#i love eurylochus and polites very dearly

[el-255]

One thing I like in full speed ahead is that we’re given a very insightful view of the dynamic between Odysseus, Eurylochus, and Polites right off the bat. Eurylochus is the more no nonsense right hand man who is willing to do whatever it takes for all 600 men to make it home to Ithica whereas Polites is more the moral compass who keeps Odysseus and the crew’s values in check.

What’s interesting to me is that we’re sort of fed the comparison of the angel and devil on Odysseus’s shoulder but the question is, who’s who?

Most people would instinctively say that of course it’s Eurylochus who is the devil and Polites the angel. Eurylochus is immediately willing to raid the island despite being unaware of whether the people on the island are innocent or not whereas Polites wants to try and resolve things peacefully and barter with the people for food.

But the thing is, I think both have the capacity to be the angel and devil in this scenario.

Yes, Eurylochus is often willing to take the violent route but he is also a man who has been at war for 10 years and knows the price that must be paid. No, the things he does aren’t morally right but when we think of how far he would go to protect the men he has known and have likely become family to him over 10 years, would any of the men think him wrong for doing his best to look out for them even if it meant harming others?

Yes, Polities is doing his best to try and reserve the last dredges of their humanity after spending 10 years fighting and killing in the war but oftentimes it is his naivety that gets them into trouble. No, he doesn’t mean for this to happen, everything he does comes from a well meaning place with his attempts to find peaceful solutions to make it home but would the crew who lose their life to the cyclops and later to Poseidon appreciate his efforts?

In this situation dealing with the aftermath of a horrific war, they’re both right and justified in what they’re doing which is what makes their characters so endearing and interesting. Neither of them are to blame for their differing ideologies and both do their best to protect the crew and Odysseus.

Because, of course, at the end of the day, it is all down to Odysseus to make the final decisions as the captain but he values both of their opinions greatly, Eurylochus as his second in command, and Polities as his closest friend, which means he ends up listening to them more often than not.

Odysseus is a perfect mix of the both of them at the beginning of the musical, both rational and merciful as he has both of their counsels at his disposal, but it is this exact thing that leads to his downfall: he needs both of them to maintain his status as a good captain which is why it all goes to shit when he leans too heavily on either side. It’s his guilt over the death of the infant that leads to him utilising Polities’ ideology and getting into the whole debacle with the cyclops. And after Polities demise, he is left with only Eurylochus to guide him which leads to his descent to monster and losing the trust of his men.

Without this balance between two greatly contrasting perspectives and ideologies, Odysseus is unable to use either without causing great damage to his crew and himself. Whether Polites is the angel and Eurylochus the devil and vice versa, this is what eventually leads to the mutiny of the crew and demonstrates why it is only Odysseus who makes it home.

[justyourtypicalwriter]

Hi guys welcome to my gayass South Parkafies everything in creation. Todays edition: epic the musical

Obviously I gotta make the biggest bitch of all the bitches Stanley Marsh Odysseus. I mean come on, just look at how Greek hero coded he is. I love how Eurylochus and Odysseus’ relationship slowly becomes more and more tense as the sagas go on and Eurylochus is rather blunt throughout the whole musical so I’d have to make Craig him. And for Polites, Mr “greet the world with open arms” who dies by following those words I’d have to cast him as Kenny.

I struggled so ridiculously badly with who to cast as Athena because so many characters fit but I ultimately had to chose Gregory because “goddess of wisdom, master of war” just screamed BLU for some reason. I made Damien Zeus for the sole reason of having a seemingly short temper and actually having divine-ish abilities. Pip is Aeolus, they just both give me the same vibes where it’s like playful but can very easily fuck you up and screw you over. For Hermes I chose Jimmy. Like have you seen how much of a silly guy Hermes is in Epic?! That’s so Jimmy but there’s still a shit ton of power that he obviously would have because he’s a fucking god. For Poseidon I chose Clyde and Im finding it very difficult to explain my thought process behind this one but the main thing was just to think of him from SOT. Like that’s how I pictured it idk. Kevin McCormick for Hephaestus only because I wanted one of the older kids because Jays dad is the VA for Hephaestus smh. Bebe as Aphrodite which is pretty self explanatory. Christophe as Ares bc he’s angry, French, and fights people. And finally Heidi as Hera, I love her and she’s dealt with waaaaay too much bullshit when it comes to boyfriends. (We don’t talk about Apollo bc I can’t figure it out😭)

For Calypso I chose Butters because I feel like he’s so seemingly sweet and innocent but he’s really a deranged little freak (and I love him dearly) but so is Calypso. Circe would be Kyle, I feel like she’s the more clever and strategic of the two (and your girl needs her tiny little bits of Style). And for Tiresias I chose Tolkien because HAVE YOU HEARD HOW REGAL SOUNDING THE VA IS?! LIKE IDK IT JUST FELT LIKE IT FIT-

I don’t quite have reasoning for this one but I picked Red for Scylla because I was just getting vibes about it.

Hear me out but Tweek as Telemachus. Like the overall naivety but drive to do more for the people he loves. Cartman as Antinous because the blatant disrespect and disregard for woman and people in their way is fucking crazy. And lastly Wendy as the lovely Penelope. Like I’m a Style girlie at heart but take a look at Penelope and tell me that doesn’t scream Wendy