to make this fact a bit more beautiful: polites` final thoughts are still how he views the world as a beautiful and positive thing ok now i`ll continue to ball my eyes out
And now, allow me to add a _sadder_ fact: I learned from another commentor a while back that she could actually see the fleet approaching Ithaca when the Wind Bag was opened and the storm sent them away, and she thought Odysseus was killed by said storm. She died of heartbreak because of it.
“Who is this weird lost man and why is he singing?” (Bonus Hades lets him pass through without any trouble because “I too love and miss my wife” who’s name is strangely close to Penelope)
Just started the video so idk if she saw this detail, but I can never get over how most, if not all reacters never notice this detail. It’s like Poseidon dropping the baby in Anni’s animation all over again.
@@ConceptOfCreat10n Yeah, I've been a huge Gigi fan since I got into the fandom around when the first saga officially dropped, and she was one of the foundational animators for the series. It's been crazy to see all the small details she laid the groundwork for slowly come to fruition!!
YES, when he took Polites headband in the beginning he was choosing to live to his philosophy, and when Penelope took it off it was him letting go of it and becoming ruthless
12:00 So as I recall, the thing with prophets in greek myths is that they didn't tell you a *possible* future, but one that was already set in stone. Tireseus is basically saying, "Sorry, that ship has sailed. This is what you get instead."
Imagine being the smartest person in the room your whole life. Imagine being so great that you didn't lose a single soldier in a 10 year long war. Imagine what that would do to your ego. Why wouldn't you be a little full of yourself? Why wouldn't you have a little hubris? The Odyssey is basically about Odysseus' hubris and the consequences of that.
Except, while this is absolutely true of the original, it clearly isn't really thought of much in Epic, where Jorge was more interested in a "ruthlessness" angle than any real themes of pride. ... I mean, sure, its in Thunder Bringer, but im not entirely sure what Zeus is even referring to at that point - hell, the BIGGEST point of Ego from OG Odysseus is when he specifically called out Poseidon after harming Polythemus and blinding him, in comparison to this one who was just lashing out after the trauma of losing his best friend. ... Like, i honestly don't think EPIC Odysseus is guilty of much Pride as much as bad circumstances and being surrounded by bad actors that he makes the mistake of... Uh, trusting, and trying to reason with, (until later on when he goes off the walls in the next saga) and if it WERE the intention to make his pride the fatal flaw of this character, then one has to question the decision to (SPOILERS) Have him outright best a god in combat. If pride is his downfall, the lesson he should've needed to learn was to humble himself. It was clearly just about Ruthlessness though. Not sure how i actually FEEL about that personally until we see the end of the musical, but i don't think you can really pull in the original story to talk about this retelling given how different the context is in a lot of the scenes.
@matthewbibby8921 the last song really did change things. Turns out he wasn't prideful, he was just correct when he said "I am neither man nor mythical"
I agree. It actually took me hyperfocusing for a couple weeks to actually identify Odysseus's hubris because it just feels kind of justified or accompanied by other factors that help mask it.
@@matthewbibby8921Odysseus’s pride is subtle in Epic but it’s there if you look. Look at the fact that he talks to gods like they’re people, calls Athena his friend and insults and talks back to her, arrives uninvited into the realm of Aeolus and asks for a favor, it gets shut down quick but he pulls the “I’m a god like you” on Circe, and winning the fight doesn’t nullify the fact that he was truly arrogant enough to think that he (a mere mortal) could best a god
Hades: If I had a drachm for every time a mortal started singing ballads in my domain, I'd have two drachm which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
I think Gigi's Monster animatic is my favorite for any song by any animator. I love the the way the Monster is portrayed and the way Ody pulls it into himself.
8:30 swear to god no matter how many times i listen to the underworld the "I took too long" line always gets me sobbing you just can hear the heartbreak in his voice so clear
See me and my roommate ruined this line for us because I quoted it in the exact same tone when he accidentally let his ice cream melt, so we cope whenever we listen to this by saying “my ice cream melted :(” in a jokingly sad voice.
So... a little (non-spoilery) info about the song The Underworld. Jorge stated that the lines the souls are singing are their last thoughts before they died. For the crew's line, "why would you let the cyclops live when ruthlessness is mercy!?" You should have ended the cyclops when you had the chance. We're now dead because of you! For Polites' line "greet the world with open arms x2" Polites is basically like, don't let my death make you forget the advice I gave you, I assure you that my philosophy will help you in the future. For his mom (Anticlea's) line "Waiting... I'll stay in your heart..." She waited for years, hoping she'd see him one last time before she passed but sadly, she didn't, and the heartbreak led to her death. Despite this, she'll be with him wherever he is.
i head cannon the underworld is like "the past can hurt" because he's only seeing the souls of people who he fells pain from because Polites was his best friend his mother was waiting her whole life for him and he regrets killing the infant which is also why he doesn't see souls of people from the war he killed because he didn't care abought those people
Fun fact: Tiresias’s song, No Longer You, has a bunch of spoilers to later songs, but also the final chorus has voices chanting distorted words that correlate with future songs. Bonus Fun Fact: at 26:04 Penelope rips away his headband, and a detail you missed is that in the cyclops saga he takes Polites headband and puts it on his head. Penelope ripping the headband away represents that he is done with open arms and is now ruthless.
Not so fun fact When Odysseus mom died it was when the crew got swept away by the windbag dieing from a broken heart because she saw the ships and suddenly they're blown away by a storm so she assumed they died there
Even worse fact, in most stories, she didn't die of a broken heart. When she saw the storm and assumed Odysseus dies, she walks into the ocean, drowning herself
If you wanna cry, in some versions of the Odyssey Odysseus's mom watches his ship near Ithaca before getting blown back out to sea by the windbag and in her absolute despair over thinking she'll never see him again throws herself into the ocean to drown.
@@asmodeusobeyme1476 In some myths Poseidon created horses to impress Demeter bc he had a thing for her but when he finally succeeded in creating the 'perfect animal', he no longer had any interest in her In other variants he created horses to impress the people from Athens to make him the patron god of the city and not Athena (Athena created the olive tree and won that competition) although other sources say that he created a saltwater lake under the city which was pretty useless bc the city had plenty of access to the sea
Yeah, poseidon is actually one of the few gods that created an original animal so that’s why he has that title (I don’t remember any gods that have horse form besides demeter)
I've seen some convincing theories that Poseidon may have been based on a pre-hellenic greek god who was a literal horse. The horse thing would be a hold-over if true.
I am BEGGING you to watch Neil Illustrator's animatic of Thunder Bringer for the next saga! I promise you won't regret it! Same for when you get to the Wisdom Saga!
The Greek underworld isn't really hell, it's just kinda where dead people go. At least in early Greek mythology. Later interpretations had separate afterlives for good and bad people. But in the odyssey they're all just lumped together
The horses is more of Poseidon being the god of horses, though you're partly correct, I believe he was pissed off about using his creatures for the trick, since they claimed the wooden horse was for Poseidon and that he'd get angry if they harm it
I thought it was meant to be for Athena and replace the Paladium the Greeks stole. I mean that would piss Poseidon off regardless actually but that’s irrelevant.
@joshuafrazier3904 the trick was : pretend they went home and that they left the wooden horse as a tribute to Poseidon. Poseidon wasn't just mad because of this, he was mad because they didn't sacrifice to him either despite using his name for the trick
“Tell me about a complicated man,” Homer says in the beginning of the Odyssey (transl Emily Wilson), “Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost.” “Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course,” translates Fagles. and I think that’s the essence of Odysseus. He’s *complicated,* all twists and turns. He’s “just a man” and that contains the possibility of monstrousness within it. He’s fascinatingly, messily *human*, all wit and hubris, hope and despair, love and loss and longing, fumbling his way through a series of impossible situations with no right answers to be found. I so love that you get that! Your commentary is so fun to watch. also impressive predictions with the ghosts of the crew and Polites!
Did you know, when the crew opened the wind bag, they were within eyesight of Ithica. Literally a few miles or a few hours out from being home and being with their loved ones. Odyseuss's mom was literally standing at the dock watching them sailvin when the wind bag was opened, casting them back into the ocean and essentially a double-god powered storm. She believed she watched her son die just hours away out from home after 10-11 years being away and she (can't remember specifically but one or the other) died of a broken heart/ killed herself out of grief.
Gigi's interpretation of monster is my favorite by leagues. Depicting it like him making a deal with the devil as he comes to terms with reality, the switch from the flashback of him dropping the infant to the 'monster' holding out for the handshake i fucking LOVE it.
No-so-fun-fact, in the Odyssey, Odysseus's mother can see the fleet return during "keep your friends close". They were literal minutes away from home when the bag opened and she watched as her son and his entire fleet were consumed by the storm. She thought he was dead, so her not wanting to live without her son, stepped into the ocean and let the waves take her.
So, context about the Horse themes. Poseidon is the God of Horses, having made them from the foam of rolling waves. The Trojan Horse was Odysseus' idea, because the Trojans would think it was a surrender offering, because the gods picked sides in the Trojan War, and Poseidon was on Troy's side. So, that's an extra reason for Poseidon to be mad at Odysseus.
That is not true at all! Poseidon was very much anti-trojan, because they scammed him out after he built their walls when the city was founded. The horse was said to be an offering of peace to Athena, shaped thus because the Trojans were famous for their horses - see the epithets for 'horse-taming Hector' ect.
Elpenor is the man who died at Circe but no one not even Odysseus or his crew knew until they made it to the underworld also he was originally going to have a part in the first song but it was cut out because it came off more comedic then Jay intended Here is the lines- Ensemble: Elpenor Elpenor: I died, and nobody noticed, I died and nobody cared Odysseus: Elpenor, how did this happen? When did you meet your despair? Elpenor: I drank wine from a chalice. On top of Circe's palace. And fell and broke my neck in shame. But what do you care? So many deaths happen under your reign. The good news at the end of Odysseus adventure in the underworld he did go back to give Elpenor a proper burial
7:45 Honey, no, she was on the docks when the windbag was opened.Saw her son's Ships get Engulfed by the storm And died of grief thinking she had witnessed Thinking she witnessed her sons death
@DevinDoingstuff definitely in the Odyssey, but EPIC diverges to such a massive degree that we can't just assume stuff from there is canon. The only indicator we're given about the reason for Anticlea's death in EPIC is Odysseus saying "I took too long," which pretty heavily implies that it was a death by old age.
Basically the souls are singing the last thing that went through their minds. they cant actually see the Odysseus. So even as he was being killed by the cyclops Polites believed in Open arms...
Not sure if someone's already said this, but Odysseus's mom is played by Jorge's actual mom. And, apparently, they had to rerecord the song a couple of times cuz she was crying while recording 🫠
But also! I believe Poseidon was on the Trojan side of the war so it’s a smart strategy to lull them into a false sense of security by gifting them something that symbolizes their favored gods
@@gavinwright7076 I believe that Poseidon offered a salt water spring to the people of Athens while Athena offered olive trees. The horse thing was a separate cult title that the Athenian nobility worshiped because horse chariot races and such things. edit for more info: the creation of horses was a means by Poseidon to try and impress Demeter.
It was Polites. Every soul is saying their last thoughts. That means that as he laid on the ground bleeding out, he still looked to Odysseus, silently pleading for him to greet the world with kindness. But, sadly, neither he nor his mom could see anyone else.
*Sad fact:* all the souls singing in this song are singing their last thoughts before death took them so they cannot see Odysseus and the crew In the original story Odysseus tried to hug his mom three times only to pass through her three times due to her being a ghost before he finally processed that she was dead *Sad fact:* like what was said in “Keep your friends close” they were right there close to Ithica only for the wind bag to open blowing them miles away and his mom was alive at that point so Odysseus wouldn’t have gone through this heartbreak if the wind bag hadn’t been opened Depending on the version Odysseus mom either died from old age or she committed suicide by throwing herself into the ocean trying to reunite with Odysseus when she thought he died after the bag was open which she witnessed never finding out that Odysseus is still alive
Jorge has clarified that what the people in the underworld say is kind of like their last thoughts/mindset as they die. So it's not like his mom doesn't realize she's dead, it's more like he was on her mind until her last breath. She probably made it through her last days trying to stay alive just one more day because her son was probably just past the horizon.❤ Also,I'vee seen it mentioned in other comment, but Ody's mom was voiced by Jorge's mom. His dad has a role in one of the future sagas❤
Poseidon did not take on the form of a horse because of the Trojan Horse. Most people know that Poseidon is the god of the sea but he is actually god of the sea, horses and earthquakes
Funfact: At 26:02 Penelope rips Polites Headband off of Oddysseus because after that, he doesnt follow Polites advice "greet the world with open arms" anymore and decided that he will be mercyless in the future
In defense of Ody, he wasn’t aware of the cyclops when he entered the cave and killed the sheep. He was told by the winions there was food in the cave. Even our boy polities believed them and thought the cave was filled with food. When Ody realized his mistake he was attempting to ensure everyone walked away alive, even the cyclops. The mixing of lotus in the wine was a just in case measure, meant to simply knock out the cyclops. The real area he screwed up was when he doxxed himself lol 😂 he was blinded by anger and grief, not thinking clearly. Which Athena points out in the next song. Either way, I think Ody’s real mistake was doxxing himself. He could have walked away from that encounter without Poseidon knowing a thing, however his grief and trauma from everything got the better of him. I think it was a poet or writer who once said “I sat with my anger long enough until it told me its real name is grief” Ody wasn’t thinking clearly after that fight, unfortunately.
Yeah, even the battle with the cyclops ended pretty favorable to Ody. Thanks to his quick thinking mixing the lotus with wine only like 7 or 8 men died. Against something as big as a cyclops, even a young one? That's a miracle. And then the rage and grief got the best of him, plus wanting to follow Polites words of mercy.
In the odyssey, before the bag is opened, they're within sight of Ithaca and Odysseus's mom actually witnesses the fleet being blown away by the storm and thinks they all died, causing her to die from a broken heart. But in this version it seems like he just took too long
To be clear the extra devastating part is she didn't die when he was at war. She died after he almost made it home and then the wind bag opened. (various versions of the story differ, but she dies from everything from a broken heart after seeing his ship blown away (be it a natural one or by her own hand) and some she simply just passed away) So if he hadn't spared the cyclops or if the crew hadn't opened the wind bag they would have seen each other at least one last time before she passed. If she'd had passed while he was still at war that would still suck, but it's technically "his fault" she died without him. Also I'm sure others have said it, but all the dead people here are singing their final thoughts per Jorge. So even with how Polites died, he was still being optimistic about life. edit: your thought about the sheep isn't wrong about them being friends. They were in fact, the cyclops only friends.
IMO the goal was to make the cyclops remember the cost of being ruthless. Odysseus and his men didn’t know the sheep were the cyclop’s and yet were killed without mercy. But he didn’t want to kill the cyclops trying to show mercy but also sending the message that his killing of them comes with consequences
One thing I love about The Underworld is the subtle lyric shift between the first and final verses. In the first two verses, Ody and crew say "In The Underworld your past always seems close behind", but in the final verse it's "your past IS always close behind". Just a neat detail.
Hey Weeby, if youre looking for a cute and cozy game to play, I really recommend A Tower Full Of Cats. Its the fourth in a kind of series (A Building Full Of Cats, A Castle Full Of Cats, An Arcade Full Of Cats). The kther three are fun too, but Tower is the most polished I think. It's a cute hidden objects game where you have to find and pet all the kitties in a room. Could be fun for a game-and-chat kind of stream, or just for personal play. I wanted to recommend it because it seems up your alley.
When someone mentions how Ody didn't kill the cyclops I think of the doctor from Little Nightmares,more specifically when Mono and Six trap him in the furnace(?) and if you instead don't burn him and leave,you get an achievement that says something like "It's crueller to let him live" or smth like that
Here’s a sad fact about everyone that died in the Odyssey are stuck on the wrong side of the River Styx because they never received the proper funeral rights. (Edit) Just because I haven’t seen anyone say anything about but in one Greek Myth Penelope yes Odysseus’ wife while he is gone (I think, as far as I know it never specifies) is the mother of Pan who is one of Hermes’ kids and I believe the father of satyrs and where we get the word panic from
important detail: everything the prophet sings in this song is foreshadowing the animator puts him dancing with Penelope in "I see a song of past romance" and him kneeling next to Polites in "I see the sacrifice of man", but that's not what those lines are referring to since those are events that already happened keep all of these lines in mind as they'll make sense in Act 2
However the Prophet also sees the past and the future, so many of these lines could have a double meaning. “Song of past romance” could be Penelope and also a spoiler “Sacrifice of man” could mean the infant, Polities, Ruthlessness (Poseidon killing the crew), and another spoiler...
@@dar-nakkallig true I hadn't thought of that, that's a good point also Odysseus had already been betrayed (the wind bag) and had already been close to death in several ocasions (likely during the war, during the Cyclops saga, and during Ruthlessness)
Sometimes when I watch Gigi's anamatic, I think about the rest of the crew just watching Ody stomp around and sing to himself, and them just think he's finally gone off the deep end
When it comes to Polyphemus in the Odyssey the sheep were actually presents from Poseidon. Polyphemus was the runt among the cyclopes, and so they bullied and excluded him. The sheep were his only friends. Odysseus didn't come into his home and raid his pantry - Odysseus came in and killed his pet for food.
I think how the underworld works in Greek mythology is that all the spirits reenact their last moments for eternity as spirits down there. That’s how I interpreted it at least.
I think it's like that for early Greek mythology, but it eventually becomes like a three-way split with Elysium the resting place for heroes, Asphodel being for those who lived neither good nor bad lives, and the Fields of Punishment being for those who were evil or wronged the gods
Also, not sure if anyone’s pointed it out yet or if you figured it out yourself, but that headband Penelope pulled off of Ody? That was Polites’ headband, Ody’s been wearing it since he died to honor his friend and as a symbol of him trying to embrace his friend’s “open arms” philosophy. The moment he fully embraced the monster and gave up on open arms, his imagined form of his wife removed the headband from him. 😢
@@MrJpc1234 I’m sure we could debate that to the end of time. 😂 Not necessarily saying I disagree, not fully anyway, just that it’s a nuanced topic with no one easy answer. But even if becoming the monster was necessary, there’s still something a little sad about leaving behind something you were trying to hold onto because of a lost friend.
@@JayietheRiverWarrior True but i feel like I gotta balance the scales a bit cos the fanbase like both Polites and his ideologyalot and given they live in a very safe modern world his message of kindness and openness is very appealing.........but they do so to the point of blindness trying to ignore how the story thematically condemns Polites quite alot
@ I see what you mean, but I don’t think the narrative *entirely* condemns his view, it’s too naive for sure but not completely wrong… but backing up my point would go too much into spoilers so I’ll leave it there for now. ^^
@@MrJpc1234 But yes the musical definitely leans overall “peace is a great end goal but sometimes the world just does not make that possible and you get nothing but shitty choices and you just gotta do what you gotta do.” I do think it offers a little more hope than fully embracing the monster philosophy, but then I guess that also depends on what happens in the final saga.
When the prophet says "its no longer you" remember back in "Keep Your Friends Close" he was singing to the dream of Penelope, "So much has changed but I'm still the same, I'm the same" meaning he was the man that she fell in love with still. So the Prophet is not just referring to his looks but also that he is no longer the same Odysseus.
Very excited for your reaction for the next sagas, i think you're my favorite of the UA-camrs i saw reacting to epic, you're so funny and your laugh is contagious
"Oh ruthless is mercy upon ourselves, and deep down I know this well!" This is such a powerful line from Monster that always stuck with me. Odysseus has known that ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves even before he met Poseidon, because he demonstrates in his very first act of EPIC. Killing the Infant to spare his home and family, showing ruthlessness to others and thusly mercy to himself.
“The part where they go CAPTAIN Ruthlessness always gives me chills.” Me: *knows what’s coming in this saga* “…..WELL, have got another song you would just LOVE!!!”
I'm glad you're enjoying the musical, but a moment to appreciate the animators who do such a great job storytelling how they envisioned the songs. They really help us enjoy the musical in a way we couldn't with just the audio. Seeing Gigi animatics give me chills because of how well the angles and effects and transitions and art and design choice. Also please hurry with the Thunder saga react. And I hope you react to Gigi's "Suffering".
In Epic's version of the underworld, the spirits of the dead are trapped echoing their final thoughts. Meaning: - The crew died blaming him and came to believe in posideons "Ruthlessness is mercy" before they drowned. - Polites still believed in open arms despite being killed by the cyclops. - Odysseus' mother died waiting for him to return.
in the original story, Ody's mum rushed out to meet his ships when they were close to home (just before ruthlessness) She saw Poseidon attacking the crew from the shore and assumed her son had died And then depending on the telling she either threw herself off of the cliffs, or died from a broken heart
When the prophet says it’s “no longer you” what he means is not what Odysseus looks like. It’s in reference to how his trips will change him into someone more violent and ruthless who is now no longer himself metaphorically
Fun fact, not only was the horse Odysseus’s idea, but so was the ENTIRE Trojan war. He basically suggested it to I think menaleus, all to get Penelope’s hand in marrige from her uncle, who was Helen of Troy’s dad
So on Ody's mom: The fleet was actually in views of Ithaca when SOMEONE opened the wind bag. When they did and the storm moved in, the people on land all got to see it and blow the fleet away making them all think the storm sunk the fleet RIGHT OFF OF SHORE. When that happened, in her extreme grief, Odysseus' mom self terminated. So, yeah, Greek tragedies are messed up.
One thing I love about the song The Underworld is what it does with the "Ruthlessness vs Mercy" conflict. Those in the underworld are stuck in an infinite loop of their last thoughts when they died. The 500+ men died in pain, whilst doubting their captain, because Odysseus chose to show mercy to the cyclops. On the other hand, Polities shows that there is a benefit to seeing the world optimistically. Because even in death he viewed the world with kindness and saw the good in everything, he gets treated to a peaceful afterlife. In Polities's case, mercy couldn't prevent his death, but it made it infinetly better for him. What goes around comes around.
So, a bit of context from each song/question that you had: The Underworld: - A fair amount of people in greek mythology go to the underworld to seek answers from someone of for a quest. Ironically, as long as you don't overstay your welcome and follow the rules, Hades is pretty chill about the whole thing. - Odysseus's mom actually see her son as he got close to Ithaca... just before the wind bag was opened, and the storm blew away the ships. It's not outright stated in the Odessy how she died, it was either out of grief or she unalived herself after the ships dissapeared. No longer you: - There is a general rule when dealing with a profet: Know yourself before you ask about your future. People ask about something, and then they act without proper context only to cause tragedies. Ask Oedipus. Monster: - Nowadays we interpret "mercy" as "being good regardless", but back then it was more "Be good to you and your friend, be a monster to your enemies". So you could say that now Odysseus is acting like someone of his time.
I'm impressed you caught, "Kill all the suitors for love!" There are a bunch of distorted lyrics in that section that describe events of the rest of the story, but they're hard to decipher.
What makes it all worse too is that in Ancient Greek beliefs, burial is one of the most sacred acts. If you don’t get buried your soul will not rest, stuck on the shore of the river Styx. Meaning polities and all the other crew who died can never truly rest. Adding another layer of impact to the consequences of Odysseus’ actions.
Ody's mom died not just while he was gone, she threw herself into the sea to go with him because his ship was in sight of Ithaca and presumably destroyed by the storm
I think I give Ody sympathy points. When he went into the cyclops cave, nobody knew it was occupado and they were all going to starve if they didn't take food. Then the cyclops threatened to kill everyone (succeeded in killing some) so Ody had to fight back. The biggest mistake he did was revealing his name as it cost the lives of most of his crew, but in the heat of the moment he wanted the cyclops to feel shame when he chooses violence over peace. So far, his actions as far as we know (besides the name blurb) are for the best survivability chances for everyone.
That last shot in No Longer You, I’d like to imagine that the “new” Odysseus flying past him is kind of a way of saying that “old” Odysseus will leave with that mindset of the “new” Odysseus
I might be wrong but the prophet is strictly only talking about the future about the sirens, scylla, mutiny, and zeus respectively. So I don't get why the animator would show polites when it should be the 6 torchbearers that tiresias was talking about.
Odysseus is very smart in the moment however he never thinks about the long term consequences of his actions and decisions. The whole Trojan war started because he proposed the oath that whoever Helen chose to marry all other suitors would defend that marriage. Great in the short term since he was also able to get a meeting with Penelope, Helen's cousin, as a result of offering this oath to Helen's father. However, now he and every other suitor there was honor-bound to uphold that oath, so when Helen was whisked away to Troy, the oath went into effect and forced everyone to come to support Menelaus' war on Troy. Even though, Odysseus wasn't a suitor of Helen's, he still had to go with the oath, and he didn't want to leave Penelope and their baby son Telemachus, he was forced to. Then there's a lot of instances in the Odyssey where he does something reckless but because of his wits he's able to get himself out of it, but not necessarily all of his men. He's a common example in Greek tragedies of the hero who has hubris, but because of his wit has not personally suffered much consequences because of it. However, when you are dealing with the Greek gods there's only so much wit can take you. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
23:30 Poseidon taking the appearance of a horse actually comes from it being one of his sacred animals. Most gods have animals associated to them ( Poseidon has the horse and dolphin and Cretan bull specifically, Zeus has the eagle and bull, Hera has the peacock and cow, Athena has the owl and goose, so on and so forth) and Anniflama actually implements a LOT of these symbolics in her animations. The founding myth of Athene says that Athena and Poseidon were fighting to decide who would be the patron saint of the Greek capital and who would name it. They both offered the people a gift and let them pick their favorite. Athena gave them the olive tree and Poseidon gave the horse. In the end they chose Athena and called the city Athene. This remained a sore spot for Poseidon.
The cyclops case is really complex He didn't know the sheep were owned once he found out he attempted to hash it out and leave He used the lotus as a pre emptive measure to protect his and his men lives Maiming the cyclops was the only way to leave and save the rest of his men Killing him had no immediate reason hence why he didn't do it Grief and anger caused him telling the cyclops off
Poseidon is actually the lord of all horses in greek mythology. He modeled them after crashing waves. It just so happens to also reflect the trojan horse
not-so-fun-fact: Odysseus's mom is voiced by Jorge's actual mom too.
I’d say it’s a fun fact…it’s fun seeing people react to learning that fact-
BEAUTIFUL ❤
@@corevo7570agree
He will always have this duet? idk what its called. But he will always have this. Imortalizing his mom kinda
Didn't it take, like, a ton of retries for her to get through the lines without losing it?
A really sad
fact is that the souls in the underworld are actually singing their final thoughts so his mom was still thinking of her son as she died
to make this fact a bit more beautiful:
polites` final thoughts are still how he views the world as a beautiful and positive thing
ok now i`ll continue to ball my eyes out
A maybe less sad fact is that this means that when Polites was actively dying, he still believed that the world is amazing
And now, allow me to add a _sadder_ fact:
I learned from another commentor a while back that she could actually see the fleet approaching Ithaca when the Wind Bag was opened and the storm sent them away, and she thought Odysseus was killed by said storm. She died of heartbreak because of it.
@@phillipnoceratulmaybe his death was too quick and sudden that he didnt have the time to change his mind 😂
@@Spectralyzed gods be damned
Hades during the Underworld Saga: Who's this weird lost man. Why is he here.
He’s like, “Why is this man and his crew disrupting my souls? Everything was fine. The usual wailing, but normal. Tf is he doing here??”
at this point hades is listening to Odysseus whole story like a podcast
@@icemagiciangh "SPOT ! Where in Tartarus were you when this one went in!?"
Hades be like "Nope, not getting involved in all that"
“Who is this weird lost man and why is he singing?” (Bonus Hades lets him pass through without any trouble because “I too love and miss my wife” who’s name is strangely close to Penelope)
GIGI MAKING PENELOPE PULL OFF POLITES' HEADBAND TO REPRESENT HIM CLOSING HIS OPEN ARMS IS STILL SO SAVAGE
Just started the video so idk if she saw this detail, but I can never get over how most, if not all reacters never notice this detail. It’s like Poseidon dropping the baby in Anni’s animation all over again.
@@ConceptOfCreat10n Yeah, I've been a huge Gigi fan since I got into the fandom around when the first saga officially dropped, and she was one of the foundational animators for the series. It's been crazy to see all the small details she laid the groundwork for slowly come to fruition!!
OOOOOOOOOOOH. I was always so confused on that part, but that makes so much sense! Dam, these animators smart.
YES, when he took Polites headband in the beginning he was choosing to live to his philosophy, and when Penelope took it off it was him letting go of it and becoming ruthless
@@patchworkgolemi remember her doing six the musical animatics
12:00 So as I recall, the thing with prophets in greek myths is that they didn't tell you a *possible* future, but one that was already set in stone. Tireseus is basically saying, "Sorry, that ship has sailed. This is what you get instead."
but also very vague and so no matter how much you try to change it, the prophecy will happen whether it happens one way or another
Imagine being the smartest person in the room your whole life. Imagine being so great that you didn't lose a single soldier in a 10 year long war. Imagine what that would do to your ego. Why wouldn't you be a little full of yourself? Why wouldn't you have a little hubris? The Odyssey is basically about Odysseus' hubris and the consequences of that.
Except, while this is absolutely true of the original, it clearly isn't really thought of much in Epic, where Jorge was more interested in a "ruthlessness" angle than any real themes of pride.
... I mean, sure, its in Thunder Bringer, but im not entirely sure what Zeus is even referring to at that point - hell, the BIGGEST point of Ego from OG Odysseus is when he specifically called out Poseidon after harming Polythemus and blinding him, in comparison to this one who was just lashing out after the trauma of losing his best friend.
... Like, i honestly don't think EPIC Odysseus is guilty of much Pride as much as bad circumstances and being surrounded by bad actors that he makes the mistake of... Uh, trusting, and trying to reason with, (until later on when he goes off the walls in the next saga) and if it WERE the intention to make his pride the fatal flaw of this character, then one has to question the decision to (SPOILERS)
Have him outright best a god in combat. If pride is his downfall, the lesson he should've needed to learn was to humble himself. It was clearly just about Ruthlessness though.
Not sure how i actually FEEL about that personally until we see the end of the musical, but i don't think you can really pull in the original story to talk about this retelling given how different the context is in a lot of the scenes.
@matthewbibby8921 the last song really did change things. Turns out he wasn't prideful, he was just correct when he said "I am neither man nor mythical"
I agree. It actually took me hyperfocusing for a couple weeks to actually identify Odysseus's hubris because it just feels kind of justified or accompanied by other factors that help mask it.
@@matthewbibby8921Odysseus’s pride is subtle in Epic but it’s there if you look. Look at the fact that he talks to gods like they’re people, calls Athena his friend and insults and talks back to her, arrives uninvited into the realm of Aeolus and asks for a favor, it gets shut down quick but he pulls the “I’m a god like you” on Circe, and winning the fight doesn’t nullify the fact that he was truly arrogant enough to think that he (a mere mortal) could best a god
Odysseus, the "gifted" kid suddenly realizing that the rest of the world doesn't play by his rules
the whole time hades just sighs while thinking: "why do all the whiny ones sing ballads in my domain?"
“Damn Imagine being separated from your beloved wife and belting out ‘woe is me!’ angst fest ballads- couldn’t be me!”
@@itzrainy_outside4450said Orpheus
@anonyousperson And Hades during the half of the year when Persephone is on the surface.
Hades: If I had a drachm for every time a mortal started singing ballads in my domain, I'd have two drachm which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
@@MrSmile078 Can we count Persephone and Grace in Stray Gods? They start singing before Odysseus joins them.
I think Gigi's Monster animatic is my favorite for any song by any animator. I love the the way the Monster is portrayed and the way Ody pulls it into himself.
Gigi's animatics could honestly be used for the entire musical, she's told such a consistent and heartbreaking story in the art.
8:30 swear to god no matter how many times i listen to the underworld the "I took too long" line always gets me sobbing you just can hear the heartbreak in his voice so clear
REAL and the harmonies when they're both singing waiting. I'm literally sobbing.
See me and my roommate ruined this line for us because I quoted it in the exact same tone when he accidentally let his ice cream melt, so we cope whenever we listen to this by saying “my ice cream melted :(” in a jokingly sad voice.
Every time my eyes start stinging. Dam tear ducts
So... a little (non-spoilery) info about the song The Underworld. Jorge stated that the lines the souls are singing are their last thoughts before they died.
For the crew's line, "why would you let the cyclops live when ruthlessness is mercy!?" You should have ended the cyclops when you had the chance. We're now dead because of you!
For Polites' line "greet the world with open arms x2" Polites is basically like, don't let my death make you forget the advice I gave you, I assure you that my philosophy will help you in the future.
For his mom (Anticlea's) line "Waiting... I'll stay in your heart..." She waited for years, hoping she'd see him one last time before she passed but sadly, she didn't, and the heartbreak led to her death. Despite this, she'll be with him wherever he is.
i head cannon the underworld is like "the past can hurt" because he's only seeing the souls of people who he fells pain from because Polites was his best friend his mother was waiting her whole life for him and he regrets killing the infant which is also why he doesn't see souls of people from the war he killed because he didn't care abought those people
I'm the monster rawr rawr rawr
I am the monster. I am the monster. I am the monster rawr rawr rawr
How is this not the top comment???
Am I the monster⁉️🧐 I’m the monster rawr rawr rawr 🦖 🦖
Fun fact: Tiresias’s song, No Longer You, has a bunch of spoilers to later songs, but also the final chorus has voices chanting distorted words that correlate with future songs.
Bonus Fun Fact: at 26:04 Penelope rips away his headband, and a detail you missed is that in the cyclops saga he takes Polites headband and puts it on his head. Penelope ripping the headband away represents that he is done with open arms and is now ruthless.
Not so fun fact
When Odysseus mom died it was when the crew got swept away by the windbag dieing from a broken heart because she saw the ships and suddenly they're blown away by a storm so she assumed they died there
That actually ruined my day, thanks!
Even worse fact, in most stories, she didn't die of a broken heart.
When she saw the storm and assumed Odysseus dies, she walks into the ocean, drowning herself
@@evanvazquez2278 damn, she really did get in the water
@@hexap3410You. Get in the water. Phone on counter and get in the water
(Thank you for making me both cry and laugh 😭🤣)
"play stupid games, win stupid prizes"
Eury and the rest of the crew, not that far in the future: ...
*cough*cows*cough* *cough*
What? I didn't say anything
If you wanna cry, in some versions of the Odyssey Odysseus's mom watches his ship near Ithaca before getting blown back out to sea by the windbag and in her absolute despair over thinking she'll never see him again throws herself into the ocean to drown.
Oh. No. For some reason, poseiden is also the god of horses. I've still yet to find a reason why. He just thinks they're neat I guess
He made them as a gift for Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, and as a gift for Athens
@@asmodeusobeyme1476 In some myths Poseidon created horses to impress Demeter bc he had a thing for her but when he finally succeeded in creating the 'perfect animal', he no longer had any interest in her
In other variants he created horses to impress the people from Athens to make him the patron god of the city and not Athena (Athena created the olive tree and won that competition) although other sources say that he created a saltwater lake under the city which was pretty useless bc the city had plenty of access to the sea
Yeah, poseidon is actually one of the few gods that created an original animal so that’s why he has that title (I don’t remember any gods that have horse form besides demeter)
I've seen some convincing theories that Poseidon may have been based on a pre-hellenic greek god who was a literal horse. The horse thing would be a hold-over if true.
Horses just be his hyperfixation.
I just realized that out of the big three, Hades is the only one that doesn't have beef with Odysseus.
That's because Hades is one of the few reasonable Greek gods.
I mean I don’t think Zeus has any particular beef with Odysseus either. He just is kind of an asshole to everyone.
I am BEGGING you to watch Neil Illustrator's animatic of Thunder Bringer for the next saga! I promise you won't regret it! Same for when you get to the Wisdom Saga!
The Greek underworld isn't really hell, it's just kinda where dead people go. At least in early Greek mythology. Later interpretations had separate afterlives for good and bad people. But in the odyssey they're all just lumped together
The horses is more of Poseidon being the god of horses, though you're partly correct, I believe he was pissed off about using his creatures for the trick, since they claimed the wooden horse was for Poseidon and that he'd get angry if they harm it
I thought it was meant to be for Athena and replace the Paladium the Greeks stole. I mean that would piss Poseidon off regardless actually but that’s irrelevant.
@joshuafrazier3904 the trick was : pretend they went home and that they left the wooden horse as a tribute to Poseidon.
Poseidon wasn't just mad because of this, he was mad because they didn't sacrifice to him either despite using his name for the trick
“Tell me about a complicated man,” Homer says in the beginning of the Odyssey (transl Emily Wilson), “Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost.”
“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns
driven time and again off course,” translates Fagles.
and I think that’s the essence of Odysseus. He’s *complicated,* all twists and turns. He’s “just a man” and that contains the possibility of monstrousness within it. He’s fascinatingly, messily *human*, all wit and hubris, hope and despair, love and loss and longing, fumbling his way through a series of impossible situations with no right answers to be found.
I so love that you get that! Your commentary is so fun to watch. also impressive predictions with the ghosts of the crew and Polites!
Did you know, when the crew opened the wind bag, they were within eyesight of Ithica. Literally a few miles or a few hours out from being home and being with their loved ones. Odyseuss's mom was literally standing at the dock watching them sailvin when the wind bag was opened, casting them back into the ocean and essentially a double-god powered storm. She believed she watched her son die just hours away out from home after 10-11 years being away and she (can't remember specifically but one or the other) died of a broken heart/ killed herself out of grief.
1:11 Casper fox fans, we have someone who rolls NAT 20s here
I think Casper might have met his match
Damn, still less insane that _that_ NAT 20 from Casper about the animation of Song 27
Casper's Prophetic abilities has competition lol
Nah but Casper and The Beginning Of Song 32? That's like a Nat 100
Hes got competition now xD
When you get to thunder saga, you’ll see that he really accepted his monster side
Something tells me she's gonna love the second song lol
And in the vengeance saga
Gigi's interpretation of monster is my favorite by leagues. Depicting it like him making a deal with the devil as he comes to terms with reality, the switch from the flashback of him dropping the infant to the 'monster' holding out for the handshake i fucking LOVE it.
14:30 fun fact, we call this the angry owl
Odysseus: I'll became the monster Me: raw raw raw
No-so-fun-fact, in the Odyssey, Odysseus's mother can see the fleet return during "keep your friends close". They were literal minutes away from home when the bag opened and she watched as her son and his entire fleet were consumed by the storm. She thought he was dead, so her not wanting to live without her son, stepped into the ocean and let the waves take her.
So, context about the Horse themes. Poseidon is the God of Horses, having made them from the foam of rolling waves. The Trojan Horse was Odysseus' idea, because the Trojans would think it was a surrender offering, because the gods picked sides in the Trojan War, and Poseidon was on Troy's side.
So, that's an extra reason for Poseidon to be mad at Odysseus.
That is not true at all! Poseidon was very much anti-trojan, because they scammed him out after he built their walls when the city was founded. The horse was said to be an offering of peace to Athena, shaped thus because the Trojans were famous for their horses - see the epithets for 'horse-taming Hector' ect.
3:09 subtle foreshadowing..
Elpenor is the man who died at Circe but no one not even Odysseus or his crew knew until they made it to the underworld also he was originally going to have a part in the first song but it was cut out because it came off more comedic then Jay intended
Here is the lines-
Ensemble: Elpenor
Elpenor: I died, and nobody noticed, I died and nobody cared
Odysseus: Elpenor, how did this happen? When did you meet your despair?
Elpenor: I drank wine from a chalice. On top of Circe's palace. And fell and broke my neck in shame. But what do you care? So many deaths happen under your reign.
The good news at the end of Odysseus adventure in the underworld he did go back to give Elpenor a proper burial
7:45 Honey, no, she was on the docks when the windbag was opened.Saw her son's Ships get Engulfed by the storm And died of grief thinking she had witnessed Thinking she witnessed her sons death
Supposedly walking into the waters
This is not canon to EPIC
@@aadityayanamandra8846though supposedly in the source material
@DevinDoingstuff definitely in the Odyssey, but EPIC diverges to such a massive degree that we can't just assume stuff from there is canon. The only indicator we're given about the reason for Anticlea's death in EPIC is Odysseus saying "I took too long," which pretty heavily implies that it was a death by old age.
@@aadityayanamandra8846in god games Aphrodite says she, “died of a broken heart”.
Basically the souls are singing the last thing that went through their minds. they cant actually see the Odysseus. So even as he was being killed by the cyclops Polites believed in Open arms...
Not sure if someone's already said this, but Odysseus's mom is played by Jorge's actual mom. And, apparently, they had to rerecord the song a couple of times cuz she was crying while recording 🫠
Hephaestus is voiced by jorge's dad
23:45 actually, that's because Poseidon created horses! Or anything with hooves ig
isnt because he rides a seahorse or sumthing?
But also! I believe Poseidon was on the Trojan side of the war so it’s a smart strategy to lull them into a false sense of security by gifting them something that symbolizes their favored gods
@@gloomcat3867I'm pretty sure he created horses when he was fighting for the right to be the patron god of Athens against Athena
@@gloomcat3867 Poseidon created horses as part of a contest Athena created an olive tree but the people deemed the olive tree to be better.
@@gavinwright7076 I believe that Poseidon offered a salt water spring to the people of Athens while Athena offered olive trees. The horse thing was a separate cult title that the Athenian nobility worshiped because horse chariot races and such things.
edit for more info: the creation of horses was a means by Poseidon to try and impress Demeter.
It was Polites. Every soul is saying their last thoughts. That means that as he laid on the ground bleeding out, he still looked to Odysseus, silently pleading for him to greet the world with kindness.
But, sadly, neither he nor his mom could see anyone else.
*Sad fact:* all the souls singing in this song are singing their last thoughts before death took them so they cannot see Odysseus and the crew
In the original story Odysseus tried to hug his mom three times only to pass through her three times due to her being a ghost before he finally processed that she was dead
*Sad fact:* like what was said in “Keep your friends close” they were right there close to Ithica only for the wind bag to open blowing them miles away and his mom was alive at that point so Odysseus wouldn’t have gone through this heartbreak if the wind bag hadn’t been opened
Depending on the version Odysseus mom either died from old age or she committed suicide by throwing herself into the ocean trying to reunite with Odysseus when she thought he died after the bag was open which she witnessed never finding out that Odysseus is still alive
the reson the prophet is not explaining fully is because he can't give a clear answer cause he's seeing everything at once
jorge confirmed all the spirits r saying their final thoughts before they died
Jorge has clarified that what the people in the underworld say is kind of like their last thoughts/mindset as they die. So it's not like his mom doesn't realize she's dead, it's more like he was on her mind until her last breath. She probably made it through her last days trying to stay alive just one more day because her son was probably just past the horizon.❤
Also,I'vee seen it mentioned in other comment, but Ody's mom was voiced by Jorge's mom. His dad has a role in one of the future sagas❤
His sister also has a role
Jorge out here immortalizing his whole family in his globally successful musical!
Fun Fact: Had they not opened the wind bag Odysseus woukd have gotten home just in time to see his mother
If Ody had brought Eury instead of Polites to the lotus eaters he probably wouldve avoided this whole mess.
Had they not opened the bag, Poseidon would find them right away, and Get in the Water would happen instead of Ruthlessness.
Poseidon did not take on the form of a horse because of the Trojan Horse. Most people know that Poseidon is the god of the sea but he is actually god of the sea, horses and earthquakes
Funfact: At 26:02 Penelope rips Polites Headband off of Oddysseus because after that, he doesnt follow Polites advice "greet the world with open arms" anymore and decided that he will be mercyless in the future
In defense of Ody, he wasn’t aware of the cyclops when he entered the cave and killed the sheep. He was told by the winions there was food in the cave. Even our boy polities believed them and thought the cave was filled with food. When Ody realized his mistake he was attempting to ensure everyone walked away alive, even the cyclops. The mixing of lotus in the wine was a just in case measure, meant to simply knock out the cyclops. The real area he screwed up was when he doxxed himself lol 😂 he was blinded by anger and grief, not thinking clearly. Which Athena points out in the next song. Either way, I think Ody’s real mistake was doxxing himself. He could have walked away from that encounter without Poseidon knowing a thing, however his grief and trauma from everything got the better of him. I think it was a poet or writer who once said “I sat with my anger long enough until it told me its real name is grief” Ody wasn’t thinking clearly after that fight, unfortunately.
Yeah, even the battle with the cyclops ended pretty favorable to Ody. Thanks to his quick thinking mixing the lotus with wine only like 7 or 8 men died. Against something as big as a cyclops, even a young one? That's a miracle. And then the rage and grief got the best of him, plus wanting to follow Polites words of mercy.
For those who haven't seen the thunder saga prepare for bangers!
Winions do we have another prophet on our hands?
Mentions the men and "Captain!"
Polites
AND "imagine like seeing your mom down there"
In the odyssey, before the bag is opened, they're within sight of Ithaca and Odysseus's mom actually witnesses the fleet being blown away by the storm and thinks they all died, causing her to die from a broken heart. But in this version it seems like he just took too long
Just a Man is a thesis (I think this is the right word) of the entire musical. It appears in every saga, some more subtle than others.
To be clear the extra devastating part is she didn't die when he was at war. She died after he almost made it home and then the wind bag opened. (various versions of the story differ, but she dies from everything from a broken heart after seeing his ship blown away (be it a natural one or by her own hand) and some she simply just passed away) So if he hadn't spared the cyclops or if the crew hadn't opened the wind bag they would have seen each other at least one last time before she passed. If she'd had passed while he was still at war that would still suck, but it's technically "his fault" she died without him.
Also I'm sure others have said it, but all the dead people here are singing their final thoughts per Jorge. So even with how Polites died, he was still being optimistic about life.
edit: your thought about the sheep isn't wrong about them being friends. They were in fact, the cyclops only friends.
The original Hades is the most reasonable of his siblings while Poseidon is the most wrathful
IMO the goal was to make the cyclops remember the cost of being ruthless. Odysseus and his men didn’t know the sheep were the cyclop’s and yet were killed without mercy. But he didn’t want to kill the cyclops trying to show mercy but also sending the message that his killing of them comes with consequences
It really is about him using the line between man and monster as a jump rope
One thing I love about The Underworld is the subtle lyric shift between the first and final verses. In the first two verses, Ody and crew say "In The Underworld your past always seems close behind", but in the final verse it's "your past IS always close behind". Just a neat detail.
3:20 that NAT 20 prediction omg
Hey Weeby, if youre looking for a cute and cozy game to play, I really recommend A Tower Full Of Cats. Its the fourth in a kind of series (A Building Full Of Cats, A Castle Full Of Cats, An Arcade Full Of Cats). The kther three are fun too, but Tower is the most polished I think. It's a cute hidden objects game where you have to find and pet all the kitties in a room. Could be fun for a game-and-chat kind of stream, or just for personal play. I wanted to recommend it because it seems up your alley.
"Waiting" still fucking hurts so much cuz it just reminds me that some day I will lose my own mother and that hurts.
When someone mentions how Ody didn't kill the cyclops I think of the doctor from Little Nightmares,more specifically when Mono and Six trap him in the furnace(?) and if you instead don't burn him and leave,you get an achievement that says something like "It's crueller to let him live" or smth like that
Here’s a sad fact about everyone that died in the Odyssey are stuck on the wrong side of the River Styx because they never received the proper funeral rights.
(Edit)
Just because I haven’t seen anyone say anything about but in one Greek Myth Penelope yes Odysseus’ wife while he is gone (I think, as far as I know it never specifies) is the mother of Pan who is one of Hermes’ kids and I believe the father of satyrs and where we get the word panic from
important detail: everything the prophet sings in this song is foreshadowing
the animator puts him dancing with Penelope in "I see a song of past romance" and him kneeling next to Polites in "I see the sacrifice of man", but that's not what those lines are referring to since those are events that already happened
keep all of these lines in mind as they'll make sense in Act 2
However the Prophet also sees the past and the future, so many of these lines could have a double meaning.
“Song of past romance” could be Penelope and also a spoiler
“Sacrifice of man” could mean the infant, Polities, Ruthlessness (Poseidon killing the crew), and another spoiler...
@@dar-nakkallig true I hadn't thought of that, that's a good point
also Odysseus had already been betrayed (the wind bag) and had already been close to death in several ocasions (likely during the war, during the Cyclops saga, and during Ruthlessness)
I love how jorge added all of his family into this ( this isn’t really a spoiler it’s more of a fun fact )
Sometimes when I watch Gigi's anamatic, I think about the rest of the crew just watching Ody stomp around and sing to himself, and them just think he's finally gone off the deep end
When it comes to Polyphemus in the Odyssey the sheep were actually presents from Poseidon. Polyphemus was the runt among the cyclopes, and so they bullied and excluded him. The sheep were his only friends. Odysseus didn't come into his home and raid his pantry - Odysseus came in and killed his pet for food.
I love that GiGi brought back the design of the Monster from Just A Man!
All the souls in the underworld sing their last thoughts while they were alive
Zeus told Ody right at the beginning. "The blood on your hands is something you won't lose. All you can choose is whose."
Sad fact: whatever the ghost say in the underworld song are the last thoughts they had… so Polities died still believing in open arms😭😭😭
👹👹👹THE TRAUMA BEGINS👹👹👹
I think how the underworld works in Greek mythology is that all the spirits reenact their last moments for eternity as spirits down there. That’s how I interpreted it at least.
I think it's like that for early Greek mythology, but it eventually becomes like a three-way split with Elysium the resting place for heroes, Asphodel being for those who lived neither good nor bad lives, and the Fields of Punishment being for those who were evil or wronged the gods
@@anonyouspersonfairly certain the fields of punishment are a Percy Jackson only thing and those guys are actually just in Tartarus
@@joshuafrazier3904probably but Tartarus makes sense now that I looked back on the other books Ive read on Greek mythology
23:25
the reference is simpler, poseidon is not only the god of the seas, he is also the god and creator of all equine creatures.(horses)
Also, not sure if anyone’s pointed it out yet or if you figured it out yourself, but that headband Penelope pulled off of Ody? That was Polites’ headband, Ody’s been wearing it since he died to honor his friend and as a symbol of him trying to embrace his friend’s “open arms” philosophy. The moment he fully embraced the monster and gave up on open arms, his imagined form of his wife removed the headband from him. 😢
Well considering how many men that philosophy got killed no matter how well meaning i say good
@@MrJpc1234 I’m sure we could debate that to the end of time. 😂 Not necessarily saying I disagree, not fully anyway, just that it’s a nuanced topic with no one easy answer. But even if becoming the monster was necessary, there’s still something a little sad about leaving behind something you were trying to hold onto because of a lost friend.
@@JayietheRiverWarrior True but i feel like I gotta balance the scales a bit cos the fanbase like both Polites and his ideologyalot and given they live in a very safe modern world his message of kindness and openness is very appealing.........but they do so to the point of blindness trying to ignore how the story thematically condemns Polites quite alot
@ I see what you mean, but I don’t think the narrative *entirely* condemns his view, it’s too naive for sure but not completely wrong… but backing up my point would go too much into spoilers so I’ll leave it there for now. ^^
@@MrJpc1234 But yes the musical definitely leans overall “peace is a great end goal but sometimes the world just does not make that possible and you get nothing but shitty choices and you just gotta do what you gotta do.” I do think it offers a little more hope than fully embracing the monster philosophy, but then I guess that also depends on what happens in the final saga.
When the prophet says "its no longer you" remember back in "Keep Your Friends Close" he was singing to the dream of Penelope, "So much has changed but I'm still the same, I'm the same" meaning he was the man that she fell in love with still. So the Prophet is not just referring to his looks but also that he is no longer the same Odysseus.
Very excited for your reaction for the next sagas, i think you're my favorite of the UA-camrs i saw reacting to epic, you're so funny and your laugh is contagious
This saga is peak
"Oh ruthless is mercy upon ourselves, and deep down I know this well!" This is such a powerful line from Monster that always stuck with me.
Odysseus has known that ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves even before he met Poseidon, because he demonstrates in his very first act of EPIC.
Killing the Infant to spare his home and family, showing ruthlessness to others and thusly mercy to himself.
“The part where they go CAPTAIN Ruthlessness always gives me chills.”
Me: *knows what’s coming in this saga* “…..WELL, have got another song you would just LOVE!!!”
I'm glad you're enjoying the musical, but a moment to appreciate the animators who do such a great job storytelling how they envisioned the songs. They really help us enjoy the musical in a way we couldn't with just the audio. Seeing Gigi animatics give me chills because of how well the angles and effects and transitions and art and design choice. Also please hurry with the Thunder saga react. And I hope you react to Gigi's "Suffering".
In Epic's version of the underworld, the spirits of the dead are trapped echoing their final thoughts.
Meaning:
- The crew died blaming him and came to believe in posideons "Ruthlessness is mercy" before they drowned.
- Polites still believed in open arms despite being killed by the cyclops.
- Odysseus' mother died waiting for him to return.
I just realized that out of the big three, Hades is literally the only one that doesn't have beef with Odysseus.
in the original story, Ody's mum rushed out to meet his ships when they were close to home (just before ruthlessness)
She saw Poseidon attacking the crew from the shore and assumed her son had died
And then depending on the telling she either threw herself off of the cliffs, or died from a broken heart
When the prophet says it’s “no longer you” what he means is not what Odysseus looks like. It’s in reference to how his trips will change him into someone more violent and ruthless who is now no longer himself metaphorically
4:56 ik she’s kinda predicting but why is it so accurate
Fun fact, not only was the horse Odysseus’s idea, but so was the ENTIRE Trojan war. He basically suggested it to I think menaleus, all to get Penelope’s hand in marrige from her uncle, who was Helen of Troy’s dad
So on Ody's mom: The fleet was actually in views of Ithaca when SOMEONE opened the wind bag. When they did and the storm moved in, the people on land all got to see it and blow the fleet away making them all think the storm sunk the fleet RIGHT OFF OF SHORE. When that happened, in her extreme grief, Odysseus' mom self terminated. So, yeah, Greek tragedies are messed up.
MY FAVORITE SAGAA
Next saga is Going to rock your boat…. Puns intended
And if you like screams and death~ OHHOHOHOHOHHOHOHOHO >:3
I'm so excited for you to watch the other sagas, is like I'm rewatching it all again, I'm just super excited every time you post an epic video!
His trail is MUCH longer than that... thunder rumbles menacingly
One thing I love about the song The Underworld is what it does with the "Ruthlessness vs Mercy" conflict. Those in the underworld are stuck in an infinite loop of their last thoughts when they died. The 500+ men died in pain, whilst doubting their captain, because Odysseus chose to show mercy to the cyclops. On the other hand, Polities shows that there is a benefit to seeing the world optimistically. Because even in death he viewed the world with kindness and saw the good in everything, he gets treated to a peaceful afterlife. In Polities's case, mercy couldn't prevent his death, but it made it infinetly better for him. What goes around comes around.
Im so happy youre checking these out because I just got into Epic the Musical too!
So, a bit of context from each song/question that you had:
The Underworld:
- A fair amount of people in greek mythology go to the underworld to seek answers from someone of for a quest. Ironically, as long as you don't overstay your welcome and follow the rules, Hades is pretty chill about the whole thing.
- Odysseus's mom actually see her son as he got close to Ithaca... just before the wind bag was opened, and the storm blew away the ships. It's not outright stated in the Odessy how she died, it was either out of grief or she unalived herself after the ships dissapeared.
No longer you:
- There is a general rule when dealing with a profet: Know yourself before you ask about your future. People ask about something, and then they act without proper context only to cause tragedies. Ask Oedipus.
Monster:
- Nowadays we interpret "mercy" as "being good regardless", but back then it was more "Be good to you and your friend, be a monster to your enemies". So you could say that now Odysseus is acting like someone of his time.
I'm impressed you caught, "Kill all the suitors for love!" There are a bunch of distorted lyrics in that section that describe events of the rest of the story, but they're hard to decipher.
What makes it all worse too is that in Ancient Greek beliefs, burial is one of the most sacred acts. If you don’t get buried your soul will not rest, stuck on the shore of the river Styx. Meaning polities and all the other crew who died can never truly rest. Adding another layer of impact to the consequences of Odysseus’ actions.
Ody's mom died not just while he was gone, she threw herself into the sea to go with him because his ship was in sight of Ithaca and presumably destroyed by the storm
I think I give Ody sympathy points. When he went into the cyclops cave, nobody knew it was occupado and they were all going to starve if they didn't take food. Then the cyclops threatened to kill everyone (succeeded in killing some) so Ody had to fight back. The biggest mistake he did was revealing his name as it cost the lives of most of his crew, but in the heat of the moment he wanted the cyclops to feel shame when he chooses violence over peace. So far, his actions as far as we know (besides the name blurb) are for the best survivability chances for everyone.
That last shot in No Longer You, I’d like to imagine that the “new” Odysseus flying past him is kind of a way of saying that “old” Odysseus will leave with that mindset of the “new” Odysseus
I might be wrong but the prophet is strictly only talking about the future about the sirens, scylla, mutiny, and zeus respectively. So I don't get why the animator would show polites when it should be the 6 torchbearers that tiresias was talking about.
Odysseus is very smart in the moment however he never thinks about the long term consequences of his actions and decisions. The whole Trojan war started because he proposed the oath that whoever Helen chose to marry all other suitors would defend that marriage. Great in the short term since he was also able to get a meeting with Penelope, Helen's cousin, as a result of offering this oath to Helen's father. However, now he and every other suitor there was honor-bound to uphold that oath, so when Helen was whisked away to Troy, the oath went into effect and forced everyone to come to support Menelaus' war on Troy. Even though, Odysseus wasn't a suitor of Helen's, he still had to go with the oath, and he didn't want to leave Penelope and their baby son Telemachus, he was forced to. Then there's a lot of instances in the Odyssey where he does something reckless but because of his wits he's able to get himself out of it, but not necessarily all of his men. He's a common example in Greek tragedies of the hero who has hubris, but because of his wit has not personally suffered much consequences because of it. However, when you are dealing with the Greek gods there's only so much wit can take you. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
23:30 Poseidon taking the appearance of a horse actually comes from it being one of his sacred animals. Most gods have animals associated to them ( Poseidon has the horse and dolphin and Cretan bull specifically, Zeus has the eagle and bull, Hera has the peacock and cow, Athena has the owl and goose, so on and so forth) and Anniflama actually implements a LOT of these symbolics in her animations.
The founding myth of Athene says that Athena and Poseidon were fighting to decide who would be the patron saint of the Greek capital and who would name it. They both offered the people a gift and let them pick their favorite. Athena gave them the olive tree and Poseidon gave the horse. In the end they chose Athena and called the city Athene. This remained a sore spot for Poseidon.
The cyclops case is really complex
He didn't know the sheep were owned once he found out he attempted to hash it out and leave
He used the lotus as a pre emptive measure to protect his and his men lives
Maiming the cyclops was the only way to leave and save the rest of his men
Killing him had no immediate reason hence why he didn't do it
Grief and anger caused him telling the cyclops off
Poseidon is actually the lord of all horses in greek mythology. He modeled them after crashing waves. It just so happens to also reflect the trojan horse