'Spartacus: House Of Ashur' Episode 9 Recap: Did Ashur Plan To Have Gabinius Killed?

In the penultimate episode of the Starz alternate history drama series, Spartacus: House of Ashur, the most unexpected development this season takes place, in the form of the death of a significant character. While one of the most skilled warriors in Ashur’s ludus, Celadus, had died in a gladiatorial battle in the previous episode, this episode’s demise is bound to have far-reaching political consequences, along with the risk of personal relationships falling apart. Episode 9 also focuses on Achillia and Tarchon’s respective acts of grieving the death of their lover and father, respectively.

Spoiler Alert

Are Achillia and Tarchon united by their personal loss?

When one of the most genuine and likable characters in Ashur’s ludus, Celadus, had been brutally killed by his opponent gladiator at the end of the previous episode, it had instantly brought tragedy to the lives of Achillia and Tarchon. The joy of his own victory in the gladiatorial arena was totally marred for Tarchon, as he had to witness the killing of his father and could do nothing about it. Achillia was arguably in a worse situation, as her injuries meant that she could not travel to the arena, and therefore had only received word of her lover’s passing, without getting to be by his side. Spartacus: House of Ashur episode 9 begins with Celadus’ corpse being brought back to the ludus, where everyone will bid him one last farewell, and the funeral service will be held. It is a heartbreaking scene for Achillia, and she somewhat holds herself responsible for the tragedy as well, as Celadus had been sent to fight as the house’s champion only because of her injury.

She soon asks Korris about the gladiator who had killed Celadus, and is surprised at the fact that a Scythian warrior, especially a woman, had been able to defeat and kill her exceptionally skilled lover in battle. She angrily claims that had her hand not been injured, and had she been able to take part in the fight, then she would have easily defeated her opponent, and her beloved Celadus would still be with her. Korris questions this immediately, stating that the Scythian fighter seemed too powerful for any of the gladiators in his ludus, and so Achillia would have faced the same fate as Celadus. Furthermore, Korris is also not very impressed at Achillia only thinking about her own loss at this time, as he believes that she can easily make another friend, or get a lover, in life, as compared to Tarchon, whose misery is far greater, according to the Doctore, given the young man has just lost his father.

Despite their previous falling out, Tarchon is now obviously very shaken and somewhat numbed by his father’s death. He expresses grief, especially at the fact that the two men did not even speak properly to each other during their last conversation, and Tarchon blames himself for it. He wishes that he would have been chosen to be the house’s champion, especially since Achillia was out of contention. Even if he would have been defeated and killed by the Scythian, he would have been more content at that than having to see his father die at her hands. Korris has to calm Tarchon down, reminding him how Celadus would never have been able to live with his son being dead, and also about how their recent disagreement should not be used to define their otherwise enriching bond. Tarchon tearfully asks for the chance to bathe and clean his father’s corpse by himself, so that he can spend final few minutes with the man in spirit, and Korris grants him his wish.

With time, Achillia does start to blame Tarchon, at least slightly, for the travesty, for it was he who had injured her hand, seemingly on purpose, ensuring that the house needed a different champion for the games. Nonetheless, Achillia realizes how the young man having to grieve for his father is more tragic than her grieving for her lover, and so she tries to mend their differences once again. She approaches Tarchon and openly talks about how Celadus would have definitely wanted his lover and his son to have a good and strong bond. Her request is that they become friends, at least for the sake of Celadus, and work together in trying to avenge his death by defeating the Scythian gladiator. However, Tarchon still refuses to be associated with Achillia, confidently stating once more that she had been made the champion of the house and the ludus without having proven herself, and suggesting that he is still the more deserving warrior. Thus, the two still cannot be united, even by their shared grief over Celadus’ death.

Why does Pompey come to Capua?

Spartacus: House of Ashur episode 9 sees the arrival of the Roman general, Pompey, at the city of Capua, with the sole intention of discussing the matrimonial offer made by Senator Gabinius. Before his arrival, Viridia is seen discussing the matter with her mother, Cossutia, who once again takes the opportunity to explain the reason for such a matrimonial tie. Although Viridia seems to have accepted her fate of being married to Pompey, Cossutia still tries to explain the exact reason for her and Gabinius taking this decision, possibly because her daughter believes that her parents have only thought of their political betterment and the fate of the Republic while taking the decision. But in reality, Cossutia states, she and her husband had also been concerned about what might happen to Viridia after Gabinius’ passing. Although she does not take any names, Cossutia suggests that people like the lanista, Proculus, or even Gabinius’ own brother, Servius, would try to take advantage of Viridia’s beauty and youth as soon as her father stopped being around to protect her. 

But the fact that Viridia will not be in any better hands as Pompey’s wife becomes evident from the very moment of his arrival at Capua. As his long convoy arrives at the city square, two sex workers expose themselves to catch the attention of the general. Despite Gabinius and his family standing right at the place, Pompey cannot help but be distracted by the two women momentarily, before he goes to greet the senator and his family. Pompey also asks to sit down with Gabinius and discuss the potential marriage, and this is when his real nature is exposed again. He asks Gabinius more about Viridia, and when the senator talks about how his daughter is highly intelligent and educated, Pompey stops him, as if such characteristics are absolutely unnecessary in women. Instead, he asks about how docile and abiding she would be to her husband, and once he gets the answers he had been looking for, Pompey finalizes the wedding proposal. All Gabinius can do is to request his friend to be loving and caring towards his daughter, but Pompey does not appear like someone to take such requests seriously.

Why does Achillia spare Tarchon’s life?

The arrival of Pompey also finally gives Tarchon a chance to prove himself in battle against Achillia, whom he considers to be his arch-enemy. As Pompey visits the house of Ashur and demands to be entertained by a gladiatorial fight, the host naturally calls upon Achillia to do the honors, since she is the current champion of his house. Pompey is given the chance to choose her opponent, and when he picks someone randomly, Achillia objects to the choice, saying that the warrior is too weak to face her, and that the esteemed general would not be entertained. Pompey is amused by her confidence, and asks Achillia to pick her opponent instead, and this is when she names Tarchon, clearly to teach the young man that she is indeed a far superior fighter than him.

Although Tarchon is able to draw first blood in the face-off, it is ultimately Achillia who overpowers him convincingly, defeating him fair and square. Thus, she finally proves to Tarchon that his incessant whimpers about her being unfairly named the champion of the house, and about him being much more deserving, were completely baseless. Tarchon does seem surprised by her show of strength and the result of the fight as well, and has no words to defend himself. But he faces a much worse fate when Pompey orders Achillia to kill her opponent to mark her victory over him, after the general had already ordered the gladiators to use real weapons instead of training sticks.

However, Achillia once again chooses to talk back at Pompey, this time telling him that Tarchon had proved himself quite strong in the face-off against her, and therefore his life should be spared as a prize for his superior performance. Pompey is once again amused, and he ultimately rules that since Achillia has defeated Tarchon in battle, she has the right to choose what happens with him. It is very evident that Achillia chooses to spare Tarchon’s life for the sake of Celadus, who would never have wanted his son to die, at any cost. She knew that Celadus possibly loved his son more than her, and so Achillia respects his memory, and in turn, her own love for the man. While Achillia might not have spared Tarchon’s life believing it would finally change his perception towards her, the act of kindness might actually go on to teach Tarchon a lesson, and the two characters might unite in the season finale next week.

What is revealed about Achillia’s past?

Right after the face-off, Ashur offers Pompey the chance to get intimate with his champion, which is quite customary, and soon sends Achillia to the general’s room to entertain him. At this time, Pompey asks her about how she had come to Capua, which finally reveals the secret about the flashbacks that have been haunting her since the beginning of the series. Back at her homeland, and in her village, Achillia was a warrior in the royal guard, and her responsibility was to protect the royal family at all times. She bravely fought in numerous small wars and conflicts for her village, against invaders who frequently attacked the place. But during one such instance, Achillia had thrown her spear at an enemy, but the weapon had mistakenly pierced the young princess and immediately killed the girl. 

To have intentionally or unintentionally killed anyone from the royal family was a terrible crime in the society, even more so for royal guards, and the usual punishment for such a killer was instant death. Achillia would have been killed for her mistake as well, but it was her father, a respected figure in society, who intervened and chose to sell her off as a slave, as he felt that this was better for his daughter than being killed. This is how she had been shipped to Capua, as a slave, and so Achillia is still regularly haunted by the memory of the one grave mistake that completely ruined her life.

Why does Hilara participate in Ashur’s sinister plan?

That night, Ashur makes a sinister plan to get rid of the opponents in his way, now that Julius Caesar had also returned to Capua and is building immense pressure on him. Caesar had obviously heard, through Cornelia, how Ashur had dissuaded Gabinius from marrying his daughter to Quintus Thermus, and therefore blames him for the proposed marriage between Viridia and Pompey. This massively shifts the political balance, going totally against Caesar’s plans, as he had been trying to ensure good relations between Gabinius and Crassus. But as things stand, Gabinius would grow closer to Pompey, which Caesar does not want, and so he orders Ashur to kill the senator. Doing so would cancel the betrothal, as Pompey would no longer get the benefits of having a senator as his father-in-law, which would leave Viridia open for a marriage with Quintus Thermus, and the situation would benefit Caesar. However, Ashur does his own thinking and instead decides to attack Pompey, although his exact intention becomes clear at the very end of the episode.

Thus, as soon as Pompey is arranged to be entertained by Achillia personally, he orders his trusted vilica, Hilara, to get hold of the hallucinatory drug in Cornelia’s possession, which had been used on Ashur a couple of episodes ago. Hilara obviously cannot do this by herself, and instead asks Messia to fetch a bottle of the drug, since the latter is very close to Cornelia. But this is when Messia questions why Hilara is being a part of this messy plot, and still helping Ashur despite knowing that he is never going to reciprocate her feelings. Hilara now confirms that she has come to accept the fact that she will not get to marry Ashur, and she also knows that this plan will only help her master get closer to his dream of marrying Viridia. But nonetheless, Hilara genuinely believes that the plan will also sort out a lot of other problems, not just for the House of Ashur, but for the whole of Capua. She uses Messia’s feelings for her to convince her to bring the bottle, which is then handed over to Achillia. The warrior mixes the liquid in Pompey’s drink, just as planned, and he falls into a state of trance.

Did Ashur really plan on having Gabinius killed?

Meanwhile, Gabinius is sent a message that Pompey is urgently calling him to the house of Ashur, and so he rushes to place, only to find his soon-to-be son-in-law lying naked beside Achillia. This infuriates the man, since it proves how Pompey is lecherous enough to be sleeping around with other women despite having given his word to marry Viridia, and the general’s drugged state is passed off as evidence of his drunken behavior. Witnessing such a scene naturally makes Gabinius immediately cancel his plan of letting Pompey marry Viridia, but absolute tragedy follows when Pompey fatally stabs Gabinius in his drugged state. Caesar and Cornelia help Pompey escape Capua, while Ashur is left to deal with the dying Gabinius.

What is even worse for the shocked protagonist is that Gabinius believes that Ashur had planned this conspiracy, while in reality, the Syrian surely must not have intended to have the senator killed. Ashur only wanted to expose Pompey’s character and ensure that Viridia would not be married to him. This would have anyway ensured what Caesar had asked him to do, and Ashur had no reason to have Gabinius killed. The two men had grown close in recent times, and Gabinius had also acknowledged Ashur’s love for Viridia earlier in this very episode. Therefore, there would have still been a chance for Ashur to officially propose to Viridia after he would have dealt with Caesar. But all his plans go to waste, arguably because of his own over-ambitious scheme, and the death of Gabinius is not only bound to change the political scene of the Republic, but also put a dent in Ashur’s bond with Viridia.

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