#i can’t help but wonder

[witless-winion1]

Telemachus, crying that he finally gets to meet his dad: “For twenty years, I never could outgrow you”

Odysseus, the short king, also crying: son, you are several inches taller then I am

[happypeachsludgeflower]

Ironically, after having obsessively listened to the entire saga on repeat last night, my favorite song was I Can’t Help But Wonder. It was my least favorite on my first listen through, but the more I listened to it and absorbed all the meanings and implications? I just. Loved it so much more 😭

There’s Odysseus finally meeting his son for essentially the first time (yes he held him as an infant, but he doesn’t know him as a person), there’s the fact that he spent twenty years wishing he could know his son. And then there’s Telemachus on the other side of the conversation who’s been dreaming of knowing his dad for twenty years and is worried his dad won’t love him?? Devastating. Imagine desperately loving and wanting to meet your child for twenty years and being told they worry you won’t love them??

AND THE LINE ABOUT ODYSSEUS TELLING HIS INFANT SON HE WOULD CAPTURE THE WIND AND SKY FOR HIM?? Guys. Odysseus literally captured the wind and sky to get home to his son and wife.

And then we have the reunion with Athena 😭😭 They don’t even talk about anything that happened?? I just imagine this scene of Odysseus saying, “Show yourself. I know you’re watching me,” just like he did when they first met, and neither of them say a thing about their argument, nothing about Athena fighting for him and saving him, nothing about everything that happened between the last ten years.

And without saying any of that, Athena goes straight into a roundabout way of saying, “You were right, I was wrong, and I led you astray.” She said, “I’m sorry,” without saying it. And there’s a beat of silence. Odysseus sighs. And essentially tells her, “No, you weren’t wrong. And I wasn’t wrong either. That world could exist somewhere far away, but it doesn’t exist here. I’m too old and tired to ever find it though, so you’ll have to make it exist someday for both of us.”

He forgives her in un-said words. It’s an absolution of the wrong Athena feels she’s committed. A goddess apologized to him, and Odysseus absolved her of her sins. Just. AHHHHHHHHHHH.

And then they part ways 😭😭😭 and there’s a tone in their voices that says it’s really their final goodbye this time. And they didn’t even say goodbye.

[alnair-jpg]

He’s home.

I am such a sucker for tender parent-child moments. And this one was beautiful.

[epicthemusicalstuff]

Which song do you think Athena will turn up in?

[zarina3908]

Telemachus’ little “Of course” when Ody tells him to go tell his mom he’s back in I Can’t Help has been driving me insane for days because it was so familiar and I couldn’t place it.

And I finally figured it out. It’s the the exact same “of course” that Siren!Penelope gives when agreeing to answer a question.

This means it’s probably an actual vocal tic that the real Penelope actually has. One that she uses often enough that it’s one of the things that both the siren picks up on( over the fact that they have a son not a daughter) and her son has picked up the same vocal tic with the same inflection.

It’s not important, but I thought it was cute.

[raine-ydays]

“Father?”

“Son.”

*sobs*

[fox-in-trash]

This is absolutely the song I’m most exited about in the Ithaca saga, I will be weeping !!

Obviously this is all very inspired by the amazing @gigizetz , those epic animations are incredible!!

[dreamsandconstellations]

What gets me every time is that in I Can’t Help But Wonder, even though Odysseus really just wants to see Penelope after everything, he still hangs back and talks to Athena, despite the way they left things (as far as he knows) after Polyphemus. He’ll take time to speak with her and delay his reunion with Penelope because he always saw them as friends

[curiouslymyown]

I was just listening to I Can’t Help But Wonder, and when Ody and Telemachus embrace for the first time, Odysseus sings “Telemachus I’m home” and Telemachus sings the “home” part, like he’s finally home now that he’s with his father gjekdfb

[quietkohai]

For those of you saddened by the not yet reconciled relationship between Odysseus and Athena in Epic the Musical’s timeline, I’d like to give you some information that could help your heart.

In the Odyssey, Athena holds back the dawn until Odysseus and Penelope are fully satiated with their reunion— since this happens after the timeline of Epic, I personally head cannon her doing this for Odysseus and him afterwards immediately being like ‘yk nvm ur so right Athena this life IS amazing when you greet it with open arms’

And then ghost polities sneezes in the underworld, and he knows all is ok

[witless-winion1]

down in the underworld during the last two songs of EPIC:

600 men: (watching what’s happening because Polites managed to befriend Tiresias and the blind bestie is projecting his visions into a football stadium projector they fished from the Styx)

Polites: (sniffles) oh my gods look- Eury, he’s finally back with his wife and kid- oh this is so cute I could cry-

Polites: (looks over his shoulder) Eury?

Eurylochus: (sobbing) Polites I’m having too many feelings, how do you do this all the time, make it stop

[epicthemusicalstuff]

Small Detail in I Can’t Help But Wonder

I’m crying is anyone else crying? Because goodbyes- and Athena is no longer Odysseus’ patron even if they kinda made up- and Odysseus just wants his wife and-

[stichiestich]

i am weak to parent-child relationship in media… specifically Telemachus’ and Odysseus’

i think i was on the verge of tears on “I Can’t Help but Wonder”

[lyculuscaelus]

Despite what the animatics in the livestream show, I’d like to imagine that after Odysseus saying “there’s a girl I have to see” and Athena responding with “very well” in ICHBW, she left just to go to Eos to hold back her horses and rosy fingers, so WYFILWMA still takes place at night-time as in the Odyssey

[prince-of-ithaca]

My! Thoughts! On! I Can’t Help but Wonder! :DD

I commonly see in like animatics and stuff that I’m the first one to hug Odysseus but do you want me to be honest- it was some kinda odd combo of “He reached out to hug me and I tackled/hugged him and proceeded to bury my face in his neck/shoulder for a solid 40 seconds.” ICHBW doesn’t have that but my source is a mix of The Odyssey and Epic so I do believe the songs were like substantially more spaced out if there at all.

I don’t think Odis told me immediately after to go find Mom-

Okay that’s all lol @king-odysseus-of-ithaca can you fact check this-