IGN talks to Blood and Sand creator Steven S. DeKnight, and series stars Lucy Lawless and Peter Mensah, about leaving the Ludus behind.
February 23, 2011
by Matt Fowler
With Spartacus: Gods of the Arena just one episode from being over -- just one episode before we say goodbye to Batiatus forever – we devoted Blood and Sand fans will have to set our sights on Season 2 of this bloody great series. With Liam McIntyre taking over the titular role of Spartacus from the unfortunately ill Andy Whitfield, Season 2 looks to take us out of the Ludus, fleeing into the wilderness with our band of outlaw gladiators. IGN had a chance to speak with series creator/writer Steven S. DeKnight, as well as stars Lucy Lawless and Peter Mensah, about igniting the rebellion and heading forward into a war with Rome.
First off, everyone. A round of applause, please, for Mr. John Hannah as Batiatus. "It was wonderful to be able to bring John back for Gods of the Arena," DeKnight told IGN. "I had wanted to bring John back in Season 2, in a flashback episode, and I had talked to John about it. And he really loved being on the show and really wanted to come back. And then, unfortunately, with what happened to Andy [Whitfield], we approached John about doing a six-episode prequel series. And without John we wouldn't have done in. Because he was the linchpin. But thankfully he agreed to do it, and it was so fantastic to be able to revisit that character and really see the germination of who he becomes in Season 1."
And while bidding farewell to Batiatus might be a bitter pill, we'll still get to see Lucy Lawless return as Lucretia in Season 2, as it was announced last month that her character, indeed, survived the Ludus bloodbath. "It's something we've talked about, going forward with each season, is trying to find that connective tissue of a villain – because obviously the hero will cross over through all the seasons – but trying to find a villain that can do it," DeKnight said. "And I use the term 'villain' loosely because not all are villains, they're just on the other side. But to find someone on the opposing side and carry them through to the next season. I was adamant that both [Batiatus and Lucretia] were going to die. And that Luctretia was going to die, but then I had this idea and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with her. And it would be a great element to add to Season 2." So does that mean that Lucretia will now be a changed woman? Will she have learned a valuable lesson? "Oh no," DeKnight laughed. "She learns no lesson. Lucretia survives her wound but, as you can imagine, she's less than happy."
When we asked Lawless about the return of Lucretia, she hadn't yet read any new Season 2 scripts, but she did know a few elements. "I know a couple of very broad strokes," she told us, "and I have incredible faith in these writers. I would be shocked if it wasn't as brilliant as everything else."
What did Lawless think Lucretia's state of mind would be? "I wouldn't say that she hasn't learned any lessons," the actress said. "That's not correct. I would say she's learned some. But she's had something very precious, the only thing precious to her, taken away from her and they'll be hell to pay. She's going to unleash the demons from hell."
With the Batiatus Ludus getting left in the bloody dust, where will that leave our heroes? Will they be on the run? "Part will be hiding and part will be guerilla tactics," DeKnight stated. "As always, we'll take key moments from history to help us portray the story. You know, they head out to the countryside and cause a lot of havoc. You know, it's interesting because historically they raped and pillaged their way through the land. But it's a little hard to portray your heroes as good guys if they slaughter children and raping women. But we don't pull back from the fact that they will kill a lot of Romans who they perceive to be the problem. But yes, they'll be on the loose, in the countryside, causing trouble and Glaber (Craig Parker), who will be the first person sent after them, will be hot on their heels."
One of the freed, fleeing rebels in Season 2 will be, of course, Peter Mensah's Oenomaus. What was it like for Mensah to leave the Ludus set behind, after filming both Season 1 and Gods of the Arena there? "Well to be honest, I'm more intrigued by what's coming than sort of thinking about what we're leaving behind," Mensah told IGN. "I guess because, for us, it's the challenge of 'how are we going to pull this off?' And, as an actor, and I think most of us would say this, we're always looking for new challenges. So it's okay to have left it because we're ready to go take on the Roman army."
And what of Oenomaus' historical, shall we say, fate? "Well the deal is that there is an actual history in place," Mensah said. "And we're following that story. So we know where he's going to go. It's how we get there that will be interesting. He has a personal journey to go through in all of this. But you're going to see him right after his whole world fell apart, at the end of Season 1. It's actually fallen apart twice now. And we'll see how it has affected him."
And how will we find Spartacus in Season 2? Will he be the leader of men as told in legend? "When we started Spartacus we knew he wouldn't be the golden hero from the start," DeKnight said. "As much as I love the Stanley Kubrick movie, I didn't want him defending slaves right from the start. I wanted a guy who was very much ruled by his own passions and emotions. For his wife, really. There was that great scene back in episode twelve of Season 1 where Mira says 'you can't do this because we'll all be put to death' and he says 'I don't care.' So he's going to go from there, from that place, to putting his own feelings aside and fighting for the greater good. So that's where we want to take him in Season 2."
And what about the gruesome gladiator fights? With the Ludus in ruin and our heroes on the run, will that element of the show be gone for good? "The great thing about the prequel series is that we had the old arena," DeKnight explained. "Which was much more historically accurate. It was small it was wooden and it was down and dirty. So it gave a new feel to the fights. In Season 2, you will still see the arena that we came to know in Season 1, but for part of the season. Spartacus and his people will obviously not be fighting in it but the fights themselves won't have gone away. And then, eventually, we'll completely move away from the gladiator side."
