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The Odyssey · written by Christopher Nolan · 2026
Scene 25 of 199 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act one
Twenty years after leaving for the Trojan War, Odysseus fights his way home across a hostile sea only to find his kingdom overrun — and must return in disguise to reclaim his wife, his son, and his throne from the suitors laying siege to his house.
Ithaca frozen in a decade of waiting: Penelope weaving, the suitors feasting, Telemachus unheard.
Present: Penelope warns that without a king, Ithaca can't defend itself if the Sea People threat is real.
Penelope tests Telemachus by handing him Odysseus's bow to string — he fails, proving he isn't yet ready to claim the throne.
Flashback: Odysseus effortlessly strings the bow and shoots an arrow through a line of axes to a cheering hall.
This scene
Penelope looks down on the bow with GREAT PRIDE...
PENELOPE
No one else ever did it.
TELEMACHUS
Mom, they’re bleeding us dry so you’ll be forced to choose one of them before I can claim the throne. The traveller told me Menelaus returned years ago. They’ve all returned --
PENELOPE
All who survived. Maybe he is dead.
TELEMACHUS
And if he is, this is my palace. We need to know. I need to go to Menelaus and find out the truth.
Penelope looks at him, SURPRISED.
PENELOPE
Telemachus, these suitors mean you harm.
TELEMACHUS
You think I don't know that? Every night they push me to give them the excuse they need.
PENELOPE
Out there on the sea, on the road... they won't need an excuse - you just won't come back.
Telemachus looks at her. SUSPICIOUS.
TELEMACHUS
You don't want me to claim the throne myself. You want to keep me in my place. So you can stay Queen of Ithaca.
PENELOPE
(frustrated)
I've had enough of being Queen of Ithaca without my King.
TELEMACHUS
Without your king... or without a king?
Penelope shakes her head, FRUSTRATED.
PENELOPE
And you think you're ready to take your father's place. You're a child.
She goes back to her work.