EPIC: The Musical - An Incomplete Review
What is it?
Back in 2021, Jorge Rivera-Herrans began posting snippets of his unfinished musical on TikTok. EPIC: The Musical is based loosely on Homer’s The Odyssey, the story of Odysseus’ journey home from Troy, a journey that took an entire decade.
Within Homer’s canon, Odysseus (Ulysses if you’re Latin) was the King of Ithaca, and was called upon by Menelaus to help rescue Helen from Troy. He resists initially, feigning insanity, but eventually proved to be one of the most important and influential Greeks in the Trojan War.
Anyway, I love musicals, and I also happen to love Greek mythology so really this couldn’t be more up my street. I won’t lie, though, my knowledge of the technical aspects of a musical (production, music, singers etc.) is next to nothing. I can tell when a song is good, bad, or interesting, but couldn’t tell you why. I have almost zero musical talent (I can play the ukulele semi-competently, and like the tiniest bit of piano) and I absolutely cannot sing, so this review is mostly going to be about just the general vibe of the musical I guess? I’ll also not be commenting much on how closely the musical follows The Odyssey because I have not read it, nor do I intend to any time soon. Besides, where’s the fun in researching when I could use my somewhat extensive, and probably self-contradicting, prior knowledge?
Let’s get started…
The First Saga: TROY
The opening saga of the musical has five songs, and even in this small segment of the musical we’re treated to a variety of different music genres. And, if you pay close enough attention, you can hear that some characters are assigned a specific instrument (I think this is called a leitmotif?), which is always a fun little treat.
The Horse and the Infant
The saga opens with the song ‘The Horse and the Infant’ which sets the scene of Odysseus (played by Rivera-Herrans) and his men getting ready to storm Troy. If you want more info about why they were rescuing Helen from Troy you can watch this Horrible Histories sketch which, despite its modern dialect and colloquialisms, does actually explain the cause of the Trojan War fairly accurately.
In this song, we get several name drops of mythological Greek heroes like Menelaus, Ajax, and Agamemnon. Although, ironically enough, Odysseus doesn’t actually introduce himself until the second saga, and he isn’t mentioned by name at all in this saga, as he is the narrator, and is only referred to as ‘Captain’ by the other characters, aside from Polyphemus (we’ll get to him in the second saga).
This song definitely vibes like a battle song, if that makes any sense. I don’t know what it is about the music or the pace of the song or whatever else, but it lowkey hypes you up a bit. And, while it’s not a totally obvious trend because it’s literally the opening song, we hear that Odysseus is accompanied by a guitar - a trend continued throughout the rest of the musical.
Just a Man
Following the opening song, we have ‘Just a Man’ which is a complete tone shift from the first song. It deals with Odysseus’ internal struggle about whether or not to kill Hector’s infant son, comparing him to Telemachus, his own son.
Odysseus decides to follow Zeus’ (played by Luke Holt) orders and kills the infant for the chance to see his family again. The song doesn’t detail the death but most myths say that Astynax was thrown from the walls of Troy by Odysseus, sometimes he survives and sometimes he doesn’t.
Notably, this song ends with Odysseus pleading for forgiveness. It doesn’t specify who he’s talking to, but it’s most likely the infant, or even himself for what he’s about to do.
Full Speed Ahead
The middle song of this saga is ‘Full Speed Ahead’ in which Odysseus and his 600 men have set sail from Troy trying to make it home. It’s unclear how much time has passed from when they set sail, but it’s been long enough to run out of supplies. The search for land is successful as Polites (played by Steven Dookie) points out fire in the distance.
Odysseus feels as though there is something suspicious about it, as there’s no smoke, so decides to take Polites with him to investigate, telling the rest of the men to raze the place if they aren’t back by morning.
This song provides an interesting change of pace during the saga. We’re back to Odysseus taking charge, as the guitar accompaniment tells us. It also feels a little like a sea shanty, there’s a lot of repetition of lyrics and there’s also lots of call and answer lines (is that the technical term?) scattered through the song.
Open Arms
Next up we have a duet called ‘Open Arms’ between Odysseus and Polites once they reach the island. Again, we get a tone shift with this song; it’s much more lighthearted, with Polites telling Odysseus that he shouldn’t be so suspicious of everyone and should ‘greet the world with open arms’.
This song also introduces the Lotus Eaters. These are race of people who live on an island dominated by the lotus tree. There’s several myths about what consuming the lotus flower does, and there’s also some ambiguity as to what plant the lotus actually is. In the context of the myth eating a lotus flower was supposed to send the consumer into a state of apathy, causing them to forget their lives outside the island and make them want to stay forever. For this reason it’s often thought that the lotus plant is marijuana, implying that the Lotus Eaters are actually just massive stoners. There’s several other plants it could be, but this one is by far the the funniest interpretation.
Odysseus and Polites resist the offer of eating the lotus flowers, and instead ask the Eaters where they can find other food, and are pointed in the direction of some caves (more on that later).
Warrior of the Mind
And finally, we have the last song of the saga: ‘Warrior of the Mind’, which is a duet between Odysseus and Athena (played by Teagan Earley). This is, by far, my favourite song from this saga. We also discover that Athena is represented by the piano in the soundtrack.
I don’t know what it is about this song, but it’s just such a vibe. Athena questions Odysseus after he shows signs of considering adopting Polites outlook on life, and we find out that Athena and Odysseus actually go way back. It turns out, she had decided to become Odysseus’ patron after he managed to kill her boar. Presumably, Rivera-Herrans has slightly twisted the mythology here to suit the musical. Of course, the most famous boar hunt in Greek mythology is the Calydonian Boar Hunt, which involved Artemis, not Athena. However, in The Odyssey, Odysseus is identified by a scar on his leg caused by a boar, although as far as I’m aware there’s no mention of the boar belonging to Athena, but I could be wrong. Like I said, I haven’t read it and also didn’t do any further research so who knows?
Anyway, most of this song is actually a flashback to the first meeting between Odysseus and Athena and, according to Rivera-Herrans, takes place in ‘Quick Thought’, an ability of Athena’s allowing her to transport whoever she’s talking to into a mindscape where time doesn’t pass.
The song ends back in real time with Athena threatening Odysseus not to disappoint her. She chose him as her hero, and it reflects badly on her if he doesn’t succeed in his quest.
Now, onto the second saga!
The Second Saga: CYCLOPS
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Full disclosure, this saga was released 27th January, so I have not had a lot of time to write this, but hopefully it all still makes sense!
This saga takes place on the island of Polyphemus who, if you hadn’t guessed from the title of the saga, is a cyclops. This saga only contains four songs, and is only based around a single event as opposed to the first saga, which involves several. The overall tone of this saga is a lot darker than the first, as well.
Polyphemus
Odysseus and his men arrive on the island to discover enough sheep to feed their entire crew (600 men, so like, that’s a lot of sheep). Odysseus kills one of the sheep, idly wondering why the Lotus Eaters would pass up on such a thing…enter Polyphemus.
I won’t lie, I did get a little bit jump scared by Polyphemus (also played by Rivera-Herrans), who’s voice has been altered to be extremely deep. Also, we get some scary cello sounds, and some haunting choral vocalising on the soundtrack to go with Polyphemus’ introduction.
Sidebar: Polyphemus is a son of Poseidon; remember that because it’ll be important later.
Anyway, Odysseus bargains with Polyphemus, explaining they didn’t realise the sheep belonged to anyone, and offering him wine in exchange for letting them go and not killing them all. Unfortunately, Polyphemus doesn’t go for it. He drinks the wine, and asks Odysseus his name in order to thank him properly. Odysseus lies, telling Polyphemus his name is Nobody, which is also important later.
Believing Polyphemus will honour their exchange, Odysseus sings the line ‘I’m so glad we see eye to eye’ which, to be honest, is fucking hilarious.
However, Polyphemus goes back on their deal, saying that Odysseus’ thanks for the wine is being the final man to die.
Survive
We’re back at it again with the haunting choir. More interestingly, however, is the music and lyrics of this song. I’m sure there’s a technical term for this, but I don’t know it so I’ll do my best to explain it:
The music here is either the same or extremely similar to parts of ‘The Horse and the Infant’, as are the rhythm of the lyrics and the actual lyrics themselves. This speaks to a theme as both songs deal with battles, so I’m sure we’ll be hearing this melody in subsequent sagas as well. Also, the drums in this song are just *chefs kiss*.
This song depicts the main battle between Odysseus and his men and Polyphemus. We have Odysseus giving instructions on how to defeat Polyphemus, and we’re again treated to a call and answer style song. Between the call and answer sections, we get the rallying lyric of ‘six hundred lives at stake/it’s just one life to take/and when we kill him then our journey’s over’, encouraging the soldiers to keep fighting.
However, we also get our first on-stage death. I know Odysseus kills Astynax but presumably, when this goes to stage, we aren’t going to watch Odysseus yeet a baby over a wall but who knows?
Anyway, Polites is crushed by Polyphemus’ club, the cellos are back, and then Polyphemus sings the rest of song before passing out due to the lotus flowers Odysseus mixed into the wine he offered.
Remember Them
First things first, this song fucking slaps. It’s so good. The electric guitar riff coming into the foreground is an incredible experience, I just love it so much.
Odysseus and the soldiers sing for their fallen friends, using their grief as the driving force behind finishing off Polyphemus. Odysseus commands his men to sharpen the club into a giant spear so they can stab Polyphemus in the eye and blind him, a 10/10 plan, to be honest. Also love the musical choice of having a mad guitar shred symbolise the stabbing.
Unfortunately, when they stab Polyphemus, he cries out and attracts the attention of another cyclops. But, this is where Odysseus’ lie comes into play. Remember when I said it would be important later? This is later. The cyclops asks Polyphemus who hurt him, and of course the answer is ‘It was Nobody’. Clever, right? Obviously, the other cyclops doesn’t hear the capital letter, because Nobody isn’t a name, and he leaves Polyphemus to his own devices.
Odysseus takes the chance to tell his men that they should grab the sheep and leave, at which point the lyrics and melody of ‘Full Speed Ahead’ crop up momentarily.
But, before they leave, we’re treated to the introduction of piano into the song. Athena returns!
Annoyed that Odysseus has left Polyphemus alive, Athena commands Odysseus to finish him. Odysseus refuses which…is wild because why are you saying no to a literal goddess? What if she smites you? Have some self-preservation, Ody.
Odysseus believes he should show mercy because enough blood has already been spilt. However, he has to get the last word with Polyphemus and, despite the potential mistake it is, musically it goes hard as fuck. Odysseus introduces himself with his real name and the fact that he’s the King of Ithaca, which could come back to haunt him, guess we’ll wait and see.
My Goodbye
Last song of the saga and it’s another duet between Odysseus and Athena. Except this time, they’re parting ways.
Athena is disappointed in him because he ignores logic and instead lets emotion guide his actions, which ordinarily I think is fine, but Athena is the goddess of wisdom and considered Odysseus a warrior of the mind. She believes that abandoning him will teach him a lesson, and stop him from disappointing her over and over.
Odysseus fights back, calling her selfish and vain (again, wild). He also comments on the fact that the gods and goddesses never have to deal with the fallout of their actions, specifically pointing out that he has to ‘deal with the strain’ every time someone dies. Obviously being faced with the consequences of your (and others) actions, particularly when death and destruction are involved, is going to make you more emotional than logical.
Odysseus, in what I can only assume is a fit of insanity, drags Athena - Odysseus says that at least he knows what he’s fighting for while Athena is still fighting to gain a reputation amongst both the Olympians and the mortals, big oof. Athena is resigned to her fate, but leaves Odysseus with a warning.
She tells him that one day he’ll regret not listening to her and trying to understand what she’s telling him, but forgives him for it because he’s ‘just a man’ (again, we throw back to the melody of the song from the first saga), and we also get the same vocal run (finally a technical term I know) that we hear in ‘Warrior of the Mind’.
And thus, the second saga is concluded
The Third Saga: OCEAN
Merry Christmas, everyone! Finally, the third saga of EPIC is here. OCEAN chronicles Odysseus’ journey through a storm and to the island of Aeolia, home of the wind god Aeolus and then onwards. Plus, we get our first introduction to Poseidon.
Storm
We open this saga in the middle of a storm as the ship sails from Polyphemus’ island. As songs go, this one is quite short - less than three minutes long. It doesn’t need to be particularly long though, as it’s more of a transition song than depicting anything vital to the storyline, until the very end anyway.
This song is similar in vibe to Full Speed Ahead, and in fact uses the same tune for some of the backing vocals. The song is extremely dramatic, both in music and lyric. We’re also doing haunting backing vocals again. They sort of remind me of like, high drama religious singing. I don’t know what else to call it really.
We’re also introduced to a new instrument signifier - definitely not the technical term but oh well. I think it’s a flute (someone correct me if I’m wrong) which joins the song when the ‘island in the sky’ is first mentioned. Presumably, this instrument will continue to represent Aeolus/wind gods throughout the rest of the saga, the same way we get Athena’s piano riff.
Anyway, Odysseus gets the bright idea to harpoon the underside of the island and presumably pull themselves up. Innovative idea but also potentially very stupid. Let’s see what happens!
Luck Runs Out
Of the songs I know (released and various sneak peeks), this is my absolute favourite. Finally, I get to hear it in full. It fucking slaps to be honest. This song is a duet between Odysseus and Eurylochus (played by Armando Julián) in which Eurylochus questions Odysseus’ decisions in front of the crew.
The chorus of this song is just so good:
“How much longer ‘til your luck runs out/How much longer ‘til the show goes south/How much longer ‘til we all fall down/You rely on wit and people die on it”
“You rely on wit and people die on it” pops OFF. Get him, Eurylochus.
The energy of this song is very fast-paced in my opinion. Eurylochus is extremely cautious while Odysseus is all for diving in headfirst. Odysseus points out that he took 600 men to war and none of them died there, which is technically true but Polites does very much die in the previous saga so….
We also get some more character development here, particularly the relationship between the two men, as Odysseus claims Eurylochus is like a brother he can’t live without.
Eurylochus sings all the choruses until the very end of the song, where Odysseus takes over and sings different lyrics to the same melody (technical term, anyone?) which I think is very cool.
Keep Your Friends Close
The flute(?) is back, and we get to meet Aeolus (played by Kira Stone). Traditionally Aeolus is a male god, so this is an interesting casting choice, but I think it works. She has a great voice and it blends extremely well with the rest of the cast.
This song sets the stage for the next stage of the story. Odysseus requests help from Aeolus to make the last leg of their journey. Aeolus gives him a bag containing the winds of the storm and challenges him to keep it closed. However, the wind sprites on the island trick the crew into thinking there is treasure inside instead of dangerous storm winds, making it much harder for Odysseus to keep the bag closed.
Odysseus stays awake for nine days guarding the bag. He thinks of his wife and son, Penelope and Telemachus, and we get a nice little reprise from The Horse and the Infant. It’s these thoughts of his loved ones that lull him into a sleep, meaning the crew can open the bag without him knowing. They get blown off course by the winds. Enter Poseidon.
Ruthlessness
We’re doing dramatic choral backing vocals again. This song is Poseidon’s moment, with Odysseus rarely getting a word in. We’re getting very philosophical in this song.
Odysseus finally has to face the consequences of his actions. If you remember from the second saga, Athena told Odysseus to kill Polyphemus and he refused. Well, it’s coming back to haunt him. Polyphemus is one of Poseidon’s sons (I said that was important!) and Poseidon has come to seek revenge for him.
Poseidon holds the philosophy of ‘ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves’, which essentially means being ruthless will be better for you in the long run. That’s how I interpret it, anyway. Poseidon even says Odysseus could’ve avoided this if he had killed Polyphemus instead of leaving him injured. Poseidon gives Odysseus a chance to apologise, although he doesn’t intend to let Odysseus live regardless of an apology.
Poseidon takes his revenge, and Odysseus is left with only 43 men out of 600 by the end. We get a great reprise of some of the lines in Just a Man: “When does a ripple become a tidal wave” and “When does a man become a monster”, both very fitting. Odysseus and the remaining few men he has make their escape by using the rest of the wind left over from Aeolus.
And that’s the third saga! Stay tuned for the next one, whenever that may be.
The Fourth Saga: CIRCE
Happy belated Valentine’s everyone! I know I’m updating this a few weeks later but, in my defence, I’ve had a lot going on.
Anyway, we’ve got the fourth instalment of EPIC: The Musical - the Circe Saga! I’m gonna do a bit of background info on Circe before jumping into the songs just so you guys have all the tea.
Circe is an immortal goddess who, in The Odyssey seeks to prevent Odysseus and his men from returning home to Ithaca. She is a sorcerer, known for necromancy (communicating with the dead) and transmutation (turning people into animals). She makes a home for herself on the island of Aeaea (also known as the world’s worst scrabble tile combination) and by all accounts spends most of her time practicing witchcraft, turning men into pigs and just generally frolicking about. Iconic tbh. Now, onto the songs!
(Sidenote: This album cover is my favourite so far)
Puppeteer
We’ve got a refrain of Full Speed Ahead on some kind of string (??) instrument as the intro to this song, so that’s a good start.
Odysseus tells his man Eurylochus to take some men and secure the island, sounds like a good idea. Only, Eurylochus comes back alone and bothered which, tbf, I also would if I’d just come face to face with a literal goddess and seen her turn all my friends into pigs, but hey ho.
I enjoy the call and response (I think it’s called that?) in the middle of the song where Eurylochus and Circe are telling two different stories at the same time. We have Eurylochus telling us exactly what happened when what few men they have left ate the food left out by Circe, straightforward in that he’s telling us what’s just happened offstage. However, Circe’s lines are more complex. Her story, if you wanna call it that, reads as both a warning and a blessing. She almost implies that she’s turning men into pigs as a form of mercy and relieving them of the choices they’ve made in the past.
We also get a disagreement between Eurylochus and Odysseus. Eurylochus suggests they leave their men to their fate and just leave the island while they can, which honestly doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world, given their circumstances. After all, they’ve gone from 600 men to just 43 in just one single instance. However, Odysseus’ fatal flaw is heroism (or mercy, depending on whether you count those as completely separate entities) and he insists on saving his men, despite what might happen to them.
This song lowkey gives me Hamilton vibes, which is very fun. Also, Circe (played by Talya Sindel) is British apparently which, love that.
Wouldn’t You Like
Sinister giggling at the beginning of a song is always a good sign. Introducing Hermes! (played by Troy Doherty)
Hermes (also British apparently) shows up to offer Odysseus advice on how to defeat Circe and stay immune to her magic and potions. This whole song is a warning on Hermes part; each verse warning Odysseus of Circe’s power and his likely demise, only for the chorus to goad him into rising to the challenge. Suitable for a trickster god, don’t you think?
This song doesn’t particularly advance the plot as it’s basically a side quest, but it’s extremely fucking catchy so I love it anyway. This is another song I feel like I can picture the production of on stage. The harmonies? Exquisite. Hermes’ voice? Incredible. 10/10 song.
Done For
Odysseus confronts Circe!
We’re back at it again with haunting choral background vocals again, so love that. This might be a controversial yet brave statement, but I feel like this song really demonstrates how Odysseus and Circe are two sides of the same coin. Throughout the musical so far, we’ve seen Odysseus do whatever it takes to keep his men safe, even if it comes at a cost to himself. And this is exactly what Circe does. She does what she has to in order to protect the nymphs who inhabit the island and herself. They’re both fighting for the same thing, which makes the conflict all the more interesting, because technically there’s no right or wrong side.
The entirety of this song screams danger and suspense. I don’t know if it’s the instruments, the harmonies or the key the song is in or whatever, but it’s extremely well done. I was on the edge of my seat the first time I listened to this song, which was a little ridiculous because I know the story of The Odyssey. The back and forth in this song is very entertaining, and their voices blend together so well in the duet sections of the song.
Odysseus believes he’s won the fight and, in the long run perhaps he has, but Circe definitely has the upper hand, and the very end of the song has her propositioning him instead of killing him.
There Are Other Ways
This is where we take a huge diversion from the canon of The Odyssey. In Homer’s version, Odysseus spends an entire year on Aeaea as Circe’s lover, and they even have three children together. However, presumably due to the time constraints of a musical, Odysseus mostly resists this temptation, although the subtext certainly gives a lot away. This song contains my favourite lyric of this saga though:
“Want to save your men from the fire?/Show me that you’re willing to burn”
The first half of this song is Circe trying to seduce Odysseus and I’m not saying it would work on me but it also wouldn’t not work. We get a little of a refrain of Just a Man during this section and then a beautiful string rendition of the Penelope part of The Horse and the Infant when Odysseus comes to his senses.
We also get some Circe backstory after Odysseus speaks of his wife; Circe has been in love before, and Odysseus mentioning Penelope encourages her to be kind to him and even offer him some advice.
Circe tells Odysseus of a prophet he can speak to in order to find a faster way home with only one small snag. The prophet is dead. Circe promises to free Odysseus’ men and help them get to the Underworld to speak with the prophet. She hopes that this one act of kindness will snowball into more, but for now she will remain as she is, a puppeteer, because there are still people she needs to protect.
And that’s a wrap on the fourth saga! Stay tuned for the next one where we’ll be joining Odysseus and his men in the Underworld.
The Fifth Saga: UNDERWORLD
Happy release week! It’s been a big week for me, as Taylor Swift released a new album on 19th so I’ve been hyperfixed on that and had to set aside a specific time for me to write about this new saga.
As we can tell from the title of this saga, Odysseus has reached the underworld in his search for the prophet Circe told him about. This is the shortest saga so far, with only three songs. However, brevity doesn’t mean it’s any less fantastic. Now, it’s full speed ahead with the songs!
The Underworld
The ‘title track’ of this saga, if you will. This song starts of sad and somehow gets even fucking sadder the further into the song you get. In the original story, Odysseus is confronted with the spirit of one of his men who died on Circe’s island. However, in this song he is met by Polites who, if you remember, was killed by the cyclops in the second saga. Honestly, the way Odysseus whispers ‘Polites’, I’m gonna lose my mind.
We’re also back at it with the haunting choral background singing and music. We’ve also got refrains from Full Speed Ahead and Just a Man, which is a big hit to my emotional stability. And THEN of course, we’ve got the ghost of Polites singing Open Arms as if that isn’t a complete gut punch.
And then, to make things even more emotional, Odysseus’ mum, Anticleia shows up, and is played by Jorge Rivera-Herrans’ ACTUAL MOTHER, Wanda Herrans, giving the song even more meaning. In the original story, Odysseus’ mother, unbeknownst to him until he sees her in the Underworld, dies while he is away. And isn’t that just an awful way to find out your mother died. Also, as a side note, their voices blend incredibly well together and it’s a joy to listen to.
This song has two tones. The softer, more emotional tones of the dialogue with Polites and Odyssesus’ mother which is then contrasted with the almost feverish need running through the rest of the song. At this point, Odysseus seems to feel like he needs to prove something to himself, which we find out in the other two songs.
No Longer You
An introduction to the prophet, played by Mason Olshavsky! In the original story, the prophet is named Tiresias, but is unnamed in the musical.
Unfortunately, the prophet has exactly zero good news for Odysseus. The prophecy, as most prophecies tend to be, seems self-fulfilling. Tiresias (I’m not gonna keep calling him the prophet) tells Odysseus that he sees a future where he helps Odysseus get home, but it’s not this one. Which, okay why mention it then?
The key takeaway from what Tiresias says are these things:
“I see a man who gets to make it home alive/But it’s no longer you”
“I see your wife with a man who is haunting/A man with a trail of bodies”
This is where the self-fulfilling bit comes in. Bear with me here. Tiresias doesn’t say “it’s not you”, he says “it’s no longer you”. This is a huge difference when it comes to interpreting prophecies. ‘No longer you’ implies it’s not the Odysseus stood in front of him right at that second. Tiresias knows that the rest of the journey will change Odysseus so much that he’ll no longer be the man he was when he left Ithaca.
Odysseus also doesn’t seem to understand that the man Tiresias sees with his wife is him. Odysseus already has a trail of bodies behind him, 558 to be exact. His refusal to kill Polyphemus resulted in Poseidon killing most of his crew. Odysseus may not have a raised a sword to his men himself, but he is the reason they’re dead.
Monster
The final song in this saga, and perhaps the most impactful.
Odysseus is having a little bit of an identity crisis. I think I’ve said this before, but Odysseus’ tragic flaw seems to be the fact that he has morals, and now he’s internally battling with this in order to justify getting home through less than savoury means.
Despite literally not having heard any of the sagas that come after this one, I just know that the implications in this song are going to carry on through the rest of the musical.
Odysseus talks through other scenarios we’ve seen in the musical, asking whether those people are the monster for their actions, such as whether Circe is a monster for cursing men to protect her nymphs and whether they are monsters for using the underhand tactic of wooden horse if it helps save more lives in the long run.
This is such an interesting song as, ultimately, whether you view these people as monsters depends entirely on what ‘side’ you’re on'. If you’ve been cursed into a pig by Circe, naturally you would view her as a monster, but if you’re one of her nymphs, you would view her as a saviour and protector.
Eventually, Odysseus justifies his feelings and decides to become a ‘monster’ if it means it will get them all home alive. He cites the fact that ‘ruthlessness is mercy’ and that if he had to, he would drop another baby off a wall if it meant they all made it home. Which is, a wild thing to say, but it makes sense in the context of the musical.
This saga is definitely a pivotal moment in the musical, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of sagas play out (as if I don’t know the story lol).
The Sixth Saga: THUNDER
Saga number six guys, can you believe we’re more than halfway there?
I know I said I was gonna wait til September 1st to post these next two sagas but honestly I just didn’t want to. I’ve fallen in love with these sagas so you all get to know what I think a couple of days early.
Let’s go!
Suffering
We have a narrative callback by the ensemble at the beginning of the song to the leitmotif of ‘Penelope’ which has been present throughout the saga so far. However, Penelope’s signature viola (maybe violin idk) is absent, which is important, so remember that.
And now, we finally meet Penelope. Kind of. Although it’s not directly revealed until later in the musical, the Penelope Odysseus is talking to is actually a siren (played by Anna Lea).
Info: A siren is a mythical creature (usually depicted as a beautiful woman) said to have lured sailors to their deaths by taking on the image of whatever they want/love most. Typically, this was the image of a beautiful woman because, y’know, sailing around for ages with only other men. Some people are straight, apparently.
In the original Odyssey the crew make it past the sirens because Odysseus commands the crew to plug their ears with wax and ties himself to the mast, meaning he can’t follow the sirens’ call.
It’s clear this is not the real Penelope because she encourages Odysseus to “come play with me and our daughter”. As we know, Odysseus has a son, Telemachus, and not a daughter. However, the siren cannot replicate every detail perfectly.
It becomes clear by the end of the song that Odysseus knows he’s speaking to a siren, but he pretends to be lured in by her song so he can get information from her about how to make it past Poseidon.
Also, fun fact, (I think) the siren’s explanation of how to get past Poseidon is sung in the same melody as Odysseus’ pleading to Zeus in The Horse and the Infant.
The song ominously ends with Odysseus saying “Ah, the things I do for you”. And, while he’s talking to the siren, it’s foreshadowing things he would do (and actually does) to make it home to Penelope and Telemachus.
Onward!
Different Beast
I feel this song really marks the start of what’s to come in terms of Odysseus’ story arc and I couldn’t be more excited about it.
Odysseus opens the song by saying he knows he’s talking to a siren. He explains how he and the crew have stuffed their ears with beeswax to protect themselves while Odysseus read the siren’s lips.
This song really kind of embodies the message of the song Ruthlessness. Odysseus is learning from his mistakes.
“I made a mistake like this, it almost cost my life/I can’t take more risks of not seeing my wife”
The reason Odysseus is in this mess is because he let Polyphemus live. Actually, his mistake was telling Polyphemus his name, but same difference. Point is, not killing Polyphemus when he had the chance then allowed Poseidon to become aware of him, causing all the problems the crew have had since. Even Poseidon was like ‘hmm maybe you should’ve just killed him, and I wouldn’t be doing this’.
Odysseus has learned ruthlessness.
This is made evident through the change in pronouns in the final chorus. The crew have been singing ‘WE are the man-made monsters/WE are the ones who conquer’, but after Odysseus gives the order to cut the tails off the sirens (Sushi Saga anyone?) and to let them drown, the crew switches to ‘HE is the man-made monster/HE is the one who conquers’. They’re now aware that he’s been pushed to the very edge and will do whatever it takes to make it back to Ithaca.
This is emphasised by the final line of the song. Throughout the musical, the ensemble sings the name of the ‘villain’ of songs at the very beginning (Polyphemus in Survive and Poseidon in Ruthlessness). However, the fact that the crew are singing Odysseus’ name at the very end of this song is a mark of things to come.
Scylla
We’ve arrived at the lair of Scylla (played by KJ Burkhauser).
Info: Scylla is a mythical monster who lives on one side of a narrow strait. On the other side is Charybdis, a different sea monster. Odysseus is advised to sail closer to Scylla than Charybdis because losing six men is better than losing the entire ship and crew. It’s also thought that Scylla does not attack other monsters, which becomes important later.
Gonna start by saying that I absolutely love Scylla’s voice! The drama, the emotion just omg. And I think the layering really works.
This song is, in my opinion, one of the most emotional in the musical (thus far).
Odysseus, in his efforts to get home, does not tell his men that he will be sacrificing six of them to Scylla as they may try to talk him out of it. This seems to mark the start of Odysseus’ descent into desperation and madness. Interestingly, we’ve got a refrain of full speed ahead in this song, which shows the obvious difference in Odysseus between the beginning of the musical and now.
Scylla really drives this point home, pointing out that both her and Odysseus do what it takes to survive. As I mentioned earlier, mythology states that Scylla does not attack other monsters. Despite leading the ship, Odysseus is not attacked by Scylla. They also harmonise on the final line of the song: “We are the same you and I”.
Things are about to take a darker turn.
Mutiny
Another absolutely gut-wrenching song, you say?
There’s a lot of interesting things in this song, so I’ll try to keep it short but full of information. First, the plot of the song:
Our man Eurylochus is back at it again trying to reason with Odysseus. Stunned by Odysseus’ casual sacrifice of six of their friends, Eurylochus mutinies Odysseus. Perimedes (a character with a bigger part originally) stabs Odysseus in the back when he tries to kill Eurylochus. Odysseus, bound and unconscious, wakes up on a random island full of cows.
Odysseus realises this is the home of Helios, the Sun God, and they are surrounded by his immortal cows (why he has immortal cows idk). Of course, having already experienced what happens when you kill a deity’s farm animals once, Odysseus warns Eurylochus not to kill one of the animals. Eurylochus (and the crew) are too hungry to listen to Odysseus, their deposed captain, and Eurylochus kills a cow anyway.
(Sidenote: how do you kill an immortal cow?)
Odysseus encourages the crew to run and escape the island, but the sound of thunder indicates they’re too late.
Now, for the technical stuff.
LOVE this song. It hit me like a whole ass bus to the face. The callbacks. I must’ve sounded like Sharpay Evans circa 2005 the first time I listened to this. Anyway…
After Perimedes stabs Odysseus we get a chorus to the melody of Luck Runs Out (which, if you remember, is my favourite song in the musical…so far). The lyrics are changed somewhat, as you can see below.
Unfortunately, Odysseus choices have come back to haunt him. Up until this point, while he has ‘relied on wit’ it has worked out with minimal casualties. Or, at least no casualties that were deliberate I suppose. Now, however, Odysseus’ only plan was get in, sacrifice six men, get out. Which is, to be fair, exactly what happened. To Odysseus, this is the easiest way, and probably the way with the least amount of dead friends. His other options are Charybdis or trying to battle Scylla and more people dying.
Not that I’m trying to excuse what he did. But it does make sense. The crew are, obviously (and rightfully) horrified by Odysseus’ callous sacrifice and therefore mutiny him.
Eurylochus’ explanation of where they are reprises the melody of The Horse and the Infant, and Survive two songs where Odysseus has had to make a choice (Kill the baby? Kill the cyclops?) Of course, it’s not Odysseus making the choice this time, it’s Eurylochus, but as Captain, the blame for whatever happens will likely fall to Odysseus.
We’ve also got a Full Speed Ahead reprise. Unlike the steady rhythm (perfect for rowing) of the previous refrains and reprises, this one is hurried – the crew are in a rush to escape. They sing faster and faster until Odysseus stops them, the sound of thunder indicating that they are too late to escape anyway.
Thunder Bringer
Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of everyone’s actions…
First of all, it’s giving Hellfire. Second of all, Luke Holt sounds fucking incredible.
Info: Zeus is a dick.
This song is all about choice. Zeus has been sent by Helios (presumably), to deal out the punishment for one of his immortal cows being killed (again, how?). Zeus gives Odysseus a choice, which isn’t really a choice at all. Odysseus can sacrifice himself, or his whole crew will die. Let’s break it down.
The crew, who are the ones who killed the cow, and Odysseus, who has literally just been mutinied by said crew. I feel the choice is pretty clear. However, let’s not forget the wider context. We literally had a whole song about Ruthlessness and, when Odysseus followed his ruthless instincts, everything actually worked out exactly as he planned for the first time in the whole musical. We also know, from Suffering, that Odysseus will do anything to see Penelope and Telemachus again.
Let’s also not forget this line from The Horse and the Infant:
“The blood on your hands is something you won’t lose/All you can choose is whose”
The choice is not a choice at all. Zeus already knows what Odysseus is going to do. Odysseus even knows what he’s going to do. Zeus just makes Odysseus say it out loud to prove what kind of man he is.
This is evident from the refrain of Just A Man in this song. The first turning point for Odysseus is repeated here as he realises he’s going to have to give up his entire crew to see Penelope again. The crew seem melancholic but accepting of Odysseus’ choice.
FYI: I missed out a whole bunch of my thoughts on Zeus’ wording in the first few verses for the sake of focusing on the plot, but if you’d like to see that, let me know in the comments!
The Seventh Saga: WISDOM
Let’s goooooo. This is my favourite saga so far I think. I just love Athena tbh. We’ve got an emotional saga coming up so buckle your seatbelts lads, we’re in for a rough one.
Legendary
It’s Telemachus! This is our first look at Odysseus’ son, albeit 20 years later, as said in the song.
This is our first look into Telemachus himself, rather than just hearing of him through Odysseus. Although it’s never said, Odysseus vibes (to me at least) that every time he talks about Telemachus, he’s picturing the baby he left behind. This song reminds us that, in actual fact, Telemachus is a fully grown man at this point.
Having said that, it’s clear from this song that Telemachus is still incredibly naïve. He talks of wanting to be heroic and fight monsters just like his father, but as we just saw in the Thunder saga, Odysseus has strayed from the path of a hero and will stop at nothing to get home.
Telemachus tells of how the suitors vying for his mother (and the kingdom) are getting more and more impatient the longer Odysseus is absent. The suitors threaten to kill Telemachus and assault Penelope, and we see Telemachus having a moment similar to the one Odysseus faces in Monster. When one of the suitors taunts Telemachus, he realises he is going to have to stand against them all, even if he loses.
One fun thing I noticed about this song is in the second verse:
“Somebody tell me, come and give me a sign”
In the background, we hear Athena’s motif (remember the piano?) which may or may not (spoilers!) foreshadow something later.
The verse before the second chorus is interesting too. The lyrics are sung to the same melody of the part in Full Speed Ahead where Odysseus and Polites are scouting the island.
The final verse of this song is very poignant. Instead of talking about fighting sirens and chimeras to connect with his dad, Telemachus is asking if fighting the monster (in the form of a suitor) will bring Odysseus back.
Little Wolf
This is another song I can perfectly envisage being performed on stage. This is the moment. Whether he wins or loses, Telemachus is making a stand, which is more important than winning. He’s showing the suitors, and Antinous (played by Ayron Alexander) specifically, that he won’t take their presence lying down and that he will protect his mother from them.
The suitors taunt Telemachus, calling him little wolf. This comparison is interesting; wolves are generally pack animals, and Telemachus is alone. It’s also mocking, of course, comparing him to a generally quite vicious animal, but putting ‘little’ in front of it.
Also, omg, Athena is back! That piano motif is literally music to my ears. Teagan Earley, if you’re reading this, I love your voice.
Anyway.
Athena is back and offering Telemachus advice as a mentor. Using Quickthought, she helps Telemachus land a hit on Antinous. Not only is she giving him advice, but she’s also giving him the confidence to win the fight:
“Let’s teach this dog a lesson/In front of all his kind/One young wolf has a larger heart than all these men combined”
Not only does she (rightfully so) compare Antinous to a dog, automatically ranking him below a wolf, but she also says Telemachus is much better than all the suitors combined. Additionally, she says ‘young wolf’ which carries more positive connotations than ‘little’.
We’re going back to the singing for a second. In the final chorus with both Athena and the suitors, Athena’s vocal runs sound INCREDIBLE. I love it when Athena shows up in the story because you just know the song is about to be an absolute banger.
The song finishes out with Telemachus asking why Athena has aided him.
We’ll Be Fine
Back at it again with the emotional songs I see.
This song is both about regret and new beginnings.
The first two verses, sung by Athena, are about her regretting how things ended between her and Odysseus. Ultimately, they both made mistakes. Athena was too quick to cut Odysseus off when he didn’t do exactly what she wanted, but equally if Odysseus had listened to Athena he literally wouldn’t have got in such a mess. She is a goddess like…she knows what she’s doing. Maybe I’m biased as Captain of the Athena Defence Squad (should I make badges/stickers for that?) but I am firmly on her side here.
Anyway, the way you can hear the emotion in her verses, I actually cried. Especially the last two lines:
“Life could be that bright/I could sleep at night”
That’s also a callback to My Goodbye, when Odysseus tells her he cannot sleep at night due to the loss of his crewmates, which only makes this line all the more emotional.
Athena makes a decision in this song to be Telemachus’ friend more than a mentor, driving him to be successful while still actively helping him out (which we’ll see in the next songs).
I could honestly talk about this song for at least another 1000 words, but we’ve got two more songs to get through and this blog is already LONG.
Love in Paradise
And that’s what you missed on glee.
Kidding.
Athena finds Odysseus on Ogygia, Calypso’s island. She dives into his memory to find out what he’s been doing since they parted ways at the end of the Cyclops saga. And so we get a lovely rendition of every single heartbreaking thing that’s happened to Odysseus in the last four sagas. Athena’s ‘Odysseus, where did you go’ has a double meaning here. The obvious meaning of literally where he’s been, but also the figurative meaning. Odysseus has changed a lot since Athena last saw him, and the man she knew no longer exists.
We find out that Odysseus has been trapped on the island for the last seven years. Calypso tries to draw him into bed with her, but he resists, citing himself as a married man, and wanting to get back to Penelope (in Homer’s version Calypso succeeds and they have two children).
Odysseus loses hope of getting back to Ithaca and decides that committing suicide is better than living a loveless existence with Calypso. Calypso attempts to draw him away from this decision by appealing to his emotions.
Presumably, because she’s a goddess, Calypso went through Odysseus’ memories to try and find something to use to stop him from killing himself. She uses lines like ‘I know your life’s been hard’ and ‘Just stay in my open arms’, callbacks to people Odysseus has lost. Unfortunately, this has the opposite of the intended effect and triggers Odysseus’ PTSD so badly he goes into a spiral.
This is where we get callbacks and reprises to several different songs as Odysseus spirals further, remembering all the people he’s lost on this journey.
In a last act of desperation, Odysseus calls for Athena.
God Games
Some info, first of all:
Zeus: Luke Holt
Apollo: Brandon McInnis
Hephaestus: Mike Rivera
Aphrodite: Janani K. Jha
Ares: Earl Gresham Jr.
Hera: POESY
This song is crazy, in the best way possible. Athena pleads with Zeus to rescue Odysseus from the island. Zeus decides to make this a game because, if you remember my earlier note, Zeus is a dick.
He tells Athena that if she can convince five of the gods to her side, he will release Odysseus. There are 12 Olympian gods, and Zeus appears to have picked the five gods who would have the most problem with Odysseus. Just to make Athena’s life difficult, probably. I’m going to break this song down into each god, just for simplicity.
Apollo
Apollo is a fan of the sirens, being the God of Music, so he’s annoyed about Odysseus killing them on his journey.
He also favoured Troy in the war and would understandable be mad about the fact that they lost. Odysseus also killed his chosen champion (the baby), so all in all Apollo wouldn’t be very inclined to release Odysseus. None of that is in the song though.
However, Athena manages to talk him round, saying Odysseus was only acting in self-defence when it came to the sirens. Apollo says they can release Odysseus if that’s the case. The gods are fickle🤷. One down, four to go.
Hephaestus
Of all the gods mentioned, Hephaestus is the one most likely to agree to release Odysseus with no argument. Hephaestus is the God of the Forge (and an inventor) so the Trojan Horse probably would’ve appealed to him, and he wouldn’t want to see a fellow inventor lost.
However, Hephaestus makes the (very valid) point that Odysseus sacrificed his own men to get home, something he does not agree with. Athena once again counteracts, saying that Odysseus’ crew betrayed him first. Hephaestus agrees to release him.
Honestly, trying to argue with the literal Goddess of Wisdom (and battle strategy) feels like you’ve lost the fight before it’s even started.
Aphrodite
Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, is pissed off with Odysseus because he abandoned his mother, and she died of a broken heart. Sadly, Odysseus was unaware of the fact his mum died until he saw her in the Underworld. And besides all that, the only reason Odysseus was awa fighting in the war is due to Aphrodite. So, really, it’s mostly her fault.
Athena tries to win her over, but upon that failing, we hear the telltale sounds of Athena engaging her Quickthought.
Ares
Ares, the God of War, views Odysseus as a coward for sacrificing his own men to Scylla instead of attempting to fight. And for hiding in a wooden horse rather than fighting the enemy face to face.
Athena points out that if they don’t set him free then Ares won’t get the bloodshed and violence he wants from Odysseus. We’ve already seen that Odysseus will do whatever it takes to make it home to Penelope and (spoiler alert) there will indeed be much bloodshed when he gets home.
Ares and Aphrodite (who are lovers btw) see the logic in this and agree to let Odysseus go.
Hera
Goddess of Marriage (and Zeus’ wife, which is important shortly) is the last god Athena needs to convince. She is perhaps the most difficult, theoretically, to convince. She has no stake in the game, pretty much. Nothing Odysseus has done has offended her, and whatever he does after he’s released is of no importance to her. Her main argument to Athena is that there are so many heroes, so what makes this one special?
Athena runs through some of Odysseus’ traits; he’s clever, funny, quick-witted, all which Hera is ambivalent about. But Athena knows how to win.
“Never once has he cheated on his wife/Release him”
Hera, who’s married to Zeus (a dick, and a serial cheater), and is the Goddess of Marriage, views this as perhaps Odysseus’ only stand out quality, agrees to release him on this only.
Having convinced everyone she needs, Athena returns to Zeus, demanding Odysseus’ release. You know, as agreed upon. Zeus is…not a fan of this. He specifically picked these gods because he was certain Athena wouldn’t be able to convince them all. He’s also just a sore loser, which you can see for yourself in pretty much every single story that features Zeus actually.
Zeus uses his power over storms and lightning to attack Athena (his own daughter btw), which is signified by the motif from the song Thunder Bringer. Zeus’ voice also changes here, going from regal to pure anger and rage.
And now the instrumental. God, the instrumental.
After Zeus’ attack we hear a worried Ares ask ‘Is she dead?’ and then the instrumental.
We get Athena’s piano motif and then an absolutely stellar instrumental rendition of Warrior of the Mind, and a little bit of Legendary. We can assume (based on nothing but my own thoughts) that this is meant to symbolise Athena going back through her memories with Odysseus and Telemachus and realising that she cannot give up on her friends, which leaves the song ending on a very poignant note
“Let him go, please/let him go”
Final Thoughts
I cannot wait to hear the rest of the musical! I know there’s some snippets on TikTok but listening to all the complete songs in order is an entirely different experience.
All the songs so far have been so descriptive and emotive; you can almost imagine how the characters are moving around the stage. I know exactly what ‘Full Speed Ahead’ looks like in my mind so it’ll be interesting to see if I’m close to what Rivera-Herrans envisions for it.
I have no idea of what’s involved in getting something like this on stage, or how long that takes, but I hope it comes to the West End at some point, because I’ll definitely be first in line for tickets.
What’s Next?
Well, there’s nine sagas overall, and you’d best believe I’m going to be writing about every single one of them. Still to come, we’ve got: VENGEANCE and ITHACA. Only two left omg. Stay tuned!
You can find Jorge Rivera-Herrans on Instagram, Twitter, and Patreon.
And you can find him on TikTok where he posts behind the scenes footage, snippets of unreleased songs and holds auditions.
There’s also a Discord server, which I’ve joined but I’m not very active in. I believe you can find the link for that on Jay’s socials.
Stream TROY, CYCLOPS, OCEAN, CIRCE, UNDERWORLD, THUNDER, and WISDOM on Apple Music and Spotify now.
