The same things that make Spartacus the ideal man to lead a slave rebellion – his ambition and his idealism – are increasingly becoming what will doom his endeavour to failure. He has gathered a force so large that he cannot control it and his thoughts on how to deal with Roman prisoners have caused many to question his command. Meanwhile, Crassus punishes Tiberius’s soldiers for fleeing from battle in the most brutal manner imaginable and teaches his son a lesson he won’t forget in the process.

‘Decimation’ goes to about as dark a place as Spartacus has ever gone, and then goes a little further. This is an episode in which the side that we’re arguably meant to be rooting for are revealed to have strung up a woman to be repeatedly raped and those that do so cut her to leave a mark when they’re finished. It’s seriously bleak stuff, and there’s no respite from that tone in the Roman camp. Following Tiberius’s ill-conceived attempt to attack Spartacus, his men are to undertake a disgusting ritual. Those with the poor luck to draw a black stone from a bag are beaten to death by their fellow soldiers. While Tiberius escapes this fate, his role in the death of his friend is a reminder of what Spartacus himself went through in Blood and Sand, and how that experience changed him forever.

Violence in Spartacus has always been well-judged and is only glorified when it is designed to be cathartic (the show took great care to make the spectacle of the arena, for instance, as scarily tense and ugly as it is exhilarating). What we witness in ‘Decimation’ is more than just uncomfortable, though, it is nearly unbearable to watch. If last week’s episode suggested that “honour” may no longer hold any meaning, this episode outright states that there is no way to distinguish between “bad” and “good” any longer.

The difference in opinion between Spartacus and Crixus is something that has driven much of the narrative, especially in Blood and Sand. Here, it only takes small suggestions from Caesar (who has wormed his way into the rebel camp) and a little nudge from Naevia to initiate a massacre of the remaining Romans within the city walls. Spartacus’s admirable efforts to keep them alive continue to not pay off, and it must be asked whether his inability to compromise is going to be his undoing. Gannicus may not yet be instrumental in proceedings but it’s noteworthy that the man who does not see himself as a suitable leader is rapidly becoming not only more capable but more morally focussed than those surrounding him.

After two episodes that did more to establish plot threads than anything else, this is where things begin to really start moving. By revealing that Crassus planned to have Caesar infiltrate the rebel camp all along, his character comes into sharper focus. Todd Lasance’s performance is very strong, particularly in the scene he shares with the young woman that has been brutally assaulted by Spartacus’s men. This is also the episode where Spartacus realises just how dangerously intelligent Crassus is. While he might have a great plan to outsmart him, he’ll have to regain control of his own army before he’ll have any hope of doing so.

‘Decimation’ is a really powerful episode that clearly shows us that things will only get worse for the characters as the season progresses. That this season is titled War of the Damned is something that is very important, as it continues to find inspired ways to depict how every character cannot be redeemed.

Aired at 10pm on Monday 4 March on Sky1.

> Buy Spartacus: Vengeance on DVD on Amazon.

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