This week’s episode 7 of the Starz alternate history series, Spartacus: House of Ashur, further complicates the already twisty politics among the central characters, as the city of Capua reacts to the brutal murder of Opiter. This loss is particularly difficult for Korris to bear, as he had recently taken the bold decision of leaving the House of Ashur only so that he could accompany his beloved Opiter to warmer shores. The property of Opiter, which had been of high demand to Ashur, is now put up at auction in episode 7, which also features a merciless attempt on the protagonist’s life at the very end.
Spoiler Alert
How does Korris react to Opiter’s death?
Spartacus: House of Ashur episode 7 begins with Korris back at Ashur’s house, as he is left heavily distraught and angry beyond his senses after what had just happened. Only some time earlier, Korris had officially bid goodbye to the House of Ashur, as seen at the end of the previous episode, to travel to Opiter’s house and join his lover. Ashur had accompanied him on this journey, as the two men are actually very good friends, despite them constantly stating otherwise. But Korris was met with a terribly violent scene; instead of any heartwarming union with his lover, Opiter lay dead in a pool of blood, with numerous horrific injuries on his body and face. Ashur was there to comfort and console his friend, but he immediately thought of the more concerning matter to him—what would happen to the villa and other properties of Opiter now?
Before leaving the house, Ashur and Korris spotted a distinct mark on one of the walls, seemingly made with the very blood of Opiter. The mark was the symbol of the Cilician pirates, which made it seem like they had carried out the attack. Although Korris continued to believe that it must have been the pirates who were responsible for the butchering, Ashur immediately knew that someone else must have been involved. He quickly recalled how the attack on Viridia and Cossutia had also been made to look like an act of the Cilicians, while in reality it was Julius Caesar who had ordered the hit. Therefore, Ashur suspects that Caesar might have been involved in this case as well, although he does not tell anyone just yet.
Korris is in such a state that he has to be kept locked up inside a cell at Ashur’s house, where he continues to drink profusely and refuses to take any food. A day later, Korris also suspects the involvement of Caesar, for Opiter had earlier told him about how Julius Caesar had been threatening him following the failed attack on Gabinius’ family. It is quite suspicious that Opiter had now suddenly been murdered so conveniently, just a few days after Caesar started having problems with the lanista. Therefore, he decides to confront Caesar’s wife and only representative at Capua at the time, Cornelia, and breaks out of the enclosure and takes down a number of guards in the attempt to forcefully enter the house. Ashur had seemingly predicted something of this sort might happen, for which he had ordered all the guards and warriors to prevent the grieving doctor from entering the house. Despite taking down a few guards, Korris is ultimately stopped by the gladiators and then held captive once again, this time his legs and arms bound by chains as well.
As Ashur visits Korris, he now admits that he too is somewhat responsible for the murder of Opiter. After all, the protagonist had boasted about how he would soon be the owner of all of Opiter’s properties back in the previous episode, during a public argument with Proculus in the market. It was indeed this conversation that had informed Proculus about Opiter’s decision to leave the city, and it was then that he had decided to have the lanista murdered. Korris is absolutely furious when he learns about this, as he feels that Ashur has betrayed him in a way, having ensured that his lover has been snatched away from him. But Ashur assures him that they will most definitely take revenge against Proculus, although not right now. Ashur is distressed about the fact that all of Opiter’s belongings, including his villa, his ludus, and all the gladiators that he owned, will now be put up for auction, as per a legal arrangement, and there is no chance for him to get them for free. Thus, he insists that he and Korris take their revenge only after the auction is over, and at least that matter is settled.
Is Achillia finally back in form?
After spending almost the entirety of the previous episode in a gravely injured and delirious state, Achillia had finally managed to return to her senses, and now in episode 7, she is finally back on her feet. As she returns to the training arena, Achillia is welcomed back by most of the warriors, who still consider her their champion, after her overwhelming victory at the Ludi Apollinares. However, Tarchon, who had taken over the position of champion temporarily, refuses to simply bow down and offer the position back to her. He instead taunts her, suggesting that the real deserving champion between them be chosen through a direct battle. Achillia is irked enough by this proposal, and she immediately jumps in to fight Tarchon, but her injured hand gets in the way.
Knowing well that the hand is still not healed and Achillia has just had bandages wrapped over her serious wound, Tarchon targets this very spot and is able to easily defeat her. Achillia is frustrated by the fact that her new lover, Celadus, did not step in to help her out, and she even questions him about whether he had instructed his son to publicly humiliate her in such a manner. But Celadus defends himself by revealing how he is the new doctor and that he must therefore respect the position and treat all warriors in the ludus equally. Finally, Celadus suggests a change of strategy for Achillia, as she is clearly unable to use both hands in battle, and is therefore incapable of wielding dual swords. He suggests that she instead use a spear and a shield, but Achillia is totally against this because of her prior trauma with the spear.
Once a masterful warrior with the spear, Achillia had accidentally killed a young girl at her native village, presumably her own daughter, with the weapon. Therefore, she initially hesitates to take up the spear once again but ultimately decides to do so after Tarchon repeatedly insults her. In the fight that follows, Achillia is almost untouchable for the first few minutes, as she is truly skilled with the spear, but then she has another traumatic flashback in the last second, which distracts her and lets Tarchon defeat her. As of now, Tarchon seems to remain the champion of the house, and he promises his lover, a sex slave belonging to some wealthy politician, that he will act against the abuse she had been subjected to and also fight his way towards their collective freedom. This might become an important plotline in the remaining episodes of the 1st season, and maybe going forward in the series as well.
What happens at the auction?
The time for the auction of Opiter’s properties finally comes, and it is held at a public square in the market, with Senator Gabinius overseeing the proceedings. As per custom, the Aedile is given the responsibility of carrying out the auction, and Gabinius promises that the money received from the buyer, which will now go to the city administration since Opiter has no family, will be used to arrange for stronger defenses against the Cilician pirates. As Korris accompanies Ashur to the auction, he suddenly spots Opiter’s pendant, which he wore at all times, on the belt of Satyrus of the Brothers Ferox, and it becomes clear to him that it must have been Proculus’ gladiators who had carried out the violent murder. But Korris is stopped from reacting in public by Ashur, who still tries to assure him that there will indeed be a better time for revenge.
The auction goes fairly well for Ashur at first, as it is only he and Proculus who bid for the items put up for sale, including Opiter’s villa, his ludus, and all his slaves, including the gladiators. By the end of the auction, Ashur bids a whopping 27,000 dinarii for the property, which Proculus admits is an unreasonable price, and so the protagonist is overjoyed at the win. The Aedile naturally calls for him to make the payment, and this is when things go terribly wrong for Ashur. He had earlier made an arrangement with Cornelia in which the House of Caesar was supposed to pay for his procurement of the properties of Opiter. But as he announces this at the end of the auction, Cornelia suddenly refuses to pay, lying that no such agreement had been made, and leaves him stranded. This means that Ashur has no money to pay, and therefore his bid is called off. Not only is this a tremendously humiliating experience in public, but it also means that his rival, Proculus, now gets to keep the property, since he is able to pay the amount that he had earlier bid.
Why does Cornelia betray Ashur?
Cornelia’s betrayal at the very last minute is actually inspired by Cossutia, or rather, based on certain information that Cossutia provides her. Julius Caesar and his wife Cornelia have been pursuing a matrimonial tie between Senator Gabinius’ daughter, Viridia, and one of their close allies, Quintus Thermus. They know that such a tie would turn Gabinius in favor of Caesar and against his current ally, Pompey. In the previous episode, Cornelia had appointed Ashur to convince Gabinius to agree to this marriage by visiting the senator at his home. Although Ashur had obviously told Gabinius that such a marriage would not do any good, since he is genuinely attracted to Viridia and also does not like the Caesars at all, he now lies to Cornelia about it.
In order to get Cornelia to fund his purchase of Opiter’s properties, Ashur tells her that he had convinced Gabinius to marry his daughter to Thermus, which is obviously favorable news to her. She quickly agrees to pay the entire sum required to buy the properties and then visits the auction as well. But this is where Cossutia meets Cornelia and tells her the truth—that Gabinius had completely turned his back on the marriage proposal, especially after his meeting with Ashur. This makes it quite obvious to Cornelia that Ashur must have gone against her and her husband’s wishes, and for this, she immediately refuses to pay the amount Ashur had bid in the auction. This is bound to turn the relations between the two houses even worse now.
Does Ashur survive the attack?
At the very end of Spartacus: House of Ashur episode 7, Ashur receives an invitation to a secret meeting with Senator Gabinius and the Aedile after he had asked to privately meet them and discuss the villainous acts of Proculus. But at the end of the auction, Proculus was seen meeting with Cossutia, who told him how the protagonist had figured out about his involvement in Opiter’s murder. Ashur had directly approached Cossutia and told her how he had significant evidence to prove his claim, hoping that she would convince her husband to at least hear him out. But Cossutia instead informed Proculus about the incident, with the latter confirming that he had indeed had Opiter killed. Stating that her hatred for Ashur outweighs all the love she had for Opiter, Cossutia arranges for Ashur to be cornered and killed by Proculus’ men.
However, it is Cossutia who ends up playing the double game, as she secretly informs Ashur about how the secret meeting is actually a setup, during which Proculus will send men to kill him, and so the protagonist reaches the place with his own group of gladiators to protect him, including Korris. Cossutia will benefit from a heated feud between the two houses, as she might then gain importance and power by offering a peace agreement between them, and so she simply plays Proculus and Ashur against one another. The Brothers Ferox once again appear at the spot, as they are the most trusted murderers at Proculus’ disposal. Korris now finally gets the chance to avenge his lover’s murder, as he kills two of the brothers mercilessly but leaves their leader, Satyrus, alive so that he can inform Proculus about what had just happened. At the end of the episode, Korris is finally able to get over his grief, and he steps back into the role of the Doctor of the House of Ashur.
