---
title: 'Why the Ending of The Odyssey is Perfect'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=J43bsj1zuMU'
video_id: 'J43bsj1zuMU'
date: 2026-07-21
duration_sec: 839
channel: 'Heavy Spoilers'
---

# Why the Ending of The Odyssey is Perfect

> Source: [Why the Ending of The Odyssey is Perfect](https://youtube.com/watch?v=J43bsj1zuMU)

## Summary

This video analyzes why the ending of Christopher Nolan's film 'The Odyssey' is perfect, focusing on how it strips away supernatural elements to deliver an emotionally cathartic climax that honors Homer's original tale while infusing Nolan's signature themes of time, memory, guilt, and identity. The ending brings together all the film's threads, emphasizing that home is not a place but the connection between Odysseus and Penelope.

### Key Points

- **Ending as Perfect Crescendo** [00:02] — The ending of The Odyssey is described as a crescendo that brings together every thread of the film, stringing a bow on its central themes.
- **Stripping Supernatural Elements** [00:44] — The climax strips away all supernatural elements, transforming the story into a more emotionally cathartic climax that honors Homer's telling while infusing Nolan's preoccupations with time, memory, guilt, identity, and consequences.
- **Parallel Between Troy and Ithaca** [01:11] — The film draws a parallel: just as Odysseus invaded Troy, the suitors have invaded his home. His greatest trick creates consequences that mirror his past actions.
- **Deception as a Central Theme** [02:05] — Deception is tied to Odysseus's character throughout the tale, from the Trojan horse to disguising himself as a beggar. He uses deception to draw enemies in and strike when they lower their guard.
- **Guilt and Karma** [02:58] — Odysseus is haunted by guilt over sacking Troy, similar to Oppenheimer. The film shows that heroes are not let off the hook for their actions; Odysseus faces karma through the suitors.
- **The Pin as a Symbol** [04:06] — The pin of Athena is an item Penelope uses to identify genuine people. It symbolizes Odysseus's undying connection to Penelope and his past, similar to totems in Nolan's other films.
- **Home is Penelope, Not Ithaca** [04:32] — The ending redefines home: it is not Ithaca but the home Odysseus made with Penelope. As long as they are together, location doesn't matter.
- **Are We the Baddies?** [05:36] — A moment of realization: Odysseus and his men are the terrifying 'people from the sea' who have been violating Zeus's law, making them the villains in others' stories.
- **The Bow Test** [06:27] — Penelope calls for the bow test, which only Odysseus can string. The buildup includes Penelope walking off, the score's strings plucking, and Odysseus firing through axes, leading to the massacre of the suitors.
- **Passing the Torch** [08:24] — Telemachus shows he is worthy to be king by taking down a suitor while Odysseus wrecks others, symbolizing a passing of the torch from father to son.
- **Odysseus's Guilt and Abdication** [09:01] — Odysseus views his deception as a violation of Zeus's law and a catalyst for civilizational collapse. After defeating the suitors, he abdicates the throne to Telemachus and sails away with Penelope.
- **Why the Ending is Perfect** [09:39] — The ending builds the film's core message while staying close to Homer's spirit. It deepens Odysseus's character, showing him as a man broken by his own genius, and focuses on the cost of war and what truly matters.
- **Death Coming from the Sea** [10:34] — The film reframes Odysseus's fate from the poem: instead of death coming from the sea as a threat, it becomes optimistic—sailing with his wife and dying of old age, chasing the setting sun.
- **Focus on Cost of War** [11:14] — Unlike the original poem's triumphant return, the film focuses on the cost of war, the fallout, and what has been lost versus what should have been done.
- **True Wisdom and Stepping Aside** [12:25] — Nolan's Odysseus shows that true wisdom comes from accepting one's failure and knowing when to step aside, making the hero earn his place at his wife's side.

### Conclusion

The ending of The Odyssey is perfect because it brings together all themes of identity, home, and guilt, making Odysseus earn his place with Penelope by killing the suitors and then abdicating. It reframes the original poem's resolution for a modern audience, emphasizing the cost of war and the importance of focusing on what truly matters.

## Transcript

breaking down why the ending of The Odyssey is perfect. in a crescendo that brings together every single thread of the film to weave
act. Building upon everything that's come before in this 2hour and 52minute epic, it strings a bow on the film's central themes. And I can't stop thinking about it. In this video, I want to talk about why it works so well and
Now, on Adysius's decade long journey home, he's encountered monsters, gods, witches, and Charlie's throne on a beach paradise. And to be honest, if I washed up on there after every single island had been a hell site, I'd probably count
my lucky stars. How the [ __ ] do I get there? But these supernatural elements are all stripped away for the climax, which boils down to a man simply winning the ending strip away all the supernatural elements transforms it into
a more emotionally cathartic climax. It honors Homer's telling of the tale while also infusing Nolan's signature preoccupations with time, memory, guilt, identity, and the consequences of great actions. Now, for most of its runtime,
the Odyssey does track Homer's narrative relatively closely. We have Adysius devising the Trojan horse strategy to take over Troy, which somewhat acts as a the same way he invaded the home of others, we see that the suitors have
invaded his. They are pushing out his son, his dog, and taking his wife while he travels on the perilous journey. His fleet faces the wrath of Poseidon. After blinding the Cyclops, he encounters the Lragonians who represent the incoming
Iron Age, Cersei, the Sirens, Silla, and also the underworld. Stranded with Calypso for seven years, he then escapes and washes a shore in Ithaca disguised returning home. It's something that Adysius uses to scope out his
surroundings. The idea of deceit is very much tied to the character and it's tale. He lied to Sinnon, snuck into Troy. He escaped the cave by disguising his sheep, deceived his men when it came to Sila, and arrives back home as a
beggar. He even uses the name Sinnon as a way to throw off Antino with deception being something he constantly uses to draw people in. Now, we're told early on with Tmicus that the best way to fight is to draw your enemy in. And when they
strike. Even with the way he goes to the suitor, he lets them push him around, spitting his food, not hit the thumbs up, and so on and so forth. Even when stringing the bow, he doesn't quite hit the marks. And this makes the suitors
initially think he's pathetic, and they completely lower their god. Thus, when he plucks the bow to give his enemy a heads up, they're completely overwhelmed by surprise. Now, in the leadup to this, I love the way Adysius plays and scoping
Penelopey and the pair talk about whether the character can ever really come back. Talking to a blind, they discuss the heirs time and how guilt has sacking of Troy may have burned the
destroyed Zeus's law. People are terrified that strangers could show up at any time and tear everything down they've known under the guise of being treat others with kindness, but in breaking this law, everything is falling
apart. It's something that shares a really great parallel with Oenheimimer and we have two victors who regret how they won. One of the final shots of the film is Adysius staring at the burning horse, possibly riddled with the guilt
unfortunately though that things will be forgotten. And as we know, we often repeat the mistakes of the past. But in invading Troy, he's now facing a form of karma with the Sudas. His greatest trick has created consequences that have
like how Oppenheimimer wasn't let off the hook for the bomb, Adysius isn't let haunted by Athena taking the form of a woman who is beheaded in front of him. Clearly wrecked with guilt. It's very clear he's unsure if he can ever go back
to being honorable. This conversation with Penelope is all about accepting the past and seeing if one can truly move beyond it and embrace a future together, through. Penelopey then asks about the pin of Athena and this is an item she's
used to identify where the people who've seen him are actually being genuine saying he never took it off. It shows that the one thing he's held on to these 20 years is her. Now though this ending is about returning home, it's actually
about what home really is. IA is something that he's been striving towards getting to, but in the end he ends up leaving it. That's because home isn't Ithaca itself. Home is the home that he made with Penelope. Penelope is
it doesn't matter where they are as long as the pair are together. Now, this does change things slightly from the poem as carried out by Penelopey who cunningly guesses her husband's identity. She asks
him if he could move their bed, but he says it's difficult as it's actually built around an olive tree. Butchering uh absolutely butchering it. Uh but that's one of the things that only he would know. The bed itself is an
immovable symbol of home and fidelity as well as their connection. How about the pin actually works on an emotional tie due to its connection to Athena and it for the entire journey. It's also something Penelope has been looking out
for. Nolan often laces his films with items attached to memories and this has been seen in a lot of the director's work. Stuff like um the tattoos and momento or the totem in Inception. This pin is his undying connection to the
past and something that's a part of Penelope that he can keep forever with him. However, there's clearly a darkness that still exists within the character. of the people from the sea who've been going around and making a mockery of
Zeus's law. It's in this that we realize that it's actually Adysius and his men, and you have a big a big moment of like, wait, are we the baddies? People throughout Troy would definitely be terrified of them. And we see them rock
they want. Even when sneaking into the Cyclops's cave and and stuff seeming a bit off there, mate, like big big big bags of cheese there. Uh they were still going in and being like, "Well, this is
ours now." But that was seen in stuff like Cersei and even the Lragonians. I would have started a fight if they'd seen they were weaker. They weren't exactly showing up to places to make mates. So Penelopey even wonders if the
man she loved truly still exists or if he's been changed too much by the war. Now in order to fully get her, he has to one, murder all the men vying for her hand, and two, show he's the man he's always been and prove himself by passing
the test. This is tied to the bow, which is linked to the party trick he pulled off when they were younger. Only Odysius is capable of stringing it. And we close out things with her calling everyone together for this test. I love the way
hear the constant laughing in the background. Antinuous as well is just amazing in the scene and just the way he's like, "Oh man, I I could string it if I wanted to, but uh ju just didn't want to really." It's perfectly acted. I
these little lines about how he's clearly told people he wanted to go to Troy as well, but Sinn or Adysius wouldn't let him. He's such a cracking villain, and even in the end, he's a sniveling coward who just cowers in the
corner. Now, I have to give it uh I have to give a lot of props to Patson because there's so many actors out there who wouldn't accept the role of a snibbling coward, especially if they're also playing Batman at this point in time.
You look at stuff like um The Fast and the Furious, though, where the stars apparently have in their contract that they can't be embarrassed on screen, and there's definitely a lack of vanity here in the performance. He makes for a nice
showed up to places with his men and taken what they wanted, or at least tried to, cuz they got their [ __ ] rocked more than once. But Adysius finally shows who he is while stringing the bow. And I absolutely love the buildup of
this moment. Just the way Penelopey walks off, and then the score has the strings plucking away, and then we get Adysius plucking the bow, which stalls Penelopey in her tracks, then him firing through the axes and the reaction of Mia
Goth. It all just works really well. before my guy can even say Jesus Christ, through his neck and you get to see Adysius unleashing on the gang. Now, I someone get picked on and pushed around and then they show up at the end and
kick the absolute [ __ ] out of them. They did that brilliantly um in the scene in Superman 2, but here it just goes to the next level. Seeing him just whail on outstanding and it feels like the perfect crescendo for the film. allows
Tmicus to also show that he's worthy to be king. Taking down Logan Marshall Green Sudo while Adysius wrecks Sharp, we see a nice passing of the torch from father to son. Lightning also crackles in the background showing the anger of
Zeus and eventually Adysius works through the men. It's even to the point uh that some of them just kneel down and submit like, "Fuck this. I'm out." And get an arrow through the throat for questioning Christopher Nolan, who has
just had the biggest opening weekend of his career. Anyway, after tearing to Penelope to rest in her arms. It's here that he even speaks to the punishment he bore on the world by carrying out the destruction of Troy. He
views his deception as a violation of Zeus's law and that it could be the catalyst for broader civilizational collapse. From history, we know that Rome and also the barbarians are coming as well. And the Lragonians very much
represent this unrelenting force that will sunset their rule. All they have is Penelopey and Adysius want to share together. After the suditor's defeat, he abdicates the throne for his son, and he entrusts the future to the next
generation. He and his wife then sail on the open sea chasing the setting sun. Their journey reflects the possibility of brighter days ahead of them, despite the time they've lost and the failures they've had in the past. Now, why this
is perfect is because the ending builds up the film's core message while also remaining close to the spirit of Homer's telling. In the poem, he's flawed but ultimately rewarded and seen as a mythic hero that we can all aspire to be.
However, they don't really lean into why he's so broken, and the movie deepens who he is. Like Oenheimer, he's just a man who's been broken by his own genius. The attack on Troy is his original sin that could destroy all of civilization,
as back in the day, people require the friendship of strangers to build camps, alliances, and ultimately society. How about war tears people apart and has the capability of ending us all? Again, it's Oenheimr's way of thinking and how in
creating a weapon that could destroy humanity, he may have actually done it. So, they leave things having recognized their failures and leave the next forward. In the end, they go off into the sun, which also kind of plays off
Adysius's fate in the book in that his death is described as coming from the sea. Due to the sea people's mention, your mind kind of wonders to that and the people that are coming for them. However, the film reframes to death as
coming from the sea as being something more optimistic. It gives the idea that from sailing with his wife and passing away due to old age. Them chasing the setting sun is also very very symbolic. The rising and setting sun can represent
endings and new beginnings. And it's such a powerful thing to end on. We hero triumphantly returning and simply restoring his kingdom. But instead, this focuses on the cost of war, the fallout that comes from it, and ultimately what
we've lost versus what we should have done. Adysius and Penelopey talked about Adysius stuck to his duty. He was in willing to defy his master, and therefore followed him into war. Ultimately, Troy fell, but Agamenon lost
because of it, and didn't get to live with the glory he'd been after. Helen was also scarred by the war and though she was what they claimed to go and fight for even that led to her being in a place where she wasn't left unscathed.
Everything comes with a cost and in seeking glory one will ultimately lose with your family, your wife, who you are as a person, everything comes with a cost unless you focus on what really matters. Now though the original poem's
resolution works for the time it was released, I think the film also meets us where we are today. Power corrupts. We often unleash things without thinking of the consequences. And heroes are often flawed instead of being the mythic
figures of old. Even if you look at like how we view the soldiers of World War II versus, I don't know, a war like Vietnam or something, you can see a real shift in how people think about duty, war, and ultimately the cost. Nolan Sedicius
shows us true wisdom comes from accepting one's failure and also knowing when to step aside. The ending succeeds by bringing together all the themes of identity, home, and the guilt that Adysius feels in breaking Zeus's law. It
makes the hero earn his place at his wife's side by killing those who vi for her. Ultimately, it's a really impactful ending. And whether it's the plucking at the bow, the shot of the sun, or Adysius still getting flashes from the war, it
perfectly builds towards those final few moments. Adysius is finally home. And though that's not Ithaca, it is with Penelopey. And yes, that closes out our breakdown of the ending, why I think it worked so well, and obviously I'd love
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