Warning: spoilers for Spartacus: House of Ashur episode 4 ahead.
Listen: I've made no secret of my love-hate relationship with Spartacus: House of Ashur. The new Starz show is packed with astonishing violence (shoutout to the final maiming in episode 2), but for me, there's little lying under the surface.
That's why I was so surprised when episode 4 changed my view for the better. While 90% of this week's episode is the gladiatorial status quo, the final scene sticks the knife in an entirely new way.
When a rogue gang invades the city's streets, Cossutia (Claudia Black) and daughter Viridia (India Shaw-Smith) get caught up in the rucus. Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay) and his nearby crew leap to their defence, showcasing the first time that violence is used for a noble cause.
It's certainly a turning point for Ashur, who has so far been tyrannically ruling over his gladiator kingdom as Dominus. It doesn't hurt matters that Ashur also has his eye on Viridia, but let's put that to one side for the moment.
Not only are its morals well placed, but the physical action is just as gruesomely spectacular as we've come to expect. I knew I had to ask Black, Shaw-Smith, and Tarabay more about it... and unsurprisingly, the Spartacus: House of Ashur episode 4 scene is their "favorite."
Nick E. Tarabay thinks fans will 'really love' Spartacus: House of Ashur episode 4 fight scene
"That specific scene took five, maybe even six days to shoot," Shaw-Smith tells me. "It was amazing. It tracks such a huge journey in such an epic way, when we go from arriving and being in a certain emotional state to suddenly full throttle."
"The scale of emotion and what was required of us was the most fun to film because it required total immersion. The set was so epic. We had all the wonderful supporting artists, all of our incredible stunt team, run by Alan Poppleton. A lot of our scenes are the more the upstairs versus downstairs, all the scheming and the politics of the Roman elite. So to suddenly be in the thick of it be in a big fight scene was the greatest challenge."
Black adds, "I loved that scene. I think it might be one of my favourites of the entire shoot. It's, I mean, it's wild working at this pace. I say that the real villain is the schedule on this because it's so ambitious. Had (producer) Rick Jacobson not been able to assemble a lot of the original heads of department, this would have become an unintentional comedy all the way through."
"There's a very dangerous line in a way of 'are we going to pull this off or is this going to fail gloriously or miserably?' And they're so in their element, all of these heads of department. I also don't know if any other director than Maja (Vrvilo) would have pulled off that episode. She was just able to understand in her brain what was absolutely necessary, so that we could get through the rigours of this really ambitious schedule."
"I think once we all got through that gauntlet, it was like, 'oh my god, we might have not completely embarrassed ourselves here.'"
And for Tarabay? "I have an amazing moment in episode 4. Ashur gets involved in it for a particular reason. And the way, the way it ends, the actual words, and the way it was filmed, it's such a romantic and beautiful moment that I absolutely savoured. Our director was wonderful, the way she captured that moment with the light and everything. It's an 'awe' moment. It comes in the right place, turning from violent to something sweet. I think the fans will really love that."
If I am said fan... mission accomplished.
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