BBC
by Helen Langdon
There’s a definite sense of sadness coming into this episode of Atlantis. It’s been four months since the season paused halfway through, and three months since the BBC told us that we’re not getting any more episodes. After these seven, there’s to be no more broad rewriting of Greek mythology on BBC One’s Saturday nights. And that’s disappointing, given how much better this season has been.
There’s a definite sense of sadness coming into this episode of Atlantis. It’s been four months since the season paused halfway through, and three months since the BBC told us that we’re not getting any more episodes. After these seven, there’s to be no more broad rewriting of Greek mythology on BBC One’s Saturday nights. And that’s disappointing, given how much better this season has been.
The “previously” section of this episode is pretty much essential – following her near-death experience, Ariadne decided to marry Jason. But, as we see in this episode, that’s not a popular move. Ariadne has a new military advisor with a distracting accent who’s fully set against it, and so the Oracle goes off to the woods to consult with the gods. And all is well! The gods have blessed Ariadne and Jason’s marriage! But that’s the answer Pasiphae didn’t want to hear, and so her ninjas kidnap the Oracle.
BBC
Cue face-off between the Oracle and Pasiphae, the two women who want to mother Jason in the traditional sense. While the Oracle’s making melodramatic gestures in her remarkably well-lit cell, Pasiphae’s getting to be bitchy in a way she hasn’t managed since the first season. All dramatic pauses and snarky comments, this Pasiphae makes for a far more fun villain than the woman moping for her son.
Now, on first watch a viewer may ask themselves, “Why didn’t they just kill the Oracle straightaway rather than dragging her out to the woods?” It’s testament to how much Atlantis has improved that this is explained neatly by pointing out that the gods will curse anyone who kills the Oracle. What’s the most obvious solution? Use someone already cursed! Like... Medusa!
Now, on first watch a viewer may ask themselves, “Why didn’t they just kill the Oracle straightaway rather than dragging her out to the woods?” It’s testament to how much Atlantis has improved that this is explained neatly by pointing out that the gods will curse anyone who kills the Oracle. What’s the most obvious solution? Use someone already cursed! Like... Medusa!
BBC
It’s great to see Medusa back – Jemima Rooper is always fantastic, the character’s a tragic one and she gives extra depth to Hercules, who’s occasionally in dangers of falling into one-note farce. It might have been nicer had her return been an actual surprise, rather than revealing Rooper’s name in the opening credits, but that’s just a small niggle. Especially as the episode did throw us a curveball by letting Medusa survive with her snakes removed – when was the last time a villain said “I shall end your misery” and didn’t mean “by killing you”? It’s exciting to think what this’ll mean for the next episode – will Hercules give Medusa up to save Jason? How will Medusa be traumatised by her time alone ended by murder?
From the plots to the acting, everything in season two has been pushed up a notch, moving away from plot-of-the-week towards more continuing storylines. Every action has had consequences: appropriately, given that the actions of the schedulers affected this episode’s quality. It feels like a middle-of-the-season episode rather than back-from-hiatus, heavily reliant on what went before and quiet and talky rather than bombastic and enthusiastic. Surrounded by more action-packed episodes, it would’ve made a lot more narrative sense.
It’s not “A Fate Worse Than Death” that Atlantis was cancelled, but it is a bad thing – the BBC are great at family adventure shows, and Atlantis was a worthy successor to that Saturday teatime slot.
From the plots to the acting, everything in season two has been pushed up a notch, moving away from plot-of-the-week towards more continuing storylines. Every action has had consequences: appropriately, given that the actions of the schedulers affected this episode’s quality. It feels like a middle-of-the-season episode rather than back-from-hiatus, heavily reliant on what went before and quiet and talky rather than bombastic and enthusiastic. Surrounded by more action-packed episodes, it would’ve made a lot more narrative sense.
It’s not “A Fate Worse Than Death” that Atlantis was cancelled, but it is a bad thing – the BBC are great at family adventure shows, and Atlantis was a worthy successor to that Saturday teatime slot.
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