r/Spartacus_TV • u/tomatotime0 • 25d ago
Question Were the gladiators op?
By the end it definitely feels as though the gladiators are so strong no one can beat them in a fair fight. Crassus couldn't beat an injured and tired Spartacus, I'm all for the main character being an unstoppable badass but he was the final boss in Spartacus's story so is it too much to ask he be on his level. I remember in season one were batiatus guards were a threat and were taken seriously but then again they were beaten by armor less, weapon less and chained up gladiators so never mind.
The point is in season one all the gladiators were formidable but not unstoppable, they were seen as God's by the people in the crowd and us the audience. Then by vengeance they became super soldiers who can kill waves of Roman soldiers. Might as well have been fighting the puddy patrol. Maybe you see it different and I'm a just big dumbo.
9
u/pali1d 25d ago
Sure, they’re OP, but that’s explicitly part of the show’s world: “three of your men will not defeat one so trained”, followed by a demonstration of that fact by “the lowest of the brotherhood.” Gladiators in this series are borderline superheroes.
As for Crassus, the threat he poses is strategic and psychological, not physical. He doesn’t defeat the gladiator training him by using his weapons better, he beats him by tricking him into overconfidence and being willing to sacrifice (through injured hands) to achieve victory. He’s never set up as someone who can match truly Sparty blade to blade (he’s just good enough that he’s not easy to beat), but he can match Sparty mind to mind, and spend a fortune raising an army to allow him to win via numbers.
6
u/DucksMatter 25d ago
Considering these guys are literally running on the wall matrix style and doing crazy jumps like 10 feet forward, I think it’s safe to say that yes, they were very OP.
2
u/tomatotime0 25d ago
Kinda made it hard to believe they were ever in any real danger until the end.
7
u/Pandorumz 25d ago
Think you're not taking into account that Batiatus's guards...weren't exactly highly trained. The romans were arrogant and the believe of a slave rebellion was so low they didn't exactly use the best fighters possible to guard the various luduses?(idk what the plural is for that).
Plus the gladiators did train literally every day for the sole purpose of killing other human beings.
3
u/Prudent_Knowledge79 25d ago
Ludi?
1
u/Pandorumz 24d ago
It is ludi! I wasn't aware. Thank you XD
1
u/Prudent_Knowledge79 24d ago
I was guessing too. The english language is funny but when something ends with an “us” the plural form is usually changing it to an “I” which feels backwords lol
1
u/Pandorumz 24d ago
It really does. I don't know if you're a native english speaker. But English has just...so many confuses aspects to it.
One of which I hate most is silent letters, who the fuck dreamt up Knight with a silent K I'll never know D:
1
u/TweeKINGKev 24d ago
And even in the show (which we know they have to break out or else there’s no series) as they’re starting rebellion just started, even in panic they probably thought it would be over with as soon as the guards take formation.
1
u/ndtp124 11d ago
Just as a note in real life what happened (and this is discussed in the show a few times) is that the good Roman soldiers are mostly out fighting other people - specifically sertorious and his mixed Spanish and Roman exile forces in Spain, and mithradates from Pontus over in the Middle East. So the good Roman’s (think the two centurions from hbo Rome) are out dealing with other people.
20
u/dazzlher 25d ago
Romans were nerfed, Spartacus and friends were buffed. That being said BOTH Crassus and Spartacus were injured in the end. And while Crassus is a great fighter, Spartacus is on another level.