
“The Madness of Hercules” is a bit of a misleading title for this week’s episode of Atlantis. Given that moniker, we might expect Hercules to be the focus of the episode, maybe drawing on mythological accounts of his insanity. But instead what we get is a fairly solid episode that advances the ongoing plot, and which really shines when it allows itself to have a quiet, character-driven moment.

Poor old Jason may have been the narrative centre of the episode – he must die! He must be rescued! – but in all honesty, he could have been unconscious for most of the runtime and it wouldn’t have made a difference. The emotional beats of the episode belonged more to characters like Medusa and Pythagoras. Jemima Rooper only appeared briefly, but every time she was on screen was captivating as she begged Hercules to forgive her for her murder of the Oracle, and told him that she had always loved him.

The next time trailer hints at more of these character moments as our heroes try to save Ariadne’s life, with the return of Daedalus and possibly Medusa’s return to the snaky side. But for now, “The Madness of Hercules” ended on a bleak note with the army of Atlantis kneeling to its new queen.
Atlantis has been Pasiphaed.