Written by Howard Overman
Directed by Alice Troughton
Atalanta: “You lied to protect him?”
Pythagoras: “If I told Hercules what I know, he would give his life in an instant. As much as I hate to lie to him, I cannot see him die.”
The above quote is probably why I actually find Pythagoras the best of the three main male characters on this show. As much as Hercules had the right to know what would have to be done to cure Medusa, I do think Pythagoras’s intentions were noble. Though on the other hand, would the show work better without Hercules and Medusa kept on instead?
I have to admit it took me a while to like Hercules as a character and while some of his buffoon moments are often still too juvenile at times, he has improved a fair bit over the last few weeks. I liked that he didn’t want to give up hope in saving Medusa and the fact he was willing to risk his own life in order to do it spoke volumes.
Sadly though, by the writers actually going there with Medusa’s transformation so early in the series, I think any other hope of curing her is probably doomed to failure. The fact that Jason himself can see her without turning to stone also indicated that the time for him to come and kill her might be a lot sooner than later as well. As long as Pasiphae dies first, I’ll be happy.
It’s a shame though because I still maintain that Medusa is the best character on the show and unless Overman and company properly flesh out the likes of Pasiphae, Ariadne and the Oracle (who still did nothing interesting this episode, though Jason seems to be aware she’s not telling him everything), we’re in short supply of strong female characters on the show. On the other hand, there was some hope given this episode with the introduction of Atalanta this week.
I was a little surprised to see the character so early but definitely relieved too. Not only was she able to take out Scythians much better than Jason but she actually saved his life and got Pythagoras to open up about the cure he had found as well.
In less than a few scenes, I felt that Atalanta was a lot more detailed as a character than any of the other females we’ve had so far. The fact that it was mentioned pretty urgently that she was destined to cross Jason’s path again does make me wonder if she would be a better fir for him than Ariadne as well. There was definitely more of a spark to them than he’s had with Ariadne but just having another well written female character on the show now would be a relief.
As for the rest of the episode, the journey to Medusa was alright. The Scythians and their crazy manhunt provided some standard action sequences but the episode suffered from feeling too short at times. In fact the end scene itself felt strangely abrupt as well. I think another few minutes might have helped give this one a punchier ending.
Also in “The Price Of Hope”
Can we have Robert Lindsay’s Daedalus back for another episode? I thought he was absolutely amusing, especially given his attitude towards Jason.
Daedalus (to Pythagoras, re Jason): “I don’t like him, not one bit. Brains of a monkey and face of a goat.”
Much as I tend to gripe about the palace stuff, it is amazing that we’ve had very little continuity about it since the seventh episode.
Hercules: “How do I look?”
Jason: “You look cleaner.”
Hercules: “How do I smell?”
Jason: “No, no, why do you always insist that we smell you?”
Pythagoras: “Is she dead?”
Jason (re Scythian): “No, she isn’t a she.”
Hercules managed to point out that ever since meeting Jason they’ve gotten into more and more scrapes. I’m surprised it wasn’t Pythagoras to be honest.
Pythagoras: “That was amazing.”
Jason: “It doesn’t feel amazing.”
Atalanta (to Jason): “Our paths are destined to cross again in the future.”
The CGI for Medusa’s snake hair did look a lot better in this episode compared to the previous one. I think we saw it for longer too.
Medusa: “How is it possible for you to look at me?”
Jason: “I don’t know.”
Chronology: Some time has passed since the events of “Pandora’s Box”. We even had the box as part of the plot in this one. I wonder did Jason give it back to the Oracle afterwards.
Not quite as good as the previous episode, but “The Price Of Hope” at least earned it’s points for at least examining the fallout of Medusa’s transformation and the introduction of Atalanta as well. However, it was incredibly rushed and could’ve done with some extra time to have fleshed things out.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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