Recap / Atlantis S 1 E 7 The Rules Of Engagement

King Minos announces the betrothal of Princess Ariadne to Heptarian. Minos announces that pankration games will be held to celebrate the engagement.Heptarian can see that Ariadne is unhappy with the engagement, but Pasiphae gloats that it doesn’t matter if she comes around.

Pasiphae: Ariadne’s alone. No friends, no allies. Where will she find the strength to defy the will of her father?

Hercules excitedly tells Pythagoras and Jason about the pankration, which will also have free food and wine for spectators, but when Jason starts asking more about it, Pythagoras and Hercules abruptly try to downplay the occasion. Pythagoras finally breaks it to Jason that Ariadne has been betrothed to Heptarian. Hercules doesn’t exactly do a great job of consoling Jason.

Hercules: It was never really going to happen, was it Jason? I mean, Ariadne’s a goddess on earth whereas you… you’re just you.

Jason doesn’t say anything, but it’s obvious to his friends that he’s taking this news pretty hard.The next morning, Hercules sees Jason give a note to Medusa. Medusa passes this note to Korinna with instructions that it be destroyed as soon as it is read, and Korinna passes the note to Ariadne. The note is a request from Jason for him and Ariadne to talk privately. Unfortunately, Pasiphae shows up and sees the note before Korinna can destroy it. Korinna is arrested. Pasiphae berates Ariadne for her feelings for Jason and says that she will only free Korinna if Ariadne puts an end to the relationship.

That night, Jason secretly meets Ariadne in the temple of Poseidon. Jason confesses his feelings for Ariadne and asks if she feels the same way. Tearfully, Ariadne says that what they want cannot be. As Princess of Atlantis, she has a duty to her kingdom. Ariadne admits that if she were free to make her own choice she would never leave Jason. Before they part, Jason gives Ariadne his necklace to remember him by. As a sobbing Ariadne returns to the palace, Pasiphae commends her for ending the relationship and attempts to console her.

Pythagoras attempts to console Jason, but Jason vows this is not over. He goes out to the palace and takes the oath to compete in the Pankration.When Jason returns, Hercules and Pythagoras berate him for taking part in something so dangerous for no reason, since this won’t win Ariadne back. Jason lies that he’s doing this to earn some money for them, but Pythagoras and Hercules counter that Heptarian has been doing pankration for all his life while Jason has never even practiced it.

Jason: Then we’d better get started.

Hercules and Pythagoras teach Jason how the sport works and they practice until Jason starts to win most of their matches.Pasiphae secretly meets with Dymas, an apothecary who gives her a very subtle poison that will slowly make a person more and more sick over a period of months until they finally fall into an unending sleep.

At the pankration next day Pythagoras waves to Medusa, who leaves, as she is still not on speaking terms with Hercules.Heptarian wins the first match of pankration, but the crowd boos him when he stabs his opponent unnecessarily. Jason also wins his first match, but he has a dislocated shoulder.

Medusa brings herbs for Pythagoras to make a poultice for Jason’s shoulder, but Hercules knows that won’t work, and resets the shoulder with his bare hands. Medusa is impressed, but still not ready to speak to Hercules.Pasiphae scolds Heptarian for his unnecessary violence at the pankration, as Heptarian needs the crowd to like him. Ariadne catches them by surprise and compliments Heptarian on his victory, saying she will watch the pankration again tomorrow.

Pasiphae gives Minos his first dose of the potion.

As Hercules watches over the sleeping Jason, Medusa asks why Jason won’t just withdraw from the contest even after being hurt. Hercules tells her that Jason believes he is fighting for Ariadne’s hand.

Medusa: But he must know that’s hopeless.

Hercules: When you’re in love, there’s no such thing as hopeless.

Medusa stays with Hercules, and they watch over Jason together. Hercules confides in Medusa that when he was Jason’s age, he believed himself to be the perfect athlete and hero, but in truth it was all a story he made up in his head. Hercules can tell that Jason has the potential to be the kind of hero that Hercules had always wanted to be, so that’s why Hercules must help keep Jason in shape.

At the amphitheater the next day, Medusa is now sitting next to Hercules in the stands. Heptarian wins his next match and curbs his violent impulses to only give his opponent a minor wound, which the crowd applauds. Jason’s speed and agility help him win three matches. Ariadne gets more and more upset as she watches until she finally leaves the stands. As Jason rests between matches, Ariadne visits Jason and begs him to withdraw, as she can’t bear to see him hurt, but Jason says he must honor his oath to Poseidon.

Heptarian kills another competitor, much to the disapproval of the crowd. Jason takes some bad hits during his next match, but narrowly manages to win.For the championship match of the Pankration, Jason and Heptarian will compete against each other. Minos announces the match will happen tomorrow.

At home, Pythagoras warns Jason that he has to let Heptarian win. Humiliating Heptarian in the ring tomorrow would only bring dire consequences down on their heads, and Minos is certainly not going to let Jason marry Ariadne even if he does win the match.

Ariadne visits the temple of Poseidon and prays for Jason’s safety.

Jason and Heptarian face each other for the final Pankration match. Heptarian gives Jason a brutal beatdown, but is stunned by a bad fall, giving Jason enough time to bring the knife to his throat. Despite being in a perfect position to win the match, Jason stands up and throws away the knife, to the crowd’s applause. Heptarian seizes the knife and is about to kill Jason, but the crowd begins booing, and Jason tells Heptarian that killing him will only earn the crowd’s hate. Knowing Jason is right, Heptarian angrily throws down the knife and raises Jason’s arm in victory, making the match a draw.

Heptarian: You’re lucky Jason, but luck doesn’t last forever.

Pythagoras tells Jason he did the right thing but Jason is depressed, as he doesn’t have anything to show for it. Ariadne arrives and returns Jason’s necklace.

Ariadne: Thank you.

Jason: For what? I’ve done nothing. I’ve achieved nothing.

Ariadne: You’ve given me strength.

Ariadne kisses Jason, then leaves without a word, much to his confusion. Ariadne catches up to Minos, Pasiphae, and Heptarian and tells them that she cannot marry Heptarian, as the gods have clearly sent an omen that the engagement is not blessed:

Ariadne: You must have felt it too, Heptarian, you were the man with years of experience, the superior fighter, and yet, here comes some unknown boy. Only the gods could be responsible for the outcome.

Minos agrees with Ariadne’s conclusion and calls off the engagement. Pasiphae confronts Ariadne alone, but Ariadne says she isn’t afraid of her anymore.Hercules tells wild stories about his past experiences with pankration. Jason and Pythagoras make fun of him, but Medusa speaks in support of Hercules and takes his hand.

Sadly, Ariadne learns that her defiance was not without consequences, as Pasiphae has had Korinna killed and framed her death as a suicide.

Tropes

• Actor Allusion: Hercules resets Jason’s dislocated shoulder, saying he’s seen this sort of injury before. Mark Addy previously acted in A Knight's Tale which also had its main hero dislocate a shoulder.
• Artistic License – Sports: Pankration is portrayed as a fight between two men over one knife fought to first blood with no other rules. In Ancient Greece, pankration was an early form of mixed martial arts that combined wrestling and boxing.
• Gladiator Games: The Pankration is presented like this.
• A Handful for an Eye: Heptarian starts one of his fights by throwing sand in his opponent's eyes.
• Hidden Depths: Hercules knows how to reset a dislocated shoulder from his experience as a wrestler. He also acts as Jason’s trainer throughout the pankration tournament.
• Instant Expert: Jason manages to win multiple matches of pankration, a sport he has only just learned. Somewhat justified as the sport has very few rules and Jason mostly wins through the agility and fighting abilities that he has already demonstrated. Ariadne exploits Jason’s apparent expertise by arguing that it must be an omen sent by the gods.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While Pasiphae is an evil tyrant, when she scolds Ariadne for her feelings for Jason she points out that her reputation would plummet with the people of Atlantis if they knew of her relationship with Jason. In season 2, the people of Atlantis reject Ariadne's relationship with Jason.
• Kick the Dog: Pasiphae has Korinna killed as a way of punishing Ariadne for her defiance.
• Literal-Minded: When Pythagoras suggests that Hercules simply talk to Medusa, Hercules says Pythagoras has no idea how the human heart works, to which Pythagoras replies that he is very interested in anatomy.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: Subverted. While Jason at first thinks that he accomplished nothing by fighting in the pankration, he inspired Ariadne to stand up to her father and get out of her arranged marriage.
• Tempting Fate: A delayed example. During her Evil Gloating at the beginning of the episode, Pasiphae sarcastically asks where Ariadne will find the strength to stand up to her father. By the end of the episode, Ariadne has found that strength.
• Unnecessary Roughness: Heptarian tends to stab his pankration opponents even after he’s already won the match.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: most of the contestants of the pankration fight bare-chested, which means Jason spends most of the episode without a shirt.