#and of course the part with Ody’s mom tore my heart out

[adrift-in-thyme]

I think Ody must’ve met every person in the Underworld

[robins-bandana]

I have so many thoughts about the Ithaca saga. So, spoilers ahead.

The Challenge: Penelope made me cry. The anguish in her voice, the power behind it, just the vocals in general? Mwah. Mwahmwahmwah. And then the "waitingggg, waitinggggg" I HAD TO STOP FOR A SECOND JUST TO CRY. The callback to Ody's mom was so good.

Hold Them Down: Antinious' VA hit the fucking mark with this song. The power in his voice, the eerie feeling, the quiet anger, the absolute conviction that he's gonna get away with his shitty plans, hhhhhnghh. It was so perfect. So disgusting in its implications and the plainly stated plan to hurt Tele and Penelope, but so pretty to listen to. Antinious using flowery language to talk about what exactly he wants to do to Penelope? It's so good. Especially in contrast to what Ody has to say about it later. It's such a powerful song, especially that shock at the very end with Ant Man getting murdered lmao.

Odysseus: Chills. Absolute chills throughout this song. There's so many things I can say. Jorge outfuckingdid himself with this one. "I. Have had. Enough." THE COLD ANGER HERE IS SO PERFECT. The vocalization and the guitar after? It's incredible. I could go on about the choir in this bit. "You think I don't know my own palace? I built it." AAAHGFHFKG. The plead for "open arms" and Ody saying no? The WAY he said no, with an almost smug tone? It's fucking perfect. Telemachus' motif as the suitors brag about finding weapons? God. And hearing the pain in Tele's voice? It was awful and so perfect and it hurt me to listen to. "Mercy? MERCY?!" This entire part, Odysseus' anger and harshness, "You planned to *rape* my wife!" In contrast to the way Antinious had described his plans, him truly becoming what he feared he would be in this instance. It was golden and perfect and it gives me chills the more I listen to it. The screams of agony and fear throughout this bit, the vocals in the background again, ugghhhh I love it.

I Can't Help But Wonder: their reunion made me bawl my eyes out. I don't have much to say about them talking to each other, other than it tore my heart to shreds repeatedly and was absolutely everything I hoped for in their reuinion. The emotion in this song is so gentle compared to the previous one and it's so beautiful. "My son I'm finally home!" What if I just died right here. What if. It's killing me. Tele heading off to talk to his mom, and THEN ATHENA'S QUICKTHOUGHT MOTIF. "Show yourself. I know you're watching me, show yourself" THE CALLBACK TO WARRIOR OF THE MIND IS SO GOOD. I cried so hard during this part, knowing Athena is alive and okay and knowing she just saw what happened. Her kindness, leaning toward empathy, the impact Telemachus had on her way of thinking. There's so much to say about that, that more intelligent people than me can touch on.

Would You Fall In Love With Me Again: I can't even begin to describe how distraught this song made me. In a positive way, of course. Ody saying he isn't the same man Penelope fell in love with, that he's done unforgivable things, and her asking him to tell her... augh! "Would you fall in love with me again, if you knew all that I've done?" My heart was torn into pieces. So many. His softness with Penelope is so good. He sounds like he's pleading with her to understand after he describes all he's done. And Penelope? Her request to remove the wedding bed? That stung, I was so scared for a moment, and then.... aaaa!! Ody telling her with progressively more emphasis and anger and pain that he'd have to carve it from the roots to take it out? Ow ow ow ow it hurts so good. Penelope telling him that if he knew that, he must be her real husband, the same man she fell for, with so much conviction. The emotion in this part- "no matter how long it's been you're mine, don't tell me you're not the same person, you're always my husband and I've been waiting" this woman said "gtfo with that shit you're my husband idgaf what you did." And the Just a Man motif is so. So. Good. Ohmygod. Their voices blend together so beautiful at the end with that I love you and it was such a wonderful conclusion to the saga. I could go on forever about how incredible Penelope's VA did with this. I can't get over it. I'm not good at the whole analysis thing but these were my thoughts and I hope you enjoyed reading!