After a week's hiatus, Spartacus: House of Ashur returns to the gritty sands of the arena, where, of course, the stakes are raised with a mandatory late-game character death that serves as a harbinger of things to come in the finale. It was inevitable, and the writing was on the wall from roughly the midpoint of Episode 8, "Horizons," where Ashur finds himself on the defensive, both personally and professionally, thoroughly humiliated and beaten. However, witnessing this doesn't make it any easier to stomach, especially since the idea of Tarchon outliving his father, Celadus, doesn't sit well with me.
It's all Tarchon's doing, in a convoluted way. We don't spend much time in the ludus, but Tarchon has ample opportunity to force his father back into the arena as champion by aggravating Achillia's hand injury once again. With Proculus still seething over the brutal demise of two-thirds of the Brothers Ferox and taking Opiter's medicus away, Achillia is unfit to fight until his wound heals. Celadus, now demoted from Doctore after Korris's return, has to step in.
Tarchon irritated me throughout "Horizons." He's supposed to be annoying, I'll grant you that, but I think the performance is being pitched on the wrong side of things, coming across as needlessly antagonistic to the extent that I can barely justify his own father tolerating him for as long as he has. He refuses to entertain Achillia's genuine efforts to reach a compromise, completely distances himself from Celadus, and just comes across as spiteful, reactive, and arrogant, especially since he hasn't done anything to really warrant such arrogance. For that fleeting moment when it looked like Ashur might push him off a cliff, I was genuinely excited by the prospect.
No luck, though. Not only does Tarchon get to fight in the games – an event mostly organized by Gabinius for something to do – but he's victorious and somehow manages to finesse a scenario in which not only is his girlfriend's abusive Roman master killed, but he takes credit for avenging the death. I know I'm not supposed to feel this way, but I sincerely hope something terrible befalls Tarchon in the final couple of episodes. One can only imagine Ashur feels the same.
To be fair, Ashur has enough concerns. Nothing in Spartacus: House of Ashur Episode 8 goes his way. Achillia's inability to fight in the games loses him face, Cornelia continues to embarrass him in his own house, he loses his best fighter in Celadus, is repeatedly mocked by Proculus and Gabinius, and alienates both women in his life. Hilara turns on him slightly when he – rather gently, to be fair – tells her that his heart belongs to someone else, since she was still convinced that he was in love with her after their opium-fueled liaison. Viridia pushes him away because she has been arranged to marry Pompey as part of Gabinius's long-term political strategy. She would clearly prefer to be with Ashur, but the distance between their respective stations won't allow for it, and she doesn't have much say in her future – just like women of that time.
However, the most pivotal moment in "Horizons" undoubtedly revolves around Celadus' demise, which simultaneously marks another short-term victory for Proculus. Even Satyrus, despite facing relentless torment from Korris over the fate of his brothers, manages to defeat one of Ashur's gladiators and survive. But it's not Satyrus who claims the honor of taking down Celadus. That distinction falls to a colossal female Scythian, who has emerged as Proculus's fashionable champion, once again aiming to outdo Ashur by stealing his signature move—fielding a woman even more deadly and captivating than Achillia. The battle between her and Celadus isn't even particularly close; however, Celadus does, in fairness, spend most of it gazing back at Tarchon through the gates.
It's clear what's unfolding here. A showdown is brewing between this anonymous woman and Achillia, who will be seething to hear of Celadus' untimely end after their most intimate moment yet. This showdown will present Ashur with an opportunity to gain the upper hand on Proculus and perhaps regain some social standing. But his troubles are rapidly mounting. With Hilara, his staunchest ally, having second thoughts, he may well be betrayed within his own household. Tarchon can't be trusted, Viridia can't envision a future with him, and although Cossutia helped set up the Brothers Ferox—a fact that Proculus is well aware of—she's only looking out for herself. The situation doesn't look promising, and even Ashur might struggle to talk his way out of this predicament this time.
