A battle begins but quickly ends when the “soldiers” remove their masks: it’s just a disguised Gannicus, Crixus, and Sparty. They were testing everyone. Sparty is not at all happy with the FAIL test results and tells everyone to get ready for a long day. He and Oenomaus get busy setting up more rigorous training. Gannicus volunteers to help; Oenomaus is having none of that, thank you very much. Sparty has a talk with Mira, who’s upset that he’s been distant. He tells Mira that he’s sorry but he just can’t love her; his heart is irreparably broken. :( I HATE YOU, GAIUS.
Back at the crib, Gaius, who’s too horny too notice that Seppia’s lost her desire for him, is about to get it on with her when the doors are flung open and a dirty, disheveled Ilithya enters and collapses into a shallow pool of water. When she wakes later, Gaius pumps her for information about where she was held. She tells what little she knows, then realizes she’s in the guest quarters, not their bedchambers. He says she shouldn’t be surprised that he no longer loves her, given how she treated him. I have to agree. I guess nobody bothered to tell Lucretia of Ilithya’s return; Lucretia is shocked and delighted to see her. Ilithya tells her that the unborn child is not Gaius’s; it’s Sparty’s. Wait—what????!!!? I thought Ilithya was just lie-telling to Sparty so he wouldn’t kill her! Aw DAMMIT. This means I have to like Ilithya now, since she’s carrying Sparty Jr. (It’s totally a boy.) and since she’s all like, I totally suddenly love and want my baby. Well, ok, but it’s going to be a grudging, conditional like, not a full-fledged like. Anyhoo, Lucretia assures Ilithya that loving her baby is good, not irrational, no matter who the father. A distraught-looking Seppia wanders past just then; Lucretia tells Ilithya that Seppia knows Gaius killed Seppius, and can’t really do anything about it though she’s itching to. Ilithya’s eyes light up; she says she’ll help Seppia get her vengeance, as that would in turn benefit her and Sparty Jr. Elsewhere, Gauis and Ashur put their heads together and figure out that Sparty et al. are probably staying in the old abandoned temple at the foot of Vesuvius. Shit.Later, Ashur tells Lucretia that once Sparty is captured, Gauis has agreed to give Ashur the ludus … and Lucretia to wed. She is, of course, horrified. Gauis’s plans to head to Vesuvius
are interrupted by Virinius, who has arrived to tell Gaius that the Senate wants him to cease pursuit of Sparty and return to Rome immediately. Gaius asks why word would be sent by a man who covets his wife. Virinius doesn’t look too concerned that Gaius knows about that; he simply says he isn’t the only one coveting Ilithya; there are rumors she’s been kidnapped. Ilithya puts in a quick appearance to prove the rumors false; then leaves. Virinius tells Gaius that he will head to Vesuvius in Gauis's place to capture Sparty, and Gaius best return to Rome or lose any hope of rising in the Senate. As Virinius is leaving, he’s stopped by Seppia; he tells her that her news of Ilithya’s kidnapping (Oh. She’s the blabbermouth.) was no good and that a bracelet is not enough to prove Gaius killed Seppius. At the old abandoned temple at the foot of Vesuvius, Sparty et al. enjoy some stolen wine;
then he encourages anybody who has beef with anybody else to get it out of their systems and settle it now so that when the time comes to fight for real, they’ll have put aside petty differences. After a few prelim matches, he announces Crixus and Agron vs Gannicus and Oenomaus. OH SNAP. Hey, whaddya know, it works: Crixus and Agron shake hands—er, clasp wrists—and Gannicus and Oenomaus actually smile at each other. Yay, camaraderie!Seppia cries on Lucretia’s shoulder that her advice to tell Virinius what was going on (Lucretia, you sneaky bitch!) didn’t work. Lucretia gives her a knife and tells her that the only thing Seppia can do now is kill her brother’s murderer herself. Lucretia meets with Ilithya to tell her Seppia’s totally gonna kill Gaius.
Seppia goes to Gaius as he whines about having to return to Rome. He gets undressed to bathe (Hey, nice body, Gaius.) and tries to put the moves on her. She bashes him upside the head with a wine jar. He falls to the floor, momentarily stunned and defenseless; Seppia raises her knife to kill him—and then Ilithya runs up, grabs it, stabs Seppia in the chest, then slits Seppia’s throat. The blood spurts high; Seppia falls into the water, dead. So, I’m thinking that Lucretia is not going to be happy about this. She wanted Gaius dead so he won’t give her to Ashur. Plus, Ilithya totally played Lucretia, getting her to work Seppia into a frenzy so that Ilithya could play hero. Anyhoo, Gaius tells Ilithya thanks and all, but we can never be how we were. She’s like, fine. So let’s be what we are. Just cuz they don’t love each other doesn’t mean they can’t present a united front and destroy all who stand in their way. Gaius is like, yeah! Eff Virinius; I’M going to Vesuvius. But first, he and Ilithya get it on, which is gross, cuz he's covered in Seppia’s blood. 
We cut from that nasty mess to a way more welcome sex sesh: Crixus and Naevia. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Omg, so hot, so passionate. Outside, Sparty and Gannicus chat atop the wall. Suddenly they see the signal. Soldiers are coming! The battle begins. Sparty and Gannicus fight out in the woods; Agron, Oenomaus, Crixus, and the others wage war at the temple. Mira and Naevia are totally like expert archers now. You go, girls! 
The gladiators win this round; Sparty captures Virinius and marches him back to the temple. But then Glaber attacks from the woods, shooting volley after volley of flaming fireballs into the temple—one of which takes off half of Virinius’s handsome face—to bring down the wall. Then the soldiers attack, along with Ashur and his motley crew. 
That big Egyptian bests Oenomaus and stabs him through the hand, putting out his eye. OH MY GOD I HATE THAT GUY. Seriously. Ever since he was first introduced, I've hated him. And now he has half-blinded my Oenomaus! May he die a gory death in the season finale. Anyhoo, Gannicus comes to Oenomaus's aid as Sparty orders everyone to fall back into the tunnels. Tar is thrown down and lit so the soldiers can’t follow. Alas, there are more soldiers out in the woods; Sparty orders everyone up the mountain pass.Gaius tells Ashur that all they have to do now is wait them out; eventually hunger will drive them down from the mountain.
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