Switch!
Crixus!
Did you not hear my instruction?
Apologies, Doctore.
I did not mean to scare the rabbit.
The games of the magistrate approach.
Listen carefully to my instruction,
and every man chosen
will see victory in the arena.
Perhaps not every man.
Pietros.
Save the water for men who deserve it.
Rain! By Jupiter's cock,
would you fucking rain!
What are you doing?
Praying.
Blaspheming.
The two are narrowly separated in these trying times.
Perhaps the gap widens...
More creditors, seeking action?
Something of more cheerful note,
recently delivered...
From magistrate Calavius!
He is coming here to personally
select men for his games!
Games to appease the gods and end the drought!
The biggest games since Theokoles
bested 100 men in the arena!
But why come himself? Unless...
The Primus.
If we were to secure the main event at these games...
He arrives within the hour.
Prepare food.
And gather all the water we have.
Quintus, your robe...
Uh, it's nothing.
Fetch the Medicus.
Lucretia..
I should talk to the magistrate about it.
Those men tried to kill you, an honest man.
In a dishonest place.
No, we won't concern the magistrate with these things,
not with the Primus in the balance.
I'll tend to the matter myself, um.
That was the mark of one of the slaves
who tried to kill Batiatus.
The mark is unknown to me.
Perhaps a closer look...
Details of such craftsmanship
should not be viewed in haste.
I may have seen a similar mark...
Ahh.
So, what do you think?
You adorn them like a god.
I would be out of them...
And deep into you...
Apologies.
Magistrate Calavius arrives.
Our fortunes rise, like your cock.
Stay wet and we'll make it rain presently... ohhh.
Magistrate!
You do us honor with your...
Presence!
Good Batiatus! I was telling Solonius
how I knew your father.
Now there was a true roman.
A great man, none of his like to follow.
I will attempt to fill your needs as he would have.
To business then.
As you well know, the drought has parched the city
to the point of madness.
We've tried everything to tempted the skies into tears,
even to the point of hecatombe.
A hundred cattle sacrificed, and yet not a drop.
Because the gods do not want the blood of cattle.
They want the blood of men!
Good Solonius has been kind enough
to lend a hand in organizing games
to appease their appetite.
It will be sine missione.
No draw. No mercy shown.
Only the finest gladiators
will be invited to participate.
Only the finest are offered in the House of Batiatus.
Come, examine my wares.
An impressive selection,
rivaling that of good Solonius himself.
Yet I have the Primus.
Half.
Your opponent still to be chosen.
If you wish to appease the gods,
you must have one upon the sands
Crixus the Champion of Capua,
will willing fight anyone that Solonius has to offer.
Excellent!
It will truly be a contest between legends!
Legends?
Oh, did I fail to mention?
Good Solonius has secured Theokoles for the Primus!
Theokoles?
I managed to coax him to our fair city,
at great expense.
With our gratitude.
If the gods fail to grant us rain with such a tribute,
then we are surely cursed.
I fear the gods will be displeased.
The match is unbalanced.
Only one man Theokoles
and lived.
What if Crixus were joined by your man Spartacus?
His death was fated in execution,
yet he refuse to own it.
And cost me four men in his defiance.
Your debts are well known, Batiatus.
Even if you lose the men,
the purse is enough to hold off your creditors,
for a moment.
Unless of course you would rather
sit out these games
or any others that follow, which...
No. I will set my men to the task.
My titans!
Pause, and hear glorious news!
Magistrate Titus Calavius has invited our best men
to fight in his Primus!
Crixus!
Step forward!
Spartacus! Step forward.
You have been chosen to fight as one...
Against Theokoles, the shadow of death!
Fuck! Ow! Ow!
Fuck! Ow!
Shit! Fuck!
Ow! Ow! Shit!
Fuck! Ow! Ow!
I think you two will make a fine couple.
I'd rather fight without him.
And die the same.
This Theokoles.
The legends can't be true.
He's en cut a thousand times in the arena,
he's never fallen.
I fear you would have been safer in the pits.
If we were to win,
how large would be the purse?
Large enough to wrest ten wives from the syrian.
You send them to certain death.
Let me fight in their stead.
That's an excellent suggestion.
I owe Theokoles a debt of pain.
You were not requested!
Look, no one has forgotten how bravely
you fought against Theokoles, old friend.
Yet without victory.
You stand the only man to face him in the arena and live.
That in itself is a victory.
Set your purpose to the task of training
Crixus and Spartacus for the match.
I fear no amount will save them
from the shadow's grasp.
Then prepare them for a glorious death.
The brand belonged to Remus, a slave trader
plying wares north of the city.
Remus? The name holds no recognition.
Nor to I. Yet,
if I were to purchase a slave, intent on foul designs...
Then it would be from outside Capua,
to avoid simple discovery.
Find Remus and bring him.
I would have conversation.
Dominus.
Water.
From Domina.
To help with your training.
Wait a moment.
To what purpose?
Need there be one?
You shouldn't look at me in that way.
I try with all my strength not to.
But I am weak.
Sleep, then.
And regain your strength.
I seek no quarrel.
Your presence here would state otherwise.
We've had our differences.
I own my part in them.
Yet if we are to defeat Theokoles..
We?
There is no such thing in the arena.
You believe you can slay the giant?
Alone?
As I always stand.
This time you do not.
When Theokoles falls, the glory will be mine.
And if we do not come to common ground,
the death shared will be ours.
Oh. As if they stand chance against Theokoles.
Um. Perhaps the gods will favor them.
Yes, and perhaps I should sprout wings
and flutter off.
The odds lay a thousand to one against them.
No man has ever won betting against Crixus.
I would lay coin towards their victory.
A fool's wager.
Happily received.
You leave without words.
None to give.
Each time you step beyond these walls,
I fear for you and what...
Grab hold of your cock and be a man!
I do what I must, Pietros.
I'll return soon.
Mind the birds.
Pietros!
Weapons!
Ilithyia?
She comes at my invitation.
Now's not the time to be entertaining
that spoiled little bitch.
Her father Albinius holds the magistrate's ear.
If he were to place a word in it,
then Crixus may be replaced in the Primus.
He could place a thousand and to no result.
Solonius maneuvered you.
With the aid of the magistrate!
Refuse and we would quickly find ourselves
excluded from the arena altogether.
And if Crixus falls?
Who will be our champion?
Who will the crowds clamor to see from the House of Batiatus?
Not Spartacus, that thing from the pits?
Your guest arrives.
Do not broach the subject with her.
Ilithyia!
You do us honor with your presence.
I would trade honor for water.
Ah, the heat is a thing living, crawling down the throat.
Well, let us quench that thirst.
I must to tend to business of the games.
I leave you in loving hands.
Is it true, then? What?
Crixus and Spartacus face the shadow of death?
They do.
Blood will surely flow on the day.
I long to see it pour from the thracian.
You attack as you would a man.
Theokoles is beyond flesh.
Beyond blood and bone.
He is the shadow that precedes death.
Allow him to fall upon you alone...
And you are dead.
Now rise,
and come at me as one!
Give way, you fuck!
The advantage was mine!
How Crixus moves.
The way his muscles catch the sun...
Truly the Champion of Capua.
None to his equal.
You jostle and trip over the other like fools.
You face Theokoles in the Primus!
Prove yourselves worthy!
Pathetic.
I crave a closer look.
Can we go down among them?
My husband would never allow it.
The bowels of a ludus are no place
for a senator's daughter.
A private viewing then, in the villa?
I would pay for it, of course.
A favor amongst friends.
You must let me return it, then.
I've given thought to your problem,
and have discovered solution.
Problem...?
Children.
Yes.
I've heard of a woman, a priestess of Juno,
blessed with certain gifts of fertility.
Many prominent women speak of her.
Servillia, Cornelia, Laelia..
Ovidius' wife?
You know her?
Oh, in passing. She has a small boy.
And would have none, if not touched
by the woman I speak of.
Will you let me arrange it for you?
As a gift for your hospitality?
We are friends, aren't we?
The very best.
How are we to fare against Theokoles,
when we cannot even best Doctore?
I could have bested him a dozen times,
if you'd not gotten underfoot.
I take the sands beside you in this fight, Crixus.
Just because you stand beside me
with sword and shield,
do not mistake yourself as a gladiator.
I fight to honor these walls, you fight to leave them.
You fight...
Because you are a slave.
Like me.
No.
Not like you.
I accept my place here.
I embrace it.
But you...
You still dream of a life beyond the arena.
Where that wife of yours we've all heard about
is still nestled by your side.
And that is all it is, Spartacus.
A dream and one day soon you will awaken to the truth.
You will never leave this place.
And your wife if she's not dead already,
has been fucked to madness by a hundred roman cocks.
Get yourselves cleaned up.
Domina requests your presence.
Both of you.
Do you know who I am, thracian?
Speak.
I have seen you.
With Legatus Glaber.
I am his wife.
He is regrettably abroad,
and will not be able to witness your death against Theokoles.
But...
I shall whisper of it to him,
replaying the moment
when we are entwined in our bed.
Apologies.
I require the thracian for a moment.
Extend it by a lifetime.
I am done with him.
My office.
The Champion of Capua!
A rare honor to receive a private audience.
One I am most appreciative of.
Although,
he does seem a touch overdressed for the occasion.
Your subligaria. Remove it.
Your champion is bold to his purpose.
I take my leave.
His flesh is so hard...
Like marble.
Would that every man were carved so...
We'd best not keep him.
His training resumes at first light.
Do you think he will survive, against the shadow?
Only the gods know.
It would be pity to see such a man marred.
Perhaps there is a way to see such a tragedy averted.
If your father where to speak to the magistrate.
Perhaps... to what end?
To seeing Crixus replaced in the games.
Is that what you want?
Do you fear entering the arena with Theokoles?
I long for it.
As I long to see it.
You survived being dragged from your homeland
by Legatus Glaber,
you survived execution by four gladiators in the arena.
You even survived the horror of the pits.
Can you survive this?
Crixus and I fight at cross-purposes.
Then find a way to unite them.
You may have saved my life,
but yours is yet worth little in the arena.
But to loose Crixus along with you
that would be a blow from which this ludus
would not recover.
My concern is only for my wife.
And her fate is tied to these walls.
If they collapse around me,
then I will be unable to help her from beneath the rubble.
I will not die until she is safe.
Well, prove it so.
Fight as one with Crixus, to best Theokoles.
Or we are all fucked.
Yes.
Barca has returned, bearing gifts.
Remove him to the barracks.
Two slaves, broken by your hand,
made attempt on my life.
Who purchased them?
I know not of what you speak...
I speak of being fucked.
By the gods, by the magistrate,
by that cock suck Solonius and his grinning schemes!
I'm of proud family!
A family of means and history, you fucking cunt!
You sold the men!
Common slaves,
who tried to kill me, tried to fuck me like a whore!
But I will not be fucked!
I! Will! Not!
Not! Be! Fucked!
You fuck you...
You fucking hemorrhoid
sucking fuck, you fuck!
Ovidius.
What?
Ovidius...
Sold...
To Ovidius...
There was that so fucking hard?
Ovidius' cousin is the magistrate.
He could be cousin to Jupiter himself,
I don't give a shit.
I will have satisfaction.
You dishonor me.
The thracian impedes my attack.
I seek to strengthen it.
I seek no aid.
No, you need the gods to descend
and fight by your side!
Even then victory is doubtful.
Words, falling on deaf ears.
Attend your eyes, then...
My failure.
Your lesson.
His first cut...
Dealt when I thought him vulnerable.
And pressed my attack unwisely.
His next assault..
Came as I fell back
to regain position....
Yet these wounds are nothing.
A game of blood, to amuse the crowd.
And when he tires of playing,
he will move to separate your head..
From your neck...
I live because I survived longer than any man
that stood against him.
Some herald that as a victory.
I am not among them.
You tell us the shadow wounds both
when he is pressed and when he is given ground.
How will he to be defeated?
By accomplishing both at once.
Press...
And defend.
Distract...
And strike.
Fight as one.
Or die as two.
Now, show me the way to honor.
The games tomorrow, and yet he presses them.
To their benefit.
I have business in town.
It'll take me until late into the night.
Lucretia.
Um?
Business.
Yeah, business, I heard you.
If you would prefer I delay..
No, I have diversion.
Ilithyia's coming with her priestess.
May the gods grant us miracle.
They fucking owe us something.
A word of advice, Spartacus.
At what cost?
Freely given.
Do not think you can come to terms with Crixus.
I've trusted him once in the arena
and this was the result...
He may as well have cut the balls from my shaft.
He'd turn a sword against his ally?
Even Barca, if stood between him and glory.
The only way to survive against Theokoles
is to consider Crixus an equal enemy.
How often do you engage in intercourse?
Several times a week.
Sometimes more.
Has seed ever taken hold?
Never.
Have there been other men, besides your husband?
What bearing does that have?
Well it will inform the correct combination of elements.
The ritual is usually a private matter.
Perhaps..
Oh please, can I stay?
I've never seen one of these.
It's so intriguing.
Other men?
Have there been any?
Yes.
How many?
One. But frequently.
Then the difficulty lies not with the seed,
but within the vessel.
You mean there's something wrong with her?
The gods have decided to withhold the joy of children.
But we will entreat them to reconsider...
Drink.
Juno has blessed you.
You must copulate within the hour.
So soon?
Before the flame of life expires.
Good fortune be with you.
Only an hour?
You think she would have told you that before she started,
considering her price.
Gratitude for arranging this.
Unnecessary words from a friend.
And I being yours, I'll leave you to complete the ritual.
Although tales of this other man
will be most expected when time is not at issue...
Why are the fucking torches not lit?
Laelia...?
I owe you a debt, Ovidius.
I've come to repay.
Please.
The boy is unstained.
No child is unstained by the deeds of his father.
They are not my own.
Two slaves, sent from Remus to take my life.
Do you deny giving coin to the cause?
I hired the men, yes.
But to another's purpose.
Whose?
Speak the name, and I swear to the gods
I will not kill you.
Solonius.
He paid the balance of your debt to me.
In exchange for me arranging your death.
Gratitude for your honesty, Ovidius.
You're not going to kill me, then?
No.
My slave is going to kill you.
Burn this fucking place to the ground.
But first...
Take care of the child.
You were right.
I do not honor these walls.
A fact well known.
Has it always been so for you?
When you were brought here for the first time,
against your will?
Your life traded for a few coins?
More than a few.
Is that your worth, then?
Has it ever occurred to you
why the great Theokoles
would grace us with his presence?
A promise of wealth.
The shadow has earned a thousand fortunes.
He comes here not for coin,
he comes here for the glory
of facing the Champion of Capua.
The Undefeated Gaul.
Glory.
There is no greater thing,
than standing victorious arena.
Is there no purpose beyond the blood?
No dream beyond the cheering crowd?
Is there nothing else you fight for?
Crixus, you are summoned.
Step into the light.
Let me gaze upon the Champion of Capua.
You are truly a wonder.
As are you, Domina.
We don't have much time and I would see it well used.
Do I not stir you to passion?
Yes, Domina.
Your cock would disagree.
Excuse my distraction Domina.
I have thoughts of tomorrow.
I would have you in the moment, deep inside me.
I've never faced an opponent like Theokoles...
And he has never meet a man like you...
I beg a favor Domina.
Love makes a man weak before battle...
I would have you strong.
We will forgo the pleasures of a single evening,
and pray to the gods for many more to come.
Domina.
You are going to die tomorrow aren't you?
Only the gods divine the future.
Why didn't you let Ilithyia help you?
She could have spoken to her father..
To what end?
Humiliation?
Honor and glory.
That's all you care about, isn't it?
Not all.
Still the fool.
Still.
You said love drains a man.
It can give him hope, in the right arms...
The odds do not favor you.
They seldom do.
I've heard Barca has laid
a large amount of coin on you.
More towards Crixus, but still...
And you?
If I had the means, I would wager all with Barca.
You're too fucking stubborn to die.
Every man has his end.
I pray to the gods you have not yet reached yours.
If they do not answer,
I would ask a thing of you.
I will do everything I can to find her.
Now sleep.
Tomorrow you face a legend.
And may yet become one yourself.
Did you see it?!
Septimus the victor, as I said!
Valarius always drops his shield when he attacks,
a disadvantage against the spear.
The boy has a keen eye.
Towards gladiators, yes.
His studies are another matter.
My hour of glory is long past.
Yours stands before you.
Heel old wounds.
Kill that fucking son of a whore.
Finally, the Primus.
Another moment and my tongue would turn to dust.
Water.
Apologies, Domina.
We've used our last.
Please. Share some of mine.
You're too kind, good Solonius.
You'd do the same, if you were able.
No matter.
Soon Theokoles will honor the gods with blood,
they turn will bless us with endless rain.
I pray for the truth in it.
This drought is driving the city mad!
Unfortunate word has reached us
that our dearest cousin Ovidius was murdered in his home.
Ovidius?
No.
I mentioned his wife not a night ago.
What of his son?
He was so young.
Their villa was burnt, only a few bodies yet recovered.
I fear the boy is among the ruins.
A tragedy.
One cannot but wonder what would prompt such an act.
Let us turn our minds to thoughts of rain,
to cool the fevered brow of our city.
Citizens of Capua!
Brothers of Rome!
In the name of my forefathers,
I, Titus Calavius, present to you,
the final event!
Your woman, is she the reason... "A spectacle of blood and death,"
...you refuse to die?
"A sacrifice to Ceres," She is.
The great goddess of renewal!
Then perhaps there is something beyond glory.
... shower us with an ocean of rain!
From the house of Quintus Lentulus Batiatus.
Behold, Spartacus! Thraex!
Joined in battle today by the Undefeated Gaul!
The Champion of Capua!
Behold, Crixus!
Murmillo!
Crixus! Crixus!
Crixus!
Capua!
Shall we begin?
Together they stand against a man
who has never fallen.
A beast that has never been tamed.
A legend that has never been tarnished.
By the grace of Marcus Decius Solonius,
behold! Theokoles! The shadow of death!
Ahh!
Begin!
They draw blood!
Yes!
Yeah, Capua!
Capua!
Shall I begin?!
Get out of the way.
Give ground, or I'll kill you myself!
Theokoles!
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Yes!
Spar - ta - cus!!