Love this show.
Like a lot of you, it took me until Ep 4 of B&S to really enjoy it, as it felt like such a 300 rip-off & I absolutely couldn't stand Spartacus -- he came across as a such a naive, petulant & self-serving little brat. It really hit its stride in Ep 4, though, & I started to root for Andy & love his portrayal & by the end, the guy owned it. One of the best season finale's I'd ever seen. This season feels about the same it terms of setting up through-lines & building momentum, plot-wise, but I've never had a problem with Liam. Yeah, I'll never completely not miss Andy, & at certain times with certain scenes, I can't help but picture him in the role, but Liam is fine, in my opinion
It's still a little...odd to see so many guys on this thread commenting on Liam's build. Let it go, fellas. As noted, he was 45lbs under-weight when he auditioned -- I don't care if there's a paycheck involved or not, let's see any of you try to re-coup that
plus have it look chiseled and defined. Also, why wouldn't he look smaller? He's a stressed-out leader of a slave revolt, not some prima donna champ getting regular meals and exercises.
What would you have him do, leave the rag-tag group of in-fighting slaves to themselves while he runs into the woods with a few pieces of meat he was able to hide in his loin-cloth and do some push-ups? Come on...
Crixus also looks noticeably smaller & less cut, as he should. Check screen-caps from Friday's ep vs. last season. He's lost a lot of his hulking v-shape he had, & for good reason -- the guy is just struggling to survive now.
As for Spartacus, I think of Andy as v1.0: a young, naive, almost-smug guy who's only concern are his own problems and fate. He's a bit "Hal Jordan".
Liam is 2.0: grizzled, tired, haunted; a guy is responsible for the lives of dozens of slaves & literally being chased by an army. This isn't the time for the charming Spartacus who could flash a smile & give a witty remark to Varro while swinging a sword around the ludus. He's a bit more Batman.
Mira is a badass, Ashur needs to die (gruesomely), but not just yet. Loving to hate him right now. Glabor is not bull*****ting & I love his character becoming more and more of a shark -- singled-minded of purpose and without remorse. Naevia...I'll reserve judgement. Seems they're starting to shed the shell-shocked, PTSD-suffering weakling and toughen her up some. Also, yay, Gannicus
