"Carthage"- Episode Three Synopsis

Summary of the show so far: Following the death of their father, Elissa and her brother Pygmalion face questions of succession. Pygmalion assumes that the throne should be his, and Elissa steps aside to let her brother rule. The nobility is in favor of his rule and Elissa seems to hope that now, her brother will leave her alone. The two do not have a particularly close relationship, and Elissa is eager to be free from her brother’s influence. A marriage between Elissa and Sychaeus is arranged by high ranking members of the city, in an attempt to honor her father’s wishes. Sychaeus is a respected priest and extremely wealthy, second only to Pygmalion himself. Elissa and Sychaeus marry. Sychaeus reveals himself to be a kind, fair man, much to Elissa’s relief. She believes that together they can do much good in the city. Pygmalion has proved to be a lackluster king thus far, much to the disappointment of the nobility. Seeing how popular Elissa and her new husband are in the city, he grows increasingly bitter towards them. Knowing how her brother is, Elissa Sychaeus to be more cautious of arousing his suspicions.

Misgivings: At the conclusion of the previous episode, Elissa begs her new husband Sychaeus to be wary of her brother, King Pygmalion. Sychaeus does not take her seriously, and continues to openly flaunt his wealth throughout the city.

        At the opening of this episode, Elissa wakes from a nightmare. Rousing her sleeping husband, she tells him about the dream. In it, she was a child again, but instead of looking like a princess, she looked like a common street child. She tells Sychaeus that she went to the palace and no one would let her in, because King Belus only had one child, Pygmalion. Elissa saw her brother walk by, inside the gates, but he was much older and dressed more splendidly than she had ever seen, as if he had taken the riches of the entire city. Sychaeus tells her it was just a bad dream from drinking too much wine at dinner, and goes back to sleep.

        Still troubled by her dream, Elissa is uneasy as she and Sychaeus attend a dinner held by her brother. The dinner is extravagant. Pygmalion boasts that it cost 3 high ranking members of court their fortunes and one farmer his livestock to make the dinner happen. Sychaeus, troubled by this statement, asks his brother-in-law if that was necessary. Pygmalion responds by saying he is King, and that it was worth it for this party. Syacheus sits back down, clearly troubled by what Pygmalion has said. After dinner, he confesses to Elissa that she may be right about the danger Pygmalion presents.

        Elissa tells her husband that they should hide his treasure someplace where Pygmalion cannot find it, but leave enough that no suspicion is aroused. Agreeing with his wife, the two began to make plans. Several nights later, Elissa sneaks out of the house at night. Moving quickly through the streets, she stops in an alley, where three men wait, their faces covered by shadow. Speaking with a confidence, she tells the three to swear allegiance to her and her husband. She tells them to spread word that Pygmalion’s reign is corrupt, that no one is safe. In the palace, Pygmalion’s treasurer passes a bag of gold to a cloaked man.