I was surprised, that was a much better episode than I had expected it to be. The first part was the usual formulaic stuff, but the second half seems to show how it has learnt from its lesson in the past, and gave us quite a rollicking final fifteen minutes. It also benefitted having Pasiphae take a bit more of centre-stage. Her evil ways seem to be worsening still. In the final seconds, as Jason escorts Ariadne out of the city, with that superb soundtrack in the background, I felt a little bit more satisfied.
As usual, there are things which still annoy me. What stood out this week was the acting, which I found bland and toneless from the main cast, especially Jack Donnelly, Aiysha Hart and Jemima Rooper. It was nice to see Robert Lindsay have a comeback, and his professional presence certainly showed how diverse an actor can be, he was showing off left, right and centre. If only the main cast took a cue from him. However, Daedalus only had a brief role, which was a little disappointing considering how important the character is - and his son Icarus. They may return later, but it will be difficult for the writers to justify it, without having it look like they're trying to tick off a checklist of reprisals.
The best part of the episode by far was Medusa's emotional sacrifice, which was actually quite horrific. Before the watershed, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few complaints for the explicit imagery, but it was powerful nonetheless. Jason's determination to reach Pasiphae was portrayed well, but it then stalled in this new dilemma. If only to stretch out the story, the writers have come up with a way for Jason not to be able to kill his mother, or his own equal for that matter. While this is infuriating for me, it does allow us to see a new perspective on our hero. The revelation for him that Pasiphae is his mother, must be very difficult for him and it will be interesting to see how copes with his feelings.
Again, a few niggles here and there is just that the writers seem to be juggling characters everywhere. While it's great to see Sarah Parish show off her evil stares and glances, there's a lot of dark stuff that is just unnecessary and almost morbid that shouldn't be allowed in a family viewing - but who am I to judge? At least they didn't show it, that's the important thing. Mainly, I'm not sure what to think of Melas at the moment, who seems to have an internal conflict of views, and it's difficult to follow a character like that. Also, Medea has been underused in these first three episodes of the second half of Series Two - it's time she could got a more substantial role.
With this episode, I have a feeling the writers may have used up all their energy to produce something just as good later on, but I've been very wrong before. This week, it was great to see the first series continuity interweave with the second because it allowed us to relate back in a nostalgic way. The Pandora's box especially was a great plot device for the writers and brought about that sad conclusion. Only four episodes left, and Atlantis may still have a chance to redeem itself.
7.5/10