Written by Gerry Conway
Directed by Andrew Merrifield
This episode provides examples of:
- All-Powerful Bystander: The Cabiri is powerful enough to forge a new trident in the blink of an eye, as well as older than any of the Olympians. What she wants is unknown, as most of the gods don't bother her, while Hephaestus (the only one said to have any kind of interaction with her) doesn't push it. As she's the only one that could save Triton and the seas in general in the little time they have, Hercules has to convince her to help.
- Amnesiac Lover: Serena by way of the changed timeline. She finds Hercules somewhat familiar but can't place it, until a close encounter causes her memories to come rushing back.
- Bad Boss: In The Teaser, Lysacka's men were harassing people at the dock, prompting Hercules and Iolaus II to intervene. During the requisite fight, Lysacka demands his own men stop. He says he expressly forbid causing any trouble, and he makes his point by punching one of his men into the water.
- Badass Boast: In Triton's cave, Hercules resolves to get a new trident from the Cabiri.Aphrodite: Uh, Bro, no one asks the Cabiri for anything, not even the gods. She's... she's like a force of nature. You can't even talk to her.
Hercules: She'll talk to me. - Big Damn Heroes: Hercules gets back to Lysacka's boat in time to save Iolaus II and Nautica from being hanged.
- Bittersweet Ending: Iolaus II and Nautica can finally be together. Hercules wishes them well, though he's a bit saddened to say goodbye to his new friend, as well as how his encounter with Serena stirred old feelings.
- Blackmail: Lysacka demands Nautica marry him in exchange for returning Triton's trident. The trick is that the trident was destroyed simply by a mortal claiming it, so she doesn't know he doesn't have any real leverage.
- Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Lysacka somehow managed to steal Triton's trident, allowing him to blackmail Nautica into marrying him.
- Dragged into Drag: One of the disguises that Aphrodite comes up with for Iolaus II spur of the moment is a seamstress working on Nautica's dress. Not his first choice, but he rolls with it, as the alternative is violent pirates finding him sneaking around their ship.
- Dramatic Unmask:
- Lysacka showing off his new bride to the crowd, leading Iolaus II to see it's Nautica.
- How Hercules sees that the woman he just saved from attackers is Serena.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After being the Sovereign's lacky for years and adapting to a strange new world, Iolaus II ends his time on the series by settling down with the love of his life.
- The Easy Way or the Hard Way: At the docks, Hercules warns Lysacka's men to stop harassing people, saying they can do this the easy way or the hard way. Not knowing who he is, they opt for a fight.Hercules: Nobody ever wants to do it the easy way.
- Flashback:
- When Aphrodite explains to the heroes how Nautica asked for legs for her upcoming wedding.
- Hercules has a few to Season 3's Serena episodes, with several snippets from each covering their relationship and how he changed history. It happens again when Serena's memories come rushing back.
- Flashback with the Other Darrin: Original Darrin, actually. New reactions by Sam Sorbo were spliced into the final scene of "The End Of The Beginning" over Kara Zediker. Extras on Anchor Bay's Season 5 release say it was decided on the basis of how different the two actresses looked from each other.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: The flashback takes place in Triton's cave, but the man himself is nowhere to be found. When Hercules then asks where Triton's been throughout all this, Aphrodite says it is very odd, leading Herc to go looking for him. He bumps into Serena and learns the whole story, as a result.
- The Gods Must Be Lazy: Serena intends to pray at a shrine so that her husband will return safely from sea. Hercules alludes to this when asked if it will actually work.Serena: Do the gods hear our prayers?
Hercules: They hear, but they don't always listen. - Hidden Heart of Gold: According to Aphrodite, Poseidon is a lot sweeter than he lets on. He agrees to undo the restriction of Nautica having to remain in the ocean simply on the basis of his favorite niece asking him to.
- Hold The Floor: After being informed of the trident situation, Iolaus II poses as an elderly priest to try to delay things long enough for Hercules to talk to the Cabiri and get back to Lysacka's boat. He gets found out much faster than expected, though.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Hercules certainly struggles with old feelings, but he never once considers making a move on Serena and breaking up her family. He does everything possible to ensure her husband returns home safely, burying his own feelings and telling the Cabiri it's just part of the bargain he made when changing Serena's fate.
- It's What I Do: After telling Serena that he's ensured her husband will return home safely, Hercules says this is just part of his job description.
- Lampshade Hanging: It was previously established that Nautica's heart is what warms the seas. As part of marrying Lysacka, Nautica got Aphrodite to convince Poseidon to undo that restriction so that the rest of the world wouldn't suffer. Upon being told this, Iolaus II questions why this wasn't done in the first place so that he could be with the love of his life.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Upon seeing her, Hercules remarks that Nautica looks rather familiar. Being part of the same extended family and him already knowing her father, it's reasonable they've met at least once over the years. In real-life, however, it alludes to how Angela Marie Dotchin had several roles in this franchise, most notably Kora on Young Hercules.
- Makes Us Even: After securing a new trident, Hercules tells Aphrodite to relay his request about Serena's husband to Triton, suggesting that will square things for saving the sea lord's life.
- Marshmallow Hell: Devastated over Nautica marrying Lysacka, Aphrodite pulls Iolaus II in for one of these to give him some comfort. He remarks it's actually not so bad, of course.
- Master of Disguise: Aphrodite cooks up multiple disguises for Iolaus II: a fat fisherman, a seamstress, a cook, and an elderly priest. It's not until an accident exposes the last disguise that Lysacka realizes what's been happening.
- Mood Whiplash: Lysacka intends Iolaus II and Nautica hanged on the count of three. He dramatically counts the first two numbers, only to struggle to remember what comes next and to insist he can figure this out on his own.
- No Accounting for Taste: Seeing how slovenly and stupid Lysacka is, Hercules muses the intended bride must be really desperate. He doesn't know the half of it.
- Noodle Incident: We're never told how exactly Lysacka (a guy so dimwitted that he can't even count to three) managed to steal a trident from a god.
- Oh, Crap!: Iolaus II when he sees Lysacka's bride-to-be is Nautica.
- The Old Gods: The Cabiri is so ancient that she existed before any of the Olympians were born, so she's been around at least as long the Titans.
- Our Mermaids Are Different: This time, Aphrodite is the one who gives Nautica legs. With Nautica spending much of the episode on a wet boat, it appears Aphrodite ensured she wouldn't revert if hit with water. In the end, Aphrodite takes this in the opposite direction by turning Iolaus II into a merman so that he can be with Nautica.
- Our Sirens Are Different: The trio of Sirens return, being how Nautica summons Aphrodite to Triton's cave.
- Parental Bonus: Hercules refers to the Cabiri as an ally of Hephaestus, which was true in the original myths.
- Pet the Dog: Following her last appearance, Aphrodite says she periodically checked in on Nautica to console her over being separated from Iolaus II.
- Plot Parallel: Both heroes face old loves and past emotional pain, but whereas Iolaus II does everything possible to be with his First Love and succeeds in the end, Hercules won't even consider making a move on his Second Love and instead does everything possible to ensure her actual husband returns home safely.
- Put on a Bus: Iolaus II departs the series, being made a merman and able to settle down with Nautica in the sea.
- Race Against the Clock: Without his trident, Triton is dying, and the seas will go with him. Hercules has to get a new trident from the Cabiri before it's too late.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: The Cabiri is so powerful that she already knows that Hercules changed history. Even Aphrodite didn't know that, finding Serena only vaguely familiar before Herc explained what he did.
- Sadly Mythtaken: Averted for Triton this time, with someone presumably noticing it was an error to refer to him and Poseidon as brothers. Here, he refers to Poseidon as his father, and he's also described as a cousin to children of Zeus.
- Scatter Brained Senior: Posing as an elderly priest, Iolaus II really plays this up to stall for time, such as "accidentally" knocking a mook into the water and droning on and on.
- Sequel Episode: Two for the price of one. Iolaus II's plot reunites him with Nautica, while Herc's plot sees him faced with Serena for the first time since changing history.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Even when the situation is resolved, Iolaus II and Nautica say their big problem of coming from different worlds still hasn't changed. Hercules suggests Aphrodite resolve the situation by making Iolaus II a merman.
- Superman Stays Out of Gotham: Justified. As The Teaser and climax demonstrate, Hercules could easily handle Lysacka's entire crew, but he's the only one could approach the Cabiri to get a new trident for Triton.
- Trailers Always Spoil: The trailer emphasized that Hercules was re-encountering Serena, which is played in the actual episode as a twist. (Of course, the guest star credit would've tipped viewers off, anyway.)
- True Blue Femininity: Nautica's wedding dress is blue.
- Wacky Marriage Proposal: About to be hanged, Iolaus II proposes to Nautica. She accepts.
- Wham Shot:
- Lysacka unveils his bride: Nautica.
- After fending off the attackers, Hercules attends to the victim and sees she's Serena.
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: As Hercules asks the Cabiri for a new trident, Aphrodite asks her to help in the name of love. The Cabiri scoffs at this, saying she knows Hercules was previously married to Serena in another life. She questions why he would want to help Serena's husband when he stands to gain the most from that man never returning. Hercules's I Want My Beloved to Be Happy answer convinces the Cabiri to provide a new trident.
- Worth It: When questioned by the Cabiri, Hercules says Serena's renewed life was worth sacrificing his own happiness.
