Prudom:
We’re supposed to be rooting for the slaves, but they really do some questionable things in the name of this war – I love that Steven DeKnight doesn’t want to paint them as completely noble or righteous when history says that they were kind of as bad as the Romans in a lot of ways. . .
Bennett:
Yeah, exactly. I think what they are doing by introducing Caesar is that they are introducing the might and the power and they’re introducing the greatness of Rome. I think the might and the power of Rome was always an element that existed in our story somewhere, it just wasn’t exposed that much. I mean, why did Batiatus want to get to the top of Rome? Because Rome is a hugely productive society; because it had wealth. Batiatus was just a little man that was disgruntled in his own small town of Capua and was trying to use entertainment with the people to gain power but he betrayed everybody. Even the characters that he betrayed had kids and families.
So I think where the story is going now is that it’s getting us out of the darkness of that fighting ludus. The slave rebellion has gone up against the military and is being chased, but of course the military powers are always trying to destroy something that’s trying to destroy itself internally. Now, [the slaves] are only just getting a glimpse of another city of what Roman people are like. This justification of the Romans is hugely necessary in the story, because we are going into a great time, a golden period of Roman history -- a time of Caesar ... You’re showing that there are really two sides to the coin and that Rome is a formidable, powerful, but also a very advanced society. Unfortunately, as a sign of the times, these slaves are just trying to escape their own hell but they might find themselves in amidst heaven, and there are some angels in their heaven of Rome somewhere too.
Manu Bennett as Crixus in Spartacus.
