‘Spartacus: House of Ashur’ Ending Explained – That’s How You Do A Finale

I think it’s fair to say that Spartacus: House of Ashur has earned a finale like Episode 10, “Hail Caesar”. Things haven’t been going especially well for the eponymous antihero at the best of times, and he reached his lowest ebb in the penultimate episode, when he was forced to kill Gabinius against his will. To be fair, this isn’t as much of an ending as one might think, since it leaves pretty much every plot thread unresolved, but it finally delivers heaps of satisfying spectacle that give Ashur — and indeed the audience — something to celebrate for once.

Season 2 hasn’t been greenlit yet, but Steven DeKnight has apparently already written it, which bodes well enough. Fans were a bit skeptical initially, but I reckon most have been swayed by how true to the original show this one has felt, especially in a blood-and-guts episode like this. We’ll have to wait and see, I suppose, but in the meantime, there’s plenty to chew over. Let’s break it down.

Brotherly Love

With Gabinius’s death having been blamed on Pompey, elevating Crassus’s political position, his holdings have fallen to his creepy brother, Servius, who is basically a cartoon villain. He insists on bathing naked with Cossutia and Viridia, treats both of them like slaves, is openly despicable to Ashur, and happily uses his brother’s death as an excuse to stage some funereal games, with Achillia facing off against the Scythian in the primus.

Servius has been mentioned before, but his late appearance in the story suggests to me that if Season 2 should manifest, he’ll be one of its recurring villains. He’s awful enough to push Cossutia and Viridia towards Ashur, whose gladiators — with the exception of Achillia — he prohibits from fighting in the games, even going so far as to ban Ashur from the pulvinus just to belittle him. His not getting his own way is one of the key moments of celebration when all is said and done, though one suspects he won’t take the defeat lying down.

Training Season

There’s a good amount of build-up to the primus in “Hail Caesar”, with montages of both Achillia and the Scythian’s training. And while we sadly don’t get to see Proculus train with his champion — I was surprised to see he had any martial ability at all; maybe next season — we do get some genuinely meaningful development for Tarchon, who is helping Achillia to prepare.

You can tell this is a satisfying arc because I hated Tarchon enough that I couldn’t really see a scenario in which I wouldn’t. But this finale does great work with him. He commits to Achillia’s training, following Korris’s instructions to soften his approach, and when he finally gets some time with his on-again-off-again slave girlfriend, he sends her away when she disrespects his late father. He is fully committed to honoring his father in word and deed.

I thought this was leading to a rug-pull, which I suppose it is, in a sense, but not in the way you’d imagine. Tarchon remains Achillia’s staunchest supporter throughout.

The Games

With Ashur’s gladiators excluded, there are only two fights worth caring about in Gabinius’s funereal games. One is Satyrus reluctantly teaming up with a woman to take on a giant hammer-wielding brute, from which he inexplicably emerges victorious once again. I’m not sure what we’re supposed to think about this guy, since he’s clearly a villain, but he’s also undeniably fun to be around. Korris’s laughing reaction when he once again escapes death was pretty much mine too.

The second fight of note is, of course, Achillia taking on the Scythian. This is a big spectacle that spills out into the crowd and back again, but Achillia emerges victorious without any interference. The climax is a wonderful bit of practical gore — at least I think it was practical — and the enthusiastic support of Korris, Tarchon, and the other gladiators who are watching, which is nice to see.

Granted, Viridia sees Ashur celebrating by planting a kiss on Hilara, which she doesn’t seem too thrilled about, but now that she’s under the thumb of Servius, their relationship seems to be off the table either way.

Hail Caesar

You’d think Spartacus: House of Ashur would end here, but not so fast. For one thing, Achillia and Tarchon, after sharing a nice moment in the former’s new quarters, the private room once inhabited by Gannicus and then Spartacus himself, decide to celebrate by sleeping with one another. I’m not sure that necessarily honours Celadus’s memory in the way he’d like, but it’s a problem for another day. We have bigger fish to fry.

Messia, disgusted by her unwitting involvement in the plot against Pompey, leaves with Cornelia for Rome, with Caesar remaining behind. In exchange for his own involvement in the plot, Ashur was supposed to take charge of Capua’s rebuilt arena, but Caesar takes great pleasure in telling him that Crassus decided against it. Ashur has finally had enough and turns on Caesar, which results in a great fight through the villa.

And Ashur wins! The season ends with Ashur hacking Caesar’s face to pieces and declaring, smugly, “Hail Caesar”. It’s as crowd-pleasing a moment as you could imagine, though it does beg the question of quite how Ashur is going to wriggle his way out of this one. What I can say for certain, though, is that I’ll be interested to see it.