This post contains massive spoilers for "Gladiator II."

When Pedro Pascal's Marcus Acacius is first introduced in "Gladiator II," he is seen barking orders to his naval fleet en route to the seaside province of Numidia. The intent is to wage war and conquer this land at the behest of sibling emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), who revel in lawless tyranny because they can. As the events of "Gladiator II" take place 16 years after that of "Gladiator," the hard-earned political reforms brought about by Maximus (played by Russell Crowe in the original) before his death have been discarded over time. Rome has lost its way once again, and we are initially led to believe that General Acacius is nothing more than a vicious warmonger, happy to do the emperors' bidding. However, just like that of Lucius/Hanno (Paul Mescal), our first impression of him could not be more wrong.