In an interview today, actor Liam McIntyre (Spartacus) revealed who amongst the rebels who will act as a conscience when Spartacus needs it most and discussed a growing relationship that may define the show to it's final moments.
The world of Spartacus: War of the Damned is hardly black and white. In the midst of the battles and path towards victory, the moral centers of the Rebels shake and tumble. However, actor Liam McIntyre (Spartacus) revealed the surprising relationship with a character who becomes Spartacu's "moral compass" this season - Gannicus.
"Gannicus is the only one who really tells Spartacus the truth. I think Varro was that kind of guy back in Blood and Sand; he was the friend who just told Spartacus how it was. So Spartacus had that for a while. Then this rockstar Gannicus comes and just lays it out in a way that Spartacus didn't get before. Throughout Vengeance and War of the Damned they have - I love it - this really interesting relationship where the two toughest men there sort of lean on each other (in perceptible and manly ways) and they open up to other in ways that they can't open up with other character. They have this strange bond that neither of them looked for but there it is. I really like the way their journey goes."
Writer and showrunner Steven DeKnight chimed in saying the relationship between Spartacus and Gannicus, which really gets rolling this season, was so important to him personally. In fact, it looks poised to be a key tier in the overall character development of our hero in this season.
"There's an important scene in episode one between the two and there's a callback to that scene in the finale that's really, really important."
But that callback almost didn't make it. According to DeKnight, while working on the page cuts for the final episode (which DeKnight joked would have taken something like 32 days to film had it not been cut), the callback was on the chopping block. However, DeKnight wouldn't have it.
"I think the finale [would have] suffered without that scene. It's a very, very important relationship."
Spartacus War of the Damned, airs on STARZ on January 25th.
