Monday 21 October 2013

Atlantis Series 1 Episode 4 "Twist of Fate" Review


This has been a very good series so far, as although it's not been outstanding, being rather inconsistent, it has been very entertaining, with some interesting characters, and brilliant humour. It has also been nice to see how the creative team behind the series has worked the myths into it, as although not that accurate at times, it's still nice that they're added.

Plot


Whilst hunting Jason, Hercules and Pythagoras find an abandoned baby and decide to take it home and look after it. There is however more to this baby, and their good willed actions have landed them in a very awkward position.

Review


This is the worst episode that the series has seen yet, as although it wasn't terrible, it was very poor, and nowhere near as good as the last episode, even making the slightly mediocre second episode look good. Now as I said it wasn't terrible, as it was still very humorous, with some very entertaining bits. At the same time it was very slow, having a plot line that was stretched as far as possible, making the episode very slow. It also didn't have much excitement, as bar the odd scene most of the episode was rather dull, relying on the humour to make it watchable. The episode did start focusing in on the mythological side again, and although it didn't focus on one of the more interesting myths, it did a brilliant job in adapting it in a way so that you don't see everything coming right at the start.

This episode would revolve around the group finding an abandoned baby whilst hunting, and then looking after it. Now although the concept of these character being in charge of a baby sounds like an interesting idea, I personally couldn't see how this kind of story would give a exciting episode. It did however have some very entertaining moments, especially with Hercules being involved, as it's hard to imagine this version being able to look after himself without Jason or Pythagoras' help, let alone look after a baby. This plot line would however allow for some dramatic moments as well, with some brilliant characters interaction, though at the end of the day it wasn't enough to make this a good storyline.

Three Men and a Baby

It would be revealed that the father of this child would be King Laius. Now anyone who knows a lot about mythology will know straight away what this story is really about, and who the child is, but for those who aren't I won't go into any more details the now. The addition of King Laius was rather interesting, as he managed to add a different view point as well as a different type of tone to the episode. His actions would also add some suspense and drama as well, as due to the constant change in attitude it made him a bit mysterious (assuming you don't know the myth that is). On top of that I felt that Tristan Gemmill did a very good job of playing the character, as did Elen Rhys as his wife, Jocasta.

Not long into the episode when it is learned that the baby was taken from the mountains the guards are put out in search of the group and more importantly the baby. The guards would also be lead by an advisor of King Laius named Tiresius played by Donald Sumpter. This had to be the best part of the episode, as bar the chase scenes adding a bit of excitement to the episode, the addition of Sumpter would also add some more drama and suspense throughout the episode, with his performance being the best in the episode. What I enjoyed most about the addition of Sumpter as Tiresius was the tone of his character, as he appeared very firm and determined, but as the episode progressed he would show some other characteristics that made him even more interesting. The chase scenes themselves would also add yet more humour to the episode as well.

Avoiding Capture

It would be revealed later on in the episode that the baby was abandoned in hopes of stopping a prophesy. Now yet again for anyone who's not a follower of mythology I won't go into any details, as it would spoil the reaction you'd have to learning what the prophesy is. I will however say that it was nice that this was added, and the fact that they kept it very accurate to the myth. I also liked how they managed to change this particular myth into something more family friendly, and although the plot itself was rather poor, the idea was quite clever. I also yet again enjoyed seeing Jason's reaction to this, as given the fact he knows these tales from growing up in the present, it means that he also knows whether the prophesy comes true or not.

Final Verdict


This wasn't a very good issue, as although it remains to be very humorous, having some very entertaining scenes, the plot was rather dull, and dragged on for too long. The episode itself was also rather slow, and if it wasn't for the humour, and the additional cast members this would be a down right terrible episode. Due to all this I'd recommend skipping this episode, but if you are interested in the myth behind King Laius' son then by all means give this a try, but even then I still would only recommending it if you have spare time.

Rating: 5/10

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