Spartacus: Mark of the Brotherhood Review - Mania.com
HomeREGISTER HomeRSS 
HomeHOME



TV Review

Mania Grade: D

9 Comments | Add
 

Rate & Share:
 

Related Links:
 

Info:
  • TV Series: Spartacus: Blood and Sand
  • Episode: Mark of the Brotherhood
  • Starring: Andy Whitfield, John Hannah, Lucy Lawless, Craig Parker, Viva Bianca, and Manu Bennett
  • Written By: Aaron and Todd Helbing
  • Directed By: Rowan Woods
  • Network: Starz
  • Series:

Spartacus: Mark of the Brotherhood Review

That's Gotta Hurt

By Rob Vaux     March 14, 2010


Andy Whitfield as the heroic gladiator in Starz' SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND(2010).
© Starz/Bob Trate

 

Have we done castration yet? I don't think we've done castration yet. In any case, Spartacus can now cross it off the to-do list. Way to go, fellas. You should be very proud.
 
The (*ahem*) climactic unmanning caps another night of nipples and CGI viscera, further emphasizing Spartacus's stubborn unwillingness to acknowledge what it is. As a guilty pleasure, it continues to spin its wheels, while as straight drama, it bungles any legitimate emotional truths to be found. When it can't succeed any other way, it turns to geek show theatrics… and I'd be lying if I said they didn't top themselves in that department this week.
 
On more mundane levels, "Mark of the Brotherhood" contents itself with cementing previous weeks' developments. Now the undisputed king of the cage, Spartacus (Andy Whitfield) revels in his newfound status: pimp-slapping Crixus (Manu Bennett) when he gets uppity, tsk-tsking Varro (Jai Courtney) for his gambling habit, and standing up for the gaggle of new slaves which Bartiatus (John Hannah) purchased en masse. That last bit gets him into trouble when Ilithyia (Viva Bianca) claims one of the newbies as her own and promises him his freedom if he kills Spartacus.
 
Unfortunately, director Rowan Woods can't develop the resulting intrigue with any subtlety. Instead, we get ham-handed reminders of why Ilithyia hates Spartacus so much, surrounded by a lot of cattiness from her gal pals and a bit of enablement from Lucretia (Lucy Lawless). It's less fun than it sounds, though the whole "frenemies" vibe between Lucretia and Ilithyia remains amusing for those in the right mindset.
 
So too does Bartiatus's metaphoric dick swinging struggle to maintain our attention. Though Hannah is in fine form (and his use of the word "cock" is up from last week), his character's sneering arrogance advertises itself too openly, leaving the inevitable comeuppance merely a matter of time. Lawless's plot threads carry a similar disconnect between the performer's efforts and the lack of substantive material. Beside throwing barbs at the local harpies, she mainly frets over the possibility that Crixus may be sold and plots some means of convincing her husband to keep the big lug around. Considering Crixus's overall dullness and the fact the we more or less wrote him off for dead when he was injured in arena, his continued presence in the academy matters not a whit.
 
The remainder of the episode slowly goes nowhere in a manner typical for this show. The banter retains its usual crudeness, based around all-too familiar revelations which the audience picked up on well before the characters. To compensate, "Mark of the Brotherhood" drenches us with another copious helping of bare breasts, courtesy of various slave girls sent down to reward the gladiators. The show long since drained any sense of guilty pleasure out of such spectacle, which is probably why it raises its game (if such is the right term) with the final bloody shot seared into our memories.
 
The difficulty with such moments is that they come devoid of any sense of fun, a recurring problem which Spartacus shows no interest in addressing. If it wants us to wallow in the mud with it, the show at least needs to let us enjoy ourselves. The final image cuts that possibility off at the knees, leaving the rest of the episode dramatically inert. Its shocks and thrills come in brief punches, and as the need to top itself grows ever more dire, Spartacus may quickly money-shot itself into oblivion. The lingering image here sets a new "standard," which future episodes may be incapable of repeating. Sadly, it's not like there's any other reason to keep tuning in.
Submit Your Own Review

TELEVISION REVIEWS

COMMENTS AND RESPONSES

Showing items 1 - 9 of 9
1 
hanso 3/14/2010 5:47:39 PM

 This show sucks, I'm done with it.  Not even the boobs can keep me tuned in.

fenngibbon 3/14/2010 7:27:26 PM

 When I watch it, I watch it on Starz On Demand and fast forward through the whole thing.  Takes less than ten minutes and I don't think I lose anything in terms of following what passes for a plot.

markeetundra 3/15/2010 9:05:57 AM

Hey guys, don't give Rob the satisfaction saying u hate the show as well.  The show is awesome and a perfect guilty pleasure in which the show pretends to be nothing else.  that boy Rob just needs to get laid, mate.

makabriel 3/15/2010 12:02:02 PM

I don't know where all the hate comes from for this series.  Maybe it's just that I'm easy to entertain, but I find the whole storyline fairly entertaining.  The language and odd reversing of some words perplexes me on occasion, and the nudity does border on excessive at times, but overall I'm enjoying the series.  I like the interplay between Crixus and Spartacus.  I'm waiting to see if they eventually come to terms with each other and team up.  Both of them fighting for something would be pretty darn spectacular.  I believe that time may come when something happens to Crixus' slave girl.

Anyway, I half agree with Markeet.   It's a guilty pleasure.  Maybe not "awesome" but it's good in its own rights..

 

redhairs99 3/15/2010 12:46:40 PM

"The final image cuts that possibility off at the knees..."  Rob, shouldn't you have said "The final image cuts that possibility off at the balls..."?

SelectiveRealism 3/17/2010 6:29:02 AM

 I enjoy the show.  Kill me.

ThemanG01 3/17/2010 1:28:26 PM

This show rocks ass.

ThemanG01 3/18/2010 4:14:49 AM

Let me amend that.

Jupiter's Cock this show rocks ass!

greenman 3/18/2010 8:29:55 AM

Granted this show is mostly spectacle, I still maintain that it is not really as bad as reviews here would indicate. One of the interesting aspects of this show is the knowledge of where these characters are going---gained from reading fast’s novel, or seeing the Kubrick film, or just a knowledge of Roman history---and how the storyline will eventually lead there. As for wooden acting, just how are gladiators supposed to act?

Imminent death would tend to make a person somewhat morose or be extremely gung ho as a way of coping. That’s my experience as a veteran, anyway. In the acclaimed ROME, the characters are at their most stoic during their brief gladiator episode.

And I think that the point being made with the Roman noblewomen is that their lives are mostly pretense anyway.  And yes, I agree with ThemanGO1:  Jove's cock I enjoy this show!

1 

ADD A COMMENT

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Please click here to login.

TELEVISION NEWS UPDATES

MORE CONTENT BY ROB VAUX

POPULAR TOPICS