Yes, it’s the show where most of the promos are just ridiculously hot people looking ridiculously hot and sweaty, and yes, it’s getting Return of the King-style bonus points for having just ended its run. Doesn’t matter: fact is, aspiring TV writers are going to be studying Spartacus years from now to learn how it is you tell a fully-realized dramatic story, regardless the subject matter. In this case, that subject matter was gladiators fighting and fucking their way to freedom in ancient Rome, but with each season, Spartacus went deeper, revealing layers to its world and characters that put most prestige TV dramas to shame.
This is a show that’s been defying the odds since day one, whether delivering big screen action on a shoestring budget, overcoming the untimely death and replacement of its star, or making a series with surface appeal to dudebros that simultaneously presents a more progressive view of sex and gender than the vast majority of TV. It even managed to make an unplanned prequel season awesome for crying out loud! War of the Damned was a brilliant, emotional final farewell to a series that no one gave the time of day to when it first started, but that Steven S. DeKnight and company quickly turned into something really special.
