| Kill Them All | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Season | 1 | |
| Number | Episode 13 | |
| Date Aired | April 16, 2010 | |
| Writer | Steven S. DeKnight | |
| Director | Jesse Warn | |
| Guests | ||
| Previous | Revelations | |
| Next | Fugitivus | |
"Kill Them All" is the thirteenth episode of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. It is the thirteenth episode of the Spartacus series overall.
Plot Outline
Spartacus' fury culminates in the stunning season finale.
Synopsis
(The episode starts with Spartacus and Crixus fighting each other, and shows what had happened the previous two days via flashbacks)
Spartacus is training with Rhaskos, and trying to convince him to join the rebellion. Rhaskos is skeptical of the latter's plans and says that he is one of the many gladiators who consider Crixus the true champion- and therefore follows him over Spartacus. Spartacus request permission to work on the palus. He is considered and approved by the guards. There he speaks with the German brothers, Duro and Agron, who tell him that Hamilcar is with them, but most of the gladiators are with Crixus. Spartacus wants to get Crixus' support.
Meanwhile, Doctore requests a meeting with Batiatus in private, and tells him that the Gladiators suffer at the hands Glaber's men. Batiatus says to him that he wanted to change his status to a politician, ascending to the position Aedile. He would leave the legacy of his family to Doctore, granting him freedom due to the fact that he is trusted more than any other slave. He says Doctore would assume the position of Lanista and would be warmly greeted by his true name, Oenomaus. Oenomaus stays silent while Batiatus says he thought that the news would be pleasing. Oenomaus tells him that he had something bothering him, and Batiatus tells him to let it out. Oenomaus asks if there is any truth to the rumor that Barca was not given his freedom but was instead killed. Batiatus tells him that Barca was indeed killed, but lies to Oenomaus about the cause of Barca's death. He lies by telling Oenomaus that Barca was killed for disobeying his orders by killing Ovidius and his family (in truth, Batiatus commanded Barca to kill them).
After that, Batiatus speaks with Lucretia in the balcony about their son and the celebration for Glabers' patronage. They decide that, to satisfy the elite (who were invited by Ilithyia), they would offer a thing that was exclusive to The House of Batiatus: Spartacus, in a contest to the death with the only man that has ever defeated him, Crixus. Batiatus comments that Crixus could use the moment to gain position, and Lucretia tells him that they must ensure that Spartacus will win the contest.
Batiatus summons Spartacus, revealing to him about the celebration they planned (except for the plot against Crixus). Spartacus ask if the men will be displayed in the villa. Since the Legatus is against the tradition, the gladiators will be in the ludus instead, and the guests shall watch them from the balcony. Spartacus requests of Batiatus that he would allow Crixus to return to training, so that the latter may thrill the crowd before his end. Batiatus accedes, but he only allows Crixus to train, and requires him to be chained in a cell otherwise. Spartacus also asks to lie with one of the house slaves, Mira. Alone in the cell, Spartacus tries to convince her to join their cause. After learning of his love of his late wife, she agrees, but with one condition: he must make love to her with at least "a shadow" of the love he had for his wife. He accepts the deal and removes her robe and wraps his arms around her. The two kiss then fall to the bed where they make passionate love.
The next day, Spartacus tells Batiatus' plan to Duro and Agron, and Crixus trains once more. He fights against Rabanus, and manages to break his spear in half. Doctore then commands them to rest and eat. Spartacus speaks to Crixus about the celebration and his desire to rebel, but Crixus refuses to join, instead desiring to achieve his freedom in the arena and win the coin needed to find Naevia. Crixus asks how he would find her while being "hunted like a dog" by the Romans. Spartacus reveals to him that Batiatus ordered the death of his wife Sura, warning him that Naevia could be returned to Crixus in the same manner; and promising that if Crixus joins his cause, they will find her, together. Crixus remarks to Spartacus that in another life they could have been as brothers- but not in this one. They finally agree that if Spartacus is the victor, he will find Naevia and set her free, but if Crixus is the victor, he will kill Batiatus one day.
Meanwhile, Ashur arrives at Batiatus' office, bringing a poison from Marcellus. This poison is to be given to Crixus- not to kill him directly, but to weaken him, allowing Spartacus to gain advantage and end Crixus. Batiatus commands him to put it in Crixus' drink when he is about to eat.
The celebration day, in the afternoon, Ashur prepares Crixus' meal, but not without flirting with Aurelia (Varro's widow, who is working as a slave to pay her husbands debts). Ashur, subtly reveals that Crixus will not win and continues to flirt with her. Mira puts an end to it by calling for Aurelia, saying she is required in the Ludus. Aurelia leaves, and as she does, Ashur puts the poison in Crixus' cup.
Spartacus and other gladiators are eating. Agron is telling Duro to stay by his side, as he would see him beyond the Ludus- but Duro refuses, saying he does not need Agron to hold his hand. Agron curses that he only wishes his brother's life protected. Spartacus tells them to stop talking so loudly. As Doctore walks by Agron remarks that he would kill Doctore, but Spartacus tells him that Doctore is an honorable man and he will not have him dead, nor any other slave. Duro tells Spartacus that he's afraid for nothing as the gladiators won't act without Crixus' involvement anyway. Spartacus replies "they will seize the moment Crixus is dead and there stands only one true champion."
Spartacus then sees Aurelia in the Ludus. He asks Doctore for water, and Doctore looks at a Roman soldier, who nods to allow it. When Spartacus comes near Aurelia, he tells her that she should go somewhere safe. Aurelia retorts that ever since he killed Varro, no safe place exists. Spartacus says he feels eternally guilty for it and despises the person who commanded it- revealing that it was the boy,
Numerius, who ordered him to do so. Aurelia does not believe him, and tells him that she saw Ashur preparing the food for Crixus, speaking of the certainty of Spartacus' victory. She suggests that they are poisoning his food and asks if they did the same to Varro. Spartacus says he had no hand in that. Aurelia leaves, saying that even if he is telling the truth, she hopes that Crixus takes his life.
At the same time, a soldier enters Crixus' cell to deliver his food and (secretly) poisoned drink. When he is about to drink, Lucretia appears and tells about her pregnancy, revealing to him that it's his son. She also tells him that she wants him back with her, but Crixus rejects her, revealing that he truly loved Naevia. As Crixus is about to drink again, Lucretia stops him by saying "I did not wish for it to end this way." She leaves while Crixus finally takes his drink.
When the celebration begins, most of Capua's elite Romans arrive: among them Sextus, his wife Aemilia, friends of Ilithyia, and others. Batiatus makes his presentation and commands Crixus and Spartacus to begin combat. At the beginning, Spartacus and Crixus are at equal level with each other, but Crixus slowly begins
Mira slipping away to open the gate
to weaken. At the same time, Mira goes to the pantry, "searching for wine." There she intentionally drops a bottle of wine to the floor, and offers apologies to the guard, Linus. She later grabs one of the pieces of the bottle and stabs him in the neck from behind, killing him and securing the keys the gates.
The rebellion is born.
Meanwhile, Spartacus is overpowering Crixus due to the poison taking effect. He knocks the latter's shield towards the floor near the balcony- but not without dropping one of his swords, which Agron takes note of. Spartacus gets a chokehold on Crixus, whispers to him that he has been poisoned and sabotaged by Batiatus/Lucretia, and begs him once again to join the rebellion. Crixus smirks slightly, and Spartacus throws him toward the balcony. Crixus looks up and back towards Lucretia. Seething with rage, he grabs his shield and quietly says "Spartacus" while patting the shield. Spartacus and the other gladiators quickly realizes the meaning of this. He runs and leaps with all his strength from Crixus' shield and towards the balcony.
At the peak of his jump, he aims his sword at Batiatus and ends up stabbing Sextus through the head. The dying Sextus reflexively grabs Ashur, and both fall down into the ludus. Spartacus again tries to kill Batiatus when a whip grabs his arm- Oenomaus stopped him! Batiatus briefly stares with shock at the enraged Spartacus as he runs back into the villa with the other Romans.
Crixus urges the gladiators to rebel.
Crixus slices through the whip which causes Oenomaus to fall to the ground and allows Spartacus to remain on the balcony. Crixus then turns and shouts to the gladiators "KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!". The entire brotherhood shouts in compliance and rushes in frenzy to attack the Roman soldiers for abusing them. As they run, Agron grabs Spartacus' dropped sword.
Meanwhile on the balcony, Spartacus fights the guards of the Villa and kills them one-by-one with relative ease. The other gladiators fight with the Roman soldiers on ground level. Hamilcar is killed, much to the anger of Duro, who has just managed to locate the keys to the gladiator's chains. Iovis, a Roman soldier, manages to overpower and kill several other gladiators. Oenomaus interferes with the conflict, easily throwing down The Veteran and shouting at Crixus "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS MADNESS?!" Crixus explains that The House of Batiatus is without honor, and reveals that Batiatus ordered Sura's death and his own poisoning. Oenomaus is saddened and says "I have given my life to this Ludus." Crixus tells him that they stole it from him- and from all of them. He asks Oenomaus to join them and see an end to the house together. Doctore viciously and unexpectedly throws a sword at Crixus who quickly moves out of the way. The sword pierces and kills Iovis (who was behind Crixus), saving Crixus life. Crixus looks in surprise atOenomaus who shouts at him to go, and after that turns around and sees Ashur, angrily glaring at him while Ashur limps towards the Ludus.
Agron and Duro continue killing Roman soldiers in the courtyard. Having apparently cleared the area, they stop and clasp each others' arms in brotherhood and triumph. However, a soldier rushes to kill Agron from behind, but Duro pushes Agron out of the way and takes the sword meant for his brother through the stomach. Agron beheads the soldier, and Duro falls into his arms and weakly exclaims "I saved you this time, brother" and dies. Agron screams in agony due to the loss of his brother, burning with hatred for the Romans from that moment on.
Inside of the Villa, the Romans are terrified due to the chaos as Batiatus tries to calm them down, though he is extremely angry because Spartacus attempted to kill him. Lucretia commands Ilithyia to gather her men, and Ilithyia slyly tells her she will see her properly attended and gives her a kiss her before going off. Batiatus continues to calm the other Romans, but the Gladiators enter in the Villa (the gate of the Ludus havng been opened by Mira) and slaughter all in their path, except fellow slaves. Batiatus, Lucretia, Numerius, Aurelia and Domitia escape together. The rest of the Romans quickly find themselves trapped between a sealed door and the raging gladiators. Ilithyia had commanded her men to seal the doors, and allow none to escape- clearly as an act of revenge against Lucretia. There, in the doorway, the gladiators kill all the Romans they find.
Ilithyia sealing the doors.
Oenomaus finds Ashur and confronts him, saying that he had infected the honor of the house. Ashur tells him that if he would kill a defenseless man, he would lose his honor, so Oenomaus throws him a sword. They engage in battle, but Oenomaus easily bests him. Ashur tells him that even if he dies, his mark on the house will remain as he boasts upon his machinations, much to Oenomaus' horror. Oenomaus says the house only bears Ashur's treachery, not his name. Ashur replies that because of mockery from Oenomaus and the other gladiators, he endured to become what he is now. He strikes again at Oenomaus, who disarms him and throws him to the ground, saying he received what he deserved and his path ends now. Ashur then begs Oenomaus to at least allow him to die as a Gladiator. Oenomaus agrees to give him this "parting kindness" and gets into proper position. When he is about to deliver the killing blow, Ashur stabs him in the leg with a concealed object and runs to escape, but Oenomaus manages to slash his right arm. Oenomaus chases after him but fails to find him, so he goes up to the Villa. Ashur hid himself among the bodies of the Roman Soldiers.
Meanwhile in the Villa, Batiatus and the others find a Roman soldier in agony, who tells him that Glaber's men had sealed the doors. But a gladiator appears and kills Domitia. Batiatus grabs a sword and clashes with the gladiator, managing to kill him. He orders his wife, Numerius, and Aurelia to escape while he goes off to confront his gladiators. Lucretia tells Aurelia to take Numerius and conceal themselves. She will go to her husband and see to the death of Spartacus. While trying to find him, she stumbles upon Crixus. He demands to know where Naevia is, but Lucretia does not tell him, and reminds Crixus that she bears their child. Crixus tells her that he would rather see it dead than know it suckled her breasts. He backs her into a column and stabs her in the belly, killing the baby, and critically wounding Lucretia. Crixus then walks away, giving her a final look of disgust.
At the same time, Aurelia, remembering Spartacus' words, asks Numerius if it
was true- if he really sentenced Varro to his death. Numerius tells her that Varro deserved to die because he was nothing. Aurelia tells him all the good things Varro had done for her and their child, telling him that he was not a perfect man, but he was hers. She then violently and repeatedly stabs the boy in the neck several times, killing him. Spartacus soon appears and stops her, saying that it was done. Doctore appears, nodding to Spartacus to indicate that they are on the same side- but at the same time is horrified by the massacre. Spartacus tells him to look over Aurelia. Doctore frantically asks Spartacus "Is this not enough?! How many more must die?!" Spartacus tells him "I would see but one." Batiatus is fighting against his gladiators, who have surround him in the Villa's heart, where Batiatus Statue is located. Lucretia arrives, and falls to the ground, dying. Batiatus attempts to go to her but Spartacus appears
and recites to him the same words that Batiatus did when they first met each other: "What would you do to hold your wife again? To feel the warmth of her skin? The taste of her lips? How many man would you kill? A hundred? A thousand? There stands but one between you and her!" Batiatus attempts to attack Spartacus but he effortlessly defeats him and tells him "Go to her and tell her that the gods themselves cannot keep her from your arms!" He punches Batiatus and tells him to lie to her as he lied to Spartacus about his wife. Batiatus gets up and pleads for Oenomaus for help (revealing his true name to the gladiators), but he does not follow the command.
Angered, Batiatus looks around and sees that he's surrounded with no chance of victory or escape. Batiatus tosses his sword into the bloodied water and at last tells Spartacus "You were nothing before me. I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING! I GAVE YOU THE MEANS TO ACCEPT YOUR FATE!" Spartacus replies "And now you are destroyed by it." He spins for momentum and slashes Batiatus' throat. The dying Batiatus collapses to his knees and crawls on the ground, almost reaching his wife before he finally dies.
Massacre of The House of Batiatus.
Spartacus makes a speech to the surviving gladiators and slaves. "I have done this thing...because it is just!" He declares that they are now free, and tells them to forge their own paths or join with him- "and together we shall see Rome tremble!"
As Spartacus finishes his speech, all the gladiators roar in agreement at his proposal. The gladiators and slaves, among them Spartacus, Crixus, Mira, Agron, Aurelia, and Oenomaus, escape from the Ludus, thus beginning the Third Servile War.
Characters in Order of Appearance
- Oenomaus
- Spartacus
- Agron
- Duro
- Crixus
- Batiatus
- Lucretia
- Ashur
- Mira
- Sextus
- Aemilia
- Ilithyia
- Numerius
- Domitia
- Rhaskos
- Iovis
- Linus
- Aurelia
- Vesper
- Hamilcar
Trivia
- The name of the episode "Kill Them All" is inspired by the last words that Sura said to her husband before he went to war against the Getae. The words are repeated often thoughout the series.
- The loss of Duro in this episode serves to fuel Agron's hatred of Romans, and spurs him on in future wartime events.
- This episode shows the start of Spartacus and Mira's relationship.
- There is a continuity error during the fight between the rebels and the guards. Duro is seen fighting against a Roman guard with his cuffs on. The next we see him, he has unlocked his cuffs somehow. But the final time we see him before his death scene, he kills a guard and unlocks his cuffs.
Promo
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