Finally, Spartacus is back for a full second season and with it more blood and debauchery. But first a recap of the last two years.

A Thracian warrior and his wife are captured by Roman Legionnaire Gaius Glabber. She becomes a slave, he becomes a gladiator. She dies and he slaughters everyone in slow-motion with his sculptured abs.  After plenty of controversial scenes that contain all kinds of bodily fluids splattered on our screens, Spartacus and the rest of the gladiators butcher their way into freedom and go on a hunt for lost love and more blood.

Meanwhile, in the real world, actor Andy Whitfield (Spartacus) is diagnosed with cancer and instead of completely halting production, a half-season prequel is released. The six episodes focused mainly on the back-stories of some of the key players from the first season, allowing us to get to know better most of the surviving cast members; the asshole Gaul gladiator with the puppy eyes, the menacing hard-bitten Doctore and of course fan favourite Lucy Lawless. Even though Andy seemed to be recovering, later in the year he succumbed to the disease prompting for another actor to take his place.

The first season bore the subtitle "Blood and Sand" while this one is called "Vengeance", and rightfully so. Spartacus and the rest of the freed slaves are on a mission to rescue Naevia, Crixus’ love interest, and to kill more Romans, especially the Legionnaire that was the cause of it all. The episode begins with the massacre of mercenaries by the gladiators, telling the audience that none of the gore and action will be toned down this season. Then we witness the hard living conditions these freed men and women have to endure; living in the sewers, bickering for food, and questioning the meaning of their actions as some of them realize that being a slave wasn’t so bad after all (pussies).

The city of Rome gets some brief screen time as well probably foreshadowing future events. There’s an emphasis on the now Praetor Glabber and his wife Ilithya while they are forced to head back to the city that was almost their undoing. We are also introduced to a whole new bunch of ruling class back in Capua; eager young Romans engaging in subtle political games. Namely Seppius, responsible for the hunt of Spartacus before Glabber’s arrival, and his sister Sepia. And from their first lines of dialogue, I am willing to bet 100 gold denaries that by the end of this season, these two siblings will be shown engaging in some scrumptious sweaty game of Twister.

One of the most remarkable scenes is the arrival of Glabber and Ilithya in the villa that the last season’s finale occurred, chilling visuals of blood stains adorning walls and fountains. Ilithya is haunted by the murder she has committed at first but then moans to her self with the memory of her love making with a masked Spartacus; she is also pregnant, somehow implying that the child is not her husband’s, but future developments will tell. The scene is interrupted by the creepy shadow of Lucretia (thought to be dead) and Ilithya screaming in fear. Kudos go to Lucy Lawless for acting her tits off as the insane and last survivor of the massacre. Her posture and slurs are heads-on when it comes to post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing the death of dozens and the fall of her House (personal experience).

In the streets, Doctore is a wandering bitter man who does not hesitate to awesomely kill anyone who dares identify him. He pops in from time to time to deliver pearls of wisdom to his former students. I cannot help but root for the man having watched him in the prequel, turning from a kind husband, loyal to his master and trainer, to a menacing drill sergeant. His sub-story will be one of interest, since the only thing he has ever known is a life as a slave yet still bound by honour to the sacred art of gladiatorial combat.

By this point, all thoughts of Andy’s replacement are put aside. The quick paced drama and various story-lines are enough for us to engage in the show without thinking about what took place behind the scenes.

Overall, the first episode manages to well establish the elements of the previous one and a half seasons that made the show what it is. Low-brow: blood and gore, and shameless sex, and in this episode, jumbled together. The brothel slaughter scene is particularly engaging since it seems they have mixed all the unadulterated scenes from the first season; some of the actors are even staring at the camera in slow-motion while this Roman orgasmatron occurs. To the plus list I have to put the escape from the limited sets of the first season, where fighting took place in small places; now they have entire battlefields to play with, allowing for even more impressive actions sequences. But the element that stands out even more is the concrete story-telling. Introducing a couple of interlaced subplots for all main characters, the political and psychological games between major and minor players, and the uncertainty of their future. The gladiators seem split to the course of action they should take and also who they should follow. Factions are divided between the house slaves, the Gaul gladiators and the men that blindly follow Spartacus, who at first his only motive is vengeance. The ending is satisfying, save for the need for more, with Varro’s wife dying and forcing Spartacus to promise to stay away from her son in a quite graphic and emotional death rattle. It is then that the choice is made, cultivating into an all-out war between two armies, the Roman legion and the amounting slave army.