Spartacus: House of Ashur

Obviously the premise of « what if » passed, it's actually very enjoyable as entertainment.

That is the major difference from the original series which was based on real events, so this one you should not for a second take it for a historical series and just envoy the spectacle.

So many people claim the main character is a woman... did they watch the show? Ashur the Syrian is the main character and you still enjoy to hate him as much as before...

Is this Spartacus? No. But damn does it have all of the feels, action, brutality that the original did.

If you accept this as what it is - an alternate timeline/spin off of the original series then you will enjoy this as much as I have so far, 5 episodes in.

I also get Ashur was hated and seen as a villain and you can still view him that way if you want as many of the characters in this series also dislike him. But the show does a good job at making it hard to stay mad at him as there are far more rotten characters.

It's simple, if you miss the original show like I did, you will enjoy this. People just love to review bomb these days. Do yourself a favour and decide after the 1st episode. I'm so glad they did this spin off and I hope we get many more seasons of it.

Spartacus is one of my all-time favorite shows so I've been looking forward to Spartacus: House of Ashur ever since I first heard about it. Now that's it's here I can say I'm not disappointed in the slightest. The only thing I would change is not having a 115lb female be the strongest gladiator. It's definitely not as good as Spartacus but it's still really good. It honors the legacy of the original series and has all the bloody action that made us so entertained. It's gotten nothing but great reviews as it currently has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I hope we get multiple seasons of this like we did with the original.

Dead on arrival - entirely unbelievable as a previously beheaded Ashur comes back to life. Spartacus: House of Ashur feels like a desperate attempt to wring drama from a character whose story ended definitively - sword swing and all. The show leans into over-the-top resurrection logic, swapping the gritty realism and moral ambiguity of the original Spartacus for fan-service fan fiction vibes.

Visually, it still delivers the trademark stylized carnage, gore and full frontal nudity, but the writing veers into parody. Ashur's newfound quest for vengeance plays more like a comic-book villain's revival arc than a continuation of a grounded historical epic. Performances try to sell the concept, yet they can't overcome a premise that undermines the very finale the series once nailed.

A flashy, hollow spin-off that mistakes shock value for storytelling - House of Ashur resurrects a fan favorite only to bury the franchise's credibility in his place. Saved only by gratuitous sex and violence.

The writing quality improved and the storyline is finally starting to form in episodes 4 and 5. I would give episode 1-3 a 6/10. The script was struggling and sounded extremely forced at first but the dialogue is no longer sounding forced. Characters actually are gaining meaning to the audience. Connections to the previous serious are also starting to build. Give it time.