'Spartacus: Gods of the Arena' Prequel Season, Episode 3 Recap by Maureen Ryan
TV Squad
The superficial reputation of 'Spartacus' among those who haven't paid close attention to the show is that it's merely a toga-era soap opera drenched in sex, blood and more sex.
Sure, it has all those elements, many of which can be counted on for good, unclean fun. But there are emotional stakes to most battles and bedroom encounters. And as 'Paterfamilias' showed, sometimes sex can be used as a weapon, and those encounters, when choice is removed, can be uglier than anything seen in the arena.