The latest instalment of Atlantis was a feast of ancient myth blending not only the story of Pandora’s Box but also a trip to Hades, Charon the boatman and a whole host of other supernatural elements. A lot to pack into one episode, and that was the episode’s undoing.
It began, as usual, with Hercules in trouble. This time, he’s tasked by Kryos the moneylender to go to Hades to return a box – if he doesn’t Medusa will be killed. Of course Jason travels with him and they rush off to find someone who can tell them how to descend to the underworld via a deathly slumber. They only have a short time for a reason that was never explained; fortunately everyone of import can be found within a short stroll from the city, so that was no problem. Hercules and Jason descend in to Hades and in short order cross to the deepest pit, kill a very well CGI’d scorpion demoness and make their escape. Pythagoras’ role is to hang around and at a signal from Hades via a crow use his blood to rouse the heroes from their sleep.
This all means Pythagoras has to have a story of his own to pass the time – lots of running around, a fire, a burial and a fortunate rescue. Hercules and Jason then have a fake Pandora’s Box made in a few minutes, trick Kryos, rescue Medusa and save the day. All jolly good except of course Medusa has gone back to the house, opened the box and is now sporting a new snake-infested hair style!
Despite a return to some resemblance of a story, moving the Medusa arc up several notches, this episode had far too many easily avoidable rough edges. It was fun though.
