Alright so at no point in time Im going to argue if this is as good as the OG series becuase its not, in fact through the first three episodes I was feeling like stop watching because how cringe it feels and looks, thats the reason why I didnt post about on a one by one episode basis because funny it was release how I enjoy the most tv series, on a weekly episode. Spartacus House of Ashur came out of nowhere and down the aline as the series progress this thing kicked way more ass than I was expecting after all these years since the original series wrapped up, its one of those rough jewels that often release on Hulu, Peacock or Starz. We are talking about a show that ended back in 2013 and here we are in 2025 getting this alternate timeline situation that actually works way better than it had any right to because from episode one its made clear that this is kinda dream or curse as how Ashur comes back to life to feel what is to be a Dominus. Nick Tarabay is back as Ashur and the man is absolutely killing it in this role, every episodes as he use to mention "Gods decide to fuck him in the A...", this is basically an alternate universe where he did not die betraying Spartacus during Vengeance, instead he won that fight, got all the glory and recognition from Rome and now he is running his own ludus but everyone still treats him like absolute shit because he is Syrian and killed everyones hero with a spear to the back which is not exactly the honorable way Romans like their victories even though by doing this he landed in the favor of some high rank Romans. The show does a great job showing how this guy is constantly trying to climb up from the bottom even though he technically has power now, every single time he gets close to something good he gets kicked back down again with rotten food thrown at him, people spitting on him and zero respect at all even though he is a free man now with his own gladiator house and some sweet ass female slaves at villa, so dont over think it just enjoy watching a man suffering constantly through every episode along with some very good savage gladiator fights.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29921437/
- Platform: PLATFORM
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This tv series also has a stacked cast that turned out to be awesome and how they all bring their A game to every scene, yes the series is a few steps down from Spartacus but its almost the same vibes where each other subplot is good enough, from the gladiators personal life, to the Doctore, Ashur himself. Graham McTavish plays Chorus who is this doctore slash former champion gladiator and he is absolutely perfect for the role with that gruff voice and intimidating presence that demands respect, then you got Claudia Black showing up as this viper wife of some governor or senator and she is scary in all the best ways possible with her scheming and manipulating behind the scenes. The whole thing kicks off when Ashur decides to train a woman as a gladiator because that is exotic enough and different enough to get people interested again after his ludus got completely embarrassed in the first games they participated in, nobody wants her there at first because the ludus is supposed to be this brotherhood thing where men fight and die together but she absolutely earns her spot through pure violence and skill that cannot be denied. The action in this show is brutal, the show is very sexual and gory, the gore is over the top just like the original series with blood spraying everywhere and limbs getting chopped off in slow motion, there is tons of sex happening all over the place with full frontal nudity for both men and women, plus all these political games happening in Rome with senators and their wives trying to screw each other over for power and influence, I have always wonder if this was life back then, not in the sex and violence sence but in the conspiracy aspect of things as there are many stories how senators use to kill each other.
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The whole alternate timeline concept actually makes sense once they explain it through Lucretia who shows up in this weird afterlife type situation after Ashur gets his head chopped off by Naevia at the end of Vengance, she basically offers him a deal where he can come back to life in a different version of events where he survives and Spartacus dies instead which reshapes everything that happened after. Lucy Lawless comes back for this cameo and even though its brief she absolutely nails the manipulative seductress vibe that made her character so memorable in the original series, there is this creepy baby thing happening during her speech that I still do not understand but whatever, the point is Ashur takes the deal without hesitation because of course he does and now we get to see what happens when the slimy backstabber actually wins for once. The show is set around six months from my understanding after what would have been the end of War of the Damned if Spartacus had won, but in this timeline the rebellion is completely crushed and Rome is back in control with thousands of crucified slaves lining the roads as a reminder of what happens when you try to fight the system, lucky enough once it all seem to be over its Ashur and the men of his ludus who are assign to take down all the corpes from the rebellion, even though it was very poor CGI it was insane to watch all this men along the road crucified, between them there were some of Spartacus men and the show doesnt loose time and make reference to this gladiators so the connection to the original show is always there.
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One of the most intresting things about this show is how it focuses on Ashur constantly fighting for legitimacy even though he technicaly has everything he ever wanted, he has to deal with senators and their wives who look down on him, he has to manage gladiators who either hate him or do not respect him because they know he killed Spartacus in a cowardly way but the most intense fight is always trying to land in the favor of senators, its that political power, considering that he didnt even wanted to get into politics but be in the favor of senators so his ludus can have a place in the arena to fight, its that golden ticket that he constantly keeps chasing until he gets it but staying in the arena across time seem harder than even getting in. There is this one gladiator named Salvius who is constantly quoting Spartacus and talking about freedom and doing the right thing which obviously pisses Ashur off , at first I thought this guy was going to be like a secondary hero or someone who would help lead another rebelion but the show does this great thing where it keeps you guessing about who actually matters and who is just there to fill out the roster. The gladiator fights are insane with all the slow motion camera work from 300 and people flying through the air doing crazy flips and spins, they even have guys jumping off the arena walls to land attacks which some of the Roman elite complain about as being unchivalrous or whatever but everyone else is just entertained as hell, one dude gets his face completly smashed in with a warhammer and they do not cut away at all, you see every brutal second of it which is exactly what people want from this franchise.
You might think that been a spin off from Starz the production quality would be weak but is really solid considering it has been over a decade since the last Spartacus show, the series is produce by Lionsgate who produce all Starz Originals, they recreated the ludus set almost perfectly and it looks like they just walked away from filming in 2013 and then came back to the exact same location, all the actors are jacked beyond belief because you cannot have a Spartacus show without everyone looking like they live at the gym. From what I have seen online people complain a lot from this series but basically because its not like the OG and I think it was never intended too, this is not your action packed Gladiator tv series, this is more about dark humor and blood with some sprinkles of conspiracy on top but thats it, its not even intended to be glorious but entertaining enough so you have a good time. Im eager to see where they take season 2 because after this I think they have to with Achilia becoming this big attraction who will probably be in full shape and as any other Gladiator related content the idea behind is that he earn her freedom in the sands of the arena. Ashur trying to maintain his grip on power while everyone wants to see him fail, and all these Roman political games that are happening in the background with senators scheming against each other, plus the romantic aspect of the series, there are some many subplots without conclusion that they probably have no other option to at least close with a second season. If you were a fan of Blood and Sand and War of the Damned then you absolutely need to check this out because it scratches the surface of themes, action and blood, without feeling like its just trying to copy what came before, instead it takes the formula and twists it into something new by making the villain the main character and showing what happens when ambition and survival instincts are all someone has left, this show gets a solid 7 out of 10 for me and I honestly think it deserves more attention than what it got even higher online scores.
P.S : Browsing for stuff to watch just notice there are two more episodes, this is a first time for me to post without knowing how many more episodes were to go but seems the series is not over, there still two episodes more 9 and 10, turning the hole thing into a mini series, I really though they cut it at 8 episodes, anyways this as my overall thoughts about the series still
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