Written by Howard Overman
Directed by Justin Molotnikov
Pasiphae (to Heptarian, re Jason): “It seems your confidence that the boy would quickly perish was unfounded. He is a born bull leaper.”
If the first two episodes of this show lacked enough decent characterisation, then I think this episode went to some lengths to actually remedy the situation. While the writing is still choppy at best, this was certainly a stronger episode to behold.
First of all – how delightfully hammy is Pasiphae? I think Sarah Parish is clearly having a ball with the character and if anything, Pasiphae was the standout character in this episode. Her determination to make sure the kingdom runs to her liking was certainly made apparent in this episode with both the arrival of her hunky but horrible nephew Heptarian and her determination to kill Jason.
You do have to wonder if Pasiphae will resort to attempted murder now when Jason and Ariadne have barely interacted, then what will she do when Jason actually does find himself falling for her stepdaughter? Ariadne might not be subtle in her attraction to Jason but so far, he doesn’t seem to be as attracted to her – at least not at this stage.
Pasiphae using some deadly black magic with Jason’s hair to wreck his bull leaping performance was a nice enough move. Of course, it might have been more effective had Pasiphae not been so easily duped by Medusa who managed to sabotage her spell and seal Jason’s victory in this episode’s main plot strand.
As for the scenes with both Pasiphae and Heptarian – it’s clear both of them are trying to use a marriage to Ariadne to seal their hold on the kingdom. It’s a little predictable that Ariadne seems to be open in his distaste towards Heptarian as well as her stepmother but it certainly helped to give the character a little more personality than the previous two episodes afforded her to have.
As for the scenes with Jason and Heptarian – they were interesting. Sure, it might have been again predictable that their dislike will intensify because of Ariadne but their rivalry certainly has the potential to be very interesting to watch over the course of the series, especially given that Pasiphae encouraged Heptarian’s dislike for Jason all the more in this episode.
The bull leaping segment of the episode was fairly engaging enough but mainly because we got some decent supporting characters such as Shabakra, Cyrus and Elpis and also because we got to see Jason, Hercules and Pythagoras implement team work in a very interesting way throughout the entire episode. The slow motion scenes were a little naff but no more than any other genre that tends to use them though but overall, it was a more enjoyable plot than I was expecting it to be.
Also in “A Boy Of No Consequence”
Minos is clearly an ineffectual leader. I’m not sure the whole bull leaping thing actually works with punishing certain types of offenders. He’s probably let a few unsavoury sorts win their freedom with this method.
Hercules: “Medusa and I have a bond that goes beyond physical appearance.”
Jason: “Does she know that?”
Medusa actually proved Hercules right in this respect when she was cheering him on at the bull leaping. I’m not surprised she managed to get a job in the palace either. We also met one of Hercules’s former conquests in Sophia this week.
Heptarian: “You dare to touch me?”
Jason: “I would dare stop you from striking a defenceless old man who’s done you no harm.”
Palos (to Jason): “You mean to say you don’t know?”
Hercules: “You’ll find the extent of his ignorance truly astonishing.”
Both Palos and Elpis were part of Pasiphae’s scheme to kill Jason. Elpis however showed remorse and tried to help Jason in the end. Cyrus ended up being killed by Palos though.
Elpis: “I dream of being killed by the bull.”
Jason: “Do you ever dream of being free?”
Hercules: “It is not in the words, it’s in the eyes.”
Pythagoras: “Is it? I thought it was about the words.”
This was the first episode to not feature the Oracle and to be honest, it really did work in the episode’s favour.
Pasiphae: “I know you think me harsh but as queen, you cannot always follow your heart.”
Ariadne: “Then you’re well suited to the role.”
Chronology: I don’t think too much time has passed since “A Girl By Any Other Name”.
This show is far from perfect but not quite the sinking ship that some are making it out to be either. “A Boy Of No Consequence” was certainly more character driven than the first two episodes and hopefully it’s a sign of the show getting stronger as we go into the next series of episodes. That being said, Pythagoras actually had bugger all to really do in this one.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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