If you haven't already heard of it, I implore you to check out Epic The Musical by Jorge Rivera-Herrans. From the musical artistry, storytelling, vocal performances, and acting, Jorge Rivera-Herrans has it all. It is truly one of the best pieces of art that I have ever experienced. The emotions that it invokes are truly something that needs to be experienced. The Underworld Saga just dropped today, so check it out!
When the prophet tells Odysseus that he sees a man with his wife, a dangerous killer with a trail of bodies behind him, and Odysseus screams like he never has before, even when the guy told them they were never going to get home- chef kiss
Knowing that that dangerous killer IS Odysseus- donkey kick to the gut.
"I see a song of past romance, I see the sacrifice of man, I see portrayal of betrayal and a brother's final stand. I see you on the brink of death, I see you draw your final breath, I see a man who gets to make it home alive but it's no longer you."
The thing about Monster that I'm currently obsessed with: the way Odysseus humanizes his enemies as he dehumanizes himself. He correctly describes the motivations of the Cyclops, Circe, and even Poseidon which takes a level of understanding that people struggle with under the best circumstances. But then in the same verse he describes himself from the view of the Trojans. ("Does a soldier use a wooden horse to kill sleeping soldiers because he is vile?")
and of course the whole song is "Monster". If Odysseus can't stop seeing his enemies as people (seeing his own son in the Trojan infant), if that is what is killing his men and if there is no future where he makes it home as the person he is, then of course he has no choice but to stop being a person.