The Odyssey - Ending Explained and Breakdown - Hidden Meaning Explained

[00:01] Odyssey manages to be a faithful adaptation while also telling a morality play about the potential collapse of our own civilization. Welcome back, Screen Crush. I'm Ryan Ery and let's talk about the ending of the Odyssey. We are going

[00:13] movie and how it relates to each section of the story. And we're going to talk how all of this is seen through the lens of a Vietnam veteran who was never allowed to truly come home. So, the larger theme of this movie is about

[00:26] civilization versus barbarism. Like Telica says at one point in the film, the Greeks have built the greatest civilization in the world. They brought democracy to the human race, innovated in architecture, art, and music. And

[00:38] yet, shortly after the events of this movie, they fell into a dark age that ended that civilization in less than 200 years. Now, I should note that the Iliad and the Odyssey are fictional stories. As far as we know, they were passed down

[00:51] through oral traditions for 200 years before the blind poet Homer finally wrote them down. So, I guess a modern comparison would be like saying that actually starred in a movie that combined many of those Robin Hood myths

[01:04] >> That makes you >> I know Robin Hood, sir. I protest I am not a merry man. >> There may have actually been, however, a historical basis for the Iliad in the Odyssey. We do know that Troy did once

[01:18] burn at one point in history, but Nolan re-examines this entire story as a marker for the decline of Greek civilization. See, later in the movie, the sea. >> Yeah. What's that mean?

[01:30] >> See, around 1200 BC, the Mediterranean was dominated by great empires like the Greeks, the Egyptians, and the Hittites. The Egyptians recorded massive destruction at the hand of seafaring raiders, simply called the sea people.

[01:43] references later in the movie. And as we go along, we're going to talk about how this theme of barbarism versus civilization is present in every plot thread and every decision the character makes. But the ultimate question Nolan

[01:57] is asking is this. Are we a society that values the principles of looking after one another? Or are we simply pigs in a trough fighting for more food? And through all of this, Odysius is grappling with the question, do I

[02:10] deserve to go home? So, let's go through and discuss how each part of the movie explores this theme and the new ending that he added at the end of the film. Now, I mentioned earlier that the Odyssey originated as an oral tradition.

[02:22] And if you notice, each section of the story is a tale that is told from one character to another. The movie even opens with rapper Travis Scott quoting the original text from The Odyssey and the Iliad. Why is there a rapper in the

[02:35] movie? Well, Nolan cashed Travis Scott because he said that hiphop is the closest modern art form we have to the way Greeks told these oral histories. Now, the movie begins with a quick recap of the ending of the Trojan War, which

[02:47] summarize everything very quickly here. Many historians believe that this is the 19th century, archaeologists to discover a site in modern-day Turkey that showed an extensive city that was believed to be destroyed around 1200 BC

[03:02] obviously, the dramatic reinterpretations of it would have the gods at Achilles. >> This is a sign from Apollo. Bird signs.

[03:15] bird signs. >> But a real life invasion would have left Greek armies and ports and cities weakened for a generation. And this explains why these sea people, these raiders were able to raid the nation.

[03:29] fighting the war. Now, in the story, Menaaus is betrod, Talon was either kidnapped by Troy or ran off with Paris. And then Menaaus's brother, Agamemnon, used this as an excuse to launch a war. After Odysius conceives of the Trojan

[03:43] horse, the Greeks open the gate, sack the city, and then rescue Helen. >> Congratulations. You are being rescued. Please do not resist. most renowned figures in Greek mythology, which I have always been into

[03:55] since I was a kid, back when I first watched Clash of the Titans. But this movie is on another level. You are totally immersed in this world, like in Heroes of History: Epic Empire is a strategy- based worldbuilding game that

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[05:29] the war was just as much about power and securing trade routes as it was about chasing Helen. This is expressed with the film's underlying theme of greed. Agamemnon leading his army against Troy is like those pigs crowding at the

[05:42] trough trying to gather more resources. Now, the opposite of this kind of savagery is the underlying morality of the movie, which is Zeus's law. You see, in mythology, Zeus was always assuming one form or another, sometimes as an

[05:55] really just sounds like some awful quick thinking from a woman who was just [laughter] >> It's It's not what it looks like. >> Anyways, the law states that you should always treat your guests well in case

[06:11] they are Zeus in disguise. In other words, you should always treat the lowest among you like they are a kink. You should show everybody decent human kindness. See, we are defined by how we treat the lowest members of society. As

[06:24] Odysius says, the best view of a man is from below. This is the idea at the center of every section of the story. How do we today uphold Zeus's law? For instance, the suitors are able to basically ransack Ithaca because they

[06:38] are taking advantage of this law. Instead of being the lowly visitor, they look down on the lowborn beggars and the servants of Ithaca. In many ways, they are like the sea people, the barbarians who just want to steal and plunder from

[06:50] the shores of Greece. Just like in the text, the beginning of the story focuses on Telmakus as he learns more about his father. We hear that he was not the strongest or the fastest, but he was the smartest. And this is the defining trait

[07:02] of the character. I like to say Odysius is like Greek Batman. >> I'm not wearing hockey pants. a man who is described as skilled in all means of contending. He is able to navigate this world of great gods with his wits and

[07:15] his will. Now in the text he does this in search for Claus or glory. But the movie recontextualizes his journey as a wounded soldier who is afraid to come home. To guide him Penelopey gives him her statue of Athena, the goddess of

[07:29] wisdom, warfare, and strategy. But as the movie shows us, strategy and warfare are not inherently evil if you have the wisdom to discern who should live and die. See, wisdom is the underlying bedrock of all civilization. After all,

[07:43] the capital of Greek civilization, Athens, is named after Athena. The principles of Athena are actually at the heart of Zeus's law. Treat others with love and respect, and that is how you build a civilization. And as we'll talk

[07:56] about, this same theme recurs throughout the movie. See, in the book, Athena is also the patron of Odysius. She guides him through his journey and intervenes on his behalf. In the movie, she's framed more as a personification of

[08:09] Odysius's cunning and wisdom. However, Nolan likes to add a little bitter of irony related to the sack of Troy. Now, we like to remember the Trojan horse as this monumental heroic achievement, but in context, it was the original sin of

[08:22] Odysius. As the movie explores, he broke Zeus's law. Rather than continue to fight the Trojans head on, Odysius conceives of a lie. The horse was a gift to the goddess Athena, a gift that honors their shared gods. The Trojans

[08:36] accepted this gift of love under the protection of Zeus's law. They invited the horse into their city. And just like how Zeus can disguise himself as a beggar, the horse was a disguise of malice and war. As Odysius says later in

[08:49] the film, they violated Zeus's law. And when the gates of Troy opened up, he saw 10 years of anger burn through the city. So if Zeus's law represents the best that humanity can offer, the sack of Troy is the worst of humanity. During

[09:04] the slaughter, Odysius watches his soldiers murder an innocent woman, a woman who has the same face as Athena. So all throughout the movie, when he looks at the statue of wisdom and strategy, he doesn't see a way to come

[09:16] home. He sees how his own strategy led to the deaths of others. He violated humanity. >> Sometimes I wonder if I've changed so my wife is even going to recognize me whenever it is I get back to her.

[09:31] >> So, as we'll discuss, the Odyssey is really his personal odyssey, his journey of atonement, as he encounters the consequences of breaking Zeus's law in different environments. First, his men sack a village and steal their food. In

[09:44] the very first leg of their journey, they're already acting like the sea gates. And then of course, there's Odyssey, the Cyclops. When he and his men discover a cave filled with cheese,

[09:57] they make themselves at home, believing that the owner will have to obey Zeus's law. Now, they are not expecting a being who is elevated so high above them. Like Odysius says, it would no more speak to them than a human would speak to an ant.

[10:10] Even the way the Cyclops eats his men is so nonchalant, like he's just eating a like the book, except they omitted my favorite detail. Odysius tells the they start to burn him and stab him

[10:24] killing me." So, the other Cyclopses on the island do nothing to help. They assume he's doing just fine. So, anyways, the encounter with the Cyclops shows Odysius that some beings are simply above him. Some beings don't have

[10:37] to follow Zeus's law. Zeus would never enter the home of the Cyclops in disguise. He would just enter the home of the Cyclops and say, "Hi." So just like in the book, the Cyclops is a son of Poseidon and Odysius angers him as

[10:49] this by telling the Cyclops his real name out of pride, out of a need for glory. So then the Cyclops appeals to Poseidon and Zeus to curse Odysius. That's because in the book, Odysius is trying to claim glory. But in the movie

[11:02] instead, he fires an arrow at the Cyclops. And this is important because this is an act of anger and revenge. This is perfect for this interpretation. See, at this point in the story, Odysius is still in the mindset of war. He has

[11:15] to take, plunder, and kill. And he hates the Cyclops for killing his men. So immediately afterwards, he tells the men to not let the gods decide their fate. He says, "The gods help those who help themselves." And there's a double word

[11:29] play here. To help yourself means to aid yourself, but it also means to steal, to help yourself to what is in someone's home. So, Odysius actually begins his journey advocating for the same barbarian lifestyle that he perfected in

[11:43] Troy. And the Cyclops also shows us that Odysius is a very good liar. He's able to blind it so it literally can't see the truth as they dress up as sheep to escape. In fact, with the Trojan horse, it was brilliant for them to leave the

[11:55] horse on the beach. That meant the people of the city had to drag it up the hill and it took them days. So this would mean that all the people would want to believe the horse is a blessing because they had to work so hard to

[12:08] bring it into Athena's temple. Next they encounter the cannibal giants, another race who are so far above men that they do not observe the law of Zeus. So this shows Odysius what it feels like to be on the receiving end of breaking this

[12:21] law. He is helpless against them like the Trojans were helpless against the forces of Agamemnon. Next is their encounter with Cersei. Now she is a pigs. Now, in the original text of the Odyssey, Odysius spends a year on the

[12:35] island with her, but he never thinks to ask her why she turned his men into pigs. So, for this part of the story, it seems like Nolan is adapting from Maline says that the witch is actually a survivor of deep trauma, and she turned

[12:49] the men into pigs as a mechanism for self-defense. As she tells Odysius, his men will take what they want. They are barbarians. And also in an interesting twist, we see that she is protecting her sister who is in the form of a bird. Now

[13:02] birth to the minotaur. But in the movie, she's taken the form of a bird that Cersei keeps caged up. Now in the novel, Cersei discovers her sister was also a victim of abuse. So maybe in the film, Cersei turns her into a bird to protect

[13:16] her from being harmed by men. Now when they leave, Odysius says to leave the meat because >> Soilent green is made out of people. She underworld. Now, in the book, he talks to seven different figures, including

[13:29] Achilles. But the movie wisely limits this to just three people. First, and most importantly, he speaks to Elliot Page's character, Sinn. Now, Senna was also the victim of two lies. The first was by Robert Patson's character,

[13:41] Antinis. Now, when they were children, he arranged for Sinnin to take his place in the war. Antonus is one of these barbarian suitors who simply wants to drain if they could dry. So, it's fitting that he tells a lie to Sinnin.

[13:53] Sinnan is actually killed by the ultimate lie of Odysius, the Trojan horse. So in this way, we can see that the barbarism of the suitors and the barbarism of Odysius are not that dissimilar. They both lie to take what

[14:06] they want. This scene is also the turning point for Odysius. This is when he decides that he is not actually worthy to go home. The lie he told the Trojan horse breaking Zeus's law, that all means he is unworthy. However, he

[14:19] still makes the journey for the sake of his men, all while making more moral compromises. For instance, he deceives his crew into sailing between the cliffs though he knows that this means that some of them will die.

[14:32] I am willing to make. >> Just like in the war, he believes that he is telling a small lie, sacrificing some people for a greater good. >> How can this be for the greater good? >> Shut it. Now I mentioned earlier that

[14:46] this version of Odysius is different from the book where he is seeking claos or glory. The only remnant of that in this story is that he still wants to be tied to the mast so he can hear the song of the sirens. But what is most

[14:58] important here is the lesson he takes from their song. He says the essence of the siren song is that you hear what you most want and can't have. And he elaborates by saying that they sing about something you had and then you

[15:11] lost. And for Odysius, what is that? What did he lose? He lost the innocence that he had before the war. Odysius used to believe that he was a righteous man and that the Greeks were a righteous civilization. But after they broke

[15:25] Zeus's law and they murdered the people of Troy, he in his heart no longer believes that they are worthy of a great civilization. Now, the final straw for the gods are the cattle of Apollo. This is where the crew has to decide. Will we

[15:38] behave like honored guests who only take what is offered? Or are we barbarians test? >> Some sort of test >> and I failed. >> And without his men to protect, Odysius

[15:52] succumbs to grief and trauma. And I guess this is where I should mention the added dimension to the story that the movie focuses on Odysius as a veteran known war veterans who were changed forever by combat and who never found

[16:05] their way into society again. It's why we repeat to many Vietnam vets, welcome home. Because many of these heroes never got their hero's welcome. So, Adysius then spends seven years under a voluntary enchantment, killing his body

[16:18] and his memory. And this is sadly similar to many vets who turn to drugs and alcohol to forget the times when they sacrificed everything for us and their country. So finally, when he accepts the idol of Athena, it's his way

[16:31] of acknowledging that he is ready to once again embrace wisdom and the hope >> Help me go home. >> At last, he can return to his home. He can return to his wife. And most importantly, he can return to himself.

[16:44] And when he washes up on the shores of Ithaca, he is greeted by Athena, who symbolizes his home. In the book, she transforms him into an old man. But here, he crafts yet another lie to make himself seem feeble. Instead, he goes to

[16:56] the temple of Athena where Tamelus and Mentor are trying to make an offering to the goddess. Now, the suitors, much like Odysius and Troy, have desecrated Athena in order to ambush their enemy. The scene ends with Odysius burning the body

[17:09] of Mentor, which is in part to cause a distraction, another form of a lie, but also as a grand offering to Athena. Mentor made his sacrifice out of love to save the people he loved in a temple dedicated to love. Now, when Odysius

[17:23] arrives at the dinner of the suitors, he is truly the embodiment of Zeus's law. He is the master of the house come in disguise, and he sees the measure of their hospitality. They make fun of the beggar, and they make him eat discarded

[17:35] food. Now, all through the film, Odysius proclaims that he will defy the will of the gods, and he's planning to do the same thing here. He will break the law of hospitality and kill these suitors. But first, he has to judge them. Are

[17:49] these men already breaking Zeus's law? Are they unworthy of the love of proper civilization? And he does all of this by embracing the name of the boy he lied to, Sinn. Because it is his way of wearing his great sin on his sleeve. He

[18:03] is honoring the boy by taking his name to prove that some lies can make the slaughter of innocents. >> But the lie, >> he knew how hard it would [music] be to get people to work together to save the

[18:16] species instead of themselves. Now, many scholars like Emily Wilson believe that Penelopey is Odysius's intellectual equal. Not only did she rule Ithaca for 20 years, but she devised her own deception. She tells the suitor that she

[18:28] knowing that none of them have any idea how long weaving actually takes. >> Just the Asabuko needs to brace for about 3 hours. Everything else is done. earlier, like 4:00. >> So, she steps forward to kick off the

[18:41] final fight with the bow and she announces, "Show us who you are." Now, this does not just mean the identity of Odysius, but also the character of the men in the hall. This is Odysius's final test, not to string a bow and shoot an

[18:56] arrow through some axes, but it's where he gets to redeem his sins from the war. the film where Odysius fights off the the way gets to use that fighting trick he learned from mentor earlier in the

[19:09] film. Odysius announces that these suitors are the people from the sea. They are the barbarians who have come to steal and dishonor Zeus's law. However, Odysius also has to break Zeus's law. He kills these men in his home, but he is

[19:23] doing so to defend Ithaca. So, in a way, he is voluntarily taking that sin on >> I killed those people. No, no, you can't. You're not. I'm whatever Gotham >> After the last suitor is dead, there will be grave consequences for him and

[19:38] Ithaca. The suitor's families will want vengeance. This will lead to a civil war. the destruction of his kingdom. In the book, Athena appears disguised as mentor and brings peace to the waring factions. In the movie, Odysius uses the

[19:50] wisdom of Athena to prevent a war by exiling himself and his wife. They sail west in order to honor the dead. But I should note this also seems like a nod to the character of Ulisses from Dante's Inferno. Ulisses is the Roman version of

[20:03] the name Odysius. Now, in Dante's Inferno, an elderly Ulisses indulges in a lust for experiences and sails west with his aging crew. This is also the subject of the Tennyson poem Ulisses where he longs for a life of adventure

[20:16] beyond the safety of Ithaca. My purpose holds to sail beyond the sunset and the bats of all the western stars until I die. Like Frodo. >> Actually, yes. Like Frodo. Frodo is another character who is a metaphor for

[20:29] the horrors of war. After everything he experienced, he was unable to enjoy the just like Ulisses. And of course, this is all a metaphor for veterans who fight in our wars, but then have difficulty ingratiating themselves back into

[20:42] >> I wish none of this had happened. >> So do all who live to see such [music] times. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. >> Then Odysius says point blank that our age of bronze is about to end, which is

[20:56] a little on the nose because actually this did mark the end of the bronze age. And then he refers to how their story will have to be told orally by the poets, which is true. Following the fall of Greece, literacy plummeted for

[21:08] the Odyssey weren't written down until Homer decided to put pen to paper. Now, ultimately, Nolan has recontextualize the Odyssey to explain why Greek civilization fell. And this is a warning for our modern-day life. The question

[21:21] here is, what kind of race is humanity? Are we the kind of people who open our homes with kindness and generosity to others? Are we the kind of people who think while there is a soul in prison I am not free or are we a people who lie

[21:34] to get what we want? Are we a people who steal what we want from other nations? Are we akin to gods or are we simply pigs at a trough? So guys, that's just what you thought of the movie down in the comments below or you can find me on

[21:47] it's your first time here, please subscribe. Smash that bell for alerts subscribe. Smash that bell for alerts for Screen Crush. I'm Ryan Ary.