‘Atlantis’ Season 2 Episode 5 review: ‘The Day of the Dead’

Though we never truly believed it for a moment, Pasiphae’s twitching fingers at the start of this episode signalled that the former Queen of Atlantis was not quite dead.

Despite being wounded by Ariadne’s arrow, she retained enough evil wherewithal to raise the necropolis in an attempt to deal with Jason and his friends.

While Hercules, Pythagoras and Ariadne, plus their travelling companions including the blind seer Orpheus, struggled to survive in the higher levels, Jason had his own personal encounter with the enemy at the bottom of their fall.

Despite being five episodes into the season, this was the first opportunity provided for us to try and get a handle on Medea (Amy Manson).

It is a tricky situation as the other characters clearly know who she is, but Jason managed to ask the question on all our lips when he demanded to nature of the Colchean Princesses’ relationship to Pasiphae; the answer came as ‘blood’. (Fortunately a simple check of the BBC website quantifies it further if you are curious.)

While Jason and Medea survived the zombies, and let’s face it that’s what they were, we enjoyed a little insight into their respective relationships with their Queens. We know for Jason it is a matter of love and now a promise, for Medea, it appears there is both a familial bond and also the fact that, as a magical outcast, Pasiphae has been kind to her and encouraged her talents.

After the undead Dion returned to menace them, which seemed a little glossed over and probably could hefted more emotional weight than it did, Pythagoras worked out that the zombies could be stopped by piercing the heart.

This became the cue for an episode chock full of some remarkable well aimed arrows and knife throws as the reanimated enemy where stopped. Through these battles it was great to see Ariadne more than holding her own once again.

We were back with series creator Howard Overman on script duties this week, and it came with a sense of the main trio keeping more to their early patterns. Hercules came off as rather boorish with his falling asleep endangered the group, while their banter seemed a touch more laddish and less affectionate than it has been of late.

In the space quiet between the action we enjoyed some terrifically emotive scenes as Orpheus ended the life of his lover Eurydice life in order to stop her becoming one of the undead. We did truly believe that Ariadne was going to rise to the challenge when it was presented however, and it was this moment which served as catalyst for her open declaration of feelings for Jason when they reunited.

Of course, a declaration of that magnitude is always swiftly followed by heartbreak and Medea showed her true colours in another cliff-hanger moment, but we cannot help but wonder if Jason’s honourable treatment of her coupled by Pasiphae leaving her for dead have sown the seeds of discontent for the future?