When Odysseus starts floating away on that raft, you know it’s about to go down. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is now in theaters, and as you’re watching it, you realize that’s the moment. You’ve been taken on this incredible journey for two hours, and now, everything is about to pay off. It pays off so well, in fact, that we just wanted to geek out a little bit about the way everything comes together. Beware of spoilers.
The third act of The Odyssey, once Odysseus leaves Calypso and returns to Ithaca, is so effective because of its pacing. Much like the character himself, Nolan really takes his time meticulously executing the full plan, and it just gets better and better along the way.
It all starts with Odysseus’ reunion with Eumaeus (John Leguizamo), who we’ve watched be so faithful to his missing king for so long. Eumaeus doesn’t know this stranger who has appeared at his doorstep is Odysseus, but he knows something is up. He can sense it. Which is partially why he lets Odysseus in on the knowledge about the plot against his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland).
Odysseus then travels to save Telemachus, which is interesting not only because it gives us that first meeting with his son, but also because it delays Odysseus’ return even further. Even when he arrives near home, he’s not ready to actually be home. He’s got business to attend to first before stepping through the gates. This then results in a fun, violent scene as he saves Telemachus and the pair return to Ithaca.
There, outside the castle, is the dog we’ve been told won’t die until it sees its master. Which is what happens. In that moment, Telemachus figures it out. He is the first and one of the most important to know the truth, but is told he can’t say anything just yet. The delay continues, and the anticipation builds.
Telemachus then lies to his mom, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), about Odysseus coming home and lies again by telling her he thinks it’s time she should remarry. It’s all part of this slowly building, tension-filled plan. A party is held, and Odysseus has his first, but not last, run-in with Antinous (Robert Pattinson), before Penelope asks to meet this mysterious man. This is the reunion we’ve wanted more than any, but Odysseus knows he must still remain a stranger. If he reveals himself too soon, he could suffer the same fate as Agamemnon (Benny Safdie), who was betrayed once he arrived home. The dead spirits of Hades told Odysseus not to be so quick to reveal himself, and he took the advice.
Basically, every little storyline that has been seeded starts to blossom in these scenes. The scar on the foot. The guy with the loud walk. All of it. But things truly hit their peak in the conversation Odysseus, still posing as a beggar, has with Penelope. Here, he tells her about the Athena charm that’s omnipresent in the film and also why Odysseus took so long to get home. All throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus is asked the question of why he doesn’t want to go home. And here, in this moment, we find out.
In the film’s most crucial and powerful scene, Nolan flashes back to the battle of Troy. After Odysseus’ Trojan Horse scheme works, we watch as his soldiers go on to destroy not just the city and its armies, but its women and children too. It’s a bloodbath. And, in the destruction, Odysseus realizes that they are breaking Zeus’ Law. They’re not treating people as they wish to be treated. He has mistakenly betrayed everything he stands for. Just then, he locks eyes with a woman (Zendaya) who is killed at the same time as a statue of Athena is beheaded.
They’ve done it. They’ve defiled the Gods. And Odysseus knows it all started with his idea for the treacherous Trojan horse. “To burn the walls of Troy was to burn the world entire,” he says. His decision started a chain reaction of horror that he believes will end life as they know it, and his guilt and shame extend to how that will manifest itself back home. He’s scared to go home and see the consequences of his choices. He and his soldiers are the people from the sea. He is the coming evil. Which is why, deep down, he wasn’t ready to go home.
(Side note: Zendaya’s appearance is interesting here. You can read it as Athena is actually in Troy, the personification and manifestation of Zeus’ law, or, because Odysseus doesn’t start seeing Athena until after Troy, his vision of Athena just happens to be this woman whose death impacted him so much. Nolan does say this is a time of “apparent magic.” Maybe the Gods don’t exist. As we said, there’s a lot going on in these scenes.)
Eventually, despite that fear and regret, Odysseus does come home. And now, after the long journey he’s been on, he knows how to make things right. Penelope issues the challenge to her suitors to do the one thing she knows only Odysseus, or a man of his strength and cunning, can do, which is to string his large bow. And this is where Nolan does my favorite thing, maybe, in the entire movie. As the suitors try, and fail, to string the bow, he keeps cutting back to Odysseus sitting in the background watching. He’s wearing this all-encompassing cloak, which obscures his face. And so, we just keep cutting to this terrifying presence we know to be the rightful King, but who looks like a demon in disguise. Nolan cuts back to him multiple times to continue to build this electric anticipation until, of course, he finally steps up.
Once Odysseus reveals himself and all hell breaks loose, it’s like a volcano erupting. The action and excitement boil over into this kinetic fight that helps to release all the tension that’s been built. It’s especially delightful to watch Antinous take his final breaths (as is the payoff with Sinon’s trinket for his old friend). To be fair, though, while the battle is what we’ve been waiting for, it almost pales in comparison to how long it has taken to get there and how much we’d been waiting to see it. The journey, in our mind, has been better than the destination.
Nevertheless, the final act of The Odyssey is what it’s all about. It’s a fantastically paced and satisfying way to end the movie, filled with memorable moments and thematic resonance to chew on. We can’t wait to see it again.
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