I was having a chat with one of the producers of Spartacus last week and she said a very interesting thing: "A show is only as good as its Villains." And this got me thinking...

Using that comment as a measuring stick, after the events which occurred in episode 10, I think Spartacus just might be the best show on Earth, especially when you consider the reaction so many had to the events in last week's episode, "Party Favors." There was a HUGE outcry over the death of Varro.

It is great to see so many fans emotionally invested in Spartacus: Blood and Sand. To have this much passion about a television show is rare and caring this much makes it a whole lot more fun than just watching an episodic series to pass the time.

Every Friday night, my fiancé and I host a "Sparty Party" for our friends and quite often some of the cast members show up either in person or via Skype to join in the fun. We are very lucky to have a great group of friends, but one added bonus is that they are completely spoiler free and watch the show with the same perspective that most fans of Spartacus do on Friday nights. This gives us a chance to see how people are really reacting to each episode since our experiences are colored by already knowing what is going to happen. My one friend was so spoiler free that she didn't even know what my role on the show was going to be, so every week she would volunteer a new guess about what my character was going to end up becoming with strict instructions to not let her know if she guessed right.

Last Friday, when episode 10 aired, they went into the show as innocently and excitedly as the next person, but by the end of the episode they just sat there in stunned silence. No one moved. No one talked. There was no lively chat about the episode and discussions about what might be happening next week like usual, just the silent contemplation of who they should be angriest with most...Ilithyia, Numerius, Ashur, or Batiatus, and how upset they were over the loss of such a great character (and actor) in Varro. Instead, they just slowly gathered up their belongings, dried their tears, said their goodbye's, and left.

Varro's death scene impacted everyone in a very real way. It was powerful and moving, and while I knew what was going to happen (I was there when that entire scene was filmed, after all) I was still affected to the point that I had to fight back tears. I sincerely have to give major Kudos to Andy, Jai, Steven DeKnight and his writing team, Chris Martin-Jones (episode 10 director), and the editors for the job they all did on this episode. Simply put, it was amazing.

So I wanted to take a moment to recognize Spartacus: Blood and Sand's "love to hate 'em" characters...and we've got quite a few of them. After all, THEY make the show every bit as much as the heroes do.



Ilithyia

...Or as Afterelton.com likes to refer to her "Paris Hilton B.C."

The first week I was on set, I was invited to watch episodes 1 and 2 of Spartacus in order to get on the same page as the rest of the cast. I was immediately mesmerized by the performance by Viva Bianca (actress who plays Ilithyia). She was simply delightful on screen. She was so lively and spoiled and bratty and innocent all at the same time. Viva has done an amazing job with Ilithyia. She has managed to find every nuance of that character and bring her life with such flair and conviction.

Ilithyia is the girl that we all hated in high school; the one that got everything she wanted because daddy made sure she got it. The person who was so consumed with her own life and gains that she rarely took into account what others were feeling or going through. I often laugh and think of Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. "Daddy! I want an Oompa loompa now!"

Some people argue that she has no reason to hate Spartacus directly and that it is Glaber who should harbor the anger, but if you were a woman who had her entire life lined up into a perfectly pretty straight white line and then dirty Spartacus came and stomped all over it, wouldn't you do your best to get rid of him as well? As I see it, from Ilithyia's point of view, Spartacus came really close to ruining everything for her. He shamed her husband, made the two of them a joke amongst their peers, destabilized Glaber's eventual promotion to Senate, and
in layman's terms, Spartacus was messing with her rent money and
we all know that's just not cool. Added to that, all of this coming from a man who is a traitor to Rome who disobeyed a direct order from his superior in the military and should have died in the arena months ago as punishment, but instead is being elevated to Rock Star status and lauded as a hero.

What makes Ilithyia even better is that while Ilithyia is so evil and hate filled, Viva Bianca is one of the sweetest girls you will ever meet. Isn't it always the nicest one's who can do the most damage? So congrats to you Viva! You've got the fans all riled up and only a great actress with some serious acting chops could pull that off.



Ashur

He's another of our "love to hate you so much" characters. I think people may have been a little confused on what to think
about Ashur when he first came onto the scene: Little bit of a beef with Crixus, kind of trying to be Spartacus' friend, extremely close to Batiatus. But I think by episode 5, everyone pretty much knew what category to put Ashur into. After episode 10, I think everyone is bracing for the worst and hoping for a pre-emptive death for our villain before he can do any of those villainous things that we all fear that he is going to do.


But Ashur is more than that; he's extremely complex. I see him as a man who is fighting for survival, a man who desperately wants to be a gladiator and accepted into the Brotherhood, but was at the same time betrayed by his own 'brother' Crixus while fighting in the arena. He can no longer fight with the same skill as before, so in order to remain useful (and remain alive) he puts his intelligence to the task. He is essentially
abandoned by his brotherhood once he is injured and when he is finally in position to be back among them, and once again fight for glory and honor, he is told that he is too valuable to Batiatus (and thereby, the Ludus) outside of the arena to go back in and risk being killed. In other words, he did the job that he hates doing TOO WELL. He is a man crushed and betrayed and looking for someone to be loyal to. I guess it would be like being a starter on the basketball team, having your leg broken by your own teammate, becoming score keeper and then getting
stuck in that job because you just happen to be the best damn
score keeper to ever exist. I would be frustrated and angry too.

Much respect to Nick Tarabay who plays Ashur. He has found a way to avoid becoming the cliché of the mustache twirling villain and instead gives his character a depth and charm that could so easily be over looked by a lesser actor. Like Viva, Nick is one of the nicest people you will ever meet; so genuine and down to earth with the ability to make a room full of people laugh. I know for the past few episodes he has been contemplating putting bars over his windows and entering into Witness Protection due to fan reactions towards Ashur...all in good fun of course.



Batiatus


I think Batiatus is the super villain of all villains. His
ambition and his desire to watch his family flourish and
succeed, to rise above its station and gain acclaim, is so relatable that it is one of the reasons we love to love him and hate that we have to hate him. Here is a character who is really not doing anything wrong, but is just functioning according to the rules of his time period. Life is expendable and slaves are property. He is only doing what probably every other head of the household would do with their slaves, but he isn't malevolent and his drive is not evil in nature. He is cut throat and he does what he has to in order to stay alive and provide for the wife he loves. Isn't that what most business owner do to a very basic level? And his revenge towards the Magistrate is merely: An eye for an eye (reasoning which was common philosophy for the culture and the time period). I also think another thing which endears him to us is that even though he does horrible things to Spartacus, you can genuinely feel that Batiatus likes Spartacus. And Spartacus likes Batiatus as well. Can you say Stockholm Syndrome?

Yet we view him from the safety of OUR time with OUR morals in a
post-Christian/Islamic Western society and according to our
rules...he is bad.

It is our fortune as an audience that Batiatus is such a very well written character, and that John Hannah is a brilliant actor, consistently making dangerous choices which make Batiatus a force to be reckoned with, just makes it that much of a joy to watch the performance unfold.



And finally:
Lucretia.


A woman who loves her man and stands behind him no matter what,
is someone to admire. A woman who is struggling to fit in with the elite, a class far above her who swim in dangerous waters
all their own, is someone to root for. A woman who desperately wants a child and hides the fear that she'll never conceive is
someone we can all sympathize with. All of these things are aspects of who Lucretia is. But her station in life, her own ambitions, both personal and romantic, combined with a temper and mean streak which rivals even that of the Gladiators in the Ludus below, raises her threat as a villain to new heights.All of this makes her character so complex that it is sometimes difficult to decide whether she is the story's heroin or its matriarchal devil. Lucy Lawless floats across the moral lines with such grace and fluidity that it almost becomes a dance watching her performance.

As an actress I constantly marvel as I watch the risky choices she makes and how strongly she takes them on. It's a constant reminder of how far I have to go on my own personal journey to the excellence I desire. And seeing how she dawns the mantle of "evil Lady Macbeth" is a challenge to match as well as an inspiration for myself to someday equal.

So much of her performance and who her character is resonate deeply within myself as a woman that it makes it hard to hate her, yet my morals insist that I do just that. Luckily I know that my feelings that she is evil are justified in the end. How do I know this? Well...we're all about to see this first hand.

So hats off to all of you villains...you are a joy to watch.