Series / Spartacus: Blood and Sand

aka: Spartacus Gods Of The Arena

And as fanservice goes, this is easily the tamest example.

Batiatus: What would you do to hold your wife again? To feel the warmth of her skin, to taste her lips? Would you kill?
Spartacus: Whoever stood between us.
Batiatus: How many men? A hundred, a thousand?
Spartacus: I would kill them all.
Batiatus: Then do it in the arena. Fight for me, and the honor of my forefathers. Prove yourself, climb to the pinnacle, gain your freedom, and that of the woman you've lost.

Spartacus is an extremely graphic, bloody and explicit television drama series created by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Steven DeKnight. It aired for four seasons on Starz from 2010 to 2013, with each season sporting a different subtitle.

The series tells the story of the historical gladiator-turned-rebel leader Spartacus, but drenched in an over-the-top aesthetic lifted directly from 300. Blood, sex and intrigue abound. Andy Whitfield stars in the first season, Spartacus: Blood and Sand as the eponymous Thracian.

After the first season, a half-length prequel season was produced called Spartacus: Gods of the Arena due to Whitfield's cancer diagnosis. Ultimately, after Whitfield's death, he was replaced in the lead role by Liam McIntyre for the third and fourth seasons, Spartacus: Vengeance and Spartacus: War of the Damned.

Has a recap page, under construction. Be advised that the folders below may contain unmarked spoilers from previous seasons.

In 2023, Steven S DeKnight announced a sequel series titled House of Ashur, with Nick E Taraby returning.

Other media includes:

• Spartacus – Blood And Sand (2009): A prequel comic book series published by Devils Due Publishing.
• Spartacus: Swords & Ashes (2012): A novel taking place between the "Shadow Games" and "Delicate Things" episodes.
• Spartacus: Morituri (2012): A novel set between the "Great and Unfortunate Things" and "Mark of the Brotherhood" episodes
• Spartacus: A Game of Blood & Treachery (2012): A Tabletop Game which has the players taking on the role of Dominus who raise gladiators and scheme for the glory of their house.
• Spartacus Legends (2013): A Fighting Game released on Play Station Network and Xbox Live.

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General Tropes

The series provides examples of:

• Adrenaline Time: At least once per fight scene. Even John Hannah executes a slo-mo kick at one point.
• Affirmative Action Girl: The series adds plenty of female characters to the male-dominated traditional story.
• A House Divided: Neither the Romans or the slaves co-exist peacefully.
• Alas, Poor Villain: A few.
  • Batiatus, though a Bad Boss extraordinaire, was a loving husband and an underdog among the Roman elite.
  • Vengeance's Seppius may have been a jerk who had questionable feelings for his sister, but he did not deserve what Glaber did to him.
  • Vengeance also has Ilithyia. She may have been an Alpha Bitch and Glaber's "monstrous" wife, but she did not deserve to have her newborn baby cut out of her.
• All Women Are Lustful: Especially the Roman women.
• Alike and Antithetical Adversaries: Heterogeneous Heroes vs. Homogeneous Villains. While Spartacus' band comes from a multitude of backgrounds (Thracian, Celtic in general and Gaul in particular, Germanic, Numidian, Assyrian and dark-skinned in Naevia's case), the Romans lack variety in that regard - the exception being Ashur and his mercenary band.
• Ancient Rome: Only a few scenes happen in Rome itself though, and the stereotypical imagery of white columns everywhere is mostly averted.
• Antiquated Linguistics: The characters in the show speak a form of latinized English, which manifests in different ways:
  • Everyone drops articles (such as "a," "my," and "this") from their speech whenever meaning is clear, because Latin didn't have indefinite or definite articles, and personal articles were considered inelegant.
  • In classical Latin, people don't feel anything, but the feeling manifests itself. This appeared in the show through phrases like "Gratitude" (instead of "Thank You") or "Apologies" (instead of "I apologize").
• Anyone Can Die: And almost everyone does.
• Arc Words:
  • "Spartacus must/shall/will fall!"
  • "The shadow of Rome is vast, and you (Thracian) will yet die under it."
  • "A gladiator does not fear death."
  • "Kill them all."
  • "A man must accept his fate, or be destroyed by it."
  • "There is always a choice."
• Arc Symbol: The red serpent.
• Armor Is Useless: The Romans' heavy armor seems to do little besides slow them down in fights with more nimble gladiators. Sometimes egregious (e.g sword slashes seeming to cut right through lorica), sometimes more believable (e.g striking at gaps in the armour, or beating the target down with raw strength). The revolting slaves don't trouble to loot or wear any Roman armour, and are often seen fighting fully-armoured soldiers in loincloths.
• Artistic License – History: Although the writers have seriously Shown Their Work, there are anomalies enough for its own article.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership:
  • Largely averted in the early seasons with Roman characters. Batiatus and Glaber (and Solonius) clearly know how to use a sword but there's nothing to suggest they're any better than the average soldier and are generally easily defeated by gladiators.
  • Justified with the slaves throughout. In the ludus, the champion is the most respected and commands the most authority (apart from the Doctore, who is generally even tougher). Once they've escaped, a similar command structure is retained. Although Gannicus is one of the best warriors in the rebellion and tends to reject positions of authority, he's still included in Spartacus's inner circle in testament to his skill.
  • Played straight with the Romans in War of the Damned. Crassus and Caesar are both powerful individual combatants, the only Romans in the series capable of matching blades with Spartacus or Crixus. Even Tiberius seems to be a cut above the average.
• Autobots, Rock Out!: Several fight scenes break out the electric guitar.
• Band of Brothers: Spartacus and his soldiers may fight among each other, but at the end of the day, they do love each other.
• Barefoot Poverty: The gladiators are usually barefoot except when fighting in the arena, and most of the female slaves are all the time.
• The Beautiful Elite: Romans of high rank definitely tend towards exceptional personal attractiveness, as demonstrated by Glaber, Ilithyia, Varinius, Seppius, Seppia, Marcus Crassus and his entire family, and of course Julius Caesar. Lucretia tries to be this, but she is not technically "elite", and it could be suggested that Batiatus's average appearance is part of why the true upper class looks down upon him. Likewise, the Roman aristocrats insist on having only the finest of everything. Ilithyia throws an epic tantrum at being told that she will have to take up residence in the ludus in Vengeance, and proclaims that "new appointments of much coin" will be purchased to bring her surroundings up to an acceptable level.
• The Big Guy: Every single (former or current) gladiator can be considered as such.
• Black-and-Gray Morality: The default for the series; Grey-and-Gray Morality is touched upon a few times, but really explored in War of the Damned.
• Blond, Brunette, Redhead:
  • Gaia from Gods of the Arena is naturally a brunette, but possesses blond and red wigs which she wears on occasion.
  • Illithyia, Seppia and Lucretia in Vengeance.
  • By the the end of the series, Spartacus has been involved with two brunettes, a blond (though unknowingly and unwillingly) and a redhead.
  • The closing shots of the final episode featured Laeta and Sibyl accompanying a blond rebel.
• Bury Your Gays: Inverted. The only romantic couple to survive the series is Agron and Nasir.
• But Not Too Gay: Averted with just about every gay character, as the show doesn’t shy away from male-on-male sex scenes.
• Canon Foreigner: Anyone who's not a Historical Domain Character.
  • Lucretia and Ilithiya are possibly a case of Named by the Adaptation since deeper details about their respective husbands are unknown.
  • Agron is a Zig-Zagged version of this. He takes the historical Castus' entire role and characterizations (the German Rebel Leader of Spartacus' army). It was believed that his case is that of Adaptation Name Change, however, a character named Castus appeared in the final season, thus making them a Decomposite Character of the historical one.
• Catchphrase:
  • "Jupiter's cock!" might as well be Batiatus'.
  • Crixus has one in-universe - "Capua! Shall I begin?"
• Chainmail Bikini: Most of the gladiators and rebels (both men and women) tend not to wear much in battle. This may possibly be a rare justified example, as the rebels are constantly on the move and don't have access to armourers or anything. The Roman soldiers, on the other hand, are usually fully armoured.
• Characters Dropping Like Flies: Historical Domain Characters aside, only a handful of characters are alive by the end of the series.
• Chekhov's Skill: The show takes time to highlight Spartacus' tactical mind, showing that he's capable of formulating plans and adapting them to new situations, skills that will later prove crucial during the revolt. It also shows Crixus as having a knack for inspiring loyalty and admiration in those around him, which will come into play when Crixus breaks off with half the rebels when Spartacus decides to leave for Gaul.
• Cluster F-Bomb: To the extreme, almost borderline Hollywood Tourette's. Especially Batiatus whenever he has a Villainous Breakdown.
  Batiatus: "I will not! NOT be FUCKED, you FUCK you fucking cock-sucking, you haemorrhoid-sucking FUCK, YOU FUCK!"
• Color-Coded Characters: Spartacus' Love Interests are either wearing blue (Sura) or red (Mira) or, in once case, both (Laeta).
• Combat Pragmatist: Between throwing sand, faking surrender, and surprise attacks to the balls, Ashur lives and breathes this trope.
• Coitus Uninterruptus: Since this is set in Ancient Rome, this happens often. Batiatus and Lucretia are especially guilty of it. They have slaves act as fluffers before they get down to business with each other, and Lucretia even once asks Batiatus to have anal sex with one of her slave girls in the bath for her viewing pleasure. Barca and Pietros also have sex in their cell, which is easily visible to anyone who walks by.
• Crapsack World: The Roman Republic comes across as one at times. If you're a slave, you have no rights, are subjected to hard labour and abuse and are at the mercy of your masters. Even gladiators, who are treated better than most slaves, are still subjected to Training from Hell and forced to fight to the death...if they're lucky. If you escape, you risk being crucified or killed in battle, and some of the rebels aren't much nicer than the Romans, with access to food and shelter being a problem too. If you're a wealthy Roman, you have to lie, cheat, steal and possibly commit a few murders to get anywhere and your so-called 'friends' will only remain so as long as you're useful to them, meaning you can't trust anyone. And then there's a chance Spartacus and his rebels will get you.
• Cruel Mercy: Several times, by both the Romans and the Gladiators. It always backfires.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Multiple times and sometimes mixed in with a hope spot right before.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Sura, since the historical Spartacus' prophetess wife/lover is repeatedly stated in historical records as an important member of the rebellion. Here, she was killed-off at the middle of the first season for the sake of Plot-Triggering Death.
  • Varinius, since historical records stated that he survived, but was barely captured by the rebel forces during the Third Servile War. Here, he was killed-off at the penultimate episode of the second season.
  • Historically, Arrius was part of the forces that defeated and killed Crixus. In the show, it was the other way around. Though Crixus was still killed immediately after.
  • Historically, Marcus Crassus' son did not even participated in the Third Servile War. Here, he was killed at the show's penultimate episode for the sake of having a major Roman character die to ease the audiences from the fact that majority of the protagonists are all Doomed by Canon at the next episode.
  • According to historical records, Castus was killed off at the last moments of the Final Battle alongside Gannicus. He is the second named character to be killed off in the show's Grand Finale.
  • Rufus, Crassus' Mook Lieutenant, was historically the one who defeated and killed Gannicus and Castus. Here, he was the last Roman standing before Spartacus finally squares-off with Crassus himself.
  • Possibly Glaber. He's sufficiently obscure that it's not known whether he was killed during the course of his defeat or survived to be disgraced.
• Defiant to the End: It's actually a lot easier to count the characters who died as cowards.
• Defiled Forever: Subverted several times, as many of the female characters (notably Diona, Sura, Naevia, and Aurelia) are viewed this way by themselves and/or other characters; however, the audience, and the nicer characters, tend to view them with sympathy or even admiration.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: While several women and slaves dislike being oppressed on a personal level, most articulate no underlying philosophical objection to slavery or sexism in general, at least until Spartacus and friends take a stand for freedom. Even then, some are more or less content with the status quo.
• Dies Wide Open: Majority of the characters died like this.
• Doomed by Canon: Spartacus's rebellion will ultimately fail.
• Double Standard: For some reason gladiator fights in the arena are a normal and accepted part of society, but those same gladiators doing the exact same thing in the pits or in the street is seen as dishonorable.
• Dual Wielding: Most of the big name gladiators wield two swords, including Spartacus, Gannicus and Theokeles. Batiatus changes Spartacus's style as an in-universe Rule of Cool to imitate the famous Theokeles {or, perhaps, the amazing gladiator he was forced to let go earlier, Gannicus).
• The Empire: Rome, obviously. Though technically it was a Republic at the time.
• Eternal Sexual Freedom: While Romans did have lots and lots of sex, the show still plays this trope straight in regards to its use of female on female relationships; while it wasn't unheard of for slaves to perform lesbian sexual acts in secret for their mistress's entertainment, and possible for her to join in, lesbianism was not considered appropriate by general society (in most cases, it was simply disbelieved to exist however). Male same-sex relations were legal, but frequently mocked and often socially unacceptable to some degree. The main issue for Romans was who penetrated in anal sex, with the latter usually being of a lower social class, younger or a slave. If a man of higher standing received anal sex this was considered a huge disgrace and could result in a loss of social status ("infamy").This was the primary distinction in Roman thought then on sexuality-"dominant" and "submissive", not the person's sex or gender. In fairness, though this doesn't come up all the consensual relationships between men which we see are by non-Romans/slaves who probably wouldn't care. The Lex Scantinia might have penalized sex with a freeborn minor male, or having receptive anal sex, though it's unclear (and was not enforced much if so, mostly in harassing opponents). Also a large sexual appetite, as the show has frequently, was condemned medically and ethically (of any kind), which cuts against much of the depiction (at least for Romans) though of course this doesn't mean it didn't happen.
• Everyone Is Bi: Well, almost everyone. Though most of the same-gender sex that the Roman characters participate in is master/mistress with their slaves, who aren't really people and consequently, don't count.
• Evil Versus Evil: None of the bad guys really seem to have any real loyalty towards one another. Once they're done using each other, all bets are off.
• Fanservice Extra: Lots of them!
  • Some of the arena spectators like to flash their breasts at the gladiators.
  • Slaves are often forced to go naked.
  • Scenes often contain extras having sex just to create an erotic atmosphere. Sometimes this is subtle (escaped slaves copulating in the background) or extremely overt (the inside of a brothel).
• Female Gaze: Straight female and gay male viewers will have hard time averting their eyes.
• Fight Clubbing: While the arena is socially acceptable, the Pit is an underground fight club that is considered a shameful den of depravity.
• Finagle's Law: Responsible for much of the series' drama. Batiatus in particular seems to fall foul of it a lot.
  Batiatus: "Once again the gods spread the cheeks and ram cock in fucking ass..."
• Foreshadowing:
  • Marcus Crassus (the Roman general who will become the ultimate nemesis of Spartacus and his men) gets mentioned several times by other characters in the first season, and his cousin Lycinia is a prominent character.
  • Combined with Tempting Fate when Ilithyia sees the gladiators for the first time, and wonders aloud what would happen if they were to go berserk and try to escape.
  • Crixus had so many Near Death Experiences by turning his back on his enemies, only to be saved by Spartacus. Once he leads an army and separates himself from Spartacus, guess what happens?
  • In Legends, Crixus tells Naevia that it is "no easy task to sever a man's head", and in Separate Paths Crixus is decapitated. This could be a coincidence, as the two events occur seasons apart, but it is still worth noting.
  • At the beginning of Victory, Gannicus tells Spartacus that he is "no martyr upon cross'', yet at the end of the episode Gannicus is crucified.
• Foregone Conclusion: Each of the seasons to their own degree.
  • Blood And Sand: Ends with Spartacus and the other gladiators successfully launching their rebellion against the house of Batiatus.
  • Gods Of The Arena: Is a prequel, so this is even more of a given. Batiatus and Solonious' friendship is doomed, Ashur will be injured by Crixus, and Oenomaus will become Doctore.
  • Vengeance: Builds up to the showdown at Mt Vesuvivus, where Oenomaus and Glaber will die.
  • War Of The Damned: Is the end of the tale. Rome will crush the rebellion and pretty much everyone is going to die. The real Spartacus will be presumed dead and his body never found. His specific fate is therefore open to Artistic License.
• Girl on Girl Is Hot:
  • Pretty much the only reason to include a sex scene between Lilah and Xena in Gods of the Arena.
  • Illthyia and Lucretia also kiss each other multiple times in the show.
  • Invoked a few times, various male characters (typically Roman elite) clearly enjoy seeing women kiss or have sex. In War of the Damned, Gannicus also clearly enjoys seeing Saxa make out with another woman.
• Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!: The slaves and gladiators intend to either win their freedom, or die trying.
• Gladiator Games: Mostly limited to the first season and prequel, though they manage to sneak in at least one example per season.
• Gladiator Revolt: The end of the first season and thereafter.
• Gorn: AND HOW! Spartacus has some of the violent scenes ever put to TV.
• Good is Not Nice: Most of the gladiators are about as nice as you'd expect a bunch of hulking, bloodthirsty killers to be, though they fight injustice.
• Gratuitous German: The Germanic characters occasionally speak German (as a stand-in for ancient Germanic languages). Not very well, though - people fluent in modern German shouldn't expect to fully understand what they're saying.
• Headbutt of Love: In a show with this much overt sex (and rape), this is often used as a way to convey more tender emotions of love or caring.
  • Crixus and Naevia on more than one occasion. But most dramatically at the end.
  • Nasir is also a popular recipient, and not just from Agron. He even gets one from Spartacus himself after being injured during Naevia's rescue.
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: While gladiators in the arena often wear helmets as part of their historically accurate gladiator gear, the biggest heroes do not wear them, and when they do they usually lose them quickly. According to Word of God, part of the reason that Spartacus fights Dimachaerus style is because he wouldn't have to wear a helmet.
• High-Pressure Blood: Copious amounts of blood spray and gout across the screen whenever a gladiator lands a blow (even from ostensibly bloodless wounds such as being thumped in the back with an axe shaft). However, there's rarely any bleeding afterwards, probably because most of the blood effects are CG.
• Historical Domain Character: Spartacus obviously, but also Crixus, Oenomaus, Batiatus, Glaber, Gannicus, Julius Caesar and Marcus Crassus.
• Historical Beauty Update: While the actual appearances of most of the people involved in the Third Servile War is unknown (exceptions include Caesar, Crassus and Pompey) it is pretty clear that the show significantly upgrades everybody's looks. Those characters that are not strikingly attractive are often Hollywood Homely, rather than genuinely ugly. The fashions of the Roman women are also much more sexy than would have been considered decent at the time in order to better showcase their bodies.
• Historical Villain Upgrade:
  • Glaber is a monumental asshole in the show. Not much is known about the real man, but nothing suggests that he wasn't just some hapless Roman commander.
  • Crassus was apparently just as brutal as he's shown in the series, but he probably wasn't such a keen swordfighter on top of it all.
  • While Julius Caesar was pretty badass in real life, here he's also a scruffy fistfighter, a special ops saboteur and a one-man-army on the battlefield.
• Hollywood Healing: The protagonists often suffer some pretty gruesome injuries, in particular from bladed weapons, during fight scenes. Yet these usually heal with a speed that implies Healing Factor and aside from a few signature scars distinctive to their characters many of these wounds leave no permanent marks. Injuries that cut to the bone on the show often heal faster and better than minor scratches do in real life. The one exception is Crixus, whose severe injuries sustained fighting Theokoles keep him out of the ring for an extended time, allowing Spartacus to firmly establish himself as the top gladiator.
• Hollywood Tactics: Often employed by the Roman Legions in War of the Damned. Particularly compared to real Roman legions, which conquered so many other cultures specifically by having vastly superior tactics and discipline. Historically Spartacus was initially successful because he faced local militias, not "real" legionaries, and because the men were afraid of the brutal and renowned gladiators which many of them had seen in the arena. Here however Roman troops are shown charging into individual melee combat in a way contrary to real Roman battle tactics.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Many characters throughout the show has stated this.
• In Medias Res: Used in a few episodes, particularly the first two seasons.
• Interplay of Sex and Violence: Basically the trope personified for TV viewing. Particularly juxtaposed in the arena scenes, where shots of bloody violence is intercut with topless women gyrating in the crowd.
• Justified Title: The names of each season:
  • Blood and Sand refers to Spartacus' and the Gladiators' lives and the arena itself.
  • Gods of the Arena featured the people who run the games and made the arena, as well as the past (champion) gladiators. It is also the Supporting Protagonist's Red Baron.
  • Vengeance pretty much deals with most characters' personal Revenge.
  • War of the Damned for the Foregone Conclusion of the story.
• La Résistance: The rebels are initially this, especially in Vengeance. By the final season, they're a full-fledged army.
• Lipstick Lesbian: Lucretia, a lipstick bisexual who enjoys sex with both men and women, including some threesomes, is usually dressed in the trailing, elegant dresses of a Roman nobleman with Long hair (actually a wig) impeccably done up. Ilithya is also a bisexual (but never actually has sex with a woman onscreen, despite bedding more than one man, who has this style too.
• Made a Slave:
  • Spartacus obviously, but it goes for most of the other gladiators as well.
  • Varro was made a gladiator due to his debts from gambling on gladiator fights.
• Male Frontal Nudity: The show often gives Moral Guardians heart attacks with its oh-so terrifying display of uncensored penises.
• Male Gaze: Straight male and lesbian viewers will have hard time averting their eyes.
• Manly Gay: Gladiators Barca, Auctus and Agron, and freed slave Nasir are all skilled gay warriors.
• Manly Tears: The hardened, profanity-loving gladiators aren't immune to this. Not Spartacus after being forced to kill Varro and not even Crixus when Naevia is forced to leave House Batiatus.
• Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple:
  • Played straight with two of the show's main gay male pairings: butch gladiator Barca and gentle slave Pietros in Blood and Sand, and the hot-headedly macho Agron with the much calmer and kindlier, though by no means wimpy, Nasir in Vengeance and War of the Damned.
  • Averted with Barca and his previous lover Auctus in Gods of the Arena (both manly) and the show's main f/f pairing, Lucretia and Gaia in Gods of the Arena, who are both very feminine.
• Mauve Shirt: Several, most prominently the Old Veteran. No name, not many lines, but he fights a lot, and surprisingly manages to be one of the few people left at the end.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane:
  • Sura and Spartacus experience prophetic dreams at different points.
  • The sky darkens when Theokoles enters the area. It rains after Spartacus kills him as well as when he dies.
• Mooks: Roman soldiers are slain pretty casually by the gladiators. Partially justified, since all the Romans' best troops were out expanding the republic's borders at the time, but the whole reason that the historical Spartacus relied on guerrilla warfare was because the Romans tended to win straight fights.
• More Experienced Chases the Innocent:
  • Crixus, who has slept with many women previously and has been having a sexual relationship with Lucretia for several years (albeit he doesn't have much choice in that), falls in mutual love with Naevia, Lucretia's virginal body slave. They engage in a Secret Relationship as Naevia is forbidden from sleeping with anyone without her masters' permission. When the truth is revealed Naevia is forced into sexual slavery as punishment, destroying her innocence, although she and Crixus are able to overcome this once they're reunited and continue to have a happy relationship.
  • Gannicus is a Chivalrous Pervert who regularly indulges in casual sex, especially after his First Love ended disastrously. He eventually falls in love with Sibyl, who is shy and inexperienced with relationships. Interestingly, Gannicus actually declines to sleep with Sibyl at first because of her innocence, thinking he'll "ruin" her, but Sibyl ends up pursuing him, winning him over with her compassion and sincere love for him. 
• Moving the Goalposts:
  • A tendency most of the major Roman characters have, which underlines their untrustworthy nature.
  • Glaber abandoning his agreement with Spartacus and the Thracians, only to argue that they were still duty-bound as Roman auxiliaries. This becomes an ongoing behavior with him.
  • Batiatus: Using Sura as a bargaining chip with Spartacus, then having her killed.
  • Crassus: With everybody, virtually all of the time.
• Mr. Fanservice: Most of the male cast, especially gladiators. They're almost uniformly chiseled and handsome. Also, the men especially spend most of their onscreen time bare-chested and glistening. Lots of exposed penises as well.
• Ms. Fanservice: Most of the female cast. Gratuitous female nudity abounds, with bare breasts almost everywhere.
• Multinational Team: The rebel forces.
• Named by the Adaptation:
  • Sura, since further details about Spartacus' prophetess wife/lover are unknown in historical records.
  • Lucretia and Ilithiya are possibly this since deeper details about their respective husbands are unknown.
  • Heracleo, since the pirates that allied and betrayed Spartacus are all unnamed in historical records.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: A typical part of the outfits for female slaves is to have necklines that reach their navels. Some of the Roman women sport this look as well.
• New Season, New Name: Each season has a new subtitle.
• No Name Given: Spartacus himself, whose Thracian name is never revealed. Batiatus labels him Spartacus, after a legendary Thracian king, because Glaber never bothered to learn his name. Afterwards, he refuses to go by any other name. His real name is occasionally subject to an unreveal.
• Official Couple Ordeal Syndrome: Love is as painful as everything else on the show. Not everyone makes it out alive either.
• Oh, My Gods!: "Jupiter's cock!" "Juno's cunt!"
• Once a Season: Someone'll sing "My/His Cock Rages On!"
• One-Word Title: First name of Protagonist Title.
• Only One Name: Married Roman women are only referred to by their given names both in-universe and in promotional materials for the show in stark contrast to their husbands.^note Truth in Television: Roman naming conventions can be confusing to modern people, especially since Romans of notable birth had both clan and family names (the former often being mistaken by modern people for a middle name). Many of the important male Romans on the show are heads of their families (pater familias) and are thus referred to by their family name. Gaius Julius Caesar is often called "Julius Caesar", omitting his actual first name entirely, as he is the pater familias of Caesar family in the Julii clan. This coincides with the One-Steve Limit, as it was fairly common for children to be named after their parents or other ancestors. Note that the show changes Marcus Crassus' eldest son's name to "Tiberius" to avoid confusion because in real life it was also Marcus, and as they were of the same clan and family, both had the same full name: Marcus Licinius Crassus.
• Phrase Catcher: Spartacus and Gannicus are both on the receiving end of "you mad fuck" several times.
• Plenty of Blondes: Many of the Roman noblewomen favor blonde hair. Ilithyia is a natural blonde while Lucretia sometimes wears blonde wigs.
• Plot Armour: Literally. Whether a sword will bounce off your helmet or go straight through and impale your head depends on how important a character you are. Especially blatant when on other occasions you see Roman soldiers take a sword slash on their breastplates and still go down in a spray of blood.
• Poirot Speak: Characters do not drop into Latin at random or with any frequency, but the English dialogue is often interrupted by a few specific Latin nouns related to the military, political office or gladiatory games and training.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Batiatus understands that it's in his best interest to keep his gladiators as happy as possible and doesn't mistreat them unless it's necessary to advance his own position.
• Precision F-Strike: A majority of the fucking lines are uttered this way. Most of the rest are a different trope.
• Preserve Your Gays: While pretty much all named gladiators die in one way or another, Agron and Nasir manage to survive the Servile War and flee from Rome.
• Previously on…: With the exception of the inaugural season.
• Pride: It ends up causing a lot of the drama in the story.
• Promotion to Opening Titles:
  • Viva Bianca (Illithiya) got the fastest promotion as she was immediately included by episode 3.
  • Dan Feuerriegel (Agron) and Craig Parker (Glaber) in Vengeance. Naevia is an odd example, as Cynthia Addai-Robinson (her second actress) is the one who received this treatment, not Lesley-Ann Brandt (her original).
  • Pana Hema-Taylor (Nasir), Ditch Davey (Nemetes) and Ellen Hollman (Saxa) in War of the Damned.
• Protagonist Title
• The Queen's Latin: Most characters, particularly the Romans, speak in a vaguely British accent, though a lot of the cast is from Australia and New Zealand, which comes through often.
• Rape and Revenge: Comes up occasionally.
  • In the first season, Spartacus kills Gnaeus after he rapes Pietros, though unfortunately it's too late for Pietros. In the same season, Aurelia mentions that she castrated and/or killed the man who raped her after he tried it again.
  • In the second season, Crixus and the rebels go on a very bloody rampage around the Roman countryside, torturing and killing various dominuses who raped and abused Naevia, culminating in Naevia herself fighting, castrating and then decapitating Ashur, who first raped her and kick-started her ordeal. For extra karma, Ashur gets delivered to the rebels by the machinations of Lucretia, whom he had also raped. Unfortunately, Naevia and Crixus later decide that ''all'' Romans must pay for her rape.
  • In the third season, Caesar gets Tiberius captured by Spartacus, and Kore then proceeds to fatally stab him, after he raped both of them.
• Rape as Drama: Tons. Especially in the early seasons while the slave characters are still enslaved, for obvious reasons. Unlike most media depictions of Ancient Grome, this show does not shy away from depicting exactly how pervasively and casually abusive slavery-based societies really were. Almost every major character on the slave side gets victimized on-screen at least once, even most of the male lead characters.^note The only major gladiator characters who are never forced to have sex against their will or with people they would never have wanted to have sex with if they'd known who they were (rape by fraud) are Oenomaus (though we can pretty safely assume some sexual abuse in the place he originally was enslaved in as a teenager) and Agron (because the gladiators break out of their ludus not long after he was first captured as a prisoner of war, judging by the fact that he still has his Germanic tribal hairstyle and a totally unbroken spirit when he arrives at the ludus). Though in the men's cases, it's always non-violent and with an attractive woman. The showrunners chickened out of showing the male-on-adult-male rape that would have been historically common until cancellation was no longer a threat.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: Main star Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. While waiting for him to recover, Starz made up for the gap with a prequel mini-series. Whitfield then bowed out of the series to continue treatment. Sadly, he lost the battle on September 11, 2011.
• Real Men Hate Affection: Especially unusual given the period this is set in, but even when parting for what they expect to be the last time, most of the guys go for the forearm clasp version of the Handshake Substitute, rather than hug. Even Agron is not very touchy-feely with anyone except Nasir. Oddly averted by the boisterous Germans, who seem big on the Man Hug, at least initially.
• Rebel Leader: One of the most famous in history.
• Relationship Upgrade:
  • Crixus and Naevia start off as Star-Crossed Lovers, kept apart by their status as slaves and their domina Lucretia, but once the gladiators rebel...
  • In the final season, Spartacus and Laeta start out as enemies with some Unresolved Sexual Tension... and end up becoming Friends with Benefits by the end of the season.
• Reluctant Fanservice Girl: Widespread, and applied to both genders. Slaves are often forced to go partially or completely naked for the entertainment of their Roman masters either for erotic reasons, especially with household slaves and prostitutes, or simply because in some jobs, such as mining, they see no reason to provide them with clothes.
• Revolving Door Casting:
  • Due to the extreme frequency of character death, the only actor to appear regularly in all four seasons is Manu Bennett as Crixus.
  • The character Naevia also appears in all four seasons, but was played by Lesley-Ann Brandt in Blood and Sand and Gods of the Arena, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson in Vengeance and War of the Damned, due to contractual issues.
  • This even applies to Spartacus himself due to Andy Whitfield's death from cancer - Gods of the Arena was made as a prequel with no Spartacus, and Liam McIntyre had to take over for Vengeance and War of the Damned.
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: It's more of a rebellion than a revolution, but this trope still applies. The rebels can be just as brutal as the Romans, especially by War of the Damned, though they do have some moral high ground in that they are opposed to slavery and are responding to the cruelty and injustices inflicted upon them by the Romans first.
• Rule of Cool:
  • The fight scenes. Popping someone's head off with a chain, for example.
  • Gladiators tended to have a layer of kevlard to protect themselves from the bloody, slashing wounds that fans loved without serious internal injury. In the show, however, most gladiators have bodybuilder physiques with washboard abs.
• Running Gag: MY COCK RAGES ON! MY COCK RAGES ON!
• Scary Black Man: Oenomaus. Scarred, bullwhip-wielding, bald and badass.
• Scenery Porn: Inverted. Okay, the series tries to follow in the wake of 300, which would explain why Italy (one of the most beautiful countries in Europe) arguably looks only slightly more pleasant than the Moon.
• Screaming Warrior: Screaming when you fight is absolutely necessary.
• Second Episode Introduction: A new character is usually introduced this way every season.
  • Oenomaus, Naevia, Ashur, Varro, Rhaskos, Gnaeus, Pietros and the rest of the named gladiators all played this straight.
  • Quinctilius Varus in Gods of the Arena.
  • Nasir and Chadara in Vengeance. Also, Ashur in Vengeance, who isn't a new character but might have been assumed to be dead or Put on a Bus.
  • Caesar, Laeta, Sibyl and Attius in War of the Damned.
• Sexy Backless Outfit: Women in all social classes tend to wear these.
• Sex Starts, Story Stops: There's no subtext whatsoever in this series. Not even a Sexy Discretion Shot gets in the way. When characters get it on, they get it on in almost hardcore scenes all on screen. It doesn't discriminate by the gender of those involved, giving a nice aversion to But Not Too Gay.
• Shameless Fanservice Girl:
  • Lucretia and Ilithyia are often working this trope, especially when they are trying to be persuasive. Gaia in Gods of the Arena makes them look modest.
  • Among the slave and rebel characters, Chadara stands out for her utterly cynical attitude to using her beauty and sexual abilities as her main tool of survival.
  • Other minor characters and extras display this as well. There is always at least one topless woman in the arena stands, for example.
• Shout-Out: The constant references to Crixus as "the undefeated Gaul" will remind European viewers of a certain group of "indomitable gauls".
• Shown Their Work:
  • In the match between Crixus and Spartacus in episode three both men are armed according to their gladiator types: Crixus, a Gaul, is a murmillo, and Spartacus is armed as a thraex, which is a stereotypical Thracian. The matchup of these sets is one that was actually used in the real arenas, though the murmillo wasn't actually used until several decades later.
  • Though the language itself is entirely in English, all titles and positions are referred to with their proper Latin terms, and even correct gender and tense declension. The dialogue also omits the definite and indefinite articles to match Latin's lack of them.
  • Though you might not expect it, almost all of the broad strokes of the story have a basis in historical records.
  • Lucretia is shown frequently changing wigs in vibrant colours of blonde and red that would be obviously not natural. Not only did Roman noblewomen prefer wigs to achieve those taller styles, if the wig wasn't to cover up hair loss, many women happily showed off with different contrasting colours. In fact, it's a good way of showing how Lucretia is a social climber; that she's constantly trying to keep up with the latest fashions. Noblewomen of higher rank like Illythia, Licinia and Seppia appear to wear their hair naturally without assistance of a wig - and there has been suggestions that some Roman women did achieve those styles with their own hair as well.
• Slave Brand:
  • The gladiators are branded with the mark of the house. Slaves from the house of Batiatus all have a B on the inside of their forearms. Body slaves get a tattoo.
  • Occasionally, you will see a minor slave character with the letters "FUG" carved into their forehead. (Usually as a fresh wound on crucifiction victims, but one of the new gladiator 'recruits' in the first season has such a scar.) This stands for "fugitive" (the Latin word was almost the same), i.e. an escaped slave who was recaptured and thus marked to warn buyers of their runaway tendencies. And to make it impossible for them to blend into the general population if they escape again. (In case of the crucifictions, it's an easy way to make clear to people - especially any slaves passing by - exactly why this person is being slowly tortured to death. Escaping from slavery, and especially attacking your master in the process, was seen as an act of rebellion against the entire Roman social system and state, and therefore deserving of the most brutal forms of execution.)
• Slave Collar: All regular slaves wear a collar.^note  (These collars, as well as amulet-like wooden "dogtags" reading something like "If escaped, return to X", were actually not in widespread use until after Spartacus' rebellion. It was only because of this mass uprising that the Romans got paranoid about slaves escaping and congregating, and so they wanted to make sure escaped slaves could be easily recognized and distinguished from the general population of poor but free people. Of course, it may also have something to do with the fact that with Rome becoming an ever-expanding empire and importing more and more foreigners both as captured slaves and as migrants (e.g. auxillary troops - long military service was a way of gaining citizenship), there were more and more free (or freed) people running around central Italy who did not look like the native population. But even old-blood Roman citizens could and sometimes did sell themselves or their children into slavery, so there really was no sure way to tell who was a slave and who was freedman / freeborn just from their physical features. Hence the invention of slave collars and tags.)
• Slave Liberation: Season two and beyond.
• Soldier vs. Warrior: The difference is shown greatly between the individual combat skills of the Gladiators, who're especially trained to fight one-on-one, and the Roman soldiers, who function best as a unit. Any time the gladiators catch the Romans unawares, or if they break ranks, the gladiators go through them a hot knife through butter. If the Romans hold firm, however, things become much more difficult.
• Sophisticated as Hell: Flowery language delivered in The Queen's Latin is frequently combined with the Cluster F-Bomb.
  • Agron in particular stands out here. Most of the time he sounds awfully cultured for a backwoods barbarian. But he also uses profanity very frequently.
  • Batiatus, despite (or perhaps because of) his Large Ham tendencies, often combines the virtues of a Roman orator with lengthy explosions of extremely graphic profanity.
• Straight Gay: All of the gay characters are very or at least fairly masculine, even Pietros (who's the gentlest seen) and don't stand out from the straight men aside from their attraction otherwise.
• Stripperiffic: Apparently there was a clothing shortage in ancient Rome. The gladiators walk around in loincloths all the time, and their arena armor is also very revealing as is historically accurate. Even after escaping bondage, they still tend to fight in loincloths. Other slaves are also often displayed with very little clothing. It's very common to see bare-breasted slave woman wandering around Roman houses. Even common Roman citizens are prone to standing around street corners and attending the games half-naked. Women in the stands are constantly flashing the gladiators.
• Sword and Sandal
• Training Montage: The first season and prequel sometimes have these.
• True Blue Femininity: Apparently, Lucretia enforces this to her body slaves.
• Underestimating Badassery: The Romans generally underestimate Spartacus and his followers, thinking them "common slaves" and mere "savages", completely ignoring the fact that this fighting force is made primarily of slaves who were trained day in and day out on nothing more than how to fight and kill. It comes to a head in Vengeance's "Chosen Path" after Ashur tries to desperately point out, for the thousandth time, how dangerous the gladiators are compared to the average Roman mook. Glaber's response is to throw Ashur into a dog pile of soldiers and tell them to go nuts. Ashur kicks the crap out them.
  Ashur: And I was considered lowest among the Brotherhood.
• Underwear of Power: The rebel slaves, particularly the males, fight wearing nothing but loinclothes.
• Very Loosely Based on a True Story: In spite of the obvious stylization of the story, a surprising amount of details in the show are actually based on historical accounts of Spartacus and the Third Servile War:
  • Spartacus was believed to be a member of the Thracian auxiliary before being taken a slave. He was familiar with Roman strategy and used unconventional tactics.
  • In some accounts, Spartacus had a prophetess wife who was also enslaved.
  • Spartacus led a rebellion along with Oenomaus and Crixus from the ludus in Capua owned by Batiatus.
  • Spartacus’s followers won a number of victories before being chased by Glaber to Mount Vesuvius. The rebel slaves rappelled down the mountain with ropes made of vines to surprise Glaber’s forces and destroy them.
  • Oenomaus was killed early in the rebellion, and Gannicus became a general toward the end.
  • Gannicus was a free man who joined the slave rebellion for his own reasons.
  • Crassus was selected by Rome to deal with Spartacus. He enforced brutal discipline on his men and reinstated decimation.
  • Spartacus made a deal with Cilician pirates, who betrayed him.
  • Crixus led a large splinter of the rebel army, possibly with the intention of attacking Rome, but was defeated and killed.
  • Spartacus executed Roman soldiers in gladiatorial games in honor of Crixus
  • Some of Spartacus’s forces fled and were killed by Pompey, while the rest were annihilated by Crassus in a final battle. Pompey and Crassus vied for credit for the defeat of Spartacus.
  • The details of Spartacus’s death in the show are based on a variety of conflicting reports, including his attempt to kill Crassus personally, his mortal wounding on the battlefield, falling to his knees but continuing to fight, and the fact that his body was not recovered.
• The Voiceless: The Egyptian is never heard speaking. Only a single scene actually shows that he has the ability, when he delivers a decapitated head and some news to Ashur. Ashur excuses himself to speak with the Egyptian, so we never hear the Egyptian's voice.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: A lot. This gets particularly ridiculous in the pilot, where Spactacus is shirtless and bare-legged in the snow (which also doubles as a Shout-Out to 300, where the Greek soldiers are similarly dressed). Also, it isn't restricted to the men, not by a longshot. It's easier to list the cast members who don't get a shirtless scene.
• War Arc: The last two seasons, especially War of the Damned.
• World of Badass: Seriously, even the most feminine characters (e.g. Seppia) are not above taking a crack at killing people.
• World of Muscle Men: Other than the occasional child, half-starved slave or petty bureaucrat, nearly every male from gladiators to Roman Senators is totally buff, and shown partially or completely naked to prove it. Batiatus is a notable exception.
• Would Hit a Girl: Being Ancient Rome though, a hands-off attitude towards women was by no means a social standard.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Unarmed combat frequently includes grappling moves commonly used in Mixed Martial Arts.
• You All Look Familiar: You might spot familiar faces from time-to-time.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand

Blood and Sand provides examples of:

• Affably Evil: Batiatus loves his wife, dreams of being a father, and does some pretty awful things to his peers and slaves alike.
• Anyone Can Die: The list as of the end of Season 1: Sura, Varro, Batiatus, Barca, Pietros, Duro, Good Solonius, Calavius, Numerius, Ovidius and too many minor characters to count.
• Arch-Enemy: Spartacus and Glaber, Batiatus and Good Solonius, Crixus and Ashur, and for a while Spartacus and Crixus.
• Arc Words: "Tend to the wound" in episode 11. "Kill them all" pretty much for the entire series, but it's specially relevant in the season finale.
• As You Know: Lampshaded.
  Barca: Myrmex has the advantage.
  Batiatus: Thank you for the fucking obvious.
• Bad Boss: Batiatus and Lucretia toward their slaves when it suits their purposes, though they often try to make it seem like they're Benevolent Bosses.
• Bait-and-Switch Gunshot: "Kill Them All" has a pre-firearm example. When Crixus is trying to persuade Doctore to join the rebellion, Doctore suddenly throws his sword towards Crixus... and kills the guard who was about to strike Crixus from behind.
• Bash Brothers: Agron and Duro, "the German Brothers".
• Batman Gambit: Illithiya's Evil Plan in "Party Favors". She had Numerius switch Crixus with Varro in his exhibition match with Spartacus, and request the fight to be to the death instead of first blood as was intended. If Varro wins, her and her husband's hated enemy dies. If Spartacus wins (which happened), he will be emotionally and psychologically damaged for killing his best friend.
• Battle Cry: Spartacus' trademark "RUAAAARGH!"
• Beautiful Slave Girl:
  • Most of the slaves, obviously. Batiatus and Lucretia are fond of having slaves act as fluffers before they get down to business with each other. Invoked with Mira who is (repeatedly) sent to Spartacus to act as this. She is implied to have been this, possibly for much of the ludus, as well. To his credit, he turns her down as she is not there willingly, though they later become willing lovers. Naevia is an interesting example; Lucretia protects her virginity, but only so that she will be worth more later.
  • We find out in Gods of the Arena the reason for preserving Naevia's virginity by Lucretia was so she would not be subjected to what her friend Diona had been.
  • Pietros is a male example, though he and Barca genuinely love each other. Gnaeus on the other hand...
• Bed Trick: Notably, both of them are victims of it, as both are masked and believe their partner to be someone else.
• Benevolent Boss: Batiatus plays this straight when it suites his purposes, primarily with Ashur and Oenomaus. Ashur was granted a promotion to the villa and was given Crixus' woman, and Oenomaus was slated for freedom and being hired as lanista. He averts the trope whenever he feels that he can wring more advantage to do so (See Bad Boss above)
• Berserk Button:
  • Batiatus does not like it when he is mocked and denied a higher status due to his heritage. Not at all.
  • Ilithyia does not like being laughed at.
• Beware the Nice Ones:
  • Aurelia castrates a rapist, and later stabs an adolescent boy^note Technically he was legally an adult by the standards of roman society, though most of the main characters still considered him a child to death for having her husband killed.
  • Sura, to a lesser extent. She is not an easy mark for a Geddi gang-rape, and does not run for safety when her husband comes to her rescue. She also gives Spartacus his marching orders: Kill them all.
• Big Bad: Batiatus.
• Black Dude Dies First: In episode 8, Batiatus buys six new slaves at auction to be trained as gladiators. One of them, a black man, declares that he will train hard to become as legendary as Spartacus. Gilligan Cut to him getting thrown against a peg during training and killed instantly.
• Bloody Hallucinations of Guilt: During Numerius' birthday celebration at the ludus, some of the women begin talking about the recently-missing Licinia, causing Ilithyia to hallucinate a pool of blood under her feet and Licinia's bloodied, disfigured corpse lying on the spot where Ilithyia had murdered her in a violent rage.
• Body Paint: A number of slaves at a party are painted white to resemble marble statues. Ironically, real Roman statues were painted to look like people. Also used for the Bed Trick mentioned above.
• Book Ends: The pilot and the season finale ends with the camera zooming in to focus on Spartacus. Both episodes were also done In Medias Res.
• Bullying a Dragon: Ovidius (the loan shark) tries to intimidate Batiatus in early episodes, but has a difficult time of it since Batiatus is usually followed by at least one famous and deadly gladiator.
• Butt-Monkey: Spartacus at first. Pietros after Barca's death. Aurelia, well, all the time.
• Chewing the Scenery: Batiatus chews the scenery every chance he gets.
• Chick Magnet: Crixus has three separate women, from three separate Roman social classes, all fantasizing about him throughout the first season.
• Child by Rape: Aurelia gets pregnant due to her (offscreen) rape by a man whom she believed was a friend. Initially her husband Varro is reluctant to believe this, then says she should have fought him off. Finally then he accepts it and agrees to raise the child. However when he's killed, she has an abortion, having been left alone and thus feeling unable to cope.
• Conditioned to Accept Horror: In the season finale Crixus convinces Oenomaus to join their cause arguing that all the talk about honor in the arena is a lie they've been buying from the Romans, and they are ultimately just slaves made to die and kill for the amusement of the decadent empire.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Spartacus gets his ass handed to him in his first few matches with Crixus.
  • Spartacus' 'battle' against Good Solonius in episode 12 was explicitly designed as an execution.
  • In the finale, Doctore vs. Ashur.
  • The battle against Theokoles initially looks like this, as Crixus and Spartacus appear to defeat him easily in the space of a few seconds. Then he gets back up again...
• Cruel Mercy: Spartacus lets Glaber live in the first episode, forcing him to go back to Rome in shame. Glaber returns the favour.
• Damsel out of Distress: In the first episode, Sura is surrounded by enemies while picking fruit, and is able to fight some of them off. Once Spartacus arrives, they fight them together as a Battle Couple. Of course, since she's his wife, she's not technically a damsel^note Which literally just means a 'young, unmarried woman'..
• Dead Person Conversation: Spartacus has a few of these with Sura and Varro.
• Death of a Child: In the season 1 finale, Aurelia brutally stabs Numerius to death on learning he ordered Varo's death. The boy was a teenager and technically considered an adult in Roman society but still counts. Crixus also kills Lucretia's unborn baby when he stabs her.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Varro chastises his wife for failing to fight off her rapist.
• Depraved Homosexual: Gnaeus, given that he rapes a fellow slave.
• Determinator: Spartacus gains a reputation as a man who defies death after surviving his execution and a long stretch of duels in the Pit.
• Dirty Coward: Ashur.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Batiatus tends to do this.
• The Dog Bites Back: Illithyia in episode 13. She gets the last laugh on Lucretia by escaping the massacre at the ludus and having her soldiers seal the doors behind her.
• The Dreaded: Theokoles. Crixus nearly shits himself when it's announced he and Spartacus are to face him. Doctore is sure they'll both die.
• Driven to Suicide: Pietros.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The pilot episode is cruder than the rest of the series and trying much harder to be 300. The Getae look inhuman, similar to what 300 did with the Persians. This is never used in the show again. The first episode also feels rather rushed, as though there was an hour and a half of material, and rather than pad it out to two hours it was cut down to one. The pacing in all further episodes is much more fluid.
• Empathic Environment: When Theokoles (aka the Shadow of Death) steps into the arena, the sky clouds over.
• Enemy Mine: Spartacus and Crixus against Theokoles. And again at the end of the first season.
• Enemy Rising Behind: When Theokoles stands back up. Spartacus and Crixus don't notice until they register that everyone else is doing a Mass "Oh, Crap!".
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Ashur refuses to accept Good Solonius's bribe, saying, "I am a villain, but I'm not your villain."
  • Ilithyia is horrified when she kills Licinia in a fit of rage and shows genuine guilt for it.
  • Batiatus is also furious with his wife for manipulating the events that lead to Ilithyia murdering Licinia, although this could be explained away as him being worried about what the costs might be. He does however apologize to Spartacus over Lucretia tricking him into sleeping with Ilithyia, and seems to genuinely mean it.
  • Lucretia is at first pretty horrified when she realises that Batiatus was behind the massacre of Ovidius's family. However, this is because she thinks his motive was to get out of paying his debts - when he explains that Ovidius had tried to have him killed, she's fine with it. (It looks as if she'd have considered killing just Ovidius to get out of debt perfectly ok - it was the wife and child that were overkill, and killing THEM is fine once she finds out it's revenge.)
• Evil Versus Evil: It is great fun watching the various Roman characters screw each other over.
• Evil Redhead: Lucretia, this of course when she is not a blonde.
• Exact Words: Twice with Batiatus.
  • After Ovidius finds his wife dead, and his son being held hostage, Batiatus tells Ovidius that he won't kill the boy if Ovidius reveals who tried to assassinate Batiatus. Once Batiatus has the information, he indeed does not kill Ovidius' son. Barca does.
  • Batiatus keeps his word about reuniting Spartacus with his wife. Too bad Batiatus ordered Aulus to mortally wound her so that she'd die seconds after he finally met her.
  • Also in "Whore", Lucretia sends Mira to Spartacus to 'prepare' him for Licinia. When Spartacus refuses to sleep with her, Lucretia sends her back the next night. Spartacus still refuses to sleep with her but cuts a deal with her instead. When Lucretia asks her about the second night, Mira just says "he made many demands of me."
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The Season 1 finale is called "Kill Them All".
• Face Death with Dignity: Good Solonius. He even goes out with a smile knowing that Batiatus will be following him soon enough.
• Finish Him!: An extreme example, Spartacus is forced to kill his best friend Varro at the conclusion of a playful exhibition match.
• Frame-Up: Batiatus kills Calavius then delivers Numerius and a host of guards to the fresh corpse in order to frame Good Solonius.
• Freak Out: At the end of episode 10.
• Gambit Roulette: Ashur's plan to frame Good Solonius for the magistrate's murder however relies on precise timing that would be nearly impossible in an age without clocks.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Averted with Aurelia, once she's alone when Varro dies and feels unable to raise the child herself. This is treated as understandable, and Spartacus merely looks sad that she was left this way.
• Green-Eyed Monster: In episode 12, Mira all but foams at the mouth when Spartacus asks to speak to Varro's widow.
• Hearing Voices: Spartacus periodically has hallucinations of his wife. She tells him to kill everybody.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: The Getae in the first episode are portrayed as inhuman, orc-like savages. In reality, the Getae were so similar to the Thracians that historians are still a little unsure what the difference is. Some modern historians even think Getae were Thracians, as they're described having the same language, which would make this depiction utterly ridiculous.
• How We Got Here: The pilot and the Season Finale are done this way.
• I Am Not My Father: Batiatus heartily dislikes when anyone points out that his father would have done things differently if he were still in charge.
• I Have Your Wife: Batiatus promises to find Sura and buy her for Spartacus if he behaves and does well in the Arena. He does buy her, but has her killed right before they reunite.
• Improbable Hairstyle:
  • Crixus has a modern military crew cut that would be nigh impossible to get at the time. While the tight shaving could be done with a straight razor, the fade would be quite difficult without electric clippers. Although the Romans did invent the military cut, the one Spartacus gets would be more accurate.
  • Sura has a modern fringe and layers.
  • Subverted with Lucretia, who has unnatural red hair, but episode 3 reveals she wears wigs, which was Truth in Television for some Roman women.
• Improbable Infant Survival: Whether Barca disobeyed orders because he could not bear to kill a child drives the plot of episode 6. It turns out that he did not disobey orders, and he was lying to Pietros to make him feel better.
• Ironic Echo:
  • "What would you do to hold your wife again?"
  • "Capua! Shall I begin?"
  • An interesting example for Ilithyia. In one episode, Batiatus gets a few more slaves to be turned into gladiators. Illithyia, who loves big strong men with large endowments, purchases one of them as her own slave. Later Spartacus speaks out of turn in front of her and her friends, and she states that she would have him crucified were he her slave. She later tries to have her slave kill Spartacus in the washroom but is stopped by Crixus. The slave's punishment: Emasculation and crucifixion, in the training yard for all to see, especially Ilithyia.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Spartacus adopts a jerkass act to get respect in the arena, while still remaining a decent guy at heart. For example, when Gnaeus is harassing Pietros, Spartacus angrily orders Pietros to bring him some water, which gives Pietros an excuse to get away.
• Karma Houdini: Ilithyia, Glaber and Ashur as of the season 1 finale.
• Karmic Death: A whole slew of Romans are slaughtered when the people they'd forced into blood sports turn against them.
• Kick the Dog:
  • Glaber makes a point of telling Spartacus what he has done to his wife.
  • Ashur's cruelty to Pietros after Barca is killed.
  • Ashur again: he is allowed to have any of the slaves as his sex slave, and he chooses Naevia because he knows that she and Crixus are in love. This was also likely to get revenge on Crixus; it works flawlessly.
• Loan Shark: Ovidius, who reminds Batiatus of his owed debts in three different episodes. However, it turns out to be a bad idea to browbeat a guy with a stable of gladiators at his beck and call.
• The Lost Lenore: Murdered wife Sura is a classic example. She appears after her grisly demise in flashbacks and dream sequences, and Spartacus' subsequent love interest is a Replacement Goldfish who bears more than a passing resemblance to her, and a lot of their relationship tension revolves around Spartacus' ongoing love and grief for his murdered wife.
• Lady Macbeth: Ilithyia convinces Glaber to go against his orders and make a grab for glory (at the expense of Spartacus and his Thracians), which arguably kicks off the entire plot. She is also perfectly capable of making life difficult for Spartacus in her husband's absence.
• Made of Iron: Several characters, but special mention must go to Theokoles, the Shadow of Death.
• Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: It would be hard to say who got Lucretia pregnant, although she thinks it was Crixus. Given that she's been trying to have children with Batiatus for years with no success, this may be right and he's infertile. We never learn with certainty though. If she'd given birth, it might have been clear (as the child, if Crixus', might have dark skin too), but that doesn't happen.
• Manipulative Bastard: Batiatus and Lucretia, who play their slaves and Roman countrymen to whatever tune they like. To a lesser extent, Ashur. The way he goes about getting Barca killed is worthy of mention, as is his revenge on Crixus, the gladiator who had wounded him, in episode 12.
• Manly Gay: Barca, a very masculine and highly skilled gladiator who's in a relationship with Pietros.
• Mood Whiplash: The fight between Spartacus and Varro. Varro is delighted to have been chosen, even thinking that Spartacus used his influence to give Varro a chance to show off his skills. The friends are clearly enjoying sparring with each other until Spartacus eventually subdues Varro — and is given the thumbs down, indicating that the match must end in death.
• Murder Is the Best Solution:
  • Look at Batiatus the wrong way and he will start plotting your death within the minute, even lampshaded by Glaber commenting how safe Capua has become under his watch. The finale takes this trope up to eleven when the best solution is decided to be "kill them all".
  • Double Subverted when, considering herself above the brutish ways of her husband, Lucretia decides to repay a slight with awful humilliation instead and it still ends in murder.
• My Girl Is a Slut: Lucretia worries that Batiatus will find out about her affair with Crixus, but it turns out that he's known all along and doesn't care.
• Mythology Gag: The scene introducing Mira to Spartacus bears striking similarity to the introduction of Spartacus and Varinia in Spartacus, possibly Foreshadowing their future relationship.
• Nice Guy: Varro, Pietros.
• Not Quite Dead: Lucretia in Season 2, according to Lucy Lawless.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Spartacus and Crixus in the Season 1 finale. Crixus even laments that had things been different, they would have been as brothers; and even though they stand in each others way, both of them are fighting for a just cause.
• Not What It Looks Like: Good Solonius, knife in hand, standing over the corpse of Calavius.
• Offing the Offspring: Possibly the case when Lucretia gets stabbed in the belly by Crixus, since she thinks the baby is his, but it may be her husband's.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: DeKnight said in commentary for the finale that the only scene he regrets having to cut was after Duro's death. Apparently, Agron kills everyone, and Oenomaus comes to find him surrounded by the bodies of the guards.
  Oenomaus: This was my home for many, many years.
  Agron: Then I fucking pity you.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Batiatus' slimy henchmen Aulus, who was ordered to kill Spartacus' wife, has one in episode 11; towards the end of the episode, he finds himself all alone with Spartacus while he "questions" him about the absence of the supposed wound he received trying to rescue her from alleged attackers while en route to the ludus.
  • Batiatus has a massive one when Spartacus nearly impales him through the head in Episode 13.
• Oh, My Gods!: "Jupiter's cock."
• Ominous Latin Chanting: During a sex scene, no less. It makes sense if you have worked out that it is actually Ilithyia not Licinia under the mask, making both of them victims of a very brutal Bed Trick.
• One-Woman Wail: Sura's theme.
• Only a Flesh Wound: Averted. A cut Spartacus receives in his fight with Varro that he doesn't get treated results in a wicked infection that nearly kills him.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Crixus to Spartacus during and after the Segovax incident.
• Pass the Popcorn: Of all times and places, Ashur does this on Sura's funeral.
• Pet the Dog: Batiatus goes against the crowd to spare Spartacus' life when he submits in his fight against Crixus.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: "I! AM! SPARTACUS!"
• Punctuated Pounding: Batiatus is fond of combining this with the Cluster F-Bomb, whether it's kicking a dead slave or beating someone round the head with a cup. Aurelia also does this in the finale while stabbing Numerius.
• Race Lift: Oenamaus (aka the Doctore) was historically from Gaul, like Crixus. He is reimagined as a (scary) Bald of Authority.^note This is actually a result of a character change. Barca was originally going to be Oenamaus but schedule conflicts with Antonio Te Maioha led to him being written out earlier, and they decided to reveal Doctore as Oenamaus. Antonio Te Maioha and Manu Bennett are both Maori, suggesting that was a Cultural Translation for Gauls in this universe.
• Rape by Proxy: Batiatus and Lucretia order slaves to have sex on several occasions, either for their own amusement or that of their guests.
• Redemption in the Rain: For Spartacus in the arena in episode 5, after he and Crixus fight Theokoles. The rain breaks the heat wave and drought that had been gripping the city. He is thereafter repeatedly referred to as "bringer of rain."
• The Reveal: Episode 12, which is titled Revelations, has a chunk of these.
• Retired Badass: Oenomaus (Doctore) certainly counts, though he is only retired from the ring. He was the only man to ever survive a fight with Theokoles and is able to teach both Spartacus and Crixus a thing or two.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Crixus and Spartacus, right down to the color of their fighting gears.
• Rich Bitch: Ilithyia.
• Riches to Rags: Solonius starts the season as the dominant ludus runner in Capua, wealthy and politically influential. Over the course of the season he sees his fortunes steadily diminish, culminating in losing everything and being convicted and executed for a murder he didn't commit.
• The Rival:
  • Crixus and Spartacus as the dominant, established top gladiator and the promising newcomer.
  • Batiatus and Solonius as former friends and now bitter enemies who run competing ludi.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The season's finale.
• Rousing Speech: One is delivered by Spartacus to the rest of the slaves after the massacre at the end of Season 1.
• Sacrificial Lion: Sura and Varro.
• Say My Name: Doctore: ASHUUUUUUUURRRRR!!!
• Sexposition: Lucretia and Quintus have a habit of discussing their schemes while having sex with each other and while raping their slaves.
• Shout-Out: In Spartacus's first scene with his wife, she asks him, "You will fight no more?" and he answers "Forever." This is a famous quote from Chief Joseph's surrender at the end of the Nez Perce War: "I will fight no more forever."
• Sir Swears-a-Lot:
  • Batiatus is the absolute king of this trope.
  • Inverted with Spartacus, who rarely, if ever, swears over the course of the entire series.
• Slave Market: It appears in the series, unsurprisingly. Notably, late in the first season, as Batiatus' fortunes are on the rise, he and his rival Solonius bid against each other for gladiator slaves before Batiatus buys the whole lot outright, just to flaunt his new wealth and stick it to Good Solonius. Batiatus rubs salt in the wound by suggesting Solonius try buying the whores (naked slave girls also waiting to be sold) and see if he can perhaps make successful gladiators out of them.
• Smug Snake: Ashur.
• Tantrum Throwing: When Illithyia declares her desire to fuck Crixus, Lucretia wrecks an entire room that way.
• Tear Off Your Face: An underground pit fighter named Ixion does this to defeated opponents, then wears their faces as masks.
• Tempting Fate: Episode 13 has this gem;
  Batiatus: Friends! We are perfectly safe inside the villa!
  (cue the enraged gladiators storming into the villa)
• Then Let Me Be Evil: When Ashur gets berated for his slimy Manipulative Bastard behaviour, he pulls this line of defense, pointing out that everybody treated him like pig feed and that nearly every git move he pulled benefited his master, Doctore and the ludus, so screw the gladiators and their honour. From what we see in Gods of the Arena, his attitude is at least partially justified.
• There Are No Rules in the Pit.
• Think Nothing of It: Spartacus does this after Mira thanks him for saving her from a guard. It doesn't go well.
  Mira: Gratitude for last night.
  Spartacus: The man overstepped. I merely made correction.
  Mira: Still... the heart swells at such kindness."
  Spartacus: Then see it deflate. I would have done the same for any woman.
  Mira: ...You are an ass. (storms off, as Varro chuckles.)
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works:
  • All the time in the pilot. It's practically Spartacus' signature move.
  • Subverted in the second episode — a thrown sword is still lethal, but when your opponent is fast enough to parry it, it becomes lethal to a random innocent bystander. Oops. Then lampshaded immediately by Doctore: "If you throw your sword in the ring, you are dead."
  • Throwing an axe however is apparently okay, as Spartacus saves Batiatus' life this way in Episode 4.
  • Ironically played straight by Doctore in the final episode of the season. Doctore is apparently badass enough to pull it off.
• Thwarted Coup de Grâce: Twice in the Season finale.
• Title Drop: In episodes 1, 2, 6, 12, and 13.
• Together in Death: Batiatus and Lucretia. Subverted as Lucretia lives.
• Took a Level in Badass: Spartacus eventually earns respect after killing Theokoles.
• Tragic Monster: While not in the series, Theokoles is painted as this in the prequal comic. Basically speaking he was a good natured, hard working boy who turned out to be exceptionally good at killing, and not much else. Some of the details are especially tragic, but best not to get into them.
• Training from Hell: Doctore seems to favor it.
• Traumatic Haircut:
  • In episode 2, Spartacus's long hair is hacked off when he becomes a gladiator. For some reason, Barca and the two German brothers are allowed to keep their hair long (and ironically, Agron cuts his short between seasons).
  • In episode 12, Lucretia brutally hacks Naevia's hair after discovering the latter's Secret Relationship with Crixus.
• Turned Against Their Masters: The gladiators famously turn against their masters in a mass rebellion.
• Unholy Matrimony: The series is actually rather good about this - being complete bastards does not stop Batiatus/Lucretia and Glaber/Illithyia from being relatively loving and devoted couples.
• The Unreveal: Twice in episode 2, when Spartacus is about to tell us his real name. The first time Crixus cuts him off, the second time the Doctore invokes Talk To The Whip. He gets cut off again in a flashback, this time by Sura.
• Unwanted Assistance: It was accidental, but Ilithyia convincing her husband to make a grab for glory in the pilot episode really screws him over.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Illythia's impatience regarding her husband's campaign against the Getae and Mithradates sets off the events that will lead to both their deaths and the Third Servile War.
• Victory Sex: By proxy. After Spartacus defeats Theokeles, coincidentally or not ending Capua's drought, citizens are seen fucking in the streets in the downpour, celebrating the end of the drought. Later, Spartacus spends some of his winnings from the fight on wine and whores for the other gladiators, to celebrate his victory and the return of his wife (and to make everyone sluggish from hangovers and "overexertion," increasing his odds of escaping with his wife).
• Villainous Breakdown:
  • Batiatus begins to break down during the revolt at the end of Season 1, when he sees not only his plans for office, but his own ludus falling apart.
  • Lucretia trashes her room after Ilithyia demands a night with Crixus, who until then had been her personal sex toy.
  • Ilithyia has a murderous one after she realizes she has been subjected to a particularly nasty Bed Trick.
• Visual Pun: When the gladiator who wears his opponents' faces in the Pit turns to the audience with his newest trophy and says, "You wanna face me?!"
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Ashur just wants a little respect from the other gladiators, to the point that he is initially reluctant to accept an elevated position because it will mean that he will never get the chance. He comforts himself with cold blooded vengeance.
• Wham Episode:
  • "Delicate Things." Barca was framed by Ashur and was killed. Sura is delivered to Spartacus gravely wounded and dies. Batiatus ultimately reveals that he had her killed so Spartacus will have nothing and no one else to fight for but him and his house.
  • "Party Favors." Illithiya manipulates Numerius to switch Crixus with Varro in his exhibition match with Spartacus and orders him to have the loser killed.
  • "Kill Them All." The much anticipated Gladiator Revolt.
• Wham Line:
  • Two from episode 6:
  " We were attacked..." followed by a Wham Shot to Aulus' hand covered with blood.
  " My word is kept... They're reunited."
  • From episode 9:
  "Apologies, Licinia. It appears we arrived before Ilithyia is finished with Spartacus."
  • Episode 12 has plenty of these:
  "I felt her maidenhood long absent when we laid together. Now I know, whose cock was in her first!"
  " Barca was not freed, but Batiatus took his life!"
  • Also from episode 12, this exchange between Spartacus and the German brothers at the end of the episode.
  Agron: Shits keep rising higher in this fucking hole!
  Spartacus: Perhaps best not to be present when it fills the mouth.
  Agron: What do you speak of?
  Spartacus: I speak of nothing.
  Duro: Nothing sounds much like escape. And how could "nothing" find way past Batiatus and these fucking Romans?
  Spartacus: There is but one path. We kill them all.
  • Illythia in episode 13: "Bar the fucking doors!"
• Wham Shot:
  • Spartacus killing Theokoles is an in-universe example.
  • Numerius' thumbs down from episode 10.
  • Crixus tapping his shield from episode 13.
• What Measure Is a Mook?: The gladiators using random, unnamed prostitutes isn't treated as rape or in any way unethical (or depicted as unpleasant for the woman as Batiatus sexually abusing random house slaves), despite the fact that the prostitutes most likely also are slaves and are being prostituted against their will. Spartacus' wife would probably have been in exactly such a situation before Batiatus found her again.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Mira calls Spartacus out on his selfishness twice in Episode 12. First by telling him that if he tries to kill Batiatus, whether he succeeds or not, every slave and gladiator in the ludus will be killed. When she learns that he did not take his revenge because Aurelia is now a slave of Batiatus, she tears into him even more for the fact that he'd let everyone except her die.
• What Were You Thinking?: Spoken by Varro in verbatim after hearing Spartacus' escape plans.
• Woman Scorned: Lucretia reacts pretty much as expected when she finds out that Crixus has fallen in love with another woman and/or never shared her delusions that they were having a consensual affair.
• Would Hit a Girl: Illithyia gets this a lot. Spartacus tries to strangle her after he finds out she's the woman who has just been using his services as a sex slave and her own husband headbutts her when he finds out she murdered Licinia. Crixus stabs Lucretia right in the womb for symbolic value, apparently hoping she'll die slowly and in agony from an infected gut wound, instead of mercy-killing her by slitting her throat as well. (He certainly didn't expect her to survive, judging by his reaction when he finds out she did.)
• Xanatos Gambit: Batiatus arranges Good Solonius' murder, then sends Ashur to warn him. If Good Solonius doesn't listen then he dies, if he does then Ashur gains his trust to exploit later.
• "YEAH!" Shot: The gladiators after Spartacus' Rousing Speech at the season finale.

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena

Gods of the Arena provides examples of:

• Accidental Murder: Melitta falls afoul of this in episode 5.
• All Women Are Lustful: It goes without saying that they love watching the gladiators training. Naevia and Diona's curiosity about the size of Gannicus' cock is one example, but the poster girl of this trope is Gaia. That woman is lust personified.
• Ambition is Evil: Played with — more so than in Season 1. Batiatus' ambition to rise above his station is a sympathetic goal, but the measures he takes to ensure that he does are questionable. Titus, meanwhile, comes across as more than a little cowardly as he remains humble before the villains of the series and refuses to allow Batiatus and Lucretia to take revenge on Tullius for killing Gaia.
• Arc Symbol: Wines are a very important plot device this season.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Gannicus. His Establishing Character Moment features him dropping his swords in the arena, and thoroughly battering his opponent with his fists just because he can. Justified, in that such displays ignite the crowd and enhance his reputation. He is a gladiator, after all.
• Badass Boast: Batiatus' idle boast that any of his men could defeat any of Vettius' blindfolded comes back to haunt him when Vettius demands that Gannicus do exactly that. Batiatus, of course, turns out to be correct in his boast.
• Benevolent Boss:
  • Titus Lentulus Batiatus is well loved by his slaves, something his son Quintus seems envious of.
  • Lucretia is shown to care about her slaves and only allowed certain things happen to them because of pure social pressure, although she's not above blackmailing Melitta into convincing Oenomaus not to tell anything about the orgy to Titus. But then again, she apologizes later.
• Betty and Veronica: Oenomaeus and Gannicus, to Melitta.
• Big Bad: Tullius is the primary antagonist, with Caburus acting as one for the arena.
• Black-and-Gray Morality: Batiatus, who might count as a Villain Protagonist given the events of Blood and Sand, comes across as significantly less evil than the competition.
• Book Ends: The season opens and closes with Batiatus dead body from the end of Blood and Sand, implying Gods of the Arena is Batiatus' life flashing before his eyes.
• Break the Cutie:
  • Gannicus starts out as a devil-may-care gladiator who loves the arena and enjoys all the perks of victory. The rest of season sees all his joy destroyed, as he receives no credit or standing for seemingly impossible victories, is forced to withstand various humiliations just because he's the best, is used as a pawn in the brutal chess game between Batiatus and Tullius, and his relationship with his only true friends is poisoned. Even the finale, where he receives much-deserved freedom, leaves him adrift, with no idea where he should go or what he should do.
  • Then there's Diona, who is raped repeatedly until she's on the point of suicide. Naevia helps her escape, but she is soon caught and executed in the arena, in front of her only friend's eyes.
• Broken Bird: Diona after her traumatic first time.
• Call-Forward: All over the place, including extensive Backstory for even seemingly incidental details such as why Oenomaus doesn't drink wine any more, why Lucretia favours her red wig, and how Ashur got his burn scars and crippled leg.
• Depraved Bisexual: Varus, and the same can be said about other numerous Roman visitors to the house of Batiatus.
• Double Standard: Rape, Male on Male: Varus molests Gannicus and then orders him to have sex with Melitta for his viewing pleasure - which neither of them wants, making this rape-by-proxy for both of them. And yet, even Gannicus acts like Melitta is the only victim in all this.
• Doomed by Canon:
  • Oenomaus will become Doctore but will lose his wife and the faith he has to his Ludus, and never see glory in the arena again.
  • Affable and cheerful Ashur will become a bitter schemer who manages to kill Barca.
  • Good Solonius and Batiatus will not stay best friends.
  • Barca and Auctus won't last, as Barca is with Pietros in the original.
• Dramatic Irony: Being a prequel, the series provides this in spades.
• Drunken Song: Gannicus sings a very crude one while celebrating his victories in episode 1. While he's balanced on the edge of a cliff no less. It's the same song the gladiators were singing during the party in "Delicate Things" while Barca was being murdered.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Crixus is frequently lectured on how bad he is against spear-wielding opponents. His very first opponent even taunted him that he'll die at the end of his spear. He later said that the reason for this is he was too young when he was Made a Slave to learn to fight and his entire family met their end at that weapon. Guess what weapon kills him in the final season.
  • In the season finale, Naevia tearfully watches her friend Diona being executed. Naevia will be killed in the exact same manner in the Grand Finale.
  • Melitta telling Gannicus that there might be a time that he may fight, if not kill, his beloved friend. Flash forward to Vengeance episode 5...
• Grey-and-Gray Morality: Batiatus' struggle with his father is this, everything else is Grey vs Black.
• Happily Married: Oenomaus and Melitta, they're like a benevolent version of Batiatus and Lucretia.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Naevia and Diona, as well as Ashur and Dagan. Despite being married, Batiatus and Lucretia are this to Solonius and Gaia respectively. Towards the end of the season, the other half of each of the female pairs will get killed, while the male pairs will have a nasty fallout.
• I Am Not My Father: In the first two episodes, several people have made this comment regarding Batiatus (and he essentially fires Doctore for mentioning it). He feels that his father's patient attitude has held the family fortunes down, and episode three makes it very clear that Batiatus and his father are not on good terms.
• Inadequate Inheritor: Titus considers Batiatus to be this.
• Incendiary Exponent: Invoked for the primus in the final episode, which takes place inside a Ring of Fire. Gnaeus cranks it up another notch by setting his net on fire during the battle.
• Interplay of Sex and Violence: During the primus, there's a crowd shot with a couple having sex while the battle takes place. Gannicus and Melitta having sex is also juxtaposed with Oenamaus fighting (and killing) the original Doctore.
• Jerkass: Vettius. And, of course, sneering, bloodthirsty rapist Cossutius.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gannicus is extremely cocky, but also really amiable around Oenomaus and Melitta, and later acts surprisingly nice towards Crixus. Auctus is arguably this as well; while he treats the new recruits badly he saves his gentler side to his birds and, of course, Barca.
• Karma Houdini: Vettius and Varus.
• Kick the Dog: A Roman man approaches Dagan, who can't speak Latin, and asks if he is interested in having a good time, Ashur and his not so Tactful Translation says Dagan is okay with it and adds that he likes it rough. Later Ashur casually blinds one of his eyes after feigning helplessness while he was taking him down in combat. With A Friend Like This indeed.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Episode 6 of Gods of the Arena is about Batiatus and Solonius setting a trap to Tullius and Vettius, then Solonius proceeds to ruin Vettius while Batiatus, before repeatedly stabbing Tullius with a knife and walling him alive, tells him exactly where he can stick his status in.
• King Mook: Caburus. He gives Gannicus and Crixus a run for their money in the finale. Gannicus finally kills him by shoving a spear tip into his mouth, before ripping his jaw off.
• Lady Macbeth: Lucretia is quite capable of taking the problem of Titus' stifling influence into her own hands. Indeed, she is revealed to have been doing so from the very beginning.
• Manly Gay: Auctus and Barca, two gladiator lovers who are both very masculine.
• Manipulative Bitch: Gaia.
• My Life Flashed Before My Eyes: The entire season is Batiatus' dying flashback.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Batiatus gets one at the end of the first episode, he returns the favour later.
• Nothing Can Stop Us Now!: Batiatus at the end of the final episode.
• Oh, Crap!: Titus in episode 5.
  Titus: "Tell me you're not the serpent I thought you to be."
  Lucretia: "I'm not. I'm far worse."
• A Party, Also Known as an Orgy: Episode 4.
• The Patriarch: Titus.
• Perfect Poison: How Lucretia killed Titus and Melitta, though the latter was an unfortunate accident. Just a sip of the poisoned wine was enough to make them cough blood and die messily. Actually, she has been poisoning Titus for a long time, not exactly to kill him, but to make him sick and leave them alone. We don't know if it is the same poison in a bigger dose or another, stronger, one.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: "Apologies."
• Psychotic Smirk: Tullius is fond of doing this.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: The whole existence of this season is due to the late Andy Whitfield's then undergoing treatment for canceer.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Gannicus (Red) and Oenomaus (Blue), Ashur (Red) and Dagan (Blue), surprisingly, Ashur (Red) and Crixus (Blue), Titus (Blue) and Quintus (Red), Lucretia (Blue) and Gaia (Red), Naevia (Blue) and Diona (Red).
• Retcon: In season one, Ashur rattles off a list of his most impressive victories in the arena. This season, however, establishes that he only fought twice in the arena: once where he was saved by Dagon, and once in the event that got him crippled.
• Ring of Fire: The showdown between Batiatus and Good Solonius' gladiators in the final episode.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Batiatus, Gannicus, and Oenomaus go on one in the season finale. Ironically what they really want revenge for (the deaths of Titus and Melitta), are the things Tullius isn't guilty of.
• Saved by Canon: The suspense of whether a downed gladiator will receive the Thumbs Down is removed when they are a recognizable main character from the first season.
• Self-Made Orphan: Batiatus considers applying this trope. He ultimately doesn't, but Lucretia takes out Titus anyway.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Auctus and Barca. Of course Auctus is only sensitive as a gladiator can possibly be, but his liking of birds shows he's a bit more warm-hearted than you would expect from a man who lives to kill.
• Suicide By Gladiator: Doctore all but forces Oenomaus to kill him.
• Sequel Hook: After Gannicus is freed in the final episode, he tells Crixus and Oenomaus to come find him when they earn their own freedom.
• Sex Equals Love: For two slaves ordered to put on a sex show, this happens.
• Spectator Casualty: In one scene in Gods of the Arena, a spectator gets their fingers cut off by a stray blow during a gladiator fight.
• Start of Darkness: While not exactly moral, five years prior Lucretia seemed to care for her slaves. Ashur was more compassionate even showing grief at having to kill a fellow slave. And while impetuous, Batiatus was at least bothered by some of the actions he took towards forwarding his ambition. In a subtle way, everything that happens in this season informs things that happened in Blood and Sand. Batiatus whoring out his gladiators to those richer and more influential was first suggested by Gaia, his rivalry with Selonius is explained, his Freudian Excuse for trying to climb beyond his station is explored, and the story of Gannicus informs why he took such risks to keep Spartacus in his ludus, looking for someone who was as capable a performer as the gladiator he was forced to let go.
• Tactful Translation: Ashur plays it straight, but never with good intentions.
• Team Mom: Melitta to the other slave girls, especially Naevia and Diona.
• Technician Versus Performer:
  • While the Batiatus father and son acknowledge the importance of both, Titus strongly favors gladiators with skills compared to his son Quintus who strongly favors gladiators who ignite the crowd.
  • This is further exemplified by each man's favorite gladiator, Oenomaus and Gannicus. The former is a veteran gladiator, with vast experience and hard earned athletic abilities, while the latter is freakish talented fighter who ignites the crowd and disregards constant training.
• Tempting Fate:
  • Good Solonius gloats to Vettius in episode 6 "We were not found knife in hand, kneeling beside body!" This almost perfectly describes the Frame-Up from the first season that leads to his death.
  • Also this exchange between Gannicus and Melitta in Episode 2.
  Melitta: "And what happens, brave Gannicus, when presented with circumstance you cannot laugh or fight your way clear of?"
  Gannicus: "Well I may have to fuck my way clear of it!"
  • Naevia helping Diona to escape because she couldn't bear seeing her friend regress and eventually die.
• Those Two Girls: Naevia and Diona.
• Three-Way Sex: It doesn't take long for Gaia to find her way into Lucretia and Batiatus' bed.
• Title Drop: In every episode except number 4. Batiatus also refers to Gannicus as a "god of the arena" in the finale.
• Took a Level in Badass: Crixus, after a Rousing Speech from Batiatus and his arena battle with Auctus.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: While not a Nice Guy, Crixus is depicted as The Quiet One here compared to his Jerk Jock self in Blood and Sand. Likewise, Ashur.
• Tournament Arc: Titus ordered his gladiators to compete in order to determine the rankings on his house in episode 5. The Season Finale has the surviving gladiators from the earlier matches compete in the Ring of Fire match in the main event.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Gannicus, Oenomaus and Melitta who are true friends (the latter two are married), but then Gannicus and Melitta are forced to have sex, an event that shakes everything up.
• Villain Protagonist: Batiatus, the Big Bad of Blood and Sand, is front and center and only a bit less of a vile schemer. It works because his enemies are even bigger dicks, and because the season is essentially his Start of Darkness.
• We Used to Be Friends:
  • This series reveals that Batiatus and Good Solonius, bittier rivals in Blood and Sand who each arrange to murder the other, used to be the best of friends in days past.
  • Also, Crixus and Ashur. While by no means best friends, they get along very well, and Ashur even shows concern when he believes Crixus is going to die in his fight against Gannicus. Ashur is absolutely shocked when Crixus cripples his leg.
  • Speaking of Ashur, he and Dagan became this at the end of the prequel.
  • Inverted with Barca and Crixus, who don't get along well initially due to Crixus killing Barca's lover in his debut in the arena.
• Wham Episode: Episode 4.
• Wham Line:
  • From episode 2:
  "Have him fuck this one."
  • From episode 5:
  "I'm not. I'm far worse."
• With Friends Like These...: Ashur and Dagan are good friends, and Dagan even saves Ashur's life. When Dagan starts receiving more praise as a gladiator, however, a jealous Ashur puts him in a very uncomfortable situation.
• Women Are Wiser: Melitta has shown wisdom, kindness and patience like no one else in the series. It is particularly emphasized when she interacts with the irresponsible and boisterous Gannicus and her husband is always seeking her for advice. Lucretia is also more level-headed and cautious than Batiatus and this trope may apply to all the other women with Gaia being a notable exception, but only in the "morally superior" part.
• The Vamp: Gaia has sex for fun, love, and manipulation.

  Lucretia: "I thought you were in love."

  Gaia: "I was... with his money."

• Young Future Famous People: Gannicus, Crixus and Oenomeus will one day be leaders of a rebellion which will shake the Republic. Here, they are just gladiators in a mid-level ludus in a provincial town.

Spartacus: Vengeance

Vengeance provides examples of:

• Achey Scars: Lucretia's wound starts to ache when she sees Crixus.
• Action Girl:
  • Mira has been as valuable a warrior as any of the other gladiators so far.
  • Saxa revels in her warrior ways.
  • Naevia has turned into this by the last couple of episodes.
• Always Chaotic Evil: Compared to previous seasons, name a single Roman character who isn't at best a Jerkass.
• Annoying Arrows:
  • Played with in episode 8, Glaber takes an arrow to the shoulder, and despite wearing armor is knocked off his feet. He isn't seriously hurt though. The Egyptian completely ignores a dozen arrows sticking out of his chest, arms, and legs; but he seems to just be that tough. However, there is the occasional instant death arrow thrown in the mix.
  • After Mira offers to teach someone bow skills, Saxa screams (in "German") "This bitch and her fucking arrows!"
• Anyone Can Die: Continuing the trend of Blood and Sand, we have Aurelia, Marcus, Rhaskos, Albinius, Lucius, Seppius, Seppia, Varinius, Mira, Ashur, Oenomeus, Glaber, Lucretia, Illithyia and Illithyia's newborn baby.
• As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Agron and the Rhines, whose German is barely comprehensible for native speakers. A case of Artistic License – Linguistics, as even Old German did not yet exist as a language this far back in history.
• Arc Words: "Go to Vesuvius!"
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The Germans pledge themselves to Spartacus after he kills their greatest warrior.
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: Marcus seems to subscribe to this strategy.
  Marcus: "And we shall fight until the last drop of Roman blood!"
• Attempted Rape:
  • When the gladiators arrive at the mines, Mira is presented as an "apology" for the slaves arriving late. The lead Roman wastes very little time in trying to rape her. She however will have none of it, and puts a knife on his crotch and demands he tell her where Naevia is. Turns out that was their plan all along.
  • One of the Rhines attempts this on Naevia. It did not end well.
• Battle Couple: Once the latter of each pair underwent training.
  • Spartacus and Mira
  • Crixus and Naevia
  • Agron and Nasir
• Bawdy Song: The Gauls, particularly Rhaskos, have one called My Cock Rages On. Rhaskos starts singing it naked at one point, much to the other gladiators' displeasure. This is apparently the only song gladiators ever learn, as it's the same one from Blood and Sand and Gods of the Arena.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Mostly averted in that many characters acquire cuts that become permanent scars. Exceptions include:
  • By the end of episode 4, after constant running and fighting through the woods Spartacus' and Mira's faces are both stained with blood and mud. It's all gone by the next episode though.
  • Only three characters in the entire show have ever been bruised: Ilithyia, Naevia, and Pietros. It's worth noting that their bruises come from more "domestic" fights, compared to battles: Ilithyia is hit by her husband, while Naevia and Pietros receive bruises at the hands of their rapists, Ashur and Gnaeus, respectively.
  • Naevia really stands out here. Despite being shipped from villa to villa to be used as a sex toy by Roman aristocrats, and then having been sent to the mines, she only has a few minor blemishes and otherwise still looks better than most women on their best day. Her hair likewise, unflattering cropped off at the end of Blood & Sand, has grown out enough to look attractively unkempt.
  • Overall, despite spending their days on the run with limited food and water in Vengeance, the former gladiators still have their impressive physiques, and everyone has perfectly white teeth.
• Big Bad: Glaber.
• Big Damn Heroes: After fleeing the mines, Spartacus finds his forces picked off one by one. Just as he convinced he's going to die, Agron shows up with the rest of his men.
• Black Dude Dies First:
  • In episode 4, Spartacus, Mira, Nasir, and Naevia are accompanied by 4 unnamed gladiators three of whom are black. Admittedly, all four of them die, but the black ones do die first.
  • Oenomaus is the first of the four generals to die, but he was historically the first to die as well.
• Blood from the Mouth: Almost everyone who dies bleeds from the mouth.
• Boisterous Bruiser: All of the Rhines.
• Broken Bird: Naevia due to recent events.
• Brother–Sister Incest: Seppius is in love with his sister Seppia, and gets jealous whenever she has the attention of other men. Glaber notices and is creeped out.
• Bullying a Dragon: In the first episode, three street toughs try this with a side order of blackmail ("We won't tell who you are if you give us Spartacus") on Oenomaus. The guy who they already know was the only man ever to survive against Theokoles, who is in-universe pretty much the second most terrifying man to have ever lived. And they do it armed with one small dagger. It works out pretty much how you would expect for them.
• The Bus Came Back: Many characters returned this season, namely; Albinius, Cossutius, Mecatto and Gannicus. All except Gannicus also counts as Back for the Dead.
• Call-Back:
  • Gannicus is introduced as "A true God of the Arena". Ashur also calls him this.
  • In episode 8, Spartacus presents a thin piece of cloth to Glaber as proof of Ilithyia's capture, perfectly mirroring what Glaber did to him at the beginning of Blood and Sand.
  • In episode 9, The House of Ashur, reminding Lucretia and everyone of the House of Batiatus.
  • In episode 10, "At last the Roman knows his place before us! On his knees!"
• Cannot Spit It Out: Nasir towards Agron.
• Captain Obvious: Ashur states the Gannicus has made his choice after Gannicus single-handedly slaughters a Roman honor guard, kidnaps Glaber's wife and leaves his rudis impaled in the gladiator Ashur had sent to watch him.
• Catchphrase:
  • You can almost bet that Agron will say some variation of 'Fucking [Insert Race Here]', usually Gauls, at least once an episode.
  • Nasir seems to hiss whenever he is about to fight.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder:
  • Blood and Sand and Gods of the Arena hinted at this, but Vengeance is proving that this is the way Roman Politics were handled. Nearly everyone in the Roman Upper Class is shown to have a case of this.
  • Ilithyia accuses Ashur of having this toward Glaber which is probably the one time in the series when he's actually not an example.
• Clingy Jealous Girl/Woman Scorned: Mira does not take learning about the Bed Trick incident from Blood and Sand well. Which doesn't really make much sense, since she was sent to Spartacus in the first place specifically to "prepare" him for spending time with "the Roman woman," which one not being relevant.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: A pretty horrific example happens in episode 4 when one of the captured Gauls is selected by the Roman elite as a means of both revenge for the massacre at the end of Blood and Sand, and for their own personal amusement.
• Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like:
  • Spartacus is not terribly happy with Crixus and the Gauls saving him from Glaber's soldiers. Crixus later states they weren't there to save him, but to stop him from killing Glaber, as the Roman reprisal would be more than they were ready for.
  • Naevia believing that Crixus died so that she could escape, and knowing how many others died in the attempt, she angrily chastises the rebels for throwing away so much to rescue her. Notably, she chastises Agron, who was the one opposed to the rescue from the start for this very reason. When he tells her this, she says he should have tried harder to talk them out of it.
• Creator Cameo: Michael Hurst appears as a Roman soldier in episode 9. He's the one who says, "Praetor, the rebels are in retreat."
• Cruel Mercy: In episode 8, Spartacus turns Ilithyia loose into the woods, telling her that Glaber does not love her (which she probably already knew). He even says that it isn't a kindness, as she is now lost without food or water. As with every other instance of this, it backfires.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Spartacus v Sedullus.
  • Naevia insists in duelling Ashur one-on-one as revenge for her abuse at his hands. Given that Ashur was trained as a gladiator (albeit not a great one) while Naevia has only received limited instruction from Crixus, coupled with his greater size and strength he easily defeats her and would have killed her had he not decided to stop and gloat.
• Deadly Bath: Seppia tries to murder Glaber in his bath, only to have her throat slit by Ilithyia.
• Deadpan Snarker: Agron is developing into one between Crixus and Spartacus' constant seriousness.
  Agron: (discussing a slave that tried to kill Spartacus) And how do you propose we train this wild little dog?
  Spartacus: As Batiatus had Doctore train me.
  Agron: And that turned out so well.
  • Glaber also shows signs of it.
  Marcus: (after hearing a piercing scream from Ilithyia) What has happened?
  Glaber: In matters concerning my wife the gods themselves fear to speculate.
  • Ilithyia in the bath "relaxing"
  Ilithyia: Oh! Gaius. You give heart cause to flutter.
  Glaber: The water ripples in evidence.
• Death by a Thousand Cuts: The fate of one captured Gaul in episode 4, until Ilithyia gets fed up and finishes him off.
• Death by Disfigurement: Oenomaus loses an eye and is killed in the following episode. Likewise, Varinius and many other Roman soldiers were killed after being hit by the catapult.
• Death Seeker: Oenomaus. After the fall of House Batiatus, he begins to fight in The Pit as a means of punishment.
• Designated Girl Fight: In a massive brawl between the brotherhood and the new German recruits, of course Mira ends up tangling with the only action girl on the other side. Though it's about as brutal as the other fights.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Mira presumably dies in Spartacus' arms, though no one knows she's dead until he puts her down. Oenomaus in Gannicus' arms.
• Disc-One Final Dungeon: Mount Vesuvius.
• The Dog Bites Back:
  • Glaber kills Senator Albinius after he's had enough of Albinius mocking him and he's discovered the conspiracy against him.
  • After Lucretia tries to put the new and improved Ashur in line with insults, he explains to her that she owes him a lot. And then drives the point home by brutally raping her.
  • There's a memorable minor character example in the brothel raid, where a sadistic customer is urinating on a prostitute, and she takes the opportunity of the violence of the raid to stab him in the guts.
• The Dragon:
  • Marcus appears to act as Glaber's second-in-command.
  • Ashur becomes Glaber's Dragon later. He's even got his own dragon: the Egyptian.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?:
  • A villainous example. Ashur seems to be the embodiment of this trope in his own eyes. He did all of Batiatus' dirty work before AND after he was marked as a member of the Brotherhood. He was the one who rescued Lucretia and nursed her back to health and is alluded to have done countless other favors and deeds for other gladiators. Yet he is still seen as someone who is below standing.
  • Glaber also once he learns that despite his rank, no one likes or respects him.
• Easy Amnesia: Lucretia now remembers nothing of the events of the last few months due to the trauma of what happened at the ludus. Turns out she was lying about that, at least partially. She's certainly remembered by the end of the season.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: A great many of the characters are motivated by Revenge. And in the end Spartacus, Naevia and Lucretia take it all in brutal ways.
• Expository Hairstyle Change:
  • Lucretia's natural brown hair has now grown through and reflects her now fragile state.
  • Agron's long hair has now been cut completely short to symbolize his allegiance to Spartacus.
  • Ashur shaves his beard when he becomes a man of influence and power through Glaber, since proper Romans go clean-shaven. It's also accompanied by a neater haircut.
• Evasive Fight-Thread Episode: Spartacus and Gannicus come to blows, over the former believing the latter betrayed the rebellion. They both use the same fighting style of Dimachaeri (two short shorts). The fight is so evenly matched that they lose both their swords and resort to fists before picking up their swords again. The fight only stops because they are interrupted, with neither looking worse for it, and then never fighting each other again.
• Evil Versus Evil: It is still great fun watching the various Roman characters screw each other over.
• Eye Scream: The Egyptian stabs Oenomaus in the eye in episode 9.
• Fate Worse than Death: The mines were hinted to be this in Blood and Sand and Gods of the Arena, and Mira certainly believes it to be as well. From what we see, she's right.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Spartacus invokes this in Episode 9 by having 2 gladiators/slaves who don't get along fight as a team against another two who don't get along. He hopes this will lead forge a sense of camaraderie between them. It actually works with Crixus and Agron.
• Flashback with the Other Darrin:
  • Crixus has a couple of flashbacks to his time with Naevia. This time it involves new scenes shot with Cynthia Addai Robinson, instead of Lesley Ann Brandt.
  • A flashback to Spartacus' sex scene with Ilithiya now features Liam McIntyre instead of Andy Whitfield. Some shots of the original scene do remain however, since they were both masked and him covered in gold paint.
• Foregone Conclusion: Oenamaus and Glaber dying at Vesuvius shouldn't come as a surprise, as this is what happened historically (the bloodbath among the other main characters, on the other hand...).
• Foreshadowing:
  • In Episode 1, Glaber and Marcus are discussing Pompey and his war in Hispania. Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, known as Pompey, was one of the two generals who ultimately defeat Spartacus; and was in fact absent for much of Spartacus' War due to dealing with a war in Hispania.
  • In Episode 5, Spartacus and his forces establish a camp at the base of Mount Vesuvius. Historically, Spartacus' final confrontation with Glaber happens on Vesuvius.
  • Gannicus witnessed numerous crucifixions throughout the series. Historically, Spartacus' army was punished through this. By the end of the series, this canonical event took place with Gannicus being one of those crucified rebels.
• Five Philosophy Ensemble: The five main characters.
  • Spartacus = The Optimist
  • Crixus = The Realist
  • Agron = The Cynic
  • Gannicus = The Apathetic
  • Oenamaus = The Conflicted
• Five Temperament Ensemble: Likewise.
  • Spartacus = Leukine
  • Agron = Phlegmatic
  • Crixus = Sanguine
  • Oenamaus = Melancholic
  • Gannicus = Choleric
• Genius Bonus:
  • Although its possible that the writers did not know, one of the speeches at the arena in episode 5 is one of these. A Roman character says to a Capuan crowd that "Hannibal is at our gates" and then says words to the effect of "but we beat him ultimately". The in-universe audience and the knowledgeable amongst the viewers will know that Capua switched sides and supported Hannibal against Rome and was punished for that, and at the time of the Third Servile War still had a Roman garrison in order to keep the city under Roman thumb.
  • Towards the end of the series, Spartacus gazes longingly at a map of Thrace for a few moments, but ultimately turns away from it. This is a probable reference to Plutarch's theory that towards the end of his rebellion, Spartacus lost his heart for fighting and just wanted to go home.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Although Ilithyia isn't actually good, her choice not to have an abortion is viewed positively by both herself and others. It was a complex situation to begin with, as she first intended for this because she'd been planning a divorce from Gaius, but felt hesitant. Then she admits it's not even his, but Spartacus's (due to a deception Lucretia pulled on them), though she's come to desire it nonetheless.
• Gorgeous Period Dress: Practically every Roman woman wears one. Special mention goes out to Ilithyia's Pimped-Out Dress from Episode 4's party.
• Groin Attack: Used on at least two perverts by Mira and Naevia.
• Hands-On Approach: Varinius teaching Seppia how to use a sword in episode 4.
• Headbutting Heroes: Crixus and Agron.
• Heal It With Fire:
  • In episode 4, Nasir has a wound treated this way. It even gets a Call-Back to Blood And Sand, when it's mentioned Crixus survived his wounds from Theokoles this way.
  • Spartacus also tries to do this with Mira, but it's too late.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Any possible chance that Aurelia and Spartacus can finally be on good terms is lost when he sends her away to find her son but they are ambushed and she is fatally wounded. With her last words she orders him to keep away from her son.
• Historical Domain Character: In addition to all the returning ones, Varinius. Though historically speaking he shows up a little early, and depending on the source may be a Composite Character of two separate Roman generals who fought Spartacus shortly after Glaber.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Spartacus uses the Romans' own catapults against them in the finale, invoking Kill It with Fire on a large part of their camp.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Marcia, a prostitute Gannicus becomes acquainted with. She gets crucified for talking about the rebellion.
• The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: Hunted up the mountain, the rebels finally turn the table and it is Glaber and the Romans in the end who have to defend themselves in the temple
• Human Ladder: The Romans stand on each others' shields to storm the temple walls in episode 9.
• If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Spartacus' reason for not having Nasir killed, despite the fact that Nasir just tried to kill him. Spartacus also claims that he would be just like Glaber if he killed Illithyia.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Agron said this almost verbatim after Crixus confronted him about lying about Naevia's status.
• Instant Expert: Mira masters the bow very quickly. Though Lucius does say that she has a natural talent for it. Exaggerated when later in the same episode, when she shoots an arrow between a dueling Gannicus and Spartacus and hits Chadara in the throat (though it's then immediately subverted when Mira reveals she was aiming to wound).
• Ironic Echo:
  • "We'll get through this together, as husband and wife."
  • Spartacus bringing Glaber Ilithyia's ribbon, the same way Glaber brought Spartacus Sura's ribbon.
  • "Is there nothing left between us?"
  • "At last (he) learns his place before us; on his knees!"
  • "We are friends, are we not?" "The very best." This gets echoed twice in Vengeance, but was originally said in Blood and Sand.
  • Lucretia dropping her red wig from the balcony was reminiscent of the way Gaia's body (she often wore a red wig) was disposed of in the prequel.
  • The last match of the opening of the arena has the Ring of Fire showdown. The last day of the arena shows the arena itself being surrounded by fire. Gannicus is present for both. Furthermore, Spartacus first arrived in the arena as a Condemned Contestant, now he is the rescuer of his friends who are slated for this fate.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Well...maybe gold's a bit strong, but aside from being loud and obnoxious, Rhaskos seems to have his good qualities. Foremost being his Undying Loyalty to Crixus.
• Kick the Dog:
  • Ashur taunts Oenomaus about Gannicus and Melitta's affair from Gods of the Arena. Later, he brutally rapes Lucretia just to prove he can.
  • Glaber crucifies one of Ilithyia's slaves, despite knowing she is innocent, just to show his power, and even forces Ilithyia to confirm that the slave was a traitor.
  • Nemetes' actions get Mira killed. He later makes some insulting remarks about both her and Spartacus. This leads to a rather savage beating, even Saxa dumps him in disgust.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: Lucius.
  "At least it wasn't a fucking Roman who took my-" (beheaded)
• Kill It with Fire:
  • In episode 5, while Spartacus and Agron enter the arena as part of a rescue, Mira and a team of gladiators set fire to the arena's foundations causing it to burn and collapse.
  • In episode 9, Glaber's forces catapult flaming debris at the rebels' base. Crixus shoves Varinius in the way of one and he is incinerated.
• Large Ham: Glaber. A fairly unremarkable villain in season one with very little screentime, in season three he seeks to make up for Batiatus' absence by letting his inner ham free at last.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Lucretia sexually abused Crixus for years while pretending / having delusions that they were having an affair based on love. Now Ashur is treating her the same way.
• Last Stand: Episode 4. Subverted. Spartacus and Mira, who refuses to abandon him, prepare to make one against an approaching army. But it turns out the forces approaching are their own.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: The DVD release of Vengeance spoils the unexpected returns of Lucretia and Gannicus by having portraits of the actors on individual discs.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: In episode 6, Naevia alludes to the woman Crixus fell in love with "she was a different girl". This season, she has been recast with a different actress.
• Leeroy Jenkins: What Marcus turns out to be. A few gladiators act like this Wrath of the Gods, and get Mira killed. Needless to say, Spartacus is pissed.
• The Lost Lenore: Batiatus for Lucretia. and it looks like as of Season 3 Spartacus will have not one but two, given how Mira exited the show.
• Love Is a Weakness: Ashur mockingly points out how love has led to ruin for Gannicus, Crixus, and Oenomaus. Gannicus later laments this as well. Ironically he meets his downfall for trying to wed Lucretia.
• Mad Oracle: Lucretia. Turns out that she doesn't really think that she's an oracle, but is at least a little insane.
• Mook Lieutenant: Marcus. Unfortunately he is also a Leeroy Jenkins and dies for it by Ashur's hand. He is then replaced by Salvius (another Roman officer), while Ashur gets promoted to The Dragon.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: Ilithyia to Seppia.
• The Needs of the Many: Agron's justification for lying about Naevia. Spartacus admits that it is a lie for the greater good—and then immediately states that, if they discard the needs of the few/one, they're just as bad as the Romans.
• Neck Snap: The Egyptian does this to a random brothel patron, his head doing a full 180.
• Number Two:
  • Agron seems to be this for Spartacus' side of the Rebels.
  • Rhaskos for The Gauls.
  • Ashur and Salvius butt heads frequently over which of them is (or should be) Glaber's Number Two.
• Obfuscating Insanity: A tricky one. Lucretia appears insane initially, they continues to seem insane to audiences but sane to other Romans as she claims to now be a prophetess (which we are shown is a sham, her "prophecies" are intelligence relayed in secret via Ashur. However, she legitimately is a completely different kind of crazy from what she was pretending to be, as revealed when she cuts out Illithyia's baby and hurls it and herself off a cliff, believing herself, Batiatus, and "their" child will now be Together in Death.
• Odd Friendship: Ilithyia and Lucretia.
• Oh, Crap!: Ilithyia gets two in one episode; first when she finds out she has to return to Capua and second when she finds Lucretia still alive in the Ludus.
  • Spartacus gets a rare one when Aurelia's dying and beaten body is dragged out in front of the market by Glaber's soldiers. Having previously thought she was safely on her way to finding her son.
• Ominous Latin Chanting: During the climax of the final episode (fittingly, reprised from the final battle in Gods of the Arena).
• Only Sane Man: Gannicus is constantly reminding the rebels that their cause is hopeless, and he's right. As a free man who chose to enter the rebellion rather than a freed slave, he doesn't have the same blind spots as the others.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Ilithyia, Albinius, Seppius, and Varinius all spend several episodes repeatedly mocking and belittling Glaber. It's great fun to watch, but it comes back to bite almost all of them in the ass.
  • Lucretia and Ashur. For both of them, given that she is the one arranging his downfall.
• Psycho for Hire: Ashur enlists several of these, after finally making Glaber realize his men are not good enough to fight gladiators. Most notable is the Egyptian, who very nearly manages to kill Crixus (and later Oenamaus) with nothing but a pair of knives.
• Quirky Miniboss Squad: Ashur's aforementioned Psychos.
• Rape as Drama: Naevia, Lucretia. Both caused by Ashur.
• Red Shirt: Lucretia gets to decide which captive gladiator gets to be tortured to death. Among her choices were Crixus, Oenomaus, Rhaskos, and a guy we've never seen or heard from before this episode. Guess who she picks.
• Remember the New Guy?: Several gladiators introduced here weren't even present as background characters in Blood and Sand.
• Rescue Arc: The first half of the season has two.
• Retired Badass: Gannicus has been out of the game for five years, and is just as tough as he was in Gods of the Arena.
• Rich Bitch: Seppia.
• Say My Name: Ashur has his sex slave call him Dominus ("master").
• Sex Slave: Lucretia for Ashur.
  • Naevia was brutally used as such by a succession of new owners before ending up in the mines.
  • This was at least part of the job Nasir and Chadara had with their former owner. Presumably for quite some time, given how attached Nasir was to his master. Now consider that Nasir is a teenager when he is finally freed, and that he's been a slave so long that he can barely still remember his family. Squick.^note In Ancient Rome, raping pre-pubescent slave boys was perfectly acceptable for a male citizen - in fact, that was the ideal of "gay sex" in pre-Christian Roman society; as opposed to the Greek "pederasty" system in which the younger partner was supposed to be free-born, respectfully treated and over 12 years of age, with the ideal "lust object" being a well-muscled, post-pubescent teenager (much like Nasir). It's the fact that Nasir's owner orders him to penetrate him that would have been considered scandalous and morally wrong, if the man's peers ever found out about it. A Roman male citizen was supposed to never, ever let his body "be used for the pleasure of others", meaning bottoming or providing oral sex (to men or women, it doesn't matter).
  • Marcia, the prostitute Gannicus makes friends with. Thankfully, she actually likes him and enjoys his "patronage", though she wouldn't have a choice about having sex with him if she didn't. Also, probably all the other nameless prostitutes seen in brothel scenes.
• Shipper on Deck: Chadara encourages Nasir to get with Agron. Mira also encourages them to go off and have sex, but she has ulterior motives.
• Shoot the Messenger: After Ashur's terms of surrender are rejected, he attempts to leave to deliver their response, only for Crixus (who's pissed about what Ashur did to Naevia) to point out that Ashur's head will be suitable response. Spartacus agrees.
• Slashed Throat: Too many to count.
• Slow Clap: Lugo initiates a particularly cool one with his sword and shield in episode seven, as a sign that he and the other Rhines will follow Spartacus.
• Spotting the Thread: While the rebels are hiding at a villa they've liberated, a Roman scouting party arrives and Spartacus sends the former body/sex slave, Nasir, to greet them. It seems to go well and the soldiers get ready to leave, until Nasir offers the scouts inside for refreshment, seemingly betraying them. After the rebels kill the Romans, Nasir explains that the squad leader noticed that he was not wearing his slave collar, and had he left, they would have returned with more men.
• Stockholm Syndrome: Nasir has been a relatively well-treated body slave (well, aside from the sexual abuse) since he was a small child, and he developed enough loyalty towards his owner that he initially tries to kill Spartacus in revenge for the man's death. He gets over it quickly, though.
• Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Aurelia.
• Suicidal Overconfidence: During a duel with Naevia, Ashur forgoes a killing blow in favour of gloating over his impending victory, this turns out to be a fatal mistake.
• Suicide Mission:
  • Agron sees rescuing Naevia as this. He's right. Nearly everyone who goes on the mission is killed or captured.
  • Gannicus sees a slave revolt against Rome as this, though he eventually joins it. The irony of course being, he's right.
  • Glaber sends Ashur to deliver terms of surrender to Spartacus, seeing him as expendable in the likely event that Spartacus will simply have him killed. He's correct.
• This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Deconstructed when Naevia insists on personally duelling Ashur, whose rape of her began her Trauma Conga Line. He nearly kills her given his superior strength and skill, and she only survives because he lapses into Evil Gloating rather than striking the fatal blow, allowing her to surprise him with a Groin Attack.
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Several times. Surprisingly, it also applies for the villains, as throwing an axe earns Salvius the honour of being the only Roman legionary to kill one of the main characters.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • Ashur goes from a Smug Snake to quite a force to be reckoned with.
  • Ilithyia. In Blood and Sand she proved she could kill. In Vengeance, she proves she can kill in cold blood with a smile on her face.
  • Mira has gone from a slavegirl/concubine in Blood and Sand to having a pretty impressive killcount building up in Vengeance. Actually, her badass level triples per episode.
  • Naevia: the delicate flower got thorns indeed.
  • Nasir progresses from body/sex slave to pretty decent warrior.
• Took a Level in Jerkass:
  • Glaber's Jerkassitude gets turned up to eleven this season. It's hard to not feel sorry for Seppius as he dies knowing his sister is at the mercy of the man who slaughtered everyone in their household.
  • Ashur moves from an opportunistic traitor to a sadistic rapist and cutthroat.
• Torture Technician:
  • The entire upper-class of Capua/Rome seems to have a minor degree in this. Driven home with Glaber as his execution of choice is crucifixion.
  • Ashur tries his hand at this to break Oenomaus and get information about Spartacus' whereabouts. While he proves a brutal physical torturer, it's ultimately his calm, smug delivery of psychological torture that breaks Oenomaus' silence.
• Traumatic C-Section: In the season finale, Lucretia cuts Ilithyia's baby out of her.
• Trojan Horse: In episode 8, Glaber delivers a wagon that is full of his mercenaries instead of the supplies he promised.
• Undying Loyalty: Agron to Spartacus, Rhaskos to Crixus.
• Unholy Matrimony: While Ilithyia and Glaber showed signs of this in Blood and Sand, its taken further here. Ilithyia even states "We are both monsters Gaius, let us be monsters together."
• Villainous Crush: Ilithyia fantasizes about Spartacus while she is in the bath.
• Villainous Rescue: Ashur saves Oenomaus from death in the pits so he can hand him over to Glaber for interrogation.
• Waif-Fu: Somewhat averted. The main female ex-slave characters like Mira and Naevia are still pretty waifish, but some of the background fighters look more realistically buff, and new character Saxa is at least wiry, though otherwise still built like an underwear model. Furthermore, while they hold their own against the average Roman soldier, the gladiators or a man like Caesar can take them down in seconds. And frequently do.
• Wham Episode:
  • "Libertus." Spartacus and the rebels burn down the Capua arena, resulting in the deaths of hundreds. Glaber uses the incident to kill Senator Albinius, thus sealing Ilithyia's marriage to him and ruining any chance of her divorcing him to be with Varinius.
  • "Wrath of the Gods." Naevia chops off Ashur's head as revenge for everything he did to her, Spartacus and the rebels kill Glaber and slay his army, but at the cost of Oenomaus and Mira, and Ilithyia dies shortly after Lucretia gives her a Traumatic C-Section, and then throws herself and the baby off a cliff.
• Wham Line:
  • From episode 5: Varinius announcing the legendary gladiator who will execute Oenomaus, Crixus and Rhaskos in the arena.
  "The only gladiator from this bare city to ever earn his freedom upon the sands! A true God of the Arena! I give you... Gannicus!"
• Wham Shot: Glaber revealing a bloody and beaten Aurelia as another "sign of blessing from the gods".
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Mira and the others give one to Spartacus for letting his desire for revenge against Glaber blind him.
  • Agron dismisses Naevia as just one life and insignificant. Spartacus calls him out and rightfully points out that Agron wouldn't feel that way if Duro was in Naevia's place.
  • Spartacus gives one to the Rhines (Agron's kinsmen) after they promptly act like the worst house guests ever.
  • Spartacus again chews out a few of his gladiators for trying to leave the mountain in a way doomed to fail, which gets Mira killed.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?:
  • A rare example that is perfectly justified in the narrative. When Ashur fights Naevia, he disables her with every blow but repeatedly allows her to recover and come at him again, and when he finally has her on her knees he spends so long gloating that she has time to castrate him with her reclaimed sword and succeeds in killing him. This seems like a remarkably poor strategy, if you don't consider that:
    • Ashur will be killed by the other gladiators the second Naevia quits insisting that he's hers to deal with.
    • Ashur has always been known to showboat and gloat over defeating weaker enemies.
    • Every second the fight drags on serves as torture for Crixus, whose actions essentially set Ashur on this path.
    • He could have been dragging out the fight for as long as possible. In hopes of trying to find an opening to get away, as his character always does.
• Worst Aid: In episode 10, Spartacus takes the axe out of Mira's chest before carrying her up the mountain, leading her to bleed to death before they can help her. However, she was unlikely to live anyway.
• You Can Keep Her!: Glaber's attitude when Spartacus holds Ilithyia to ransom, trying to kill him at the handover and outright admitting it.
• You Have Failed Me: Glaber nearly has Ashur executed for failing to capture Spartacus and getting Marcus killed before Lucretia saves him.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
  • Glaber, Ashur, and their mercenaries typically execute anyone they question.
  • Ashur himself becomes a victim of this trope in the finale, when Glaber sends him to offer surrender to Spartacus's army knowing they'll refuse and kill him.
• You Shall Not Pass!: Lucius does this in episode 8. The Egyptian eventually marches up to him and slices his head off.

Spartacus: War of the Damned

• Anyone Can Die: Continuing the tradition. It'd be easier to list the characters that live. Crassus, Caesar, and Pompey obviously, Agron, Nasir, Laeta, Sibyl, and bit characters Belesa, the unnamed mother with her baby, and the Veteran Gladiator.
• Arc Symbol: Tiberius' sword for Crixus' and Naevia's story arc. Also counts as a Chekhov's Gun (see below).
• Arc Words: "They but delay their inevitable end."
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: The Roman mooks' answer to every situation. Often the men who charge the rebels don't have shields while their buddies in formation do, giving the slightly amusing impression that they threw them away as they rushed forward.
• Awful Truth: Crassus learns a pretty terrible truth towards the end of the season: his beloved son was a monster who brutally raped his "beloved" Sex Slave, eventually leading her to kill him, murdered a slave who knew about the rape and also assaulted Caesar for calling him out on it. He (understandably) doesn't take it very well at all.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: Spartacus and Gannicus in episode 5.
• The Bad Guys Win: Zig-Zagged — Crassus does defeat Spartacus's army, but is defeated by Spartacus in personal combat only to be saved by his men who deal a mortal wound to Spartacus instead, and then Spartacus escapes him yet again, then the defeat of Spartacus's army is credited to Pompey, a character who only appears in the show for one brief scene. In the larger context (of Rome as "The Bad Guys," the slave revolt is finally put down, all of its main leaders are dead, but a good number of rebel slaves escaped into other lands, to hopefully live out their lives in peace. But slavery as a practice is far from dead in the Roman Republic. And Caesar is poised to one day become Emperor of the Roman Empire.
• Bare-Handed Blade Block:
  • This is Crassus's signature move, where he stabs his opponent with their own weapon. It gets turned against him by Spactacus in their climactic duel.
  • Later, Donar and Gannicus do this, with similar damage to their hands.
• Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me: Crassus has this done with Laeta, however it is Heracleo that he actually gives her to as a sex slave.
• Bawdy Song: In episode 8, there is a party the night before Crixus and his group leave on their own mission. Several gladiators can be heard singing (what else?) "My Cock Rages On." Perhaps proving once and for all that it really is the only song they know.
• Better to Die than Be Killed: In episode 6, Gannicus advises Sibyl to due this if the Romans are about to capture her, but it proves unnecessary. Later, Donar does this, denying Cesear the honor of killing him, and overall spoiling the Roman's party.
• Betty and Veronica: Sybil and Saxa respectively to Gannicus.
• Big Bad: We finally get to meet Crassus.
• Big Damn Heroes: Just when Crassus is about to kill Spartacus, Agron and Nasir arrive to drive him and the other Romans away. Spartacus still dies from his wounds, but they get him away to safety.
• Bittersweet Ending: Most of the rebels are dead, including Spartacus, but a handful have survived, and Spartacus goes out peacefully, prepared to be reunited with Sura.
• Book Ends:
  • The red serpent from Sura's dream, way back in the pilot episode, shows up on another shield in the finale. Spartacus notices, and comments on it. Ultimately, the red serpent shield is laid on top of Spartacus' grave.
  • Chronologically, Crixus first appeared in the series sporting long hair and beard.
  • The Grand Finale starts and ends with a character saying "I Am Spartacus".
  • Meta example: The first and last actor shown in the series is the late Andy Whitfield.
• Bury Your Gays: Inverted. The gay couple Agron and Nasir are the only named male characters among the Rebellion to survive.
• The Butcher: Pompey is regularly referred to as "The Butcher."
• Call-Back: Crixus and Agron reference Oenamaus' "what is beneath your feet?" line during a Rousing Speech in "Separate Paths."
• Call That a Formation?: Oh how the Romans are guilty of this.
  • A particularly hilarious case is when the leader in a Roman convoy barks "Keep formation!" and then they all immediately break it, literally two seconds later, when some rebels leap out in ambush.
  • Arrius' legion in "Separate Paths," some of whom respond to the slave ambush by counter-charging (but not even the whole legion - some Romans hold formation while others rush forward!). The iron Roman discipline that Spartacus sometimes talks about is very much an Informed Ability this season.
• Casual Crucifixion: Averted. Agron is rescued from being crucified partway through, but the nail driven into his hand makes his sword-arm useless.
• The Cavalry:
  • Both sides get this in the third episode, first with Mummius charging to Tiberius' rescue, only to be immediately Out-Gambitted by the Silician pirates and their ship-mounted artillery.
  • And again in "Blood Brothers," with Crixus arriving to save Spartacus at the docks, and the Roman legions smashing through the city gate to rescue a cornered Caesar.
  • Once more in Separate Paths for the Romans. Crixus has just defeated the final legion standing between the rebels and Rome when the horns blare and all of Crassus' legions appear behind them. Also counts as an Oh, Crap! moment for the rebels.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • Tiberius' sword is the Arc Symbol for Crixus and Naevia's story arc. Ultimately, both of them are killed by that very sword.
  • In an early scene of "Blood Brothers" you can see stone-smiths carving the shape of a beast onto a stone. Then, at the final scene of the episode, that stone carving appears as the ram used to break the wooden gate of the city.
  • Subverted with Sicily; In Blood and Sand, Varro talks of moving to Sicily with his wife once he gains his freedom, describing it as "an island blessed by the gods'', and inviting Spartacus to visit him there once Spartacus himself is free. Genre savvy and historically informed viewers might have guessed this would be where Spartacus got the idea of fleeing to Sicily from towards the end of the war. However, with the show's artistic license, that never happens; Spartacus' intentions towards Sicily occur earlier in the show and with an entirely different purpose than in history, and Varro's lines are ultimately forgotten.
• Chekhov's Skill: Crassus' Bare-Handed Blade Block is used against his gladiator trainer in the premier, and against Spartacus in the finale. Pity Spartacus knows it too.
• Cliffhanger: The end of "Blood Brothers."
  Caesar: "Now would be time to run."
• Combat Pragmatist: The Romans are able to defeat the rebels using superior numbers, firing into combat hitting their own men and attacking from behind.
• Compressed Adaptation: The final season combines events that occurred during the rebel's war with the Consuls and the war with Crassus.
• Conflict Ball: In "Men of Honour," Spartacus rejects Heracleo's perfectly reasonable excuse for not bringing his entire shipment of grain to their meeting, so that the Romans can arrive on cue and unite them.
• Continuity Nod:
  • In Vengeance Spartacus expressed a desire to free all the slaves in the mines, and when convinced they could not do it now swore to return and do it later. Early this season it's mentioned that his ranks were bolstered when he did free all the slaves in the mines.
  • Spartacus dons his bringer of rain outfit once again in "The Dead and the Dying."
• Dark Reprise: Sura's theme is reprised on melancholy strings towards the end of "Victory."
• The Dead Have Names: At Crixus' funeral, the gladiators call out the names of their deceased friends and allies. Impressively, just about every significant deceased character is mentioned.
• Decomposite Character: Agron and Castus were both based from the German rebel leader Castus. The former took all the historical rebel leader's role and characterizations sans name, which is the only thing the latter got, as well as his tragic fate. The former was ultimately Spared by the Adaptation.
• Demoted to Extra: This season is rather blatant for this.
  • Castus was historically the German general of Spartacus' rebellion. Here he's a guy who's seems to be causing problems to the Nagron ship. Granted, this demotion may be because Agron was already given his supposed role and characterization for much of the series. The show-runners milked those two's interactions for what it's worth.
  • Arrius was historically the one who defeated Crixus. Here, he is portrayed as an Elite Mook General Ripper whom the latter killed instead.
  • Like Arrius, Commander Rufus was historically part of the forces that defeated, if not killed, Gannicus and Castus (Agron). Here, he is Crassus' Mook Lieutenant.
• Dies Wide Open: Crixus, Saxa, Castus and Spartacus, though Agron closed his friend's eyes after his death.
• Diving Kick: Spartacus uses one to knock Crassus off his horse during the Final Battle.
• The Dog Bites Back: Laeta lampshades this, pointing out that slaves are rebelling due to their appalling treatment.
• Doomed by Canon: As expected, The Hero Dies in the end.
• Doomed Moral Victor: Anyone who knows their history would know this was inevitable for the Rebellion.
• Dressing as the Enemy:
  • In "Spoils of War", Gannicus disguises himself as Heracleo to pass through the Romans. Caesar sees through it. Not that it does much good.
  • Again in "The Dead and Dying." Two of Spartacus' men disguise themselves as envoys of Pompey. Caesar again sees right through but pretends not to in order to send Tiberius into a trap. When Crassus later demands why Caesar didn't recognize them, he protests he can't be expected to recognize the face of every rebel.
• Due to the Dead: Crixus's remains are cremated, and the rebels remember their fallen allies before shouting the name Crixus repeatedly.
  • A meta/Real Life example, the series finale ends, after the credits, on a shot from the first season of the late Andy Whitfield declaring "I! AM! SPARTACUS!!" Liam MacIntyre was a perfect replacement, but the man who made the role lives forever.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: A Foregone Conclusion for the series.
• Empathic Environment: As Spartacus, the Bringer of Rain, dies, it gently begins to rain.
• Entertainingly Wrong: A meta example - episodes 4 and 5 seem to be setting up the historical split between Spartacus and Crixus, only to reveal it as a Batman Gambit by Spartacus to deceive the Romans, with him and Crixus reconciling at the end.
  • In real history, Spartacus made the captured Romans fight mock gladiator battles against themselves, not against ex-slaves. But while this makes more sense as a revenge for his and the other gladiators' suffering at the whims of Roman society, the showrunners decided that it would be too boring to watch a bunch of unnamed mooks with no training for the showmanship aspect of gladiator fights reluctantly hack each other to death for a whole episode.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Caesar is appalled by the state of a woman the rebels have been gang-raping, his Mercy Kill also leaves him shaken. However later on he seems to have no problems with condemning Laeta to a similar fate with the Cilician pirates.
• Evolving Credits: The ending credits change as new characters drop in and old ones are killed. The finale has a roll call of all the major characters from all four seasons, with characters grouped appropriately (the villains together, Spartacus' lovers together, the Gauls, the leaders) ending with a tribute to the late Andy Whitfield with him shouting “I AM SPARTACUS!”
• Failed a Spot Check: Every gambit the rebels pull in the final battle, while undeniably cool, relies on the Romans doing this (e.g neither seeing nor hearing the rebels digging a spiked pit, or circling half their army round their rear, when both armies are deployed on a flat, open plain).
• Final Battle: Which showcases (among other things) Onrushing Army, Pit Trap, We Have Reserves, The Cavalry, Incendiary Exponent (and Infernal Retaliation), obligatory Boss Battle, a subverted Chekhov's Skill for Crassus, and several Dying Moments of Awesome.
• Foregone Conclusion: The Third Servile War ended in Roman victory.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Pompey is again mentioned as having returned from his war in Hispania. Just in time to show up for Spartacus's final battle.
  • Caesar ordering Tiberius to give him Oysters in "Spoils of War" may appear as a Mythology Gag to Spartacus, but if you know what "Oysters" really means ^note  It alludes to bisexuality , this foreshadows Caesar's unpleasant fate in "Separate Paths."
• Forgotten Fallen Friends: Unfortunately, some notable deceased characters weren't honored in the "Dead and the Dying," namely; Lucuis Caelius, Aurelia, Melitta, Diona, Ulpius, Pietros and Attius. The first two being part of the rebellion itself, while the rest's deaths were directly or indirectly caused by the Romans or/and their allies.
• Four-Philosophy Ensemble:
  • The main characters.
    • Spartacus = The Optimist
    • Crixus = The Cynic
    • Agron = The Realist
    • Gannicus = The Apathetic
  • The main female characters play this to perfection.
    • Naevia = The Cynic
    • Saxa = The Apathetic
    • Laeta = The Realist
    • Kore = The Conflicted
    • Sibyl = The Optimist
• Four-Temperament Ensemble:
  • Likewise.
    • Spartacus = Leukine
    • Agron = Phlegmatic
    • Crixus = Choleric
    • Gannicus = Sanguine
  • Once again, the main female characters play this to perfection.
    • Naevia = Choleric
    • Saxa = Sanguine
    • Laeta = Leukine
    • Kore = Melancholic
    • Sibyl = Phlegmatic
  • The four named rebels who survived.
    • Agron = Melancholic
    • Nasir = Leukine
    • Laeta = Choleric
    • Sibyl = Phlegmatic
• Freudian Excuse: For all the horrible things the rebels do over the course of the war, they have the excuse of having been torn from their homelands, or born into slavery, and suffering under their masters for years. At best, this means constantly feeling powerless and helpless, knowing that your live and die at the whims of someone else. At worst, this means years of physical and often sexual abuse. The Romans have no such excuses for their cruelty.
• Freudian Trio:
  • The Roman Commanders:
    • Marcus Crassus = Ego
    • Julius Caesar = Superego
    • Tiberius Crassus = Id
  • Spartacus' lieutenants:
    • Crixus = Superego: Motivated, believes victory over Romans matters above all others.
    • Gannicus = Id: Passionate, wants to live his life to the fullest.
    • Agron = Ego: Loyal to Spartacus, mediating between the two extremes.
• General Failure: Arrius in "Separate Paths." Assuming he didn't Fail A Spot Check, he forms up to meet Crixus in the bottom of a valley when there is a perfectly good defensive slope right behind him (granted, Crixus does specifically call him a fool, and Caesar doesn't have much faith in him either).^note This is actually a bit of a disservice to the historical Arrius, who was part of the force that defeated Crixus
• Grand Finale: The series finale, "Victory".
• Grey-and-Gray Morality: Some Romans are shown as perfectly decent, innocent people caught in the war. Likewise, some rebels are shown as psychotic murderers.
• He Who Fights Monsters: A number of the rebels are showing signs of this, as seen when they slaughter innocent civillians including children. Spartacus wants them to be better than the Romans, but is unable to keep them in line. Gannicus is aware of what they are becoming, but seems to have resigned himself to the inevitability of it.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In the finale. The rebels realize they cannot win, so they all prepare to fight and die to allow the noncombatants to escape.
• Hollywood Tactics: All over the place thanks to Rule of Cool, but particularly notable for the Romans, who tend to devolve into Onrushing Army more often than not (then again, it usually does get them killed). Also (possibly due to Small Reference Pools) the only alternate formation they ever use is testudo^note historically testudo was used against missiles, and while the Romans did have a defence formation, orbem formate, it was more of a circle.
• I Am Spartacus: Variation: this is done at the beginning of the series finale by several of the rebels in order to trick Crassus and Pompey as to Spartacus' true location. Crassus doesn't buy it for a minute.
• I Die Free: Spartacus himself.
  "Do not shed tear. There is no greater victory than to fall from this world a free man."
• I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: Metellus would like Crassus to know he's a Senator, not a messenger boy.
• Impaled Palm: Agron when he's crucified in "The Dead and the Dying." His injuries prevent him from using a sword.
• Important Haircut: Caesar gets a Roman haircut and shaves once he returns from his undercover mission, reclaiming his Roman identity.
• Improbable Infant Survival: In "Separate Paths" one of the rebels gives birth to a son. Both she and her son manage to escape to safety at the series end.
• It Has Been an Honor: Hilarus the former champion gladiator to Crassus after Crassus fatally wounds him. Crassus, as per the tradition, responds: "The honor was mine."
• Kingpin in His Gym: Crassus is shown sparring with Hilarus to establish his fighting skills and reveal his Finishing Move, a Bare-Handed Blade Block.
• Know When to Fold Them/Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In the first episode, Roman commanders Cossinius and Furius realize their army is beaten and bid a hasty retreat. Apparently, they have done this several times.
• The Lancer: Spartacus has three: Crixus, formerly The Rival of Spartacus who often challenged his authority and is the official Number Two of the rebel force. Agron, The Confidant and The Reliable One who acts as the Number Two when Crixus is being too emotional. And Gannicus, his Foil whom he shares practically the same fighting style.
• The Last Dance: The rebels are under no illusions of how the Final Battle is going to end, but they'll go down fighting anyway.
• Last Episode, New Character: Pompey, who has been referenced a few times, finally shows up in the final episode for one scene.
• Made a Slave: In "Spoils of War", Crassus sells Laeta to Heracleo in exchange for his help. Laeta is branded on the arm before Gannicus and Sibyl save her. This the the motivation for Laeta to join the Rebels.
• The Main Characters Do Everything: Even in the big battles. Particularly noteworthy is the start of "Spoils of War," where the Romans' Mook Chivalry apparently extends to standing back and watching while Crassus and Caesar dispatch a squad of Red Shirts by themselves.
• Mercy Kill:
  • In "Wolves At The Gate", a slave is sentenced to be stoned to death. Unable to save him, Spartacus instead throws a stone hard enough to kill him instantly to end his suffering.
  • In "Decimation", Caesar does this to a woman who has been raped so many times that she's lost the will to live. He's deeply shaken up about it.
• Mook Lieutenant: Rufus, one of Crassus' tribunes. He's mostly seen being given orders. He also saves Caesar's life from Gannicus in "Spoils of War." In the finale, he saves Crassus from Spartacus, and is the last Roman to stand against Spartacus before the two leaders clash.
• Morton's Fork: Crassus commands his gladiator instructor to fight holding nothing back, to actively try to kill him. Hilarus replies that that is a death order. If Crassus wins it will be done by killing him, but if he kills Crassus he will be executed for it. To settle matters, Crassus has his son swear to pay Hilarus and set him free if he does win.
• Multi Shot: The Roman ballistae in the finale.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Spartacus has this look at the end of "Wolves At The Gate", when his army sacks a city and he finds the little Roman girl and her mother that he befriended earlier among the dead.
• Noodle Incident: In "Enemies of Rome", Sanus, one of Gannicus's friends, talks about a time Gannicus peed on some defeated Romans. Gannicus defends himself by saying he was really drunk when that happened.
• "Not So Different" Remark:
  • There are numerous instances of the freed slaves being compared to Romans in the atrocity department. There are also a few episodes of slaves forcing Romans to fight in gladiatorial fashion for their amusement. This was true to one account of history. Forcing civilians to fight for bread is shown to be ethically dubious by the reactions of Nasir and Gannicus. Forcing Roman soldiers to fight, however, is treated as just. The former slaves screaming in the stands are shot in exactly the same manner as Roman spectators to the games.
  • Crassus also notes the similarity between himself and Spartacus: they are both fighting for what they believe in.
• Old Hero, New Pals: All antagonists this season are new characters.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: How the rebels justify their treatment of the Romans. Unfortunately, years of torture and abuse have left many of them incapable of seeing any Roman as anything but evil.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Crassus did defeat Spartacus' army, but Pompey stole his credit.
  • He also lost his son Tiberius, and had his memory of him utterly destroyed posthumously after being told what a monster Tiberius had become and was "forced" by social expectations to execute his "beloved" Sex Slave Kore in the process. (Because the other Roman nobles totally would have recognized Crassus' bedwarmer among the thousands of other dirt-covered, crucified slaves, so he couldn't just have told her to disappear...)
• Pirates: Heracleo leads a group of them. Steven DeKnight admits they were mostly included due to Rule of Cool, but points out historically Spartacus did ally with pirates at one point.
• Poor Communication Kills: In "Blood Brothers", Spartacus doesn't tell Crixus and Nemetes his plan, which nearly leads to a disaster. Then it turns out he was counting on this, in an effort to mislead the Romans about his true plan.
• Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: While Naevia reports the death of Crixus, Nasir asks about Agron. Naevia, who was present when Tiberius cut down Agron but not after the battle when he was taken prisoner, wordlessly informs Nasir that Agron died as well. And that's before his crucifixion!
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: They aren't shying away from the brutality of Spartacus' revolution at all.
• Right in Front of Me: Diotomos talks to Spartacus about how horrible the conditions in the rebel camp are, namely the lack of food and warm clothing. He also laments that Spartacus hasn't thought of any of these things. It initially appears that he does know he's addressing Spartacus and simply using Brutal Honesty, before it turns out he doesn't. He's initially worried, but Spartacus merely thanks him for pointing out the problems.
• The Rival: Gannicus becomes this to Caesar. Also Agron and Castus as part of the show's Historical In-Joke.
• Sequel Hook: The last-minute introduction of Pompey, Crassus' plans to form a triumverate, and Caesar's impatience to eschew long-running schemes and seize glory. In an interview, the creators mentioned the possibility of a future spin-off.
• Sex Slave: Kore, who is owned and sexually used by Crassus. He treats her comparatively well and claims to love her - but in all the years they've been 'lovers', he apparently never considered manumitting her and giving her the choice to stay as his concubine of her own free will. Since she'd be an unmarried freedwoman (as good as a prostitute in Roman eyes), not a citizen woman, such an arrangement would not even have been considered adultery. And in the end, Crassus has Kore crucified simply to save face.
• Short Teens, Tall Adults: Tiberius is noticeably shorter than his elders, such as Caesar and his father Crassus.
• Shout-Out: To Braveheart in the final episode, in what is either a deliberate homage or a blatant rip off (to wit, the hero repeatedly shouts at his men to "Hold!" in the face of an Onrushing Army, causing them to impale themselves, and then the enemy general invokes We Have Reserves).
• Snow Means Death: The seventh episode "Mors Indecepta" deals with a snow storm that killed thousands of people.
• Snow Means Love: Gannicus and Sibyl becomes an Official Couple during a snow storm.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Agron, being a Decomposite Character of the historical Castus, who was one of the historically confirmed casualties of the Third Servile War.
• The Stinger: A tribute to Andy Whitfield at the end of the finale.
• Stockholm Syndrome: Kore cares so much for her owner Crassus and has such blind confidence in his feelings for her, that she even goes back to him after successfully running away. Bad idea.
• Surpassed the Teacher: In his Establishing Character Moment, Crassus kills his own sword fighting teacher in a real fight.
• Tag Team: In "Victory," one scene shows the Romans rotating their front ranks^note This might be a Shout-Out to the series Rome, where the legionaries did the same, although it is unlikely that the real Romans did this in the middle of hand-to-hand combat.
• That's What I Would Do: Crassus sends a messenger to Roman commanders promising aid. However, he sends him on a trail near Spartacus' camp. Spartacus kills the messenger, and uses it to track down and kill the other Roman commanders. When his son asks how he knew Spartacus would attack and not run, Crassus responds with this. Spartacus also realizes what Crassus did after the fact, using the same reasoning. It's the first showing that Spartacus and Crassus are similar, both brilliant commanders willing to use deception and manipulation on the other.
• The Three Faces of Eve: The three newcomers; Laeta (wife), Kore (seductress) and Sibyl (child).
• Trojan Horse: In "Blood Brothers", Heracleo reveals his ship is full of Roman soldiers, who leap out and attack.
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: In "Blood Brothers," Spartacus reveals to Crixus that he's been running a Batman Gambit on him, and proceeds to lay out the rather brilliant plan that he's set in motion to defeat Crassus. Unfortunately, he's Out-Gambitted.
• Vasquez Always Dies: Action Girls Saxa and Naevia were killed in the final battle, while Laeta and Sibyl escaped with the rebellion's remnant. Justified, as the whole point of the Final Battle was for the rebel combatants to hold off the Romans long enough for the noncombatants to reach safety.
• We Have Reserves: In a style similar to the Trope Namer, during the final battle Crassus orders his catapults and ballistae to fire into the fighting masses as some of the shots will hit the rebels. Since the gladiators are worth about fifty men each in this story, it actually makes tactical sense.
• Wham Episode:
  • "Decimation". Since Spartacus is actually trying to keep standards in a rebellion, most of his army goes insane under Crixus's lead while Naevia, who jumps off the Moral Event Horizon this episode, eggs him on to overthrow Spartacus at the end of the episode.
  • "Separate Paths". Crixus leaves with the part of the Rebels loyal to him and they attempt to attack Rome. They fail and Crixus is executed.
  • The series finale is one wham after the other.
• Worthy Opponent: Defied by Donar. When Caesar tells him, "well fought, brother" before striking the death blow, he responds, "Swallow cock, you Roman shit." Before stabbing himself clean through the skull.
• Written by the Winners: Crassus notes that as both Spartacus and he consider themselves the hero, only history will decide who it is. Defied in the final scene, however, as the surviving rebels insist that Spartacus will be remembered as the hero long after Rome fades. And, well, we're watching a show called "Spartacus," not "Crassus."
• You Have Failed Me: Crassus decides to use the long abandoned practice of decimation in "Decimation" to punish and discipline his troops. One soldier in ten is executed by the others.
• You Shall Not Pass!
• Young Future Famous People: Julius Ceasar shows up as a young man, before his rise to power.
• Zerg Rush: For all their ferocity and ingenuity, the rebellion is overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

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