'SPARTACUS: BLOOD & SAND' 1.10 - "Party Favors"

[SPOILERS] I think it's safe to say "Party Favors" was a little lacking in plot, which is perhaps part of the reason it opened with an extended (and very bloody) battle, with Spartacus (Andy Whitfield) partnering Varro (Jai Courtney) in the arena against multiple enemies. This scene also reinforced their friendship and camaraderie, which swelled even further after Varro's missing wife was found by Mira (Katrina Law), the slave girl Spartacus had sent to find her. The two gladiators share a bond that's been part of the show from day one, so giving it a belated focus caused apprehension that proved justified...

In "Party Favors", Batiatus (John Hannah) agrees to host a coming-of-age party for the magistrate's son Numerius (Lliam Powell), the highlight of which will be an exhibition fight between reigning champion Spartacus and former-champion Crixus (Manu Bennett). It's an opportunity Crixus intends to take full advantage of, by breaking the rules and killing his nemesis during the fight to regain his title.

Meanwhile, the traumatized Ilithyia (Viva Bianca), still seething over the "mix-up" that resulted in her having sex with Spartacus and killing a socialite who laughed at her misfortune, plotted her revenge by sleeping with the virginal teenager Numerius and manipulating him into forcing Spartacus to fight Varro instead of Crixus. A last-minute change that foiled Crixus's plan, but caused equal torment for Spartacus when Numerious unexpectedly demanded the death of the defeated Varro...

Like many episodes of this series, "Party Favors" overcame the show's continuing problems (relatively thin stories, bloated dialogue) because the character dynamics have an undeniable allure and simple, gritty charm. The show is also at its best whenever it involves surreptitious maneuverings, particularly if the end result is a tragic one. We've already seen this with Batiatus ordering the death of Spartacus's wife to keep him at the ludus, and with Lucretia (Lucy Lawless) teaching Ilithyia a lesson out of jealousy, and this episode was equally as engrossing in its tense climax. It wasn't as unexpected as the death of Spartacus's wife mid-season, but it was certainly a more gut-wrenching one because we've had 10 episodes to build the relationship between Spartacus and Varro. And while Spartacus: Blood & Sand is hardly a complex show, it does a good job building sympathy and interest in its characters.

Overall, "Party Favors" wasn't a great episode but it ended fantastically well. Varro's unfair death will likely be the moment to reset Spartacus's opinion of gladiatorial life, and refocus his mind on escape (if only to see Varro's widow and ease his guilt), and I have a suspicion that compassionate slave Mira is being positioned as Spartacus's new love-interest after she arrived to comfort him in his cell.

Aside

• If there was any doubt Spartacus: Blood & Sand is essentially targeted at teenage boys, the scene where young Numerious popped his cherry with Ilithyia felt designed to cause hormone overload in schoolboys of equivalent age.

WRITERS: Brent Fletcher & Miranda Kwok
DIRECTOR: Chris Martin-Jones
GUEST CAST: Peter Mensah, Manu Bennett, Nick Tarabay, Viva Bianca, Katrina Law, Jai Courtney, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Craig Walsh Wrightson, Ande Cunningham, Daniel Feuerriegel, Tania Nolan, Craig Parker, Mia Pistorius, Lliam Powell, Brooke Williams & Craig Walsh Wrightson
TRANSMISSION: 27 July 2010 - BRAVO, 10PM