Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

BBC Atlantis: Season 2: Part 2: Disc # 1

7-A Fate Worse Than Death

Jason, the Hero of Atlantis, and Queen Ariadne are to be wed. The Oracle takes their blood offering to the Shrine of Dodona and finds the omens to be favorable. She returns to Atlantis and informs Melas, the High Priest. She is then kidnapped by Pasiphae's men. Jason, who tries to thwart them, is rendered unconscious. Medusa is located by Pasiphae and Medea, who promise to free her from her curse if she aids them - just once. She agrees and turns the Oracle to stone. Jason is falsely accused of the crime by Melas, who has become an unwilling puppet of Pasiphae. The former Queen seems to have many supporters within Atlantis' walls, including the corrupt Counselor Cilix 

8-The Madness of Hercules

Hercules connects with Medusa, who is now cured but consumed by guilt. He attempts to rescue Jason but is captured and condemned to the cruelest of deaths by the compromised High Priest. The Queen and her new Military Advisor, Delmos, seem to support his false utterances but secretly conspire to free the doomed heroes. This backfires when Melas, who again mis-states Poseidon's will, gives false omens which imprison the Queen and Delmos. Jason and Hercules are free, but hunted.

9-The Gorgon's Gaze

Cassandra, the future Oracle of Atlantis and Melas' charge, gives Pasiphae a true prophesy, which she and her fellow conspirators promptly try to twist to favor their take-over. Pythagoras re-enters Atlantis and recruits the aid of the inventor Daedalus and his son Icarus to retrieve Pandora's Box from the Temple of Poseidon. Disguised as lepers, they use fire-powder to distract the guards and accomplish their goal. Melas is guilted into helping Pythagoras. Pasiphae tortures Ariadne in hopes of having her renounce her Queenship. Failing that, she kills Delmos. We discover that Pythagoras and Icarus are more than friends. Medusa, after spending some time with Hercules, gives him a sleeping potion and explains how Jason, using her severed head, can rescue Ariadne and save Atlantis. She then uses Pandora's Box to turn back into a serpent-crowned monster with a gaze that turns people to stone. She begs Jason to behead her and, though loth to do so, he does.  He then re-lives the Perseus myth and turns most of Pasiphae's soldiers to stone. Just as Jason is about to slay Pasiphae, she reveals that she is his mother. Medea confirms it, and reveals a bit more about the divine bond the three of them share, being 'Touched by the Gods'. Jason rescues Ariadne and, using the Gorgon's head, makes easy their escape. 

10-The Dying of the Light

As the Oracle once predicted, Jason turns dark after learning that Pasiphae is his mother. His companions are concerned about his transformation and many soldiers fall prey to his new-found  fury. Jason encounters a raven, and Medea, in a dream. Or is it a vision? Hercules wonders if Medusa's sacrifice was in vain, as they are still hunted fugitives and Jason is fast becoming a cold-blooded killer. Pythagoras, recruiting the help of Icarus and a street-cleaner picking up horse droppings, infiltrates the palace and speaks to Melas. Cassandra gives them a reading and provides the key to saving Jason's soul: find his father Aeson, who lives with the lepers in the silver mines of Pangeon. His light will counter-balance Pasiphae's darness. Icarus seeks a way to free his father from prison, and betrays his friends. Pythagoras finds Aeson and attempts to recruit his aid. With the intel provided by Icarus, Pasiphae's forces await to ambush the feisty mathematician. Jason has another dream of Medea. Hercules leaves in anger. Pythagoras returns to their camp with Aeson, followed by Pasiphae and her army. Hercules rescues Ariadne, Jason is rescued by Medea, and Pythagoras, with Aeson, manage to escape on their own. Jason and Medea join in an amorous embrace and lock lips.

BBC Atlantis: Season 2: Part 2: Disc # 2

11-Kin

Will Jason succumb to the lure of the dark side? While his companions seek him in the wilderness, he is captured and imprisoned by his mother's soldiers. Counselor Clix wants him dead, but Medea's ravens and Cassandra's petal-pool declare that the gods would be indeed be displeased if a mother sentences her own son to death. So Pasiphae consigns him to the arena. Unaware of Icarus' betrayal, Pythagoras sends Aeson to elicit his aid. Jason triumphs against all odds in each savage contest and his father Aeson attempts to prevent his further descent into darkness and despair. Icarus betrays his friends once again in hopes of freeing his father. Jason's father frees him from the arena by helping him feign death, then revives him. Soldiers attack them and they are rescued by Hercules. Alas, Aeson is wounded, fatally, but he and Jason manage to make their peace before he dies. Pasiphae learns of this and is far from pleased.

12 &13-The Queen Must Die: Parts One and Two

The treacherous Icarus 'assists' Pythagoras, Jason and Hercules once again. His relationship with 'the brains of the bunch' appears to have been quite close indeed. Our companions rescue the arena fighters, though most are slain thanks to Icarus' betrayal. Medea, using mind-tricks, rescues Jason yet again, but is observed whilst doing so. Pythagoras finally puts two-and-two together. Daedalus discovers, then rejects his son's gift of continued life. Pasiphae confronts Medea, then offers her niece an unfeeling ultimatum. Jason is back with Ariadne, who declares him the rightful heir. The surviving gladiators swear their fealty. Ariadne proposes, Jason accepts her proposal and Hercules performs the wedding rite. Medea escapes Atlantis, killing Pasiphae's minions in the process.  She finds Jason in his wedding bed-roll and informs him that she is returning to Colchis. She also informs him that she has switched sides and tells him how to slay Pasiphae on the winter solstice in Hecate's most sacred fane. Jason, still unable to slay his mother, captures her instead. She is caged and given a potion, but ever the serpent, Pasiphae attempts to poison Ariadne with her words. Mother and son have a heart-to-heart, then she is executed by Hercules (but not before praying to her goddess for resurrection). Counselor Cilix seizes power. Pythagoras uses Icarus to mislead the Council, making Cilix believe that Jason seeks a peaceful solution. Cilix plans treachery, but it backfires. King Jason and Queen Ariadne return to Atlantis with the support of General Goran and the army. Melas is forgiven and seeks the blessing of Poseidon for the royal couple. Meanwhile: a winged dragon retrieves Pasiphae's corpse and she is resurrected in Hecate's temple. Pythagoras confronts Icarus. Pasiphae returns to Atlantis by dragon, kills Goran and gains control of the the army. They strike before the gods have finished bestowing their blessing. Medea slays Melas. Jason, his wife, and his companions escape with Cassandra. Icarus redeems himself, saving the heroes from certain death. With wings and fire-bombs, gifts from his father Daedalus, he rescues them from above, but it costs him his life. Safe outside the city walls, the Oracle gives Jason the task of sailing to Colchis and retrieving the Golden Fleece. Upon learning this, Ariadne is far from pleased. Pasiphae's reign of terror continues. Cassandra and Medea both see visions of the Argo, Ariadne's abandonment, and Jason's reunion with his Colchian cousin.

Behind the Scenes

In-costume and on-location interviews with the cast and crew, with glimpses of the behind-the-scenes activities that create the cinematic magic of BBC's Atlantis. The evolution of the show, and the story, are explored, as are the differences between the seasons. Lots of flashbacks allow you to revisit the saga while the people interviewed reminisce.   

Alas, BBC's Atlantis was not renewed and Season 3's dark tale may never unfold on our television screens, hand-held devices or computer monitors.

Reviews by Hercules Invictus