CEO of being opitionated

consistency? i dont know her | #1 Calypso hater | south asian

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Just watched The Odyssey 2026 and my god were the characters done dirty...

Hate hate hate what they did with Odysseus's characterization like you cannot be serious. Who is Odysseus if not a sly clever liar (affectionate).

Now he's just some modern goody two shoes inner dilemma hero in a sea of them. They stripped him of his whimsy and cruelty both.

#NotmyOdysseus

There's not one moment in the film where I could go, ahh there he is Odysseus being Odysseus. Not one instance of him being clever, he's just lucky...

Didn't add the 'Nobody' scene but still made him shoot at Polyphemus which starts it all which doesn't even make sense with his characterization in the movie. The Polyphemus scene is supposed to highlight Odysseus's cleverness and hubris but the movie version of him has no pride!

Don't even get me started on Athena & Odysseus! Odysseus famously Athena's star pupil is not.... Instead she's haunting his guilt? Athena who famously interfered in the book to aid Odysseus like a lot... directly and behind the scenes.

In the book Mentor was actually Athena in disguise so I was so hoping for it to be her since Telemachus remarks multiple times about 'wise eyes' but no... it was about how you shouldn't see gods in people blah blah BORING!!!!

'Defy the Gods' Ah yes Odysseus famously devout follower of Athena...

I couldn't help but notice how dirty the female characters were done compared to their Epic counterparts and the erasure of Anticlea during the Underworld scene.

And I'd like to talk more about it, starting with Athena! She is one of the active players who guides both Odysseus's and Telemachus's journey. When Odysseus reaches Ithaca it was Athena who makes him look like an old beggar. Even in the final battle against suitors she deflects their spears to protect Odysseus and afterwards when nobles are angry Odysseus essentially killed their sons Athena steps in herself to establish the peace.

She is integral to the story, there is no Odyssey without her!! Odysseus only survived and made it back home due to her guidance and interference, removing her entirely is a disservice to the actual Epic being adapted.

And second character is Penelope, my Queen!!! I want to get this out of the way Anne Hathaway is in my personal opinion the standout of this film, she did amazing with what she was given. However that is to say, they didn't give her much. They cut off many Penelope moments that give us a taste of her own cleverness (making her a true partner for Odysseus) in favor of some simple status pin which isn't a good trade off imo.

The Olive Tree Bed moment was also not in the movie to my disappointment. A scene that clearly demonstrates how she tricks her own extremely clever trickster husband rather than some pin symbolism.

Circe and Calypso.... the less said about them the better though I hated their costuming.... Where were Circe's nymphs? or not nymphs since Nolan is allergic to whimsy even handmaidens? Circe is a powerful GODDESS 😭(Why was a raven/crow her sister? Was it supposed to be Pasiphae? If yes then I have so many more questions.)

I hate Calypso so i won't waste any words on her but its so funny that they made Odysseus eat Lotus Flower like lmaoooo you can't make this shit up..

I didn't like the costuming, the hair, the armor, the lightening either. I hated the look of Ithaca's palace and the ending like Odysseus... leaves Ithaca and his son after just arriving????

I also think it's so peculiar how Nolan didn't want an orchestra in sound design when the Homeric era didn't have that and then have everything else inaccurate from the armor design to the choice of modernised dialogue (surprisingly I didn't mind the modernised dialogue, not when the movie had larger issues).

Though props to them for making the pig transformation disturbing & sickening and not props for making Scylla lame ass design when her description is genuinely so horrifying, I believe the Odyssey could have been Nolan's first venture into VFX- nothing wrong with a little of it especially while adapting mythological creatures though disappointingly Nolan still clings to his practical only approach.

Also props for a good Eurylochus, making me side eye him and still making me feel sorry for him at the same time.

Side minor note: icky that they cast a black woman for Helen only for her to be abused and miserable when the source material makes no note of it, not a good look imo.

Also since they did deviate from the Poem of the Odyssey and included references to other Epic cycles, I wish they could have added Palamedes and Odysseus acting insane since I felt like the setup for it was there in the film with the scene of Odysseus and Penelope before war and it could be a scene to show again, his prominent cleverness that's direly missing from the film.

When the Trojans put a spear in the horse to verify, I had thought in that moment it was a reference to the omen of Laocoon and sea serpents would appear next but then it happened again and again and was just a tool to create tension.

(Again before anyone says Laoccon is not canon to Homer but neither is anything about the Trojan Horse except a few mentions in the Odyssey. If the sack of Troy has been expanded it would have been nice to see other epics being referenced.)

Why was Apollo the Sun God? What is this Percy Jackson?

All in all, if it was just any other standalone it would be strong 3.5 to 3.75 but as something that has source material an underwhelming 2.5 to 3.

The rating 3 is the average and generous because the film does look good so there's that.

Taking creative liberties in adapting an already existing source material is a thing but it's forgivable and completely understandable only as long as it serves its purpose to enchance the original material for a new medium but I feel like this movie changed the core of who Odysseus is as a character/person completely, erased his mentorship bond with Athena, erased his cleverness and trickster nature, whitewashed him and in the end the character isn't even identifiable as Odysseus anymore.

From Time Magazine interview that Nolan did it was noted that,

For Nolan, one of the hardest things about adapting The Odyssey is that in The Iliad, Odysseus has a relatively minor role. “A lot of the characteristics of Odysseus that can be really admirable in a supporting character, like being a bit clever, being a bit slick, when your hero is like that, it doesn’t always work,” he says. “There’s a reason that in Star Wars, you’ve got Han Solo, but you’ve also got Luke Skywalker, a heroic figure that’s a little more pure and transparent. So the challenge was to be true to the complexity of Odysseus but make him relatable for the audience.”

Which I think is precisely why he got Odysseus so wrong and this movie failed as an adaptation, the rigidness and the lack of letting go of realism to the nth degree.

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My unpopular Knives out trilogy ranking;

Glass Onion > Knives Out > Wake Up Dead Man

IDK why the new one while I liked it didn't quite hit me like i saw it hit the others. I really liked the story they told and the cinematography but still, maybe i need to rewatch it a few times to connect with it cuz I'm sure I missed many symbolisms and deep cuts in the script. Important to mention I know next to nothing about christianity/catholicism. I also miss the tight ensemble cast of the prev two installments, they are relatively underdeveloped of sorts which i guess works for the story they are telling but still. loved Jud tho, best part of the movie for me

Also it immediately losses a few points for me for casting abuser apologist m*la kun*s in it and close who starred in a zionist propaganda series and renner who allegedly threatened to call ICE on his ex [while i also acknowlege that renner's thing happened recently so ages after he was cast] like immediate ick for me. I really cannot forgive the casting of kunis though

I was also unpleasantly surprised at how many people on twitter dunked on Glass Onion like woah, i didnt know ppl didnt fw it. I guess it was tonally very different from the first movie and if you're expecting something adjacent to the vibes of the first, you'll get total whiplash but i thought it really worked for the movie. It felt more comedic and silly and over the top but then the story develops and by the second act you know why it was silly on purpose. Also I am biased as hell, and i love the ensemble and the characters so much especially Helen. And i say this as someone who's watched Glass Onion 12 times, the rewatchiblity is insane, you are never bored.

So yea, those are my very messy thoughts about it.

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My AO3 History is between me and God, thank you very much.

(If anyone else wants to find their's, here is the link.)

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Can't stop thinking about Rhaesaria x Erospsyche au

⋆˚࿔ mysaria as eros 𝜗𝜚˚⋆ god of love and sex ⁀➴ ♡

⋆˚࿔ rhaenyra as psyche 𝜗𝜚˚⋆ a princess & beauty 𐙚

⋆˚࿔ nothing is more erotic than being real 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

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In defence of Eurylochus-

I've seen many people analysing him in detail and I just wanted to add my two cents to the discussion by giving my interpretation of the four moments for which the fandom dislikes him the most:

Reason 1: He opened the windbag !

Context: Eurylochus is Odysseus's close friend, second in command and brother in law, which means he knows Odysseus in a personal level and therefore knows that Odysseus is a fucking liar. Odysseus lies and cheats and talks his way out of things, he is crafty, he is clever and he is cunning; core Odysseus triats.

So imagine you're Eurylochus and Odysseus just came back with the wind bag. He says it has the Storm and the Winions (agents of Wind God) say it's a treasure. Who do you believe the liar or the god?

Additionally Jorge was pretty clear Eurylochus represents the crew always in Epic the Musical, so the wind bag opening is not necessarily his idea particularly, any of the crew did it but their face/brand is Eurylochus.

I think in this scenario it's a mix case of Odysseus 'The Boy who cried Wolf' and Eurylochus 'Curiosity killed the Cat'

Reason 2: He tried to abandon his men to Circe

Context: Just the day they lost 557 men to a God (!) due to a mistake Eurylochus made, so his survivor's guilt is fully active and his mental state is not it.

Now after that happened, he took a team to scope the island and saw them turn into pigs by a Goddess (!).

He learned the hard way the same day that Gods are very dangerous and had the fear of God instilled in him, literally.

So logically speaking he was right in that they couldn't defeat Circe. The only reason Odysseus was successful was because of Hermes's help which was an option Eurylochus did not even know existed when he suggested abandoning the pigs-men to Circe.

I understand that this point is less about him wanting to abandon pig-men and more about the perceived hypocrisy in Mutiny, so next let's see;

Reason 3: The Mutiny

Context: The lair of Scylla. Odysseus definitely knew what was going to happen there, but he did not warn the crew, he did not prepare the crew. Instead he used them as canon fodder which like you can argue that it was the only way to get home but Odysseus consciously lied to his crew and sacrificed them.

I wanted to talk about perceived hypocrisy that some people think Eurylochus's actions in being mad at Odysseus since he was ready to abandon his men with Circe. But the difference matters guys, Eurylochus 'abandons', Odysseus 'sacrifices'. The only equivalent to the situation is that if Eurylochus purposefully led his group to Circe's Palace knowing she would turn them into pigs. Eurylochus tries to make a hard decision to save whatever's left, that does not make him a hypocrite or uncaring and it does not negate his right to be mad/sad during Scylla/Mutiny.

He did not mutiny because he wanted power, he did it because he and the crew could no longer trust Odysseus to have their best interest in mind and in a sad kind of way, they are not wrong. Odysseus's number #1 priority is him making it home and the crew is #2.

Different Beast: "Sirens know every route in horizon, now I know how to get back to my island"

Mutiny: "Please don't do this? I need to get home"

and then we all know how Thunder Bringer goes.

Reason 4: The Cow thing

He was hungry, starving and has zero hope he'll make it home. I'm sorry, you cannot be mad at him for this; this is the saddest thing I've ever seen.

But I'll go to the "Captain" he says after killing the cows.

"If you want all the power you must carry all the blame" Eurylochus is not calling Odysseus as Captain because he's trying to shift the blame imo. It's a reflex response, he hears the panic in Odysseus's voice and like he has done all his life (close friend and brother in law hello?), he looks for Odysseus for guidance. Eurylochus and all the crew immediately follow Odysseus's instructions afterwards proving that Mutiny was never about power and they still think Odysseus is the smartest man in Greece.

I also wanted to touch on the grief aspect of Odysseus and Eurylochus's relationship

In the Epic-verse; Odysseus, Eurylochus and Polites are childhood friends. After Polites's death Odysseus copes by trying to honor Polites's motto still 'Open Arms' and Eurylochus copes by being extra vigilant and cautious (Luck Runs Out).

Their ideology and way of coping with grief clashes with the others directly and that is the real tragedy of their relationship. These two men love each other very much, even after all that happens there is not a doubt that things fell about because they stopped loving each other. It's because both of them are heavily traumatized characters and they cope differently and in a way that opposes the others.

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I HATE EPIC THE MUSICAL YOUTUBE COMMENTS LIKE BRO??????

You ppl are not serious 😭😭😭😭 she was not born on this island, she was sent on here as a punishment for supporting Titans in the Titanomachy (that includes her father Atlas) (That was PJO Canon my bad) she is not a naive baby for gods sake 🙏😭

(and she says this line arrogantly and not melancholicly, she literally does a villian giggle, reading and listening comprehension all time low)

WHAT ORIGINAL MYTHS???? #)£+£6@!?@?@??? CONSENSUAL????? BROTHER WTF!!!! I'm going to kms, ppl really pulling this out of their ass- mind you this person hasn't even opened the Odyssey if they are saying this!

I shouldn't have opened the comments section and just enjoyed the animatic 😭🙏😭🙏

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Just saw someone say Epic the musical 'Love in Paradise' villanises Calypso and in the Odyssey, Odysseus and Calypso were on good terms and Odysseus had resigned himself to be Calypso's lover and I'm so worked up about this because in the Odyssey it is very clear that Odysseus has given no consent !!! and what translation did they read that made it so that even though he didnt want to, he resigned himself like god you people will excuse sa

Below are two excerpts from The Odyssey, the first one (blue) is translation by Fagles and the second one (yellow) is translated by Butler (these are the only two I've read), and i think the material speaks for itself:

I blocked the person because I never argue with someone who's set in their views and that account was full of pro-calypso stuff :/ but I am still fuming so I'm not going to be able to articulate my thoughts so I attached Homer's Odyssey and let the translations speak for itself. (just went through their most prominent tags before blocking and of course they are pro life lmao, how do you expect pro lifers know of about person's choice and autonomy)

There never should be debate whether she assaulted him or not, its plain and clear and idc if she has fans but if you like her then at least accept that she's not uwu misunderstood person, she's not the first person to assault someone in greek mythology nor is she going to be last but i really hate when people try to downplay her actions and try to excuse them- just accept it dude!

and I would say Epic the Musical humanised her and let her actions be ambiguous and that is far better than what any adaptation of her's deserve so if you think the musical did her dirty then take a moment to self reflect and find out why the tamest adaptation of her feels like villanising (spoiler alert: she is a villian of odysseus's story). I fully blame Percy Jackson for the modern shift in depiction of Calypso, RR is my public enemy #1. Whatever assumptions and heresays you know about Calypso is probably fabricated or someone's interpretation because she is not a prominant figure in myths

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Feminist retelling with Greek Mythology is 9/10 times not feminist at all and instead ends up demonising the hurtful party in the original myth.

Like most Hades and Persephone retellings in order to give Persephone more agency they almost always demonise and villanise Demeter which is a major ick for me. In order to show her in the wrong because 'Girlboss Persephone' or whatever, they make her toxic and controlling and hysterical which is such....

Or another example I could think of is Circe by Madeline Miller, it's "retelling the Odyssey from Circe's perspective and a feminist lens" and this does not work for me because it is quite clear in Homer's Odyssey that Odysseus is a victim of sa by both Circe and Calypso and turning a victim into abuser is extremely poor taste to me. And sadly this is not unique to Odysseus but another Circe's victim from original myths Scylla was also villanised. (if you are interested in an analysis of Odysseus's time on Aeaea then I'd recommend checking this post.) In the retelling, Circe is so woobified, she's not allowed to have any morally greyness that's not excused by her 'trauma'

Or a few Medusa retelling where Perseus is shown to be misogynistic to kill Medusa when his original motivation was to save his mother Danaë from the King Polydectes unwelcome advances. And no, in the Greek Versions, Medusa was not turned into Gorgon by Athena, she was born monster. The origin of Medusa being a beautiful maiden who was cursed by Athena is actually Ovid because Ovid could not comprehend how Poseidon had sex with a monster.

Also have a huge bone to pick with 'The Song of Achilles', like if I think about the book from the perspective of an original story then its fineee 🤷🏽‍♀️ but its not a original story, it's a retelling/adaptation and my god. The woobification of Patroclus and the demonising of Thetis and Deidamia?????? I will never forgive the book for how it portrayed Thetis, its criminal and lowkey misogynistic like Madeline girl what the fuck are you doing, she's two on two on turning rapists into rape victim in her retellings? and now she's writing the next book about Persephone and I'm terrified.

One of my biggest pet peeves about retellings is when the victims from original myths/stories are turned into villains of their original abuser and unfortunately a lot of Greek retellings fall into this pit

Also I wish authors would explore the tragedy of characters who are already doomed in the myths. This official recommendation of the book Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati please read it, I really enjoyed it <3333

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really disheartening when I read a great fic and when I click on the link to pinterest moodboard for it, its full of ai pictures

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MY SHAYLAS

doomed girlies who sensed their deaths my god

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Imagine being Tigris, losing everything at such a young age but still being brave for her baby cousin. When they struggled to scrap any money, she had to sell her body to keep food on the table.

Imagine being older Tigris watching Finnick's interview and finding out that the same cousin forces people into selling their body for control. Gods no wonder she wanted Snow dead.

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people are too hard on Eurylochus like sure he made a few bad decisions but consider: he is the second in command to Odysseus 'King of making bad decisions' of Ithaca, it was literally in his job description

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Hate when ppl are like 'we dont know if Lucy Gray really loved Snow, she was a mysterious character and we dont know her thoughts'

Like our homegirl wrote 'Pure as the driven Snow' about him AFTER seeing him kill a man, she was in love with him

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need a 'reading thg + tbosas + sotr books' fics but specifically far into future after mockingjay but before everlark babies, because i need to read authors resurrect snow temporarily to rain hell on him, like haymitch deserves to punch him at least once

i want to see snow suffer but not at the expense of haymitch & everlark, they've suffered more than jesus

also because I want his adopted children to know his story ❤️ katniss be like you were friends with my dad and bathed buttnaked in it with him in my lake?

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RIP teenage Melissa Hat, you would've loved 'I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) by Taylor Swift

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Me when I'm in 'Haunting the narrative' competition and my opposition are Lucy Gray Baird and Jackie Taylor:

Haunting their situationships decades after their death.... oh taylorbaird you'll always be famous

If I fumbled them so bad, I too would never move on from them despite being decades and married with child; snow and shauna are not special xo