One of my favorite parts of this song is just how well Telemachus holds his own in the fight, and the fact that he IMMEDIATELY scampers away when Ody stabs the dude. He doesn't give anyone another chance to get him and he recognizes that he probably shouldn't be in the crossfire between his father and the suitors. Where even if his dad recognizes him, accidents can happen. This, to me, exemplifies his new role as a Warrior of the Mind. Not just knowing how to fight, but knowing WHEN to fight and when to stand back.
I absolutely LOVE this song, especially the culmination of everything Odysseus learned from the monsters he fought (trapping them like Polyphemus, disarming them like Circe, aiming for the torches like Scylla, being ruthless like Poseidon) and how it's his name being chanted in the danger motif, just like Polyphemus. Also that the song is his name, which only his previous opponents had. And the VOCALS!!! The suitors were all spectacular. And of course the animation, the artists really pulled out all the stops this saga. I'm typically not one for gore either but I appreciate it here so much!!! It was done so masterfully!!!
Forgot to include this in my previous comment: I also absolutely love how well the use of motifs and signature instruments comes together in this saga but ESPECIALLY when Telemachus and Athena come in. I listened before I saw the visuals and even in that instrumental part, I could tell exactly who entered the scene and what was happening. It was the perfect combo of Legendary, Athena's motif, their instruments, and the quick thought sound effect. Insanely perfect!!!!!
I believe why you never hear Open Arms again is because right in between Get in the Water and 600 Strike, the dead are weighing or pulling Ody down, drowning him. He has to deal with his grief and guilt in order to beat Posiedon with whatevers left. He has to either accept their deaths or by let them go; either way he can't be stewing over the dead any longer if he wants their deaths to mean something, to get him home. By letting them go, they aren't with (weighing) him anymore, and because of this he (and we) can no longer hear them. Now it doesn't mean Ody isn't taking responsibility or forgetting them; but the grief has shifted (and it had to) in order to make room for what happens in 600 Strike and the Ithaca saga, essentially.
Something I don’t see a lot about the similarities between Odysseus and Polyphemus is that both struck the offending parties at the hight of their confidence and the height of the song. Remember how Polities died in Survive? After the escalating music. And how did Antinuous die? After the final escalation of Hold Them Down.
Don't feel TOO badly for Eurymachus. He was the other leading suitor besides Antinous. He was just a self-serving, honey-tongued, manipulative devil in contrast to the brutishness of Antinous. That being said, his solo there in the middle of "Odysseus" is FIRE! I've repeated that part an unhealthy number of times ;-)
One of my favorite parts of this song is just how well Telemachus holds his own in the fight, and the fact that he IMMEDIATELY scampers away when Ody stabs the dude. He doesn't give anyone another chance to get him and he recognizes that he probably shouldn't be in the crossfire between his father and the suitors. Where even if his dad recognizes him, accidents can happen.
This, to me, exemplifies his new role as a Warrior of the Mind. Not just knowing how to fight, but knowing WHEN to fight and when to stand back.
Fun fact: The only songs that have names for the titles are monsters (Polyphemus, Scylla and Charybdis), looks like Odysseus is one of them now ;)
This isn't a battle. This is house cleaning.
This is not war, this is PEST CONTROLL!
I absolutely LOVE this song, especially the culmination of everything Odysseus learned from the monsters he fought (trapping them like Polyphemus, disarming them like Circe, aiming for the torches like Scylla, being ruthless like Poseidon) and how it's his name being chanted in the danger motif, just like Polyphemus. Also that the song is his name, which only his previous opponents had. And the VOCALS!!! The suitors were all spectacular. And of course the animation, the artists really pulled out all the stops this saga. I'm typically not one for gore either but I appreciate it here so much!!! It was done so masterfully!!!
Forgot to include this in my previous comment: I also absolutely love how well the use of motifs and signature instruments comes together in this saga but ESPECIALLY when Telemachus and Athena come in. I listened before I saw the visuals and even in that instrumental part, I could tell exactly who entered the scene and what was happening. It was the perfect combo of Legendary, Athena's motif, their instruments, and the quick thought sound effect. Insanely perfect!!!!!
I believe why you never hear Open Arms again is because right in between Get in the Water and 600 Strike, the dead are weighing or pulling Ody down, drowning him. He has to deal with his grief and guilt in order to beat Posiedon with whatevers left. He has to either accept their deaths or by let them go; either way he can't be stewing over the dead any longer if he wants their deaths to mean something, to get him home. By letting them go, they aren't with (weighing) him anymore, and because of this he (and we) can no longer hear them. Now it doesn't mean Ody isn't taking responsibility or forgetting them; but the grief has shifted (and it had to) in order to make room for what happens in 600 Strike and the Ithaca saga, essentially.
Something I don’t see a lot about the similarities between Odysseus and Polyphemus is that both struck the offending parties at the hight of their confidence and the height of the song. Remember how Polities died in Survive? After the escalating music. And how did Antinuous die? After the final escalation of Hold Them Down.
Ares up in Olympus cheering like a cheerleader
Don't feel TOO badly for Eurymachus. He was the other leading suitor besides Antinous. He was just a self-serving, honey-tongued, manipulative devil in contrast to the brutishness of Antinous. That being said, his solo there in the middle of "Odysseus" is FIRE! I've repeated that part an unhealthy number of times ;-)