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WARNING: If you have yet to watch the Spartacus: Vengeance finale tonight, run don’t walk to the nearest exit. We’re serious, folks. The following Q&A with executive producer Steven S. DeKnight contains massive spoilers. Trust us on this one. Everyone else, you may proceed…
Oh my Gods.
Spartacus: Vengeance wrapped its 10-episode season Friday with a breathtakingly action-packed and staggeringly lethal episode. When the sand dust settled, at least six major characters — including Lucy Lawless‘ Lucretia! — were left for dead. Even in this day and age, where casualty-prone shows like The Walking Dead, True Blood and Game of Thrones are de rigueur, the body count was astonishing.
“One of the things that I love about working with Starz versus a normal network is we never would’ve been able to kill off so many major, important characters on a normal network — whether the story required it or not,” enthuses Sparty‘s boss, Steven S. DeKnight. “They may have let me kill off one. But I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have let me kill off six.”
Aside from Lawless’ Lucretia, the list of the dearly departed includes Nick Tarabay’s Ashur, Craig Parker’s Glaber, Katrina Law’s Mira, Peter Mensah’s Oenomaus and, despite a somewhat ambiguous “death” scene, Viva Bianca’s Ilithyia.
Below, DeKnight defends the high death toll, reveals which fallen character(s) he briefly considered resurrecting, and offers TVLine a preview of Season 3.
TVLINE | How long have you known that Lucretia wouldn’t make it out of the season alive?
That was actually a decision I made when we decided to bring her back at the end of Season 1. [Starz] approached me about possibly bringing Lucy back for [Vengeance] and I was adamant that she had to [remain dead] along with [John Hannah’s] Batiatus, and everybody said, “OK. We respect that.” And then the next morning in the shower I had the idea of bringing her back as “Mad Ophelia” and letting the audience believe that she had recovered her sanity through this season. But then you get to the end and you realize, ‘Oh, no. She was, in fact, crazy the whole time.’ And I always had the idea of her revealing that it was all about the baby, which a lot of fans already picked up on. I think they thought she was going to take the baby and run away with it, which in our world she does, except she’s taking it to the afterlife for her dead husband so they can finally have the family they always wanted.
TVLINE | Was there any internal debate about it? Lucy is such a huge part of the show. It’s a risky move.
Oddly, there was no debate about taking the baby going over the cliff. There was debate about taking Lucy going over the cliff. At the 11th hour, after we had already shot it, we had some discussion about [possibly] bringing Lucy back next season. But [fellow exec producer and real-life husband of Lawless] Rob Tapert and I both looked at the the story and where we were going and felt very strongly that [although] we loved Lucy and we loved the character, [Lucretia had run her course. And [she] really didn’t fit in with Crassus going after Spartacus [in Season 3]. There was really no way to put her into that Roman camp. And we had a brief discussion about what if she ended up in the rebel camp? But my very strong feeling was that, story-wise, it wouldn’t work because Crixus or Naevia would try to kill her. So it was with much trepidation that we decided that it was best for the story that we wrap that up her character. It also felt like because Ilithyia was so intimately tied to Lucretia that both their storylines should end together.
TVLINE | Wait… Ilithyia died too?
Oh, yeah. She’s dead. She is dead.
TVLINE | That was not made clear.
[That’s] one thing I regret. If I could go back I would’ve possibly re-shot [her death scene], just so it was clear that she did, in fact, die. We had a couple of different cuts of it where we were tying her death directly, visually into Glaber’s death, which I think was a little clearer. Upon seeing the final product, I’m going to have to explain to people that no, she’s not passed out; she’s dead.
TVLINE | You killed off both of your vixens!
And we had the same conversation about bringing Ilithyia back and she just plain didn’t fit into the story moving forward. She couldn’t be in the rebel camp. She had no place in the Roman side with Crassus and Caesar chasing Spartacus around the country. So, again, it felt like her character had run her course and should be wrapped up with Lucretia.
TVLINE | Sounds like you’re hitting the reset button in Season 3.
It seems like every season we make it a different show. And it’s part and parcel with the history that we’re following. This season was really a transition period between Blood and Sand and what’s coming next. In Vengenace, we found an artfully creative and historically plausible reason why we could reuse Batiatus’ Ludus as Glabor’s staging ground to go after Spartacus, and that way we could also reuse the city of Capua. So we had those holdovers from Blood and Sand and Gods of the Arena. But moving forward, we move away from that area, so there is no more Ludus, there is no more Capua. It is very much Crassus along with the aid of Caesar going after Spartacus and following some of those events that happened in history. So it’s much bigger than this year was. The scope of it, again, multiplies many times as Crassus battles Spartacus across the country.
TVLINE | What are some of the new characters you’re planning to introduce to fill the void left by all of these departures?
Crassus [played by Luke Pegler] is the main one. And a young Julius Caesar will be joining Crassus’ campaign. Crassus has a son that will also be on the campaign with them. There will be a couple of Romans who will pop up. There will be three new female characters that will be coming around. And one or two other people from history will make an appearance, but I can’t really say who. And one of the reasons for the high body count at the end of this season was… we needed to make a little room to bring new characters in. We couldn’t carry everybody.
TVLINE | Those actresses coming in have some big shoes to fill.
They are going to be completely different types of characters. I’m not going to try to reproduce what Viva and Lucy were. There was a lot of concern going into this season about losing John Hannah and [we debated whether to] try to recreate another John Hannah-esque character on the show, and my feeling was if we even attempt to do that the audience would know what we were doing and would probably not have a good reaction to it. Here is Battiatus-lite! And I feel the same way about Lucretia and Ilithyia. These new female characters will be completely different and won’t have that same dynamic. But hopefully they will be engaging.
You may want to fix this so that the entire interview is on the main page…
Please put some muscles on Spartacus. He looks ridiculous! And chest muscles for gods sake!
O
SPARTACUS IS FIND THE FIRST SPARTACUS WASN’T THAT BIG , IT IS HIS IDEAS , HIS HEART , AS LONG A. S HE HAS SKILL U GUYS DID A WONDERFUL JOB ,CAN’T WAIT JUST HOPE U BRING GSNDKISS BACK
Seriously, it’s disconcerting when the supposedly best warrior is the least muscular guy, even Glabber looked bigger than Spartacus!
You killed Illthyia? That was a a big mistake man.
Totally agree. Couldn’t see a wound or anything, it was just so ambiguous.
You couldn’t see a wound for the ill fated Illthyia? Her child was cut out of womb like core from fruit. I thought it was obvious.
I totally agree… she underwent a “cesarian” by opening the womb using a tool like knife, and an open wound internally cannot be exposed for at least 2-4 hours or else she will bleed to death and much worse be infected.
I totally agree, illthyia was one of my favorite characters.. I wish the writer would of written her into the next season . We all know Spartacus had something for her . The intrigue was that we didn’t know what it was and that would of been interesting trying to figure out how that played
How could you kill off the best character in that fashion? Totally screwed Illthyia over. Sorry I won’t be back.
Well I know I sure as hell will. Actually I was kinda surprised she made it that far. I felt a lot more more loss at the death of Mira then of any of the other female roles.
Same here! Mira was such a fiery heroine, I loved her! Although Illythia was very intriguing and entertaining, I’m certain that we’ll have another just as crazy female lead in the next season! :)
What about the baby. Did he survived?
if you remember the prequel, that cliff is very high up.
Who knows there could be a lip on that mountain. How can you look into those eyes and think the writers could kill the baby. The times were brutal. Not Spartacus baby…….
LOL! Then Lucy’s character could have survived on the ledge with the baby too. “UNFORTUNATELY, Not Gonna Happen!” As far as I’m concerned and others I’ve talked to, they’ve killed off almost all of the main characters, definitely the most interesting ones so we’re not even going to watch the last season. The only thing left to do on the show is have Spartacus and his crew have their usual bloody fight off against their enemies the whole season. }:-{ Leaves no actual story line between them and other character’s. They should have left it as the finale of the show last season.
So…is she dead, or what she just *left* for dead? Because those sound like two different things.
Lucretia, Ilythia and the baby are all DEAD. Finito. DeKnight makes that very clear in every interview he’s done.
Why don’t they let us know if this is the end….? They can always make people come back to a certain degree. It depends on how the actor died. You never know…would be cool.
Oh my, so Illythia died. No more Spartilly. Only those moments from Episode 8 Balance. I am out of Spartacus becos there is no more Illythia & Sparty moments. Very heartbroken.
First of all GREAT finale wanted Ashur and Glaber to get what was coming to them but Very shocked that Lucretia AND Illythia are gone as well very sad to see Mira and Onemauns die as well Great Job Mr Deknight”!
all of witch is historically accurate.
Actually it is not correct. Onemauns, according to history, died with Crixus in the north in 72 BC after they split from Sparticus. They and their followers were killed before Sparticus’s final battle in the fall of 72 BC, not 73 BC at the mountain. Also Glabber was not killed in the attack, but returned to Rome in disgrace
I admit, a client of mine got me interested in watching Spartacus but telling me about Lucy Lawless being nude. How could I resist a lure like that? While that got me to watch the first episode, it was the story that kept my interest. I love that the writers are being somewhat historically accurate. The vulgar language is reasonably accurate, the nudity is certainly accurate. Poorer people wore less clothes and it was hot there to begin with. It was an entirely different social structure and there were different morals and values. Sex just wasn’t a big deal and neither was who people had it with. It was also one of the most violent eras in history. These things combined with superb storytelling will keep me tuning in, no matter who dies. I was a history major and I know the show isn’t perfectly accurate. So what? This is entertainment and the creators have my blessing to veer off wherever they want to. I am going to miss the major characters that have already left but like I said, I can’t wait to see what’s coming next! Everything the writers have done so far has made sense.
Glabber DID NOT return to Rome. After the battle at Vesuvius he is no longer recorded in chronicles. It is not known if he died in the battle or not. They made him die. I’m fine with that. Onemauns thing is correct, he shouldnt have died so soon. But you know that he should be white? He was from Gallia just like Crixus. And at the time of the battle at Vesuvius there were thousands of rebels with Spartacus already, not just a banch of muscle morons from Germania…I dont like the fact that they change the history so much.
About the women deaths:
Get over it people, the season was called vengeance not just for Spartacus’ vengeance on Glabber. The title is also for Lucretia and her vengeance on Lithia. I cant imagine what would they do with them in the new season…Let them be dead. They should focus more on the rebel and history, there is so many interesting facts, like pirates who were to ferry Spartacus to Sicily, like arena games where captured Romans fought one another and Rebels watched and had fun (Spartacus made this to honour Crixus death). Just wait and see instead of saying “I’m not gona be back next season cause that woman is dead”.
You need to check your history. While I don’t have the time to correct all your wrongs please take note you need to reread your history… p.s. all characters should have brown skin…
you history while correct,failed to mention that it says at the beginning of every episode that it is based on historical facts and this is a drama it does say the series is historically accurate while i do like historical accuracy in shows i dont mind a little dramatic license
Like how you didn’t even mention any of the other MAJOR deaths – what the heck? What about Mira? What was the explanation for her death? there is no way she didn’t “fit in” next season. :l
I could kinda guess that when she (Mira) parted ways with Sparty she was off. Altough it would make our opinion of her low to go to another man…. :(
Btw great show and excellent work as in prvious seasons! In BaS and GoA you did fantastic work Mr. DeKnight – this one was no less majestic! Keep it up and we are eager to see new season aired asap! Oh, and make it a bit longer like BaS, I dunno like 20-30 episodes!
Yes there is. Spartacus is a leader of men. He is a general in his own army. Spartacus needs to embrace the role of leader of men and not that of a man in love ala Crixus and Navia. If not then the story is no longer a retelling of spartacus but more so a recreation meant to appease a modern fickle audience. Hear, hear to the people of STARZ! I love this show.
She no longer fit because her emotional tether with Spartacus was severed when she tried to kill Ilithyia. Her days were numbered.
TlK you do realize They hated each other right? She was prefecetly fine with Glaber killing him and Raising the Child as Glaber’s
No, Illythia was playing Glaber to hurry him to his death on the battlefield with Sparty. That was always part of Ilythia’s plan. Remember the scene on the balcony when Illythia returned from her kidnap ordeal where she had a epiphany when the golden light shone on her. She made up her mind there & then that only herself & baby Sparty would be together without Glaber.
She only made up with Glaber after killing Sepia to reseal her position in Roman society without the love accorded to Glaber.
As for Illythia hating Sparty, there is fine line between love & hate. She is conflicted the way I see it becos she is so awed by Sparty’s alpha male status. Sparty is intrigued that Roman noble women would see him as desirable. Its like opposites attract to put it simply.
I was so invested in the Spartillya relationship & its all gone!!!
What show are you watching? Because it clearly wasn’t Spartacus.
Try not to watch Spartacus on drugs. Illythia reunited with Glaber; she had no intentions to hasten his death. And she boinked Spartacus because she was a sociopath, not because she “loved” him.
Lucretia set up the “boinking” of Illythia in the first season. Illythia wanted to sleep with a gladiator and picked Crixus. Lucretia HATED this, so to screw her over she set her up with Spartacus because Illythia despised him. What show were all of you watching?
I don’t remember what episode but there a moment when she was bathing that she was recalling her meeting with Spartacus while having a slave attend to her. (So to speek) She was interupted by her husband.
Very good finale. I tuned in for Lucy, and I’m tuning out now that she’s gone, but it was a really fun ride along the way.
Same here. Going to Miss Lucy and Lucretia. She was the reason to Watch Spartacus and now that shes gone… I am too.
The only death that really killed me was Mira’s. I feel like there was still plenty of story left to tell with her and her relationship with Sparty.
That being said, it was an excellent finale and I give the writers props for killing off so many major characters in order to advance the story.
And I thank them for letting Naevia live.
I think they could have saved Lucretia and put her in the rebel camp. I can’t believe out of all the females they save the most useless one, Naevia. Someone must have jungle fever because that actress sucks, figuratively and I guess there is no other explanation literally too. At least recast. She’s f’ing unwatchable. So sparing the audience and killing Naevia could have opened the door for Lucretia in the Spartacus camp, because she had brought him his child and the Crixus angle.
I don’t know about the pacing of the show they really like to blow their wads quickly and while we know the history the other ones they create can be kept on longer.
And what a weak exit for Lllythia it look like she easily lived, especially if you go by the season one finale and Lucretia survived with a worse wound.
“someone must have jungle fever”? Someone must be a racist.
LOL. I was going to same thing. JD was probably one of those people on twitter who got offended by the all the “ethnic” characters in Hunger Games.
Ha! Racism. Soooo entertaining.
Just goes to prove that Spartacus is so good that it’s viewers are different genders, income levels, ethnicities and intelligence (lack of?) levels.
What a wonderful love story btwn Crixus and Naevia. Let’s leave race out of it. This is the best series ever. Congrats to all the writers, actors and actresses!!!
JD, you must be ignorant, there was no need for that kind of comment
How is getting stabbed gently in the stomach a worse wound then having a baby cut from you?
Lucretia’s wound from season one was clearly much less then Lllythia’s one
Lucy lived because Ashur came to aid. Llithia died cause there was no medic to stop her bleeding plus the heat in the following days. You guys are in love with the characters. I’m glad they are dead.
sorry …NO Lucy LAWLESS …NO SHOW! Bye!
Amazing episode…. I’m disappointed that its gonna be another year before my Spartacus craving will be sated though. Hopefully all that extra time means our patience will be rewarded with a decent length season that lives up to the extremely high expectations the previous seasons have built.
Bravo Mr.DeKnight, Bravo.
Ditto, Spartacus is just awesome, can’t wait for the next season, and I don,t want it to ever end.
Wow, didn’t see this one coming. Really sorry to see Lucretia ,Llithyia and so many others gone in one episode. To many turnovers for me .
Lucy will be back as Xena. Remember Xena has a relationship with young Cesar and he broke her legs and left her to die on the beach.
lmao
The Spartacus’ scrolls according to Gabrielle? LMFAO
Well played!
Agree with that!!!
There needs to be a like button for these comment, because yours was just…magic.
I absolutely object! This is just devastating. I had no idea that Ilithyia totally kicked the bucket. Man I so wanted more Spartilly moments. Viva is such a profound actress. As much as I was able to get over everyone else’s death…her death and the baby’s was too much for me to take. So long Spartacus :(
Viva was my favorite by far. Beauty, sex, and evil – an unbeatable combination! She is already missed.
Wow what a way to finish a season! Lucretia was mad crazy! Wait, Ilithyia died? That was a terrible exit. Hopefully they’ll bring her back like they did with Lucretia or else I’m out…I’ll definitely miss her bad-ass self. Hard to imagine the new girls will top the old ones…
I cannot believe some of you people actually entertain the idea of Lucretia becoming part of the rebel camp. I seriously would have stopped watching if they would have done that with her, just because of how outrageously stupid and unbelievable it would have been. Thank you, DeKnight, for not doing that with her, that would have been utterly ridiculous.
Well said!! Good job by the writers to not do something like that.
Yep
Yes, Later Spartacus. Seems you need new writers with talent. Watch the ratings drop. Thanks for a good season.
Time to cancel STARZ.
YYYYEEEEAAAAHHHHHI don’t see that happening lol sound’s like someone needs a tissue funny for some reason I sense you apparently watched the whole season as you most likely watched the 2 before it and lo and behold it wasn’t set in stone that alot of people would be here for the 3rd so boo hoo pull tit from mouth
Wow! A lot of upset viewers seem to be in the mix. I don’t want to see characters continually resurrected – that’s not about the forward movement of the show but a continual “character” fix. I will watch the show next season. Also, JD’s comment about “jungle fever” needs to be expunged. What a racist thing to say about this actress.
Well said. I can’t believe people will tune out because Lawless is gone. What is she, like an academy award winning actress or something? I like the way the writers hit the reset button. I will continue to watch the show.
I agree with all- i dont believe i was the only one watching at home waiting for lucrecia and alyhtia to get what was coming for them…. its been a very entertaining show, and for all the whinging people out there saying they arent going to watch it because a character died… well suck it, the characters were bitches and deserved what happened, and i was sitting there cheering their deaths on, because they are just characters…. it is a show nobody died for real- grow up or go home
heh whatever racism seems to be outdated nowadays anyway doesnt it I know I got me some jungle fever!!! Girl is f’ing hot
Can’t believe people would leave such a great show because they do the right thing and kill off major characters. The show is Spartacus not Lucrecia. Get over it
As happens often, he’s a dull theoretical “lead” but the real spice were the villains, played by much stronger actors.
I’ll give new season a chance, as long as they promise to give us less Spartacus speeches.
Yes, the speeches were starting to grate on the nerves, but you can’t really have a leader like Sparty without the speeches.
I do somewhat agree, but I will challenge that in season one the actor who played Spartacus had more charisma and seemed to seethe emotion into his role. I wasn’t as bored with Spartacus in the first season as I was in the second. The supporting characters were what carried the show this time around. But I am not against the deaths in the finale. I wanted Ilythia gone, I was over her and wanted her punished. Lawless, as much as I hated her in season one, I began to like in season two. She seemed not to be against Spartacus, which was true ultimately since all she cared about was the child. And I liked the twist of her death which too was by her own design and no one elses meaning she still came out on top and in control of her own destiny. I will miss her, but I do look forward to season 3.
No – Ilythia was the best – the main reason for watching!
Agreed!
Excellent finale, and the producers made wise choices in wrapping up the storylines that couldn’t move forward. I am ready for next season asap!
Other shows should hire Steven DeKnight to come up with their finales. Once again, he has come up with the bloodiest most satisfying conclusion this story could take. Losing the great characters of Mira – damn, she had a sad life in this story bet Katrina Law pops up in Miami in Magic City – this network is loyal, Ashur – couldn’t have happened in a better way – Nick Tarabay has been on three Starz shows thus far bet he winds up on another as well – he, Lawless, and Mensah are the only three actors that have been in every episode thus far – this network allowed this show and its writers to kill off three characters/actors that have been in every single episode – name another show with that kind of courage, Oenomaeus – fantastic ending and wonderful conclusion to the story of Mellita, Gannicus, and Oenomaeus. Gannicus had a great story and run and his story, historically, is just beginning which is great with a damn good actor in the role in DC. Lucretia and Ilithyia, Lucy and Viva are going to be tough shoes to fill but their stories had to end unfortunately. And Craig Parker’s Glaber finally getting one of the best death’s of the season.. You totally see why Lesley Ann Brandt might had opted out this season – she must not have wanted the boot camp – thats cool but Cynthia owns the role now — and that worked out good. And finally – he had the biggest shoes to fill of anyone in a while on television but by his last scene of this finale episode you finally understood why the characters would be following this guy like they did Andy’s Spartacus. Too much to digest in one episode but it all worked. Can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Sorry for going on…..
Liam totally stepped up in the final 3 episodes, carried them. he did an amazing job. He should only get stronger in the next season!
leslie ann brandt and crix had chemistry!. i don’tt see any with cynthia. that re casting didn’t work.
i totally agree with you… i wish some how they could bring back leslie ann brandt for the next season… if that is possible
I said I wouldn’t continue watching if Ilithyia and Lucretia were killed off…
Well, Lucretia I can forgive. Her death was fitting and morbidly beautiful. The image of her at peace, falling backward with a baby in her arms, will haunt me. The thought of her and Quintus together in the afterlife also makes me sort of happy.
Alas, I really can’t handle Ilithyia’s departure. I thought for sure she had just passed out/gone catatonic. With her confirmed death as well…I don’t know if I can do it.
The show is a testosterone-fueled sausage party. Yeah, I love me some Sparty and Gannicus don’t get me wrong, but as a viewer I need those strong charismatic females. I sort of pessimistically doubt that the newbies will be able to pull that off. How can you possibly match or top them? And if you don’t, which DeKnight sounds like he won’t even try to, then the scales are tipped way too far away from any femininity. I guess I will just wait to see what others say about season 3 before catching up and tuning in. I’m fine with Wrath of the Gods being my show finale. In fact, it makes a good one.
Do you remember a prequel series called Spartacus: Gods of the Arena? A season that was absolutely brilliant and introduced the wonderful character Gaia – Lucretia’s friend who managed to fill the Illythia void in a fresh fashion and win my interest before getting axed only 4 episodes in — and helped to explain why Lucretia was the devious, paranoid power player that she is in Season 1 and 2. I think Mr McKnight has proven he has storytelling balls AND a great love of wicked female characters over and over again. Mira is the only casualty I wish didn’t happen, because I think she could’ve delivered more Katniss Everdeen awesomeness, but it’s clear, that now after the deaths of his wife and now Mira, Spartacus will be particularly closed off – meaning one of the new women is probably going to be a sexy new love interest.
She didn’t fill her shoes nearly as well as you think. Illthyia was the best character on the show and the meanest one too.
best characters before this ep
1 ashur
2 glaber
3 gannicus
4 onameaus
5 lucretia
6 ilythia
7 egyptian
you killed 6 of the best characters. now next season we have scrawny spartacus and a bunch of losers. thanks a lot you stupid starz writer. now gannicus and the blonde are the only reasons left to watch. damn you, damn you and i will have my revenge in this life or the next
….. “damn you and i will have my revenge in this life or the next”.
That is hilarious! Best comment in this entire section.
Illythia should not have died. Shame on you Steven for destroying a great character! None of the new female characters will bring the level of complexity and intrigue the way Illythia did. Bring her back!!!
Her father died, he husband died, and the newborn that was just cut out of her womb just dived over the cliffs with Lucretia … Who the the hell wants to watch illythia next season since she’ll just mirror Lucretia this season? She can’t top Lucretia In the crazy department. I like illythia character but keep her dead!! Move the story along, this is not daytime soap.
*like*
I agree. Well spoken. Bravo!!!
Yep. Lol at the people in love with Lucy and llithia. Grow up!
How can you possibly know that none of the female characters will be as engaging as the ones who just died? Keep in mind that he created those characters you got attached to.
But you know, maybe you’re right; if you’ve completely closed yourself off to future characters then yes, none of them is going to be good enough for you. Self-fulfilling prophecy.