Marcus Crassus is far craftier and more ruthless than we previously imagined.
[Spoiler alert! If you haven't watched the "Decimation" episode of Spartacus yet, avert your eyes or continue reading at your own risk.]
On Friday's Spartacus: War of the Damned, the deep plan that Crassus (Simon Merrells) conceived was finally revealed: Julius Caesar (Todd Lasance) would infiltrate Spartacus' (Liam McIntyre) group by disguising himself as a fellow (hairy, unwashed) rebel slave. So that's why Crassus didn't want Caesar to cut his hair!
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All hail Caesar!
On Friday's episode of Spartacus: War of the Damned, Marcus Crassus (Simon Merrells) introduced his secret weapon: Gaius Julius Caesar (Todd Lasance). And Spartacus (Liam McIntyre) revealed his own plan to supply and shelter his followers in the walled city of Sinuessa en Valle — at the cost of Roman lives, of course.
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Don't expect to see the short and severe Caesar haircut on Spartacus' version of Julius Caesar when you first meet him.
When the notorious Roman makes his debut on the Starz drama Friday at 9/8c, he appears much younger and shaggier than we've seen him depicted before. That's because producers decided to check in on him decades before he became the lover of Cleopatra and the elder statesman fated for assassination.
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He's finally got cred. In Season 1 of the Starz hit Spartacus, the titular hero rallied his fellow slaves and led a gut-splattering revolt against his oppressive master. By Season 2, this band of rebels had grown so strong that they brought down an entire coliseum full of Romans, leaving mass casualties and a mountain of rubble. Still, Spartacus was nothing more than a local problem, a mere blip on the government's radar. That changes wildly when the swords-and-skin series returns for its final season, Spartacus: War of the Damned.
"We jump ahead several months, to a point in the story where Spartacus is not just winning against the Roman Republic — he's winning big," says Liam McIntyre, who inherited the lead role originated by the late Andy Whitfield. "Spartacus now has an army of thousands — there are historical accounts that claim it was upward of 120,000 — and they have some of Rome's biggest military leaders on the run. There's no choice but to take him seriously now. It's time to call in the top guns."
That would be Marcus Crassus ...
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Spartacus: War of the Damned may be the series' swan song, but first the characters will have a chance to sing a different tune — literally.
At the red carpet premiere for Spartacus, which kicks off Friday at 9/8c on Starz, executive producer Steven S. DeKnight promised that "My C--- Rages On," the fictional bawdy song popularized on the series, will be heard again. "We could not have a season without 'My C--- Rages On,'" he told TVGuide.com. "So listen for it. It'll pop up somewhere."
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