Warning! The following article contains major spoilers for the Spartacus: House of Ashur Season 1 finale. If you want to watch the series, please come back after watching “Hail Caesar,” or continue on at your own discretion.
For what it’s worth, Spartacus: House of Ashur is an incredibly violent show that’s about people overcoming adversity to make something of themselves, either in the gladiator pit or as part of the ancient Roman Republic. This proves true for Tenika Davis’ Achillia, a strong and inspirational gladiatrix who overcomes a great deal of loss, pain, and suffering. And that goes for off-camera as well, as she shared a story with me about filming, and channeling grief into one major Season 1 moment.
Before the show’s history-changing Season 1 finale landed on the 2026 TV schedule, I caught up with the series’ breakout star and asked her about the moment when she finally used her spear against the Scythian in one big, climactic fight. To get there, Davis told CinemaBlend it took her entire emotional self, as she was overcoming a major loss -- just like her character on the screen.
It took everything that I had inside to get to Episode 10 in the series after you've given your heart, your soul. And I just feel like there were so many layers. Like my dad died in the middle of filming, and there was, you know, a funeral wake and a cremation that I had to go to and then come back in Episode 6 and shoot the episode. So, the only way I could say it is when you're in very challenging circumstances, it's always that last push where you find your true strength.
Like Davis herself, Achillia works through some serious past trauma leading up to a big fight against the gladiatrix who viciously killed her friend and lover in the previous episode.
Throughout the season, Achillia refuses to use a spear, as it was the instrument used when she accidentally killed a young royal girl she swore to protect before being exiled from her home. Not only does she push through the pain and anguish of her past in this triumphant moment, but she also carries out one of the most violent kills this season. The whole thing is brutal and emotionally-compelling, must-watch TV.
When I asked about the final moments of the big battle we saw play out onscreen, specifically where she uses a shield to decapitate her opponent, Davis made it sound like a cathartic experience for both her character and herself.
So, I think in that moment where she finally does that last, you know, chop down with the shield in the Scythian's mouth, that's her final push. And she's given everything that she's got to give in that moment to be able to win that battle. So it's satisfying, but at the same time, it's enough to lay you flat on the ground. And that's what it is, right? Sometimes we push ourselves to the limit to the point where it takes everything we've got inside, but somehow we keep standing. That's the true story of the gladiator.
Though shockingly gruesome, even for a franchise with a history of brutal deaths, Achilla killing the Scythian while Rome’s elite watched in shock and horror perfectly closed this chapter in the character’s story. Now we just have to see where she goes from here.
Spartacus: House of Ashur has yet to receive an official Season 2 renewal from Starz, but I'm very hopeful about what's next for the cast and creative team. We'll keep you posted as soon as a decision comes down the pipeline. And if you somehow haven't seen the finale yet, get on that.
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