Line #221 Theatre/EpicTheMusical


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/16577fd6_7d08_4af7_9119_99d1e70f08db.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:”When does a man become a monster?”]]
3
4	As Troy burns behind him, Odysseus the Seafarer sets sail towards his home of Ithaca, burdened with the guilt of his actions during the long war. Little does he know that his journey is far from over, and he will face a great many challenges and difficult choices before he can reunite with his son and wife.
5
6	EPIC is a musical made by Jorge Rivera-Herrans, as an adaptation of Homer’s Literature/TheOdyssey. Snippets of the songs were first uploaded unto Platform/TikTok, and the full songs are slowly being released on music platforms. There will be 9 sagas, containing 40 songs in total.
7
8	[[folder:Sagas & Songs]]
9	!!Act 1
10	* The Troy Saga (December 25, 2022)
11	** The Horse And The Infant
12	** Just A Man
13	** Full Speed Ahead
14	** Open Arms
15	** Warrior Of The Mind
16
17	* The Cyclops Saga (January 27, 2023)
18	** Polyphemus
19	** Survive
20	** Remember Them
21	** My Goodbye
22
23	* The Ocean Saga (December 25, 2023)
24	** Storm
25	** Luck Runs Out
26	** Keep Your Friends Close
27	** Ruthlessness
28
29	* The Circe Saga (February 14, 2024)
30	** Puppeteer
31	** Wouldn’t You Like
32	** Done For
33	** There Are Other Ways
34
35	* The Underworld Saga (April 26, 2024)
36	** The Underworld
37	** No Longer You
38	** Monster
39
40	!!Act 2
41	* The Thunder Saga
42	** Unnamed song 21
43	** Unnamed song 22
44	** Scylla
45	** Mutiny
46	** Thunder Bringer
47
48	* The Wisdom Saga
49	** Legendary
50	** Little Wolf
51	** We'd Be Fine
52	** Love In Paradise
53	** God Games
54
55	* The Vengeance Saga
56	** Not Sorry For Loving You
57	** Dangerous
58	** Charybdis
59	** Get In The Water
60	** 600 Strike
61
62	* The Ithaca Saga
63	** The Challenge
64	** Hold Them Down
65	** King
66	** I Can't Help But Wonder
67	** Would You Fall In Love With Me Again
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	----
71	!!''EPIC'' provides examples of:
72
73	* ActionPrologue: The musical starts off with Odysseus inside the Trojan Horse right as they plan to defeat the Trojans after 10 years of war.
74	* AdaptationDistillation: The Cyclops Saga cuts out a few parts while still preserving the overall story. Namely that the wine Odysseus offers Polyphemus was made by one of Dionysus' sons and was exceptionally potent (instead Odysseus laces it with lotus) and that Odysseus had fully realised that the cave was inhabited and insisted that they wait to give the owner a gift as compensation for eating his food, rather than being caught in the act.
75	* ArmorPiercingResponse: ''My Goodbye'' is basically Odysseus and Athena exchanging [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech "The Reason You Suck" Speeches]], but the sudden halt to the music after one line from Odysseus implies it really hit Athena hard:
76	-->''At least I know what I'm fighting for, while you're fighting to be known!\
77	Since you claim you're so much wiser, why's your life spent all alone?''\
78	You're alone!
79	* AintTooProudToBeg: Odysseus is a GuileHero and accomplished warrior, but he's ultimately [[ArcWords just a man]] and the gods simply exist on a scale beyond him. Even though he has the bravado to go as far as calling them out on occasion, whenever the gods actively impose their will on him, he's quickly reduced to powerlessly begging for their mercy. Instead of making him seem pathetic, it's incredibly humanizing.
80	** When Zeus tells him that it is the will of the gods that he either kill Hector's infant son or else allow the boy to one day grow into a grave threat who will destroy his home and family, Odysseus literally gets down on his knees and begs for an alternative. He doesn't get one.
81	** Poseidon manages to very effectively reduce him to this with a few words.
82	--->'''Poseidon:''' Now get in the water. Get in the water... or I'll raise the tide so high, all of Ithaca will die. Get in the water.\
83	'''Odysseus:''' ...Wait.\
84	'''Poseidon:''' ''Get in the water.''\
85	'''Odysseus:''' Stop this, ''please!''
86	* AllForNothing: A distraught Odysseus has this reaction when he hears the prophet's words in ''No Longer You'', believing that neither he nor his men would make it home after all the hardships they've faced, missing the ExactWords the prophet is using in regards to Odysseus himself.
87	* ArcWords: "Just a man." First used in the song of the same name, they appear whenever Odysseus faces a problem he can't outsmart and has to make a painful decision.
88	* AscendedExtra: Polites only ever gets mentioned twice in the Odyssey, but gets more plot relevance here, as Odysseus' best friend and MoralityChain.
89	* AssholeVictim: The suitors spent years abusing SacredHospitality, harassing Penelope and Telemachus, and by the end of it all they're planning to murder Telemachus and rape Penelope. Odysseus [[MookHorrorShow proceeds to slaughter all of them]].
90	* BackhandedApology: During ''Ruthlessness'', Poseidon suggests that he ''may'' be willing to spare Odysseus and his men if he apologizes for the suffering he inflicted upon his son.
91	-->''Poseidon, we meant no harm\
92	We only hurt him to disarm him\
93	We took no pleasure in his pain\
94	We only wanted to escape.''
95	* BadassBoast: Odysseus delivers one to Polyphemus during ''Remember Them''. Of course, this is not without consequences, as his proud declaration of who he is will cause [[ArchEnemy Poseidon's]] hatred of him.
96	-->''Remember me\
97	I'm the reigning king of Ithaca\
98	I am neither man nor mythical\
99	I am your darkest moment\
100	I am the infamous,'' Odysseus!
101	* BaitAndSwitchComment: In ''Polythemus'', the titular cyclops is angry at Odysseus and his crew for killing his sheep and is ready to murder them in return. He seems to calm down after Odysseus gifts him some wine as an apology, and the cyclops shows his thanks... by promising to kill Odysseus ''last'', right before he begins hunting down the crew.
102	* BaitTheDog: Poseidon tells Odysseus that he will spare him and his men if he apologizes for maiming Polyphemus. Immediately after Odysseus does so, the ocean god mocks him for being naive and murders all but a handful of his men.
103	* BerserkButton: As of the Wisdom Saga, insulting Telemachus is this for Athena. The sheer outrage allows her to brute force her way out of Ares’ version of quick-thought.
104	* BigBad: While there are plenty of enemies that stand in Odysseus' way, by far the greatest and most powerful is Poseidon, supreme lord of the sea.
105	* BigNo: Odysseus in "Keep Your Friends Close" after he wakes up and realizes his men are opening the bag of wind. For very good reason...
106	* BigWhat: In "Ruthlessness", Poseidon exclaims an outraged "What?!" when Odysseus escapes him by using the bag of wind.
107	* BlindSeer: Tiresias is a blind prophet found in Hades who gives Odysseus a glimpse into his future in the song "No Longer You".
108	* BornLucky: {{Discussed\|Trope}} in ''Luck Runs Out''. Odysseus brazenly enters challenges such as the Cyclops or Athena, and later Poseidon, Circe, and other gods and monsters, yet remains unscathed. When he wants to enter the wind god's kingdom, Eurylochus is quick to argue that his luck can easily run out and that he cannot simply rely on wit in all circumstances, leading to either his own death or the death of more crewmates.
109	* BorrowedCatchphrase: Odysseus repeats Poseidon's "Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves" in his song ''Monster'', to show how his ideology becomes closer to the sea god.
110	* BroughtDownToBadass: The flower Odysseus ate means Circe can’t just delete him on the spot, but he admits in his part of the song that she’s still on par with a highly skilled Greek warrior.
111	* CallBack: The song ''Ruthlessness'' ends with two; First, Odysseus quotes Aeolus as he [[spoiler:opens the bag of winds to drive off Poseidon. Then, Poseidon quotes him from his earlier song, "Remember Them"]].
112	-->'''Odysseus:''' ''All I gotta do is open this bag!''\
113	'''Poseidon:''' ''Remember me...''
114	* CentralTheme: What are we willing to do for those we love, and when have we gone too far? Odysseus is fundamentally just a man who wants to be kind and avoid hurting people as much as possible, but circumstances keep forcing his hand, and he often has to chose between cruel brutality and losing his wife and son. The very first song establishes this, as Zeus presents him with the dilemma in a very literal way; Kill the infant son of Hector and ensure that he will never come after Odysseus for revenge, or spare him, and face the inevitable consequences of the sacking of Troy.
115	* ChekhovsGun: The bag containing the winds of the storm given to Odysseus by Aeolus most notably comes back later in the same song, as his crew ignores his warnings and opens it, letting them out. However, he and Eurylochus manage to close it and save some of the winds, which come back later in ''Ruthlessness'' when [[spoiler:Odysseus opens it right in Poseidon's face, blasting him to kingdom come]].
116	* ClassicalCyclops: The second saga heavily features the cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and TropeMaker.
117	* CompositeCharacter: Antinous gets merged with Eurymachus, as he is the only named suitor and serves as the suitors' leader.
118	* ConceptAlbum: The songs of the musical are being released in 9 concept album sagas, starting with the Troy Saga and ending with the Ithaca Saga. Each tells the story of a different part of the Odyssey.
119	* CreepyCave: The cave of the cyclops in the second saga is frightening, with Odysseus sensing danger even before the cyclops shows up.
120	* CruelMercy: Odysseus, believing that Polyphemus no longer poses any threat after being blinded, refuses to kill the cyclops. This is partly out of distaste for further bloodshed after the Trojan War but also because he wants to force the cyclops to live crippled and burdened with the knowledge of who he was beaten by, which is why he proceeds to taunt Polyphemus with his name. This twisted act of mercy quickly comes back to bite him, and is called out as such during ''Ruthlessness''.
121	* DamnedByFaintPraise: As Athena is arguing in Odysseus favour, she does provide good reasonings at first, but as Hera dismisses them one by one, she's eventually left arguing that Odysseus is ''kinda'' funny.
122	* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: It isn't mentioned when [[spoiler:Polites dies in the original Odyssey, but he originally lived at least long enough to encounter Circe, whereas here he dies because of Polyphemus]].
123	* DisproportionateRetribution: Polyphemus is rightfully angered and saddened to see that intruders have broken into his home and killed his favorite sheep, but even after Odysseus tries to explain that they hadn't intentionally wronged him and were willing to compensate him for their actions, he decides the best course is to ''eat them alive''.
124	* DivineIntervention: Athena asks Zeus to intervene to help Odysseus, and all of ''God Games'' is her trying to convince the other Olympians to give their blessings. Hermes also does this twice, in both ''Wouldn't You Like'' and ''Dangerous''.
125	* DoubleEntendre: The two words Circe uses to entice Odysseus's crew.
126	-->'''Circe:''' Come inside~
127	-->'''Odysseus:''' ''Damn.''
128	* DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal: As always, Zeus. He brags about this by using it as a metaphor in his solo, ''Thunder Bringer''.
129	-->''Pride is a damsel in distress\
130	Hiding away where only I can undress her\
131	Try all she can not to confess\
132	In the end, it's all the same once I apply all the pressure''
133	* DreamTellsYouToWakeUp: Odysseus struggles to keep his crew away from the bag of winds in ''Keep Your Friends Close'', staying awake for 9 days straight. He slowly drifts off to sleep, hearing Penelope and Telemachus' voices telling him to keep his eyes open, lamenting how he can spend time with them soon. It isn't until Penelope yells at Odysseus to wake up that they succeed, yet it is too late as the bag has been opened, and he is once again away from Ithaca.
134	-->Wake up!\
135	Wake up, Odysseus, they're opening the bag,\
136	''Wake up!''
137	* DwindlingParty: Odysseus’ crew starts losing people in the song ''Survive'', and later songs show that more and more of the crew will die.
138	-->''I'll unveil what I know of the top of my head\
139	Most of these sorry souls are gonna end up dead.''
140	* EmotionsVersusStoicism: What Odysseus and Athena argue over, and what ultimately drives them to go their separate ways: Athena wants her ideal ''Warrior of the Mind'' to be completely logical, and even ruthless when necessary. Odysseus, however, is ultimately driven by his emotions, be that his desire to see his family again, or his care for his men, and frequently acts on those emotions.
141	** Act 2 reverses these roles, with Odysseus being more ruthless and goal oriented at the cost of his crew, whereas Athena challenges her entire pantheon to save Odysseus because of her friendship with his son, Telemachus.
142	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Despite being portrayed mostly as a vicious brute, Ares' rage and disgust when he questions what kind of hero Odysseus is if he would continously hold back, not fight his own battles and let his comrades die by the dozens seem genuine.
143	-->''What kind of sick coward holds back his power while his friends get devoured?''
144	* EvilCounterpart: Ares acts as one to Athena, even having his own version of her Quickthought power. Fitting, as they are the Gods of War, with Ares' domain being the [[RapePillageAndBurn brutality]] of war.
145	* ExactWords:
146	** In ''The Horse And The Infant'', Zeus sends Odysseus to kill "a foe who won't run, unlike anyone you've faced before." Odysseus has no hesitation to fight whatever epic warrior of Troy this is... only to find Prince Hector's infant son.
147	** In ''No Longer You'', the prophet tells Odysseus that he would not make it home, but instead a "haunting" man with a trail of bodies behind him would take his place at Penelope's side. Odysseus doesn't realize (at least not in the moment) that the prophet was saying that Odysseus ''as he was now'' would not return to Ithaca, but an Odysseus who had become more hardened and ruthless would.
148	* FightingYourGod: Odysseus frequently disagrees and even argues with the gods, notably his own patron goddess Athena to the point of insulting her, and both Zeus and Poseidon '''twice'''.
149	* {{Foil}}: Odysseus and Circe in ''Done For''. While they have many differences (one is a mortal warrior, the other is a goddess sorceress), their actions are driven by the same desire to protect those under them (for Odysseus his crew, for Circe her nymphs), especially with each already suffering from failing to protect those same people. Circe may even serve as an example of what might happen if Odysseus fully embraces [[HeWhoFightsMonsters pragmatism over morality, a path he's already starting to travel down]]. The two sing similar lines together in one chorus that emphasize this commonality:
150	--> '''Odysseus and Circe in unison''': \
151	~''I've got people to protect, friends I can't neglect!''~\
152	~''And now there's no turning back!''~
153	* ForcedTransformation: Circe turns members of the crew into pigs.
154	* ForegoneConclusion: The audience knows that Odysseus will make it back home, based on the original story and from the prophecy in ''No Longer You''. The question is [[HeWhoFightsMonsters how much, if any, humanity Odysseus will have left in him after all the trials and losses he's suffered]].
155	* GenderFlip: Aeolus is a king in the original story, and a goddess in this musical.
156	* GivenNameReveal: In two different ways when Odysseus identifies himself to the cyclops. Not only is he revealing his identity to Polyphemus as the one who blinded and defeated him, it's also the first time in the musical his name is used.
157	* GuileHero: Odysseus, as always, solves his problems through clever tactics rather than brute force. The song ''Warrior of the Mind'' is all about this from Athena's perspective.
158	--> '''Athena:''' ''If there's a problem, he'll have the answer. He is a warrior of the mind!''
159	* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Part of the CentralTheme of the story is the lengths someone will go to for their goals, even if those goals are fully heroic and sympathetic, and when it has gone too far. Odysseus fears that he will become a monster, and as time goes on considers embracing it.
160	-->''If I became the monster, and threw that guilt away\
161	Would that make us stronger, would it keep our foes at bay?''
162	* IAmBecomingSong: "Monster", where Odysseus contemplates Teiresias' prediction that he will have to change in order to get home and decides to become more ruthless in order to protect his crew.
163	* ImpliedRape: Antinous and the suitors are implied to be planning this for Penelope in the song ''Hold Them Down''. It's only alluded to without actually saying the word, instead using squicky euphemisms.
164	* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: Odysseus calls out the god of wisdom Athena for being alone in ''My Goodbye'', and Athena herself shows this by believing her path to be better than Odysseus, and as such choosing to leave him behind and be by herself.
165	-->''Since you claim you're so much wiser\
166	Why's your life spent all alone?''
167	* InvisibleBackupBand: Aside from being a musical, all the Olympians have backup vocals, mainly seen in ''God Games'' where the gods are introduced with their names being sung. [[spoiler:Odysseus gets it himself while he's hunting down the suitors]].
168	* IronicEcho:
169	** Polyphemus's half of ''Survive'' is him repeating back a much darker version of Odysseus's opening lines.
170	-->''600 lives at stake/600 lives I'll take\
171	It's just one life to take/600 lives I'll break.\
172	And when we kill him then our journey's over./And when I kill you then my pain is over.\
173	No dying on me now./You're dying here and now\
174	Defeat is not allowed./Escape is not allowed.\
175	We must live through this day so/You won’t live through this day now\
176	Fight, fight, fight/Die, die...''
177	** The line "Just A Man" from the song of the same name gets repeated back to Odysseus by Athena during ''My Goodbye'' to insult him.
178	** In ''Ruthlessness'', Poseidon repeats a few of Odysseus' words against him, specifically those used against Polyphemus such as "I am your darkest moment." and "Remember me." [[spoiler:after killing all but 43 men of his fleet]].
179	** In "King", the chorus ominously chants Odysseus's name just like they do in "Ruthlessness" for Poseidon and in ''Survive'' for Polyphemus because this time its ''Odysseus'' who is the horrifyingly unstoppable threat who is avenging himself against his enemies.
180	* IWillWaitForYou:
181	** Penelope and Telemachus continue to wait for Odysseus even after 20 years, although we know Odysseus survives to return eventually.
182	** In "The Underworld", Odysseus sees a vision of his mother, who died in Ithaca while waiting for him to come home. Aphrodite brings this up in "God Games" and says that Odysseus dishonored her domain of love by breaking his mother's heart.
183	* JerkassGods: Poseidon. He slaughters Odysseus's fleet in front of him, to make him feel complete despair before he kills him, even though the majority of those men had nothing to do with Polyphemus's mutilation. He deliberately waits until Odysseus is on the shores of Ithaca before threatening to drown the entire kingdom, if Odysseus doesn't sacrifice himself. "Get in the Water" implies that he isn't even trying to avenge his son, much of worship comes from fear, so if he knowingly lets an attack on his family slide, he weakens his position as a god.
184	-->I've got a reputation.\
185	I've got a name to uphold.\
186	So I can't go letting you walk or else the world forgets I'm cold.
187	** Aeolus also deserves a mention. While initially appearing to be helpful and granting Odysseus' wish by trapping a storm in a bag, this came with the catch that the bag must never be opened. This by itself wouldn't be so bad, as such conditions or tests are common enough and this one is pretty reasonable, except that as soon as Odysseus returned to his crew, who asked what is the bag he was now carrying, Aelous (or one of her servants) immediately claimed it was treasure before running off. When Odysseus tried to explain what the truth of the matter, the crew were now skeptical, leaving him to stay awake ''for nine days straight'' so that [[SchmuckBait they wouldn't open it out of greed or curiousity]], which they did when he inevitably fell asleep, leading to the events of ''Ruthlessness''. Many of Aelous' lines in ''Keep Your Friends Close'' implies they knew this would happen the entire time, deliberately setting Odysseus up to fail.
188	* JerkassHasAPoint: While several of the gods are cruel and tend to focus on their [[SkewedPriorities own interests]], they're not always wrong when pointing out Odysseus' flaws. For example, while Poseidon's act of revenge against Odysseus was excessive, [[spoiler:wiping out all but 43 of his men in one go]], he's right in pointing out Odysseus' hypocrisy in trying to be a good man but committing horrific acts, and how leaving the cyclops [[CruelMercy alive but blinded and humiliated]] was [[SubvertedTrope far more cruel than just killing him]].
189	* KarmicJackpot: Odysseus's love and loyalty to his wife ultimately saves his life twice over.
190	** When [[HoneyTrap Circe attempts to seduce Odysseus to lower his guard]], he rejects her advances and explains that he has a wife whom he desperately misses and wishes to return to. This expression of genuine love and honest vulnerability manages to touch Circe's heart and alleviate her distrust, and she willingly helps him.
191	--->'''Odysseus''': Wait... you're helping us?\
192	'''Circe''': There are many ways of persuasion, there are many modes of control. Maybe showing one act of kindness leads to kinder souls down the road.
193	** When Athena takes on the challenge of convincing the other Olympians to pardon Odysseus, Hera is utterly dismissive of why she ought to care, asking what makes him special amongst thousands of other heroes. Athena replies that he never once cheated on his wife, which wins Hera over immediately.
194	* KnightKnaveAndSquire: The named members of Odysseus' crew form this. Odysseus is the knight, the most experienced one and fights to go back home, Eurylochus being the Knave, arguing with Odysseus in ''Luck Runs Out'' and ''Puppeteer'' to leave other men to save themselves, and Polites being the Squire, with the most optimistic outlook but also the least experience with no scenes of him specifically fighting anyone.
195	* TheLancer: Eurylochus serves this role to Odysseus, being his second-in-command and frequently disagreeing with Odysseus in choice of method.
196	* {{Leitmotif}}: Athena has one played on piano whenever she appears to Odysseus, notably in ''Warrior of the Mind'', ''Remember Them'', and ''My Goodbye''.
197	* LordOfTheOcean: Poseidon, the God of the Seas, shows up in the musical as a reoccurring antagonist.
198	* LotusEaterMachine: Odysseus and Polites encounter the Lotus Eaters during the song ''Open Arms'', with them both nearly falling victim to it.
199	* TheMentor: Athena explicitly refers to herself as Odysseus', desiring to shape him into the ultimate GuileHero. Notably, however, Odysseus views her more as a friend.
200	* MookHorrorShow: Odysseus' massacre of the suitors in "King", hunting them down one by one in the darkness as they're powerless to stop him and taunting them every time they think they have a chance to tilt the odds.
201	* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Poseidon believes that brutality and murder is ultimately the only way to ensure no one will come after you for revenge. He even tells Odysseus that if he had just killed Polyphemos, then Poseidon wouldn't be causing him woes later.
202	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[ForegoneConclusion As detailed in the poems]], Odysseus's decision to reveal his name to Polyphemus in a fit of vindictive hubris allows the cyclops to identify his attacker to his father, Poseidon, whose wrath will prolong Odysseus' journey home another 10 years and lead to the deaths of many of his crew. The fact that Odysseus chooses to do this over Athena's objections further costs him her friendship and patronage, leaving him without her divine favor for the trials ahead.
203	* NotSoDifferentRemark: Odysseus reflects on this in the song ''Monster''. The cyclops, Poseidon, and Circe all had people they wanted to protect at the cost of doing horrible things to him and his crew.
204	* OceanOfAdventure: Especially because it's based on the TropeCodifier. On his way back home to Ithaca from Troy, Odysseus and his crew face giants, sea monsters, witches, and gods.
205	* OhCrap: Odysseus and his crew suffer a number of these throughout the musical as various dangers reveal themselves.
206	** In ''Survive'' when Polyphemus reveals he has a club, ruining their plans to whittle him down from a distance and flipping the balance of the song from human heroes slaying a monster to the monster massacring helpless humans.
207	--->'''Polyphemus:''' '''[[PreAsskickingOneLiner Enough]]'''.\
208	'''Odysseus:''' He's got a club. He's got a club!\
209	'''Crewman:''' What are our orders? Captain? Captain!
210	** Odysseus and his crew's reaction in ''Ruthlessness'' when they realize that they've incurred the wrath of Poseidon.
211	--->'''Poseidon:''' That's right - the cyclops you made blind is ''mine''.\
212	'''Odysseus:''' [[LittleNo No.]]
213	* PapaWolf: Poseidon only attacks Odysseus and his crew because they harmed his son Polyphemus.
214	* PreAsskickingOneLiner: Just as Poseidon has him and his crew at his mercy, Odysseus sings [[spoiler:"All I gotta do is just open this bag," before blasting him with the remaining winds of the storm]].
215	* PreMortemCatchphrase: [[spoiler:Polites both gets introduced and dies saying "Captain."]]
216	** [[spoiler:The same screaming of "Captain" for all but 43 of Odysseus' men after Poseidon's wrath in ''Ruthlessness''.]]
217	** Technically, this becomes a '''post'''-mortem catchphrase, as it gets repeated in ''The Underworld''.
218	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Used frequently during fight scenes from the ensemble, such as Polyphemus' name in ''Survive'', Eurylochus' name in ''Mutiny'', Telemachus in ''Royal Wisdom Burst'' and Odysseus' name twice in ''Mutiny'' and ''King''.
219	* QuarrelingSong: ''My Goodbye'' features Athena and Odysseus arguing over their differences and going their separate ways.
220	* RedOniBlueOni: Odysseus and Eurylochus. While Odysseus is obviously very intelligent especially in combat, he is more impulsive to save his men from Circe and face threats such as the Cyclops. On the other hand, Eurylochus argues with his impulsiveness, saying that his luck won’t last forever and that it may be safer to leave his men.
221	* RunningGag: Hermes' appearance is always heralded by a bewildered Odysseus calling his name, followed by Hermes [[SignatureLaugh laughing like a madman.]]
222	* RestoredMyFaithInHumanity:
223	** Downplayed example, but Circe becomes willing to aid Odysseus after hearing about his desire to return to his wife and seeing him stay loyal to her in ''There Are Other Ways'' in spite of Circe's temptations. She still may not trust humans as a whole after this, but she's seen enough good in Odysseus to give him a chance.
224	** Telemachus's friendship, kindness, and pure heart convinces Athena to rescue Odysseus, even though the two never truly make up.
225	* SacrificialLamb: [[spoiler:Polites is established early on as a friend of Odysseus, yet is the very first to die in the crew, marking the start of the DwindlingParty.]]
226	-->Everything's changed since [[spoiler:Polites]]!
227	* SadisticChoice: Odysseus is given a few of these by the cruel whims of the gods and fate.
228	** Immediately during the fall of Troy, Zeus presents Odysseus a vision of the future detailing how Hector's infant son will one day grow into a warrior who will avenge himself upon Odysseus and his family for his part in the Trojan war, and that this cannot be avoided through any means except killing the boy here and now. Forcing him to choose between having the blood of his loved ones on his hands, or that of an innocent baby's.
229	** After 10 long years of being lost at sea, right when Odysseus is within sight of his homeland of Ithaca, Poseidon completes his revenge for Odysseus maiming his son Polyphemus by demanding that Odysseus willingly walk into the sea and drown himself or else he will drown all of Ithaca, particularly Odysseus's wife and son, under the waves.
230	* SadlyMythtaken: Neoptolemus (son of Achilles) doesn’t kill the brothers of Hector, but rather his father.
231	* ScyllaAndCharybdis: Odysseus encounters the monsters themselves in Act 2, going for Scylla at first but then later on chooses Charybdis.
232	* SkewedPriorities: The Olympian gods sometimes come across as having these, as their attention is largely focused on their respective domains and they're willing to punish anyone who transgresses them regardless of the circumstances. A good example of this is Aphrodite in ''God Games'', stating that she wants Odysseus to be punished for breaking his mother's heart by leaving and not returning before she died. Athena points out that Odysseus was sorta busy ''fighting in a war'' at the time[[note]]though not stated, Odysseus did not have the option of refusing to go due to an oath he and many other Greeks had sworn, but not for lack of trying as he did try to duck out of it in the original myth by pretending to have gone mad, but the ruse was seen through[[/note]], but Aphrodite just shrugs it off.
233	* SeenItAll: Hera is unimpressed with Athena's plea that she bless Odysseus, stating that she has seen tons of heroes come and go and Odysseus is not unique. She is equally unimpressed by Athena's pleas that Odysseus is clever, articulate, and funny, but she is convinced when she claims that Odysseus never cheated on his wife.
234	* SignatureLaugh: Hermes has a very silly, high pitched laugh that he uses to announce his arrival in both of his songs.
235	* StartOfDarkness: Despite his initial refusal, killing Hector’s child in ''Just a Man'', as well as [[spoiler:the death of his most of his crew]] proves to be the catalyst for Odysseus' slow acceptance of violence and [[VillainHasAPoint ruthlessness]].
236	-->And if I gotta drop another infant from a wall\
237	In an instant so we all don't die\
238	Then I'll become the monster
239	* StrongFamilyResemblance: Ares' attitude in the song ''God Games'', that Odysseus is too soft and should be more brutal, is notably very similar to his sister Athena's view on her chosen hero in ''My Goodbye''.
240	* SunkenCity: Poseidon threatens to drown all of Ithaca in ''Get In The Water''.
241	* TimeMaster: Athena can slow or stop time when she wants to as a show of her divine power. It generally works, though her brother Ares is unimpressed, and dismisses it as "old tricks".
242	* TheTitleSaga: The musical has been released on streaming services in installments called "Sagas".
243	* TooCleverByHalf: Eurylochus accuses Odysseus of this as his faith begins to wane. Odysseus is [[GuileHero clever]], sure, but his failures mean death for his crew and Odysseus's recklessness will catch up to them.
244	* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[spoiler:Polites]] is introduced as the nicest character in the show, advocating for peace while the crew make their way home. [[spoiler:He then becomes the first of the crew to die in ''Survive''.]]
245	* TooGoodToBeTrue: Said word-for-word by Odysseus when entering the cave the lotus-eaters directed him to.
246	* ToHellAndBack: For the end of Act 1, Odysseus and his remaining crew enter Hades in the fittingly named Underworld Saga to meet the prophet Tiresias.
247	* TheTrickster: As in most instances of the character, Odysseus.
248	* TriumphantReprise: The final motes of the show is the same as the first notes of ''Just a Man'', in a more peaceful context.
249	* TrojanHorse: Odysseus is first introduced giving orders inside the TropeNamer.
250	* TwoActStructure: The songs for the musical are grouped into two acts, with songs 1-20 (Troy to Underworld Saga) being Act 1, and songs 21-40 (Thunder to Ithaca Saga) being Act 2.
251	* VillainSong: Arguably for Poseidon's BigBad status, ''Ruthlessness'' is the sea god criticizing Odysseus' attempts to be passive and empathetic on his voyage home. Calling him self-righteous and actually argues he could avoided all this trouble if he'd just killed his son–which he would've preferred–and lectures him on [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished mercy having a price]].
252	-->''Ruthlessness is mercy on ourselves!''
253	* WarGod: Both Athena and Ares show up in the musical.
254	-->''Goddess of wisdom, master of war\
255	My life has one mission, create the greatest warrior''
256	* WellIntentionedExtremist: In this interpretation, Circe's primary goal is to protect the nymphs under her care (even saying that they are like daughters to her in ''Done For'') and her [[ForcedTransformation turning Odysseus' men into pigs]] can be viewed as pre-emptive self-defense, as welcoming a previous group of strangers incurred a "heavy loss" for her family. While her goals are sympathetic, the fact she doesn't even bother to verify if Odyssess' crew had any malicious intents before transforming them is what makes her the antagonist of the Circe Saga.
257	* WhamLine: When the suitors are under attack by an unknown assailant in the dark, they plan to make use of their knowledge of the palace to even the playing field, right before the assailant appears and lets them know just who they're dealing with.
258	-->'''Suitor:''' ''We know these halls, the odds can be tilted!\
259	'''Odysseus:''' You don't think I know my own palace?'' '''''I built it!'''''
260	* WouldHurtAChild: PlayedForDrama, Zeus tells Odysseus that the infant child of Hector will soon grow to avenge and kill Odysseus and his family. While initially hesitant, he mournfully kills the child to protect his family.
261	* YouKilledMyFather: Supposedly how the son of Hector would act if allowed to live.
262

Context Theatre / EpicTheMusical