I am finding it hard to adjust to Liam McIntyre in the role - he is a goodlooking guy and he acts well, but he doesn't have the tormented, burning intensity Andy Whitfield brought to the role. I am sure I will get used to it eventually. Meanwhile, without a Spartacus crush to compete with it, my Crixus crush is raging utterly out of control. It's kinda embarrassing, actually... :) But the way he is so utterly dedicated to finding Naevia no matter what and lives just for that kills me. Apparently Naevia has been sold as a traveling whore to be taken to various estates to be raped in exchange for favors ?!?! I hope Batiatus and Luctetia rot in hell forever. It's interesting that other than being even more determined to find her and hating Batiatus family even worse, it doesn't give him one second of hesitation, quite different from the traditional gender norms on womanly virtue (remember Varro needing time to process Aurelia being raped and rejecting it at first?) But then whatever cultural mores about purity may be, if you are slave without choice, they are moot - if anyone would know about being forced into sex against your will, it's Crixus and Batiatus slaves. Anyway, please please please let him find her and let their reunion go better than Spartacus/Sura. I also love the prickly friendship he and Spartacus have going now. They have each other's back but also totally lock horns on occasion.
I liked the sibling relationship he had going with Aurelia, so of course it ended so horrifyingly.
The moment where Spartacus saw Aurelia about to be executed and his eyes - that was the moment I realized I am going to be OK with Liam McIntyre as Spartacus after all.
I continue the odd position of not shipping Mira/Spartacus yet liking them comforting each other.
I also love that Spartacus does tend to lose control around the mention of Glaber (when Crixus is your voice of caution, you know you are in trouble). I do not love that Lucretia is still alive - a gut wound like that with no medical attention = you are dead.