2. Wolves at the Gate

Complete story — includes the ending

Spartacus and his followers plan to take control of the walled, coastal city of Sinuessa, with a little help from a runaway local slave named Diotimos who inspires Spartacus's war council to choose a plan on how to take the city. Posing as a wealthy merchant, Spartacus, along with Crixus and Gannicus, scouts the city and is disgusted by the aedilis (magistrate) and Roman elite's cruelty to slaves. Spartacus circumvents the strict security measures by bribing blacksmith Attius and quickly starts a ruthless attack, which depends on his small party opening the gate from inside. Despite some complications, the tactic works and the slaves storm and capture the city after a fierce night-time battle. Although several of the rebels want to massacre all of the citizens of Sinuessa, Spartacus instead takes some of them prisoner. Meanwhile in Rome, Marcus Crassus completes preparing his legionary army just as Tiberius hopes his help will be rewarded with second rank, but fears being side-tracked in favor of the seasoned young Caius Julius Caesar. Caesar needs a rich, ambitious ally to pay his debts and finance his political campaign, but loses points with Crassus by cockily playing with his slave-lover, Kore, who unlike Crassus's wife, is invited to join the army's train.