Spartacus: Vengeance 2.3 - The Greater Good

Sometimes TV series can give their episodes cryptic names. Not so with Spartacus. Episode 3 of Vengeance is called "The Greater Good" and in each strand of the storyline, the characters face decisions that pit what is in the greater good against what may be to their own detriment.

For Agron (Daniel Feuerriegel), that must be whether to tell the truth about Naevia. After Spartacus leads an attack on a caravan of slaves, one of the Romans begs for his life, telling Agron and Nasir (Pana Hema Taylor), as Tiberius is now known that he knows what has happened to Naevia, having overheard Crixus shout her name to every newly freed slave. Agron decides to lie, killing the Roman and telling Crixus that she is dead.

For Nasir, he must decide whether to keep Agron's secret. Adding further complications are his growing feelings for Agron, which have not escaped the attention of the blonde slave who spoke with Mira in the last episode, Chadara (Bonnie Sveen).

Oenomaus, captured in the last episode and brought before Glaber, Lucretia and Ilithyia by Ashur (yay, he's back!), is tortured by the Syrian, who now pledges his allegiance to Glaber. If Oenomaus would but tell Ashur where the rebels are, his pain and suffering would end. Ultimately, it is a different type of pain that causes him to break.

Ilithyia's father comes to Capua and faces off with Glaber, who is ordered to have his men appear in the arena at a games to mark Varinius' (Brett Tucker) impending capture of Spartacus. Glaber must decide whether to go along with the wishes of his father-in-law or to send his troops to follow up on a lead and tighten the noose around Spartacus' neck. Glaber is further driven by jealousy. Ilithyia shows Varinius too much attention and Glaber begins to resent it. And yet, he cannot bring himself to have sex with his wife, calling it a "chore" and instead devoting his time to finding Spartacus. Now, I know that's important to him but I'm sure he could have spared a little time with her. If Ilithyia dropped her robes in front of me, I'd drop whatever else I was doing. This lack of affection between the two may lead to Ilithyia looking elsewhere...

When Nasir reveals the truth about Naevia to Spartacus, he must decide whether to go to the mines and attempt to rescue her or to stick to their plan. It's obvious which option Spartacus will choose. For all of his qualities, Spartacus cannot see the bigger picture and he cannot do what is in the greater good and this is his failing as a commander. Agron refuses to go and leads some of the rebels to Vesuvius so they can be in a position to strike at various port towns and free boatloads of warrior slaves to boost their ranks. Spartacus ultimately loses several men in the mines and a character must decide whether to sacrifice themselves for the greater good so that the rest of the rebels can escape...

Vengeance is really moving along now. As Gandalf said in The Return of the King, "the board is set. The pieces are moving."

8 out of 10.