For the readers who have read “The Vengeance Saga” review or are familiar with “EPIC: The Musical”, you can skip this first paragraph. “EPIC: The Musical” is an audio musical written by Jorge Rivera-Herrans, based on Homer’s “The Odyssey,” that follows the adventures of Odysseus. The musical is separated by various ‘sagas’, despite the fact that sagas are commonly attributed to Iceland and Scandinavia, which feature stories about Vikings. Up until this final saga, “The Ithaca Saga,” there have been eight other sagas. These sagas (in order) include: “Troy,” “Cyclops,” “Ocean,” “Circe,” “Underworld,” “Thunder,” “Wisdom,” and “Vengeance.”
This final installment of “EPIC: The Musical” was released on Dec 25, 2024. “The Ithaca Saga” takes place immediately after the events of “The Vengeance Saga.” Odysseus, after accepting that he has to become a monster to get anything in life, is sailing home to his kingdom after his battle with Poseidon, the god of the sea and the one who taught Odysseus that ruthlessness is mercy.
The first song, “The Challenge,” is the first time Penelope’s real voice is heard, accompanied by her motif, or theme. In past songs her motif was only heard when Odysseus would mention her, even being referenced in the first song “The Horse and the Infant.” This song has Penelope realizing that the suitors of Ithaca are soon going to be demanding to marry her, due to her husband’s absence. Penelope, still having hope for Odysseus, provides a challenge for the suitors; the prize being her hand in marriage, but more importantly ruling the land. The challenge is stringing and firing Odysseus’s bow, which is well known to be a near impossible task. The song ends with her waiting, which is a call back to Odysseus’s mother’s motif, however hers is hopeful while the mother’s was accepting due to her dying before he made it home.
The next song is titled “Hold Them Down” which features only the suitors rebelling against the challenge proposed in the previous song. In the beginning it features a call back to the lyrics from “Legendary,” questioning where the man is in the same way. The leader of the riot, Antinous, understands that this challenge is nothing but a trick to buy time for Odysseus. He realizes that they are being held down while they grow older and Odysseus gets closer. Antinous also realizes that Penelope’s son Telemachus is out on a diplomatic mission, so now is the perfect time to strike, singing about how they’ll kill the boy and take the throne by force. The last part of his plan shows arrogance and a disregard for everyone but himself. He describes how only he will get to assault Penelope and take the throne, despite being in a group. As Antinous is rallying the suitors to fight, he is shot in the neck with an arrow.
“Odysseus” is possibly the most significant song in the entire saga. The song’s name follows the recurring theme of naming songs after the threat, such as “Polyphemus,” “Scylla,” and “Charybdis.” Odysseus takes the role as the main threat to the suitors in this song, using his hunting bow that is depicted on the cover art. The song opens in the same way as the first song of the entire musical, “The Horse and the Infant,” and the last song of act one, “Monster,” symbolizing how much he’s changed from the start to become a true monster. Throughout the song, it is explained how much of a threat Odysseus is, using the darkness of the place which he built to hide and take down the suitors one by one. Throughout the song, Odysseus’ name is chanted by an ensemble, the first time his name isn’t chanted by his men, which is the same as Polyphemus’ name in “Survive” and Poseidon’s name in “Ruthlessness.”
“I Can’t Help But Wonder” is an incredibly heartfelt song, which features Odysseus and Telemachus finally meeting each other after 20 long years. The voice actor of Telemachus, Miguel Veloso, gets to shine in a slower song after his more upbeat or intense songs. Odysseus’ partly consists of some references to his adventure, like explaining how he would make the storm clouds cry for him, being a reference to making Poseidon cry after beating him in their duel. The best part of this piece is when Athena is seen for the last time, mimicking their past encounter almost to the tee, and Odysseus understands this. “I know you’re watching me, show yourself. You were never one for hellos,” referencing how the first time they met Odysseus had to trick Athena into revealing herself. After their duet, Odysseus needs to talk to someone who’s been waiting to see them, but Athena doesn’t want to say goodbye in words, so she does it in the music, with the same theme found in “My Goodbye” from “The Cyclops Saga”.
“Would You Fall in Love with Me Again” is the perfect end to “EPIC: The Musical.” It opens with a chaotic and beautiful harmony of both Odysseus’ and Penelope’s motif. Penelope, although thankful, is a little suspicious of the man who stands in her door, detailing the things that have noticeably changed about him on his quest. Odysseus explains how he is no longer the man who she fell in love with, explaining how he’s gone from a noble hero to a monster willing to do anything to get his way. While singing all of the things he’s done, different themes are heard in the background that correlate to the lyrics. For example “as I traded friends like objects I could use” has the “Thunder Bringer” theme from “The Thunder Saga.” Penelope, needing one final bit of confirmation, asks for Odysseus to move their wedding bed which was carved into an olive tree. Odysseus is upset at this, because he was the one who carved the bed into the tree as a symbol of his love. Penelope hears his anger and finally embraces her long lost husband, with a reprise of the “Just a Man” melody, finally ending Odysseus’ journey to show that it’s gone full circle.
“The Ithaca Saga” is a perfect ending to “EPIC: The Musical” for both listeners just enjoying the pieces and the people who only listen for the story. Some songs like “Odysseus” have more speaking than most, but are still very enjoyable to listen to. Overall, it deserves a rating of 5/5.
