I actully didnt watch Ep9 right away. i saved it so i could watch it just before Ep10. Ep9 was incredible. i'm glad i saved it so i could watch both at the same time, rather than having to wait a week before Ep10.
that being said, the season finale was mesmerising... however i have a serious problem with the death of Oenamaus. i felt they had considerably marginalised his role towards the end of the this season and i didnt like the way he left the show. i think the character had a lot of potential.
i read the interview with Steven S.De Knight and apparently Oenamaus was killed so that Gannicus would fully embrace the rebellion. i feel like this is not a good enough reason.
i really enjoyed Oenamaus coming from the first season into this one. his character was conflicted, because he knew nothing more than the Ludus, his way of life had been destroyed in which case he found it difficult to find his place in this world. i thought that it was just getting so good with his character and Gannicus, they had just begun to become friends again. i felt like Oenamaus should have found his new place in the world as he saw the rebellion rise, with his relationship with Gannicus growing even further. i agree eventually Oenamaus would have given his life to save Gannicus, but i think he had more potential to take into the next series, it was unecessary to kill him just as he had found his true place in this world. even if they killed him half way during the 3rd season i would have still liked to seen him develop into a leader rather than killing him off to make Gannicus a greater hero. i think the friendship between them (like Sparatacus and Varro) would have been great fun to see in a bit more detail. eventually i agree Oenamaus would have sacrificed himself to save his friends, but i would've liked to have seen him a bit more before that. they didnt need to kill him off to make Gannicus believe in the rebellion.
and historically Oenamaus lived to see the beginning of the rebellion. which was disappointing, i felt it should've been Spartacus, Crixus, Gannicus and Oenamaus as the 4 heros of the show, it was disappointing to see him underuliterised for the later part of the season!
