Family Feuds

What family doesn't have fights, and what story doesn't consist of some type of family feud? Gladiator is no different than any other story, or real life for that matter, as the characters deal with their own family problems in both positive and negative manners.

Marcus Aurelius' family has a lot of very complicated problems: Commodus feels unloved; the Emperor feels he can't trust Commodus; Lucilla is manipulative and controlling. Most of these problems come from the fact that Maximus, an outsider, has always outshone Commodus. Commodus feels that both Marcus Aurelius and Lucilla love Maximus more than they love him.

Commodus' insane jealousy destroys the lives of his whole family. Commodus murders Marcus Aurelius when he realizes that he may not be the next Emperor of Rome. Commodus threatens Lucilla with the death of her son, Lucius, when he believes she is betraying him and trying...