A review of Nolan's Odyssey from some rando with a Classical Studies diploma
I thought I would write a review of the Odyssey, partly because I wanted to get my thoughts out, partly because I saw a lot of misinformation floating around about the movie and I thought it might help to provide a more accurate view. I mention my diploma not to say that I'm anywhere close to being an expert, but just to show that I do have a passion for the subject matter.
So with my credentials out of the way, is Nolan's Odyssey movie worth watching? Yes, I definitely think so.
I think overall, Nolan present an Odyssey with a different core message. While the violation of guest right is still present and very important, Nolan emphasizes guest right's role more as an essential social contract for Greek society. Interestingly, he portrays the Trojan Horse trick as a violation along the same lines of breaking xenia, and as an act that would end up permanently staining Greek society and bringing an end to the current age. Rather than a traditional review, I thought I would go over some key plot points of the epic and say how they change.
The Trojan horse: It's mostly the same. In a key difference however, Odysseus purposefully leaves Sinon unaware of the men hiding inside it in order to ensure the plan goes off without a hitch. The cramped claustrophobic perspective we get inside is great. One scene I like is when a Trojan ends up stabbing inside it to check it, accidentally cutting a soldier. The wounded soldier is quickly gagged by the others, while Odysseus quickly and delicately wipes the blood off the sword before it's withdrawn.
The Trojan War: Helen is mentioned as the prime catalyst for the war, though Penelope cynically mentions that it's probably more about trade routes (an interesting allusion to the "real" trojan war) for Agamemnon. Odysseus's participation in the war is implied to be a result of owing allegiance to Agamemnon as some sort of overall high king, though the particulars of the arrangement are not really mentioned.
Calypso: Calypso takes the place of the lotus-eaters, feeding Odysseus the lotus flowers in order to keep him as a complacent husband. She also is the one Odysseus narrates his adventures to, taking the place of the Phaeacians. Rather than a divine messenger in the form of Hermes, Calypso's own conscience is what makes her release him, though there is rumbling of thunder that is all but stated to be an omen from Zeus warning her.
Odysseus being sent on the raft is framed as accepting a loss of control and submitting to the mercy of Poseidon. Zeus will not allow Poseidon to kill him or prevent him from returning home, but he still has to face the god's anger with nothing more than a glorified plank of wood and the clothes on his back.
Menelaus: Overall the same plot function. Telemachus is received by Menelaus, who praises Odysseus and surmises that Telemachus is his son, but has no news of his whereabouts. However, his and Helen's relationship is a more antagonistic than the epic. Menelaus remarks on some scars on her face as robbing of her of a portion of her beauty, and Helen is shown to be bitter about the sacking of Troy. While Paris isn't really mentioned, the movie seems to suggest that this version of her chose to run away with Paris (though she seems very regretful about her actions indirectly causing Odysseus to be gone for so long).
Polyphemus: The basic set up is the same. Upon spotting signs of habitation (a built fire, cheese), Odysseus decides to wait for the owner to come back and use hospitality to receive supplies. Polyphemus instead decides to kill and eat them. There's a change in that Polyphemus does not speak at all until he wails in pain at the stab in the eye. This however is highly implied to be arrogance, as Odysseus puts it: "would you speak to an ant?" An aspect I really liked is after the men all escaped the cave with Polyphemus none the wiser, Odysseus can't help but shoot him with an arrow, provoking him into chasing them to the beach, nearly killing them all. The men later realize that he's the son of Poseidon (as they heard him wailing to his father after his injury), and that wounding him certainly turned the god against them.
The Laestrygonians: Aside from the costuming, this part I really liked. The greeks see what they believe is an ordinary human out in the forest. The figure turns around... and they see that it's a very young child that's the same size as them. Eurylochus grimly ponders that if that's a child, how big are the adults? The child screams, summoning the giants who proceed to slaughter the humans.
Circe: This had some parts I liked, and some parts I disliked. Rather than a beautiful woman living in a palace in the middle of the woods. She's a rather ordinary-looking woman who lives in a rather dingy house. She certainly has magical powers, but it's unclear if she's even divine in this adaptation.
However, her turning the men into pigs was by far the best scene in the movie. Honestly even if you hate everything I've written about so far, watching the movie solely for that scene would be worth it. They also keep the drugged animals surrounding her house (though it's heavily implied that they are all transformed humans in the same manner as the crew).
The sun cattle: Almost exactly the same. The sun god however is said to be Apollo rather than Helios. I don't particularly care all that much about this change.
Talking to the dead: In a change that I would say signifies the message Nolan wants to speak, Odysseus ends up speaking to Sinon rather than Achilles, who berates him for his lies and sending him to his death. The conversation with Agamemnon's shade stays mostly the same.
The ending: This is something I imagine will be somewhat controversial. Odysseus' return home mostly follows the same steps: in hiding as a beggar, revealing himself to Telemachus, the contest with the bow and axes, etc. After slaughtering the majority of the suitors, the rest surrender. The bloodshed however stains Odysseus (which is why he doesn't want Telemachus to kill anyone and share his fate), who ends up having to go into exile along with Penelope as he can no longer remain in Ithaca. Telemachus ends up as the king as his parents sail off to the west.
Obviously, this isn't everything that happens in the movie. Lot to cover in a 3 hour movie that a single tumblr post can't contain. If you have any questions about any particular aspects, feel free to ask.
Overall, I'd say the film is worth watching. I enjoyed it (I'd rate it about a 7/10?), and think a lot of people who enjoy greek mythology would as well. However, I imagine people who haven't read the epic would enjoy it more on average.
I'd recommend people watch it and form their own opinions. If you like it, that's great. If you don't, that's perfectly fine as well. Even if you end up hating it, at least you expand your palate by knowing what parts of the original you value the most.
It's too bad Daemon and Ormund are enemies. I feel like they'd really enjoy doing coke together and making up conspiracy theories about how their houses are descended from the Great Empire of the Dawn.
Wipe off the tears that you are shedding for your dear Creusa. I will not see the haughty palaces of the Dolopians or Myrmidons or go to serve Greek matrons as their slave—I, daughter of the line of Dardanus, who once was married to the son of Venus. No: the Great Mother keeps me on these shores. So now, goodbye—and always love our son.
Here, after all the storms that battered me at sea, I lost Anchises, who carried me through every care and crisis. Here, best of fathers, you deserted me, your weary son—you, saved from countless dangers, but all for nothing. Helenus foretold so many horrors, as did dire Celaeno; yet neither warned that I would face this grief.
I was gonna say something witty about these passages but I just cant. Virgil is genuinely one of the greatest poets who ever lived and these almost made me tear up.
Last episode was very good, but I'm feeling a little more mixed about this one. About a 6.5/10.
Not too much happens in this episode, mostly a transitional one. Some scattered thoughts below:
Ormund's portrayal is... interesting. A hardcore Andal traditionalist who sees Valyrians as inherently tainted. The only reason he seems to be on the team at all is because he sees Daeron as more Hightower than Targaryen. Not really fond of the Green cause being even more divided, but I guess it's hopeless to care about that at this point. I was kinda happy that they showed he had some sort of standards by having the soldier be gelded... but then the show turned it back around by having Hugh's brother-in-law executed anyways.
Daeron is a bit more meek than I expected. I could be in the minority, but it seems like they're trying to imply Ormund was (at least emotionally) abusive towards him? Bit of a twist from what we see in F&B where Ormund praises his courage in battle, feasts him, and personally makes Daeron a knight.
There's Rhaena and Daemon. Already said I disliked the Nettles replacement so I'm not going to talk about this much, but I will concede that I like Daemon bringing back a random head in order to appease Rhaenyra.
Apparently Helaena is pregnant, which I very much missed on my watch. Interested to see how the Maelor plot ends up being adapted here. We got a little bit more of Aegon and Larys. Not much to comment on there beyond the return of Sunfyre, who is obviously not dead.
Ulf and Hugh have been sent to Tumbleton. Curious as to how they'll end up flipping to the Greens. The seeds have been conspicuously planted, but I wonder what the show will make their breaking point, as opposed to simply raw greed and a hunger for power.
Next episode is probably the Battle for Tumbleton? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
'You falsely claim to be Achilles' son: he never treated me, his enemy, with such disdain. When I appealed to him, he recognized my rights and kept his word, giving me Hector's corpse for burial and sending me unharmed back to my throne.'
The old man weakly cast his feeble spear. It clanged against the bronze, a useless throw, and dangled from the surface of the boss.
Pyrrhus said, 'Soon you will bring word of this down to the son of Peleus, my father. Remember to describe the shocking deeds committed by his Neoptolemus, the stain on his ancestral line. Now die.'
Neoptolemus may be awful, but you can't say Virgil doesn't give him great lines.
This description from the Aeneid of the gods behind the destruction of Troy is the greatest thing ever:
Neither the hateful beauty of the Spartan nor guilty Paris topples wealthy Troy: it is the gods, the gods' brutality. [...] Look - where you see the ramparts ripped apart, stones torn from stones and waves of dust and smoke, there Neptune shakes the walls with his great trident and tears the city up from its foundations. Here fiercest Juno holds the Scaean Gate: she leads the charge and calls her allied lines sword in her raging hand. Tritonian Pallas occupies the heights- see how she shines inside a brilliant cloud, ferocious in her Gorgon-headed shield. Jove gives the Greeks the will and strength to win and stirs the gods to arms against the Trojans.
I had my problems with the previous two episodes, but I really liked this one. I'd say an 8 or so out of 10, best episode so far.
I had seen rumors floating around about the fake Daeron twist, so I was kind of expecting it from the start. I had also seen people saying that Daeron was going to have dark hair, which I hated, but given that the imposter was using silver dye, that means Daeron has his proper hair colour which is a relief. Honestly, the fake Daeron could definitely play him, he's got the right look.
I adore that the show's using the stress of ruling a kingdom to allow some of Rhaenyra's book characterization develop slowly- the wastefulness of an elaborate coronation when the city is starving is definitely something she would've done. Sure, legitimacy is important, but given that the city's starving you kinda have to seek compromises.
The tension with the High Septon clearly seems to be foreshadowing the Shepherd - I do like the reasoning of him declining to have two anointed claimants running around at once. It's not something I really thought about, but it seems like a logical addition.
Corlys was also good in this episode. I was surprised that he shouted about it in public, but in his defense I think he just about hit his breaking point. Rhaenys, Laenor, and Laena are dead, High Tide sacked, half his fleet destroyed, he nearly died himself. I'd be stressed in his position. Honestly, I could definitely imagine him saying all the things he did in the show in the book - though obviously behind closed doors.
The dragonseeds are clearly getting a taste for power -no surprise there.
Honestly I don't really have much to nitpick here. Pretty much enjoyed all of it. Really my only complaint was the ending - I think the dialogue between Rhaenyra and the dragonkeeper was a bit unsubtle, but it's a minor complaint.
Man, I love Daemon. "I realize we're broke and starving, but we should conquer Dorne and Essos." It's amazing that his Stepstones army didn't end up starving to death because he forgot to bring any food.
Gotta say, I really don't care for the Jasper Wylde scene this episode.
In a vacuum, I could theoretically accept it. A man attempting to assault a woman who he learnt had an affair isn't the wildest idea ever, especially if he feels he holds something over her. But given the show's previous writing decisions, I can't help but feel like it was primarily another Vaemond situation where a character is made to be an asshole so that the audience feels better about their execution (though I'd argue Wylde definitely deserved his execution even without that scene). It also feels like Alicent is often times made into the punching bag of the Greens, receiving abuse/trauma so everyone can see how bad it is over there for a character they sympathize with. I doubt we're going to see any exploration of what this means for Alicent - hell, I'd be surprised if his name ever gets mentioned again.
I've also been somewhat annoyed with how Wylde is portrayed for a while - Look, I'm not going to pretend that F&B is filled with rich characters matching the main series, even the major ones like Daemon or Rhaenyra don't have that much character depth. But honestly if it wasn't for his name and that he had the same position on the Green Council as he did in the book, I wouldn't even be able to tell you the actor was portraying the same character.
The main thing about Wylde - in fact one of the only things we knew about him (unless you believe Mushroom on how he got his nickname) was that he was majorly inflexible when it came to the law. At the council after Viserys's death where Otto cited Daemon as a second Maegor and Cole the "depravity" of Rhaenyra and her sons, his only reasoning for putting Aegon on the throne was that a son should always come before a daughter. Even at his death he didn't plea for mercy or offer to swear fealty - he went to his grave insisting that Aegon was the rightful heir as Viserys's eldest son. Definitely no saint, but there's something to respect about someone who sticks to their principles even till death.
Instead he's the guy who's kind of a jerk for the first two seasons, until he gets the idea to try and sexually assault the queen mother and gets his head chopped off. Again, I doubt anyone's going to care all that much about him, but it's been bothering me for a bit.
So... is Tyland dead, then? Last week we had both Tyland and Corlys fall off overboard in heavy armor. Then the next episode, we have Corlys wash up on shore while Tyland is still unaccounted for. We've already moved past the Gullet and onto King's Landing for this episode, I don't see them revisiting the aftermath later down the season.
Well, so much for Tyland. Genuinely one of the most interesting minor characters during the Dance, but in the show he's largely comedic relief and unceremoniously kicked off to drown offscreen. I really hope I'm wrong and he pops up later, but i doubt it.
I liked this episode. Then that scene happened and threw me out it halfway through. 7ish or so out of 10, minus some rough spots which threw it down a couple points. More thoughts below.
Rhaenyra in the opening scene was great. As always, Emma's a great actor, and portrayed Rhaenyra's grief really well.
(Sidenote: Baela, that may have been the worst way to tell her Jace was dead. First you tell her, then you let her see the body, don't just ambush her with it.)
Alyn was great. I doubt we'll ever go so far as to see him and Baela end up together, but having them shares some scenes together was nice. Alyn has only really had scenes with his brother and Corlys in any great detail, unless I'm forgetting something from last season.
As I was hoping, someone pointed out how idiotic it was for Rhaena to run away and ride Sheepstealer into battle. Honestly, her decision to hide away in the Vale as well was a bad one - her best shot is to throw herself at Rhaenyra's feet and plead for mercy. If she can't execute Otto without Daemon egging her on, she definitely won't kill her stepdaughter. But hey, if Rhaena had any sense she wouldn't be in this position to begin with.
As always, Matt Smith is great when he has time to shine. I can't say I really have much to say on Daemon today, Matt's consistently a great actor.
Alicent was good as well. I'm not really a fan of the whole surrender plot, but the way the show actually goes about her having to run around and actually talk to all the people in the Red Keep.
Then there was that Ironrod scene. I didn't like that scene and I'll mention it in another post.
Finally, we have Aemond and Alys meeting for the first time. With how she talked about desiring Harrenhal for herself, I can see how she wouldn't really be bothered with Aemond executing the rest of her family - not that they ever really seem to acknowledge her much in the first place.
I really didn't like the Otto scene. So on his way out the door, Larys manages to track him down, capture him, and throw him in the black cells without anyone noticing or blabbing about it to Alicent or the rest of the council. What exactly was the point of having Otto talk about heading to Oldtown instead of remaining in the Red Keep as per F&B, if they were just going to throw him in the dungeon and chop off his head as usual? Did they run out of their budget for the actor? Were they not able to think of anything for him to do for the rest of season 2?
Someone mentioned that this was probably where season 2 was intended to end before the writer's strike and all that jazz mixed up production, and it does seem very much like a natural stopping point. Definitely would've had a better view of the season had that been the case.
Was expecting to see Rhaenyra bleed on the Iron Throne, but they may be saving that for next week. Interested to see what's coming.
Clio fell in love with Pierus, son of Magnes, in consequence of the wrath of Aphrodite, whom she had twitted with her love of Adonis; and having met him she bore him a son Hyacinth, for whom Thamyris, the son of Philammon and a nymph Argiope, conceived a passion, he being the first to become enamored of males.
Happy Pride Month to Thamyris, who apparently invented being gay.
Review of HotD, S3E1: Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood
Better than I expected for all the doom and gloom. 6.5/10, maybe 7.
I liked the crumbs we got of Larys and Aegon at the start. Him refusing to kneel was stupid, but in character. Thankfully Larys saved the day. Presumably we'll see more of them further down the line.
Rhaenyra was... well, there's not really much to say about her in this episode, given that she doesn't really do much. I guess she orders Corlys to sail to King's Landing and has a letter sent to Daemon. She was about to do something, but thankfully the writers had her locked up in her room so she could continue to do nothing.
Alicent at least does a little bit more, but nothing really new. I liked seeing a bit more of House Hightower - Ormund Hightower looked great, loved the little touch of the perfume thing he carried at his wait, fits a lord from one of the richest houses in the south perfectly. Still no sign of Daeron though, which is annoying.
Aemond... well, I'm not sure where to begin. Not a big fan of what they're doing of explicitly making him king instead of Prince Regent. My issues with how they're portraying Aegon and Aemond's relationship aside, it just broadcasts weakness to your enemies: Aegon is either dead or fled, neither of which the Greens should be telling anyone.
Then there's the kiss. I know what they're trying to say with it, I don't like it, and I'm probably not going to talk about it any depth. So there.
Speaking of things I don't like, still very much not a fan of them cutting Nettles and giving her story to Rhaena. If I was to place that dislike aside for a second though, she was decent in this episode. I do like that they didn't just make her a natural flyer - in fact, she was unambiguously a disaster, and one that ends up getting a good chunk of Velaryon soldiers, along with Jace, killed. I assume this is eventually going to be what causes the rift between her and Rhaenyra - again, still not a fan of the Nettles change, but at least there's something.
Ah, Jace. The Sowing of the Seeds was largely made Rhaenyra's (and Mysaria's) idea. Baela was the one to reconcile Corlys and make him Hand. He doesn't even get to die attempting to protect Aegon and Viserys.
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