong, that I could not help thinking ... this the last guy on the planet to whom you'd ever want to admit that you killed his wife .... and in fact, if you watch closely, there is a moment when Spartacus (who has already been warned about breaking the strict rules of the School by killing people at random) seems about to let up ... and then does the deed anyway.
This is great TV.