What Worked – and Didn't Work – About "Spartacus"' Shocking Gay Twist

When the Starz network began its advertisement campaign for Spartacus: Blood and Sand, it seemed obvious that this would be a show unlike any other on television. Clearly taking its visual cue from the film 300 and its basic storyline from Gladiator, it was to be a series that would push the boundaries of sex and violence on television.

And then, another big reveal: there would be equal parts male and female nudity – almost unheard of when it comes to American entertainment. And if that wasn’t enough to lure in gay and bisexual male viewers, we got the scoop that there would also be – get this – a gay gladiator. And not just any gladiator, but one of the biggest and toughest on the show!

Barca AKA the Beast of Carthage

By now we were hooked, and Starz not only kept their word, but exceeded it. Yes, there was ample eye candy that gay male viewers could enjoy, and yes, there was certainly a bad-ass gay gladiator, but the writers went above and beyond by showcasing the fact that the gay gladiator, Barca, was in a committed and loving relationship with another slave named Pietros. Even better, none of the other characters thought any less of him or anything negative about their relationship at all.

It seemed too good to be true. It even caused some to wonder who exactly the target demographic for this show was. Surely, heterosexual men aged 18-35 would be uncomfortable with the level of intimacy shown between Barca and Pietros.

But really, they needn’t have worried. Barca only appeared in five episodes before he was savagely murdered by a roomful of men in one of the show’s patently graphic and gruesome slaughter scenes. In the following episode his lover, Pietros, believing Barca had bought his own freedom and abandoned him, hanged himself.

Barca and Pietros are hardly the first gay characters to die on television. In fact, in the past four weeks alone we've also seen dead GLBT characters on Big Love, Law & Order: SVU and NCIS: Los Angeles. Sadly, this high death toll for queer characters is nothing new for American audiences.

Though the body count for each episode of Spartacus is high, the loss of Barca felt especially disappointing in that we were losing such a unique character. After all, he was a killing machine, referred to as the "Beast of Carthage." How many past gay characters have we seen that cause other characters to quake with fear at the very mention of their name?

Next page ... What went right and what went wrong.