Troy: Fall Of A City Episode 8 Review: Offering | Den of Geek

Troy: Fall Of A City piles misery upon misery in its suffocatingly dour finale. Spoilers ahead... Skiptomaincontentarea Ad Home»TV»Troy:FallOfACityEpisode8Review:Offering ByJulietteHarrisson|April8,2018|ShareonFacebook(opensinanewtab)ShareonTwitter(opensinanewtab)ShareonLinkedin(opensinanewtab)Shareonemail(opensinanewtab)| Commentscount:0 ThisarticlecomesfromDenofGeekUK. Thisreviewcontainsspoilers. Troy:FallOfACityEpisode8 Well,wehavefinallyreachedtheeventpromisedbythetitleTroy:FallOfACity.Mostviewersprobablyhaveageneralideaofwhat’sgoingtohappeninthisepisode,soweopenonashotofOdysseuslyingonabeach,lookingatahorse.Justincaseanyonehadforgottenwhereallthiswasgoing.ThisisfollowedbyafewscenesoftheTrojansworkingoutthatHelenhasbetrayedthem,whicharesad,butsincetheaudiencealreadyknowsexactlywhat’sgoingon,there’snotmuchtensioninthem.Luckilytheepisodegetstothepointfairlyquicklyafterthat. Unfortunately,the‘point’isthepointofaswordandtherestoftheepisodeisnothingbutmiserypiledontopofmisery.Tragicstoriesfeaturingcountlessdeathsinwarcanwork–seeforexamplejustaboutanystorysetintheFirstWorldWarorduringtheHolocaust.Sadnessandlossonanepicscalecanproducegut-wrenchingdrama.However,thereareacoupleofthingsweneedforthattowork.Foronething,theFirstWorldWarandtheHolocaustarebothrealevents,sowatchingthemunfoldinfictionalformisawayofunderstandingthem.Whiletherewere,nodoubt,warsbetweenGreeksandTrojansinthesecondmillenniumBC,thisparticularwarisafiction,sothatelementofunderstandingsomethingrealisnotthere. Ad Ad–contentcontinuesbelow Theotherthingweneedinordertoexperiencethelevelofemotionrequiredtoproduceasenseofcatharsisintheaudienceischaracterstoidentifywith,andthisiswherethisseriesreallyfallsdown.Thewriters’dedicationtoproducingcharactersthatfeellikeancientGreekwarriorsisadmirable,andAgamemnon,MenelausandthelateAchillesareallappropriatelyunpleasant.However,wherevertherewasanopportunitytocreateacharactertheaudiencecouldidentifywithandrootfor,theserieshastendedtosquanderit.Odysseusisgrimanddour,andhisvagueattempttosaveAstyanaxattheendisnotenoughtocompensateforhisactuallykillinghim(somethinghedoesinsomebutnotallversionsofthemyth–theidentityofAstyanax’skillervaries).Aeneasislikeableenough,buthasbeengivennocharacterisationatall,hejuststandsaroundbeinggenerallyhelpful.Andromache,whoshouldbeoneofthemostsympatheticcharactersinthestory,iswrittenastoogrumpy,doingnothingbutcomplainallthetime,whichmakesherhardtolike.OnlyParis,theleadcharacterandtheonewhohasreceivedthemosttime,attentionandcharacterisation,isreallylikeable,buthecomesattachedtoHelen,whoisperhapsthethirdmostunlikeableofthelot(nexttoAgamemnonandMenelaus,whoarereallyawful). It’sashame,becausetherearesomereallyinterestingideashere,andthewritershavedoneratherbetteratdealingwiththebiggestinherentplotproblemofthisstory.EventhewritersofGreekmythsknewthatthisstoryrequirestheTrojanstobeutterlystupid,astheybringalargeobjectbigenoughtohideatleastoneortwomenintotheircityjustasitlookslikethepeoplewhohavebeenbesiegingitfortenyearshavegoneawayinthenight(asawisemanoncesaid,‘BewareTrojans,they’recompletesmegheads’).Inmyth,aTrojanpriestcalledLaocoontriestowarnPriamnottobringthehorseintothecity,butbecausethegodshavedeclaredthatTroymustfall,theysendserpentstokillLaocoonandhissonsbeforetheycandoso.Andromacheplaysthatrolehere,accompaniedbyCassandra,butofcoursenoonebelievesCassandra.Neitherofthemareimmediatelykilledbyserpents,thoughbytheendtheymighthavewishedtobe. Theseriesdoesagoodjobofexplainingwhyarandomwoodenhorsemightbeinterpretedasanofferingtoagod,asthere’saniceparalleldrawnwithAgamemon’ssacrificeofIphigenia.Wesawamankillhisowndaughtertogetawindearlierintheseries,whichmakestheideathattheGreekshavebuiltabighorsetoappeasePoseidonreasonablyplausible(andmuchlessviolentthantheearlierexample).AndtoexplainwhytheybringthisrandomGreekofferingintotheircity,theycheckinsideitandfindthatthehorseisfullofgrain,whichtheTrojansdesperatelyneed.Theyevenemptythemainbodyofitinfulldaylight.Theystillshouldhavetakenthegrainoutinsteadinsectionsratherthanbeinglazyandjustdraggingthehorseinwhole,though.Andifitwasofferedtoagod,theyshouldn’tbeeatingit–whenanimalsweresacrificed,thebonesandfatwereofferedtothegodsandthevaluablemeateaten,butifgrainisofferedtothegods,itshouldreallystayoffered. ThewritersalsomakeanicechoiceinhavingThersitesastheGreeklefttieduptoselltheirstorytotheTrojans.ThersitesmadeabriefappearanceintheIliad,makingfunofAgamemnonandgettinghitovertheheadwithastickbyOdysseusforhispains.Hehasappearedinthisseriesafewtimes,generallycomplaining,sohisappearancehereisn’toutofnowhereandheplaysanimportantroleinmakingthisversionofthestorywork.MenelauspoppingoutofthehorsefirsttomeetHelenisanicetouchaswell. Butthenthecityfalls,andwesitandwatchTrojanafterTrojangetmoweddownbyGreeks.ThedeathofPriamwasdescribedbytheFirstPlayerinShakespeare’sHamletandwasfilmedassilentinsetswithJohnGielgudasPriamandJudiDenchasHecuba,narratedbyCharltonHeston,inKennethBranagh’sepicfour-hourfilm.It’sprettyhardtomatchthatkindofrawpower,andPriam’sdeathhereisinevitablyabitpaleincomparison. Onthewhole,it’saspectacularlygrimendingingeneral.Someofthatgoeswiththestory,ofcourse,andHelenreturningtoMenelausisalsoarecurringfeatureinthemyths,accompaniedbyvariousdifferentexplanationsforwhyhedoesn’tkillherandtheygobacktolivingpeacefullytogetherafterwards.Butthisversion,inwhichHelenhasbecomeincreasinglyunlikeableandactivelybetrayedtheTrojans,butistheninturnbetrayedbyMenelausnotkeepinghisword,hastowatchhimkillParis,andisleftstuckwithhimfortherestofherlife,isespeciallymiserable. Ad Ad–contentcontinuesbelow Ontopofallthat,weactuallyseeOdysseuschuckpoorlittleAstyanaxoffthebattlements.Greektragedyfamouslydoesnotshowactsofviolenceonstage–theaudiencemighthearnoisesfrombehindthescenery,butanysuchactwasdescribedonstagebyawitness.Similarly,Greekpoetrywasperformedbybardsinsong,butnotactedout.SoalthoughthisisakeyeventinthefallofTroy,GreekaudiencesdidnotactuallysitaroundandwatchaheroofGreekmythologythrowinganinfantofffromatallbuilding.Thisseries,however,actuallywentthere.Howwellthiswillgodownwithaudiences,andwhethersuchagraphicimagewasreallynecessary,ishardtosay. Joinourmailinglist GetthebestofDenofGeekdeliveredrighttoyourinbox! Subscribe Andso,Troyhasfallenandtheseriesisover.Thewholethinglookedabsolutelygorgeousandwasbeautifullyputtogetherrightuptotheend,withalovelycolourfuldesignonthehorse,whichwasexpertlyshot.Unfortunately,I’mnotsurethatwillbequiteenoughtogetthemtheobvioussequelbasedonOdysseus’journeyhomeinHomer’sOdyssey.Thestoryisgrimenoughasitis,andwithoutmuchinthewayofhumourtobalanceoutthemiserythatisthemainplot,whatweendupwithiseighthoursofbadthingshappeningoverandoveragain,tolargelyunlikeablepeople.That’sunlikelytoleaveaudienceshungryforeightmorehoursfollowingoneofthosefairlyunlikeablepeople,whilemorebadthingshappentohim,butwithextraaddedgiantsandmonsters.Alternatively,wecouldfollowAeneasinaseriesbasedontheAeneid,butwhileAeneasisperfectlylikeable,hehasbeengivennocharacterwhatsoever.Boththosestorieshaveratherhappierendings–perhapsdependingonyourpointofview–butthechancesofanaudiencestickingwiththemtogetthatfararenotgreat.ThestoryofthefallofTroyisacaptivatingsagathathaskeptpeopleinterestedformillennia,andtheremustbesomepotentialforareallygreatmodernversionburiedintheresomewhere.Butthis,whileanadmirableeffort,isnotquitethatversion. Ad Share:ShareonFacebook(opensinanewtab)ShareonTwitter(opensinanewtab)ShareonLinkedin(opensinanewtab)Shareonemail(opensinanewtab)|Comment: Commentscount:0 Writtenby JulietteHarrisson | @ClassicalJG JulietteHarrissonisastoryteller,freelancewriter,andancienthistorian,andalifelongTrekkiewhosechildhoodheroeswereJRRTolkienandCSLewis.Atherpodcast,… ReadmorefromJulietteHarrisson CarryonReading TV Troy:FallOfACity-flippingthescriptonTheIliad TV Troy:FallOfACityepisode6review:BattleOnTheBeach TV Community:GeothermalEscapismReview TV Troy:FallOfACityepisode2review:Conditions Ad-contentcontinuesbelow Popular Sponsored HowPezChangedCollectibles,12LittlePiecesofCandyAtATime Games 25BestOpen-WorldGamesEver Movies Morbius:DoesSpider-ManExistinThisUniverse? Sponsored BatmanCollectibles:AHistoryofCapedCrusaderMerchandise Readthelatestissue Ad PrivacySettings