At night, the Colchian army invades Atlantis. The Atlanteans manage to push them back, but not without heavy losses.
Hercules and Pythagoras narrowly escape the cave of the Cylcopes while dragging Jason in tow.
Dion reports to Queen Ariadne that the Colchians have been driven back for the moment, but more and more soldiers are deserting. He suggests that making an example of some of the deserters might help keep the others in line, but Ariadne refuses to do this, fearing that taking such actions would turn her into a tyrant. She also allows the Colchians to collect their dead.
Pasiphae and Medea examine the carnage at the Atlantean gates and Pasiphae pauses when she sees the body of a man who resembles Jason.Sarpedon goes to pray at the Oracle. The Oracle urges him to consider his conscience and not to let his anger against Minos poison his heart. Sarpedon says it is already too late for that, though the Oracle tells him it is never too late.
Jason’s arrow wound reopens from the jump out of the Cyclops cave, but Pythagoras and Hercules patch him up as best they can. Jason is still determined to get the Palladium back to Atlantis, despite his wound not having had enough time to heal.
Ariadne asks Dion and Sarpedon if she should surrender, but they tell her to follow her own heart. Ariadne still has faith in Jason, and she chooses not to give up yet. Sarpedon is struck by guilt and confesses to Ariadne that his desire for revenge against Minos lead him to ally with Pasiphae and help steal the Palladium. Ariadne has him taken to the dungeons.
Pasiphae discusses with her army commander Goran the fate of the Atlantean nobles when the city falls. Pasiphae says that anyone willing to swear allegiance to her will be spared, but Ariadne must be killed secretly, so the people will believe that she died while trying to abandon them.
In the dungeon, Sarpedon pleads with Ariadne for a chance to redeem himself. He says that if she sends him into the Colchian camp, he could kill Pasiphae. Ariadne notes this could just be a ploy so he can escape, but Sarpedon counters that he didn’t have to confess his crime to her, he only did so because he came to realize that she was the better queen.
The heroes are ambushed on the road by a group of Atlantean deserters. The leader of the deserters, Miras, tells them that the city walls have been breached and the citadel will soon fall. Jason shows them the Palladium and tells them there is still hope if they return to fight.
Sarpedon approaches Pasiphae’s tent, carrying what appears to be a declaration of surrender, but secretly carrying a hidden dagger. Before he can strike Pasiphae, Medea sees what he is planning and throws him back with a spell. Sarpedon defies Pasiphae by saying that Ariadne is a greater queen than she, but Pasiphae notes that won’t be for much longer as she drives a knife through Sarpedon’s throat.
The heroes arrive outside Atlantis and see both armies exchanging their dead for proper funeral rites. Pythagoras gets the idea to get inside the city by hiding on one of the carts carrying the bodies. When one of the soldiers hears a grunt, he realizes some of the bodies on the cart are still alive and starts stabbing the bodies to finish them off. Before he can kill Hercules, Goran arrives and orders that they take the cart through the Atlantean lines now.
The heroes reach Ariadne and return the Palladium. Ariadne fears it might be too late, considering how many soldiers have already deserted, but Jason tells her that showing the Palladium is back will restore morale.
The Colchians launch their second attack. Jason is expecting Miras and the deserters to return, but no help comes. Dion urges Jason to get Ariadne out of the city, but when Ariadne asks if Jason is going to flee, he says he is going to stay and fight for Atlantis, and Ariadne says she has to do the same.The Colchian army continues to advance, but just when all hope seems lost, the deserters launch a surprise attack to flank the Colchian army. As the Colchians are taken by surprise, the battle quickly turns against them. Before the Colchians retreat, Pasiphae is shocked to see Jason fighting among the Atlanteans. An archer is about to shoot Jason, but Pasiphae quickly saves Jason by stabbing the archer. Hercules is the only one who sees what happened.
The Colchians withdraw but there is no real celebrating to be done. Ariadne weeps at the loss of life, and she tells Jason that she is terrified of becoming as ruthless as Pasiphae to protect Atlantis. She fears that if she marries Jason the Atlantean nobles will reject him and abandon her. She has no choice but to sacrifice her love to protect her city. Jason leaves, crushed, while Ariadne weeps inconsolably.
Deeply disturbed by what he saw, Hercules goes to the Oracle, demanding to know what the connection is between Jason and Pasiphae. When he threatens to tell Jason what he saw, the Oracle finally tells him that Pasiphae is Jason’s mother, and that Jason’s destiny is linked with Atlantis’s future. She tells Hercules that he has been chosen by the gods to help Jason. Hercules says that it would be a lot easier to protect Jason if Jason knew the truth, but the Oracle begs Hercules not to tell him, saying that if Jason learned the truth his heart would be hardened, and he would be consumed by hatred. Though sad at having to hide the truth from his friend, Hercules agrees to keep it secret.
Dion reports to Ariadne that Pasiphae has fled. Ariadne orders him to hunt Pasiphae down and kill her.
Tropes
- Changed My Mind, Kid: Miras and the deserters return to fight for Atlantis just in the nick of time.
- Eye Scream: Hercules stabs a cyclops right in the eye.
- Glad I Thought of It: Inverted. When Pythagoras says that they won’t be able to escape the Cyclops while carrying Jason, Hercules asks if they should leave Jason behind. When Pythagoras says no, Hercules immediately rebukes Pythagoras for suggesting such a thing.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Ariadne is terrified that her war against Pasiphae might send her down this path.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Dion does not wear a helmet while fighting the Colchians, even though all of the Atlantean soldiers wear them. When the heroes join the Atlantean defense, they take new weapons from the armory, but none of them wear helmets or put on new armor, except for Jason using a shield.
- Hollywood Healing: While how much time passes is not clearly stated, Jason recovers from his arrow wound astonishingly quickly. At the beginning of the episode, he is so badly wounded he has to be carried by Hercules and Pythagoras, but by the end of the episode he is able to fight on the front lines to defend Atlantis.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Sarpedon tries to assassinate Pasiphae while pretending to carry a declaration of surrender.
- Make an Example of Them: Defied. Dion suggests that executing some of the Atlantean deserters might help discourage others from deserting, but Ariadne refuses to do so.
- Soft Water: How the trio escapes the cyclops caves. Pythagoras notes that the fall might not be safe, but it works when they try it anyway.
- Villainous Rescue: Jason is about to be shot by a Colchian archer when Pasiphae intervenes.
