Cuchufli's Corner

For anyone unfamiliar with Oedipus and his story, here’s a quick summary: 

Oedipus is the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta, the rulers of Thebes. Around the time Oedipus was born, his parents received a prophecy. It warned that Oedipus would  kill his father and marry his mother, bringing disaster to his city and family. Fearing that this would come to pass, Laius sent a shepherd/servant to kill his child. However, the shepherd/servant wasn’t really cool with killing a baby (unlike our man Odysseus!!!) and instead gave Oedipus to another couple to raise.

When Oedipus grew older, he learned from the oracle at Delphi of the prophecy. He wasn’t really cool with murder either, so he left his adoptive parents, unaware that they weren’t his biological parents. He set course for a cray place that you’ll totally never see coming, Thebes.

On the way to his birth place, he met an older man, his biological father. The two got into a fight, and Oedipus killed his old man. Lacking the knowledge that he had already fulfilled one aspect of the prophecy, Oedipus continued his journey to Thebes. 

When he reached the city, he found it was being tortured by the Sphinx. So, Oedipus being Oedipus, he answered the monster’s riddle and saved the city. By defeating the Sphinx, Oedipus had won his father’s throne and his mother’s hand in marriage. The second part of the prophecy had come to pass. 

Years passed with Oedipus on throne, and in that time a plague befell Thebes. In order to end his city’s suffering, Oedipus searched for who had killed Laius. When he found that it was he who had killed his father. He also learned that he was adopted. He brought the news back to his mother, Jocasta. She realized that Oedipus was her son, and in her distress over marrying her son, hung herself. Oedipus also finally realized that the prophecy had come to pass, and blinded himself because of everything. The full prophecy had come to pass.

The myth varies, but the gist is guy fulfills a prophecy unwillingly and it sucks for everybody.

Now you might be wondering: what does this have to do with Pantheon? Well, let’s get into that! Caspian Keys was created finish the work of Steven Holstrom, to take his place if you will. He was raised from birth to be the second coming of tech genius, to solve the flaw and create the world that Holstrom never finished creating. In a way, Caspian also had a prophecy surrounding him. He was destined to solve the flaw, and create the new digital world, bringing disaster to the old one. 

For the first 18 years of his life, Caspian unknowingly continued to further the prophecy, meeting inflection point after inflection point. However, like Oedipus, Caspian eventually learned of this prophecy. Also like Oedipus, Caspian did everything to run from his fate. He ran away from his adoptive mom. He tried to disappear from Logorhythms’ radar, ensuring that he would never solve the flaw. 

Now in all fairness, Caspian did meet with the UIs first before running away. But still, he ultimately tried to avoid his fate. Unfortunately for him, the world wouldn’t let him avoid his problems forever. Eventually, Logorhythms caught up to him and convinced him to work with the company.

You might be thinking that the similarities between Oedipus and Pantheon/ Caspian end here, but they don’t. Caspain agreed toward the end of season 1 to work to cure the flaw, but that WASN’T him agreeing to create Holstrom’s world.

In fact, Caspain agreed to solve the flaw to PREVENT Holstrom’s dream from becoming a reality. In his eyes, if Caspian solved the flaw he could have control over the UI world, and prevent the UIs from taking over so to speak. Caspian was still working against his preset fate.

So like our boy Oedipus, Caspian eventually fulfills one element of his “prophecy,” he solves the flaw. Caspian cracks integrity and starts administering the cure with Maddie, however his intent is still to work against Holstrom’s dream.

We see that intent shine when Holstrom comes back. Caspian didn’t willingly cure Holstrom, and seeks other UIs to cure for the purpose of defeating Holstrom and protecting the world. Caspian, along with Maddie, travels the UI world along with the physical world in order to defeat fate.

When it’s clear that there aren’t any UIs who can or will defeat Holstrom, Caspian takes it upon himself to destroy Holstrom. He willingly dies and uploads, knowing it’s likely he’ll die defeating Holstrom. Caspian gives his life to prevent his “prophecy” from coming to pass. He dies so he’ll never become Holstrom, so the world Holstrom dreamed of never becomes a reality.

Throughout Pantheon Caspian tries so hard to not fulfill his fate, only for his “prophecy” to come to pass. When Caspain comes back in season 2, after 20 years, we see the world that he feared. The physical world is becoming a memory, and the digital one is the new reality. The flaw is solved, and UIs can live forever now with concepts humans could only dream of before. Steven Holstrom’s world became a reality, and who is credited as its savior/creator? None other than Caspian Keyes, the second coming of Steven Holstrom.

First, you have Ellen, who represents denial. She lost her husband, David, and somewhat forces acceptance upon herself and her daughter. Even though the story picks up after David’s death, we see Ellen’s journey through grief when David comes back. Ellen’s acceptance of her loss is juxtaposed with denial. When her husband comes back, she’s confused and hurt. She doesn’t want to accept he’s back because, well how could she? She’s lived two long painful years without him. She’s gone through so much, having to accept that he’s gone just for hime to come back. She’s terrified with the pain that comes along side embracing him. If she accepts him as alive again, she also has to accept the possibility of losing him again. She has to learn to accept the pain that accompanies love. Even though she eventually accepts David, her denial to his resurrection is still highlighted earlier on in the show.

There’s also Chanda. He is a not so subtle representation of the anger associated with grief. He literally burns a building and kills a family because he was blinded by his grief. He was grieving his life, and how he would never live as he once did. All of his actions are propelled by his anger over the loss of his life. He is desperately trying to achieve what he never got the chance to while he was human. He’s trying to create the world he never got to live in. He can’t accept the way things are because he’s still stuck in his anger over his loss.

Next, there’s Cody. He represents bargaining. He can’t accept the loss of his wife, so he does anything minimize and postpone his sadness. He doesn’t question or deny Laurie when she comes back like Ellen did with David. Rather he accepts her without a second thought. His actions aren’t solely propelled by love, but rather his avoidance to pain. Even before he knew Laurie’s upload was successful, he didn’t accept that she was gone. He still felt that she was alive and the same as she had been. When she came back, he did anything for Laurie because he didn’t want to lose her or accept that things had changed. He did everything in his power to keep things the same and try to live as he did before. When Laurie is prepared to die to spread her message to the world, he doesn’t accept losing her again. Rather, he prepares to “reboot” her and keep thing the way the are, even though they’re not.

Next there’s Capsian, who represents depression. Now the thing he’s mourning is a bit different from the other characters in this analysis. He isn’t mourning the physical death of someone, but rather the death of his innocence. He found out he was a clone and that his entire life was a lie. Everything he thought he knew wasn’t real, and that’s terrifying. While he goes through the other stages of grief, the show draws attention to the depression part of grief through Caspain. He quickly recognizes the true extent of his loss but still struggles to accept and cope with it. Thus, he is easily manipulated by Pope and throws himself into curing the flaw because to him it’s a way to avoid the looming hopelessness of his situation. He’s lost interest and passion for the things he once cared about, and focuses on what he feels he has to do. He feels hopeless, and desperately trying to cure the flaw is his way of trying to reclaim agency. If he solves the problem, he regains some control over the hopelessness he feels.

Finally, there Maddie, who represents the complex journey to acceptance. Throughout the show, she experiences all the stages of grief. The show focuses on her journey to accepting the loss of her father and the life she once had. We watch her go through the stages of grief at her own pace and eventually come to terms with her loss. We watch her grow into the person that can eventually let her father pass. We watch her move forward despite her loss. She still is in unimaginable pain because of the death of her father, but she still keeps moving.