- Title: Atlantis – Twist of Fate
- wiki: link
“Twist of Fate” (which could just as easily have been titled “Three Atlanteans and Baby”) begins with Jason (Jack Donnelly), Hercules (Mark Addy), and Pythagoras (Robert Emms) returning to a city with a small baby abandoned in the woods. Jason and Pythagoras return to the woods looking for signs of his identity, leaving the child in the care of Hercules and Medusa (Jemima Rooper) who accidentally overhears just how much Hercules cares for her. Delivering several of the expected men with babies moments, eventually the three heroes will be called on to put their own lives on the line to save his life.
Although Jason and his friends are not able to discern the child’s identity, the episode’s B-story involving visiting dignitaries King Laius (Tristan Gemmill) and Queen Jocasta (Elen Rhys) reveals the baby to be the son of the Laius who chose to abandon him after the Oracle (Juliet Stevenson) prophesied baby Oedipus would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. Once realizing that the baby hasn’t died in the woods the guards begin a search of the city.
Together Jason, Hercules, and Pythagoras are able to spirit the baby to safety, but after learning what Pythagoras has named the child Jason begins second-guessing his role in the first step of an Oedipal tragedy. In continuing themes “Twist of Fate” shows the power at Queen Pasiphae (Sarah Parish) hands as she is able to both hide the baby’s existence from her husband while using his own guards to search for young Oedipus suggesting it might not actually be King Minos (Alexander Siddig) who truly rules the city of Atlantis.
