EPIC: The Musical is a concept musical loosely adapting the story of the Odyssey, the famous Greek epic. It has been fully released with 9 sagas, each featuring 3-5 songs, and the Ocean Saga is the third in line. If you haven’t listened yet, this will have spoilers – go check it out!

1. Storm
   The opening song, Storm is mostly setting up the rest of the saga. Odysseus and his crew are facing a torrential storm (go figure), but Ody spots a floating island. He asks Eurylochus to prepare the crew to throw harpoons at the island, hoping to latch on and escape. Admittedly, the plot hook of a storm is underwhelming compared to the previous threat of a cyclops, but it is catchy nontheless. I often find myself humming the main lines when it rains! The vocals of the crew echoing back Odysseus’s lines drive home how he is what is keeping the crew afloat, and how they all listen to him. (Which certainly won’t come back to haunt us later).

2) Luck Runs Out

In this, Eurylochus expresses his doubts about Odysseus’ plan. This song is fascinating as it delves into the mindset of both of the characters. Odysseus’ main trait is that he is cunning, a trickster. He has relied on his wits to get the crew out of all situations thus far. Eurylochus is above all else, practical. We saw this in Full Speed Ahead, in his introduction, where he proposes the crew take the more brutal, but efficient way of raiding the island. Eurylochus is worried about the fact that Odysseus is relying on nothing but himself, that he has no safety net to fall back on. “How much longer,” he asks, “til’ your luck runs out?” Odyssseus tries to convince Eurylochus under the mantra of optimism, but he doesn’t relent. In the end, Odysseus pulls Eurylochus to the side and reminds him that he can’t be opposing his plans. The crews voices, interestingly, echo Eurylochus instead of Odysseus here, showing that they share his doubts and fears and are siding with him.

3) Keep Your Friends Close

Odysseus has successfully made it to the island in the sky, and is now requesting the aid of Aeolus, the wind god, to help them through the storm. Aeolus proposes a deal – the storm will be put inside a bag and given to Odysseus. Now, he will be able to get through, but should he open the bag, his crew will be blown all the way back. Aeolus’ “winions” feed into Odysseus’ crew the idea that the bag actually has treasure inside, tempting them to open it. Despite Odysseus’ best efforts to dissuade the crew and protect the bag, the temptation is too great and the bag is opened – blowing the ship in the complete opposite direction away from Ithaca.
This song overall perfectly accomplishes a light and bouncy feel in the first half contrasted with a deeper, dramatic tone in the second. Aeolus’ singer perfectly portrays the airy, whimsical feel of the wind god, and the segment where Odysseus has a dream perfectly serves to remind the viewer of what he is working towards – right before it is brutally ripped away. This song also deepens the growing divide between Odysseus and his crew, which has been a major theme in this saga. The usage of the flute perfectly suits Aeolus as well!

4) Ruthlessness

The usage of trumpets, Poseidon’s designated instrument, match his aggressive temper amazingly. Poseidon’s singer has some amazing vocals with growls and roughness that perfectly mature the brash nature of the god. Besides the musical aspect of this song, it also displays some important themes. The main conflict of EPIC: the Musical is the clash between the ideology of “Open Arms”, as referred to by Polites in the aptly named song, which is the idea that everyone should be treated with trust and kindness, versus the idea of Ruthlessness.

The Ocean Saga’s songs set up vital theme dominoes for the rest of the musical with their compelling instrumentation and devastatingly catchy lines. Next up: The Circe Saga!