Last night, I left a bustling AMC Century City with sand on my hands and a sword at my side, marching toward a new Rome. Well, that’s what happened in my mind anyway as Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II ended.
There was a lot to unpack as the movie faded to black, so let’s dive right in and get that ending explained.
What we do in life echoes in eternity.
Gladiator II Synopsis
It’s been sixteen years since Maximus killed Commodus in the Coliseum, and Rome has two new psychotic emperors and the senate is
We open the movie on a battle in North Africa, where a husband and wife man the walls. After the city is sieged by General Marcus Acacius, the husband, who we’ll come to learn is Lucius from the first Gladiator movie, who makes it out alive.
Lucius is sold into slavery to Denzel Washington’s Macrinus, a social climber who has his eyes on being in control of Rome.
Macrinus uses Lucius’s rage to make him into a famous gladiator, while simultaneously figuring out that he’s the lost so of Lucilla, who is now married to Marcus Acacius.
Meanwhile, Lucilla sees Lucius in the ring and realizes he’s her long lost son, who she sent away to avoid being killed in the wake of Commodus’s death. She goes to him and he tells her he’s not upset at what happened to him but wants to kill General Marcus Acacius.
He doesn’t understand that General Marcus Acacius is just following the orders of the emperors, who will kill him if he doesn’t keep conquering. But General Marcus Acacius has his own plot with the senate. He’s going to ride out of town, unite and army of 5,000, and give Rome back to the senate.
General Marcus Acacius makes the mistake of telling Macrinus of this plot. He uses this information to get the emperors to appoint him lead counsel, and to have General Marcus Acacius put in the ring to fight Lucius.
Inside the ring, Lucius finally understands the Acacius is not the man who killed his wife, but a tool for the emperors. General Marcus Acacius is killed by the emperors archers, and they promise to sacrifice Lucilla the next day, along with her traitorous senators.
This causes an uprising with the people, who loved Lucilla and General Marcus Acacius. The people begin to revolt inside Rome.
Macrinus, wanting total control, gets one of the emperors to kill the other, so now he;s second in command. And he sends the army to flank General Marcus Acacius’s forces, to quell the rebellion.
In the gladiator cells, Lucius manages to escape, and recruits his doctor to send a message to Acacius’s forces. He’s the rightful heir and will take the throne if they unite around him. then he heads to the tombs and gets his father. Maximus’s armor to go into battle.
Lucius leads an uprising for the gladiators onto the guards, killing them and storming the coliseum. But Macrinus is still able to kill Lucilla and escape.
Lucius takes off after him on a horse.
That brings us to…
Gladiator II Ending Explained
Lucius and Macrinus square off at the gate to Rome, with two armies between them. Lucius is able to kill Macrinus, and then, to prevent war, promises both armies that if they work together, they can bring in a new Rome, a better one that finally has stability and safety.
They buy into this and cheer for Rome.
In the poignant ending to the movie, Lucius returns to the Coliseum, the site of so much bloodshed and sacrifice and the death of both his mother and father. He kneels in the arena and touches the sand, a gesture that homages Maximus’ connection to the Coliseum and his journey.
Lucius then speaks to his father’s spirit, seeking guidance and closure for this journey he’s been on since he was a young boy.
In a symbolic sequence, the film revisits the iconic imagery of the wheat fields from the original Gladiator, with Maximus’ hand brushing through the wheat, symbolizing the afterlife and the connection between father and son.
We understand that Maximus’ spirit will guide Lucius even as he takes his first steps into an uncertain future as the leader of this new world.
While Gladiator 2 provides a satisfying conclusion to its central narrative, it leaves Lucius’ future ambiguous.
We aren’t totally sure he will take the throne or if he will go back to his former home. He now understands the cost of leadership and rule comes with even more bloodshed then the arena.
He’s seen the sacrifice it takes to build a better world, and now must rely on his instincts and wisdom to choose a new path.
This was an epic movie that had a lot of twists and turns, plus some of the best action I’ve seen.
With Ridley Scott already talking about Gladiator III, I remain excited by this series and where it can take the political machinations and battles in the future.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
