EXPLORING THE ORIGINS OF
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST EPISODE TITLES

SEASONS ONE AND TWO

by Linda S Barth

an expanded version of our presentations
made at Winterfest Online 2023, 2024, 2025

What do the titles mean … and what else do they mean?

Writers take a lot of time, effort, and care deciding on the perfect titles for their work. Titles always relate to the themes and plots of a story, and they offer us clues as to what we are about to see or read; however, there is often much more to titles than might be apparent at first glance.

Some titles give strong indications about a book or show’s probable content; for example, “ER“, Abbott Elementary”, even “Beauty and the Beast”. Other titles can be more ambiguous, such as “Severance”, “Elsbeth”, and “Slow Horses”.

But if you give even the most obvious of them some thought, or do a little research, you might discover multiple meanings and interpretations…many shades of grey… An expanded awareness can become apparent as you watch the episode or think about it afterwards.

In this essay, you’ll find background information about the titles of several BatB episodes, along with reasons the writers might have had for choosing those particular titles. As you read, think about how the titles relate to the themes and storylines of the episodes and how they give us clues about we will see.

In other words, think about what the titles mean – and what else they mean.

In addition, it can be fun to see if you come up with additional reasons for some title choices. If you’d like to share your ideas, please contact us at CABB – New Chambers.

Many of the BatB episode titles are taken from songs, poems, and myths. Still others use phrases from Shakespeare’s plays, an essay, and even the life of a real person. First, we’ll look at those with connections to songs and other forms of music.

Episode Titles Found in Music

One such episode is the fan favorite “Promises of Someday” by George RR Martin. Before the episode even begins, the word ‘promises’ makes it obvious there are likely to be elements of hope, fulfillment, regret, and/or disappointment in the storyline. The word ‘someday’ makes us wonder if those promises were fulfilled or have yet to be realized.

Martin has set the mood and direction of the episode with only three words, a title which comes directly from a line in the second stanza of Joni Mitchell’s song “The Circle Game” (published in 1966).

Then the child moved ten times round the seasons,
Skated over ten clear frozen streams.
Words like, ‘When you’re older’, must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams.

The title alone does not reveal who the main character will be, since it could refer to nearly every character we’ve encountered at that point in the series, but since we’ve all seen the episode, we know the child is Devin.

If you have a moment, Google the complete lyrics of the song, most of which also describe Devin’s life as we know it – that of a dreamer, someone self-driven, always searching for the life he feels he’s meant to live, both as a child and as a man.

But, could the child be someone else as well? Could some of the lyrics apply to Vincent? The two boys, together and apart, shared dreams that depended on the promises of possibilities to be found in somedays that might – or might not – be realized.

The chorus of the song involves a carousel, which, as we know, is used symbolically and realistically in the plot. In the song, riding on a carousel is a metaphor for the way a lifetime progresses.

And the seasons, they go round and round,
And the painted ponies go up and down.
We’re captive on a carousel of time
We can’t return, we can only look
Behind from where we came,
And go round and round and round in the circle game.

If Martin considered those lyrics, he made changes to their meaning in the way he wrote the episode. True, Devin looks ‘behind from where he came’, but he does more than only look. He finds a way to return, and while viewing his earlier life from the perspective of his present, he removes himself from the circle game and changes that repetitive destiny.

Let’s look at one last stanza in the song.

So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty.
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true,
There’ll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through.

That stanza gives hope that both brothers will find measures of happiness in their lives. No one can predict the future with complete accuracy, but as both Devin and Vincent learn, there is reason to hope and to believe in possibilities.

Next, we’ll think about “Ashes…Ashes” by Roy Dotrice and Durrell Royce Crays.

The title phrase is a familiar one that most of us heard as a chanted song and playground game when we were children. Although many folklorists and historians disagree*, the common acceptance of “ashes…ashes” is that it’s a children’s rhyme from 1665 about the Black Plague. As such, the use of the phrase as the episode title hints that something tragic, probably associated with serious illness, is about to occur.

Ring around the roses,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes, ashes,
We all fall down.

In the original rhyme roses indicate a rosy-colored rash that encircled the stricken person’s neck. The pocket full of flowers is for the belief that disease was spread by odors, so breathing in the scent of flowers could provide protection. As an aside, that’s where “plague masks” with exaggerated, beak-like noses come from. The wearer would fill the nose piece with flowers.

Ashes are either the sound of a sneeze (“achoo”) and/or the remains of a dead body. ‘All fall down’ indicates collapsing in death.

(*The old rhyme probably did not originate with children at play. In that time period, play was rarely if ever part of a child’s life, and, if they, their families, and neighbors were dying right before their eyes, it’s unlikely they’d have time or inclination to make up a singing game about it.)

So, for this episode, the old rhyme seems to have clear meaning: a contagious disease – the plague – which brings death.

But there could be an additional meaning for the word ‘ashes’ that has a more positive, albeit poignant, connotation. Think about the ceremony of writing and then burning letters to lost loved ones. The ashes become messengers, conveying heartfelt thoughts to those no longer with us. The ashes give a voice to words that might otherwise be buried in one’s heart or even lost forever.

Maybe the repetitive use of the word ‘ashes’ in the title is to remind us that it has two meanings, one tragic and one redemptive.

Like “Promises of Someday”, “God Bless the Child” by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon also was taken from a song. The jazz ballad “God Bless the Child”, written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzon in 1939 and recorded by Holiday in 1941, is a song about surviving in an unforgiving, unequitable world. It suggests that a possible transcendence from hurt, betrayal and damage can be achieved through inner strength, effort, and finding one’s own path.

The song proposes that for most people, the world gives very little, but if you take what there is, it’s possible to build on it to make your own way instead of giving in to defeat or relying on help from others that may or may not be offered.

The opening lyrics say:

Them that’s got shall get, them that’s not shall lose,
So the Bible said, and it still is news.
Mama may have, Papa may have,
But God bless the child that’s got his own,
That’s got his own.

In other words, even though others might have an easier, more privileged life, it’s not impossible to find ways to survive and create one’s own happy life, but it takes a lot of strength to do so.

We see Catherine and the entire tunnel community help Lena recognize a strength in herself that leads to her survival and the creation of a new, happier life for herself and her baby. The ‘child’ in the title is not Lena’s infant daughter; it is Lena herself.

Lena’s situation is representative of the former lives of many tunnel dwellers. They suffered in various ways, but they did not give up and, often with the support of others, found ways to build better lives, and then in turn help others do the same.

Let’s look at another music-related title that on the surface seems to announce the episode’s theme: “Chamber Music” by Ron Koslow. We’ve all heard the word ‘chamber’ used on the show multiple times, and ‘music’ is an underlying metaphor or connector in nearly every episode.

The definition of ‘chamber music’ is instrumental music played by a small ensemble – such as a string quartet – with individual players each performing separately. They do not play simultaneously but instead at their own specific moment in the piece. They are together yet isolated.

So, if we assume this episode involves music played in a chamber or chambers, with each character assuming a specific role in the storyline, we’d be correct. But we know Koslow wouldn’t let it go at that! If he simply wanted a musical term for his title, he could have called it “Symphony” or “Sonata”, especially since one of each is featured in the episode, and neither is a piece of chamber music. But he didn’t, so let’s dig deeper into this title.

Look again at the definition of ‘chamber music’. Each musician is in the group for a particular purpose. Each helps to create a productive, cooperative unity. Yet the structure of this musical composition – or environment – forces a sense of aloneness.

We know who that sounds like!  Two men, Vincent and Rolley, key characters in the story, see themselves as a part of a group but also as apart from the group. Now, the use of the term ‘chamber music’ for the episode title makes perfect sense.

Let’s also consider “Moonlight Sonata”, which represents Rolley. Here’s some background on that piece and its composer.

Beethoven was a brilliant composer and a gifted pianist. He began playing piano recitals at age seven and published his first composition at age ten. Despite a destructive home life (e.g., his father was an abusive, controlling alcoholic; they frequently lived in poverty), Beethoven was given support and recognition by others and went on to achieve brilliance in music.

Throughout his life he suffered from the effects of a very dysfunctional family, thwarted romantic love, a violent temper, severe depression, paranoia, chronic loneliness, alcoholism, and eventual loss of hearing along with other physical ailments.

He was fully aware of these afflictions. He once wrote in a letter: “I must confess I lead a miserable life.” He could not manage his own tendencies toward self-destruction; however, he remained a brilliant musician his entire life.  If you think about that mini-biography, you’ll find that it connects quite a bit with Rolley.

Episode Titles Found in Poetry

“Nor Iron Bars a Cage” written by Alex Gansa and Ron Perlman is a great example of an episode title that has its origins in a poem. The title comes directly from Richard Lovelace’s “To Althea, From Prison”.

Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for a hermitage.
If I have freedom in my love,
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone, that soar above,
Enjoy such liberty.

Even before any of us saw the televised episode, it might have been easy to guess that the title referred to something negative about to happen to one of the characters. From the very beginning in the pilot, we learn Vincent is imprisoned physically and emotionally, so we can easily guess this episode will be about him. And in general, those premises are correct.

But re-read the first two lines and note the words ‘not’ and ‘nor’. The poet is telling us that tangible structures (stone walls, iron bars), while imposing physical restraint (prison, cage), do not create emotional or intellectual imprisonment, nor do they impede finding freedom. Lovelace claims that accepting and embracing the freedom to love, in spite of tangible impediments, in turn gives the heart and soul freedom of the highest  spiritual levels (like that of angels).

If Lovelace hadn’t written those lines in 1642, we might have thought he’d written them in 1987 to describe our show. In fact, he wrote them while he was literally imprisoned for political reasons. His lover, Lucy, would visit him secretly from just beyond the bars of his cell. At times, he was able to be close to her physically while they were still kept apart. However, their love could not be constrained, and it gave them emotional sustenance, strength, and freedom.

Sounds quite a bit like episodes of our BatB doesn’t it?

Another episode that owes its title to a poem is “Ozymandias” by George RR Martin. The title comes from the poem of the same name by Percy Bysshe Shelley (published in 1818). It tells of a traveler in a desert who found a destroyed, abandoned statue of a once powerful ruler.

Unless one is familiar with the poem, it would be close to impossible to predict the episode’s storyline simply from the title. However, reading the poem makes Martin’s intent very clear.

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair,
Nothing beside remains, Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare.
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

As we watch the episode, we see that Ozymandias refers to Elliot Burch, who learns, like that “king of kings”, one’s accomplishments, no matter how great, are not immune to various forms of destruction. Elliot discovers that in valuing his buildings, his physical accomplishments, his empire above all else, he loses something else of great value, a potential life with a woman he loves, along with what’s left of his own integrity.

Eventually, much of his life’s work is in ruins – “nothing beside remains, round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare” – and he is alone, facing a bleak, sterile life.

Both Elliot and Ozymandias seem to have gained some sense of self-awareness by the time their lives start to fall apart. However, neither the poet nor the episode writer give us a clear idea that either character, while seemingly somewhat repentant, might be inspired to change their perspective on what is most important in life.

We never find out what happens to Ozymandias, and while we’re left wondering what is to become of Elliot, we can only guess at that outcome until we see the episode “A Kingdom by the Sea”.

“Down to a Sunless Sea” by Don Balluck is another of the many episodes that borrows its title from a poem. This one is “Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (published in 1816).

The poem’s subtitle is “A Vision in a Dream” or “A Fragment”. It’s interesting to note that Coleridge was an opium addict, and the poem was written after he awakened from a drug-induced state. It was never finished because he was interrupted while writing and never found his way back to it. In terms of the episode’s plot, we can see a similarity in Stephen who descended into madness and a nightmarish dream where he envisioned the recreation of an idealized life to which he could never return.

The poem opens with these lines:

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

The poem goes on to describe an amazing palace that is at once beautiful and dangerous. Khan desires both pleasure and violence and celebrates the interaction of the two forces, which can equate to the duality of sanity and madness. It’s easy to see the overt parallels between Khan and Stephen.

The poem also indicates that the beautiful, horrible palace Khan has built is not entirely a tangible structure. It is a symbol for the rational and irrational mind. The conflict and interplay of the two can be illustrated by outward self-control attempting to disguise inward madness. That’s also a very good description of Stephen with his veneer of sanity and depths of instability.

The poem goes on to tell how the speaker yearns for the comfort and calming nature of a life and a woman he’d once known, in the hope they will return to him the serenity and fulfillment he once had and still craves. Yet some part of him realizes regaining that happier time is impossible because of who and what he has become.

Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight ‘twould win me
That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

Since Coleridge’s poem is unfinished, we never learn what becomes of the speaker, just as we are left to wonder how the future will unfold for Stephen. Like so many “what if” moments in the series, this episode provides fodder for fanfic writers to explore.

“To Reign in Hell” by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon also borrows its title from a poem, this time the epic work “Paradise Lost” by John Milton (first published in 1617).

At this point in the BatB series, we’ve already met Paracelsus, so we can quickly see some relevance in this episode’s title.

In Milton’s masterwork, Satan declares that it is “Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.” Echoing that sentiment in the episode, Paracelsus affirms he would prefer to rule over a dark, destructive world than to bend to Father’s rules and influence in a benevolent, nurturing community. Throughout the series, Paracelsus shows us repeatedly that he has adopted this belief and has no desire to change his perspective.

The original poem also tells us that God chained Satan and cast him out of heaven in part to prevent him from corrupting the potential and purity of Adam. We can see the parallel in Father banishing Paracelsus, in effect imprisoning (“chaining”) him in a darker, less desirable realm, while rescuing the infant Vincent (Adam) in order to preserve and nurture his innate goodness.

In addition, in “Paradise Lost”, we learn that Satan believes God is all-knowing; therefore, God would be aware in advance of the evil his enemy was planning. To prevent God from ruining his plans, Satan sends his minions to attack and undermine God and his followers.

While we can’t be certain Paracelsus assumes Father can correctly predict the actions of his nemesis, we do know the two men were once very close and, therefore, have an accurate understanding of each other. However, we can see actual moments where Paracelsus instigates attacks and attempts to undermine the tunnel community in episodes such as “The Alchemist”, “Dead of Winter”, and, of course, “To Reign in Hell”.

It’s interesting to consider if some of the other disastrous and sometimes deadly moments in the tunnel community might have been orchestrated by Paracelsus as well in order to hurt and debilitate them. For example, could the family/gang in “The Outsiders” have been part of the lost souls who found their way to his realm and fell under his influence?

In the poem, Satan’s ultimate failure is in part due to his inability to directly defeat and destroy God. He does, however, succeed in having a destructive influence through his harming of humanity.

Those concepts were explored in “Ceremony of Innocence” when Paracelsus disguised as Father (Satan disguised as God) dies while attempting but failing to defeat and destroy Father. Paracelsus does, however, have a huge destructive impact on Vincent, Catherine, and the rest of the community (humanity), and that destruction becomes his legacy.

One of the episodes on many fans’ favorites list is “A Kingdom by the Sea” by George RR Martin. Its title is still one more taken from a poem, “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allen Poe (published two days after his death in 1849).

Some scholars believe the real Annabel Lee was Virgina Eliza Clemm, Poe’s beloved and extremely young wife. They were first cousins and were married in 1822 when she was thirteen and he was twenty-six. Virginia died of tuberculosis ten years later.

The name Annabel Lee also appears in Poe’s story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, but they are two different characters sharing a name. However, both symbolize Poe’s obsession with the theme of a beautiful, angelic young woman who dies an early death.

The narrator of the poem from which the BatB episode gets its title is a young man whose beloved soulmate, Annabel Lee, has died. He believes she was taken from him by powerful angels who envied the love the two shared. In some of the first stanzas of the poem, we see how his grief at her loss drives him to try to find a rational explanation for an event – her death – that seems irrational to him.

I was a child and she was a child,
In his kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
I and my Annabel Lee—
With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me—
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

As the poem progresses, we see how the narrator clings to a dream through delusion, escapism, and fantasy. He knows he has lost forever the woman he loves, but he cannot stop thinking of her, obsessing over her, even claiming to sleep next to her coffin just to be physically close to her.

And neither the angels in Heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

For BatB, we can safely assume Annabel Lee is Catherine, but clearly the narrator is not Vincent. Remember, the events of Third Season have not occurred at this point. So, who then is the man who has lost Catherine along with the world he believed they’d build together?

It can only be Elliott, pining for Catherine, envisioning a life he longed for but one they never shared. Like the narrator, he lost the woman he treasured because it seems she was taken from him by an unstoppable, otherworldly force, which in BatB would be the unbreakable love and bond she and Vincent share. Elliot cannot admit to himself that she was never his to begin with, and he can’t bring himself to fully part from her. In the end he is left with lost dreams and futile attempts to regain what was never his to begin with.

Now we’ll consider the darkest part of Second Season, the final episodes. The first of the last four is “The Hollow Men” by P.K. Simonds, Jr. and Andrew Laskos. The title is another lifted directly from a poem – “The Hollow Men” by T.S. Eliot (published in 1925).

The poem is only about ninety lines long, but each meticulously chosen word expresses Eliot’s theme of hopelessness and heartbreaking, potentially irreversible loss. For this essay, we’ll only consider the broadest themes of the poem as they tie into BatB, but it’s well worth reading in its entirety on your own as it is a masterwork of its time.

The poem depicts nearly complete emptiness of the present, the future, the world, the soul. It is especially painful in that it contrasts what humanity once had with what it is losing. A world of happiness, prosperity, and vitality slowly but certainly deteriorates to one of despair, decay, and lifelessness. People are becoming “hollow”. They are losing faith in traditional values, purpose in life, connection to others; in other words, they are losing their humanity. And it doesn’t seem as if there is any way things will improve.

Eliot tells us:

We are the hollow men… Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass Or rats’ feet over broken glass In our dry cellar…

Eliot saw people as being trapped in a pervasive existential crisis of civilization. They become alienated and lose the will and desire for connection and community. Mired in a very dark world, they no longer have anything that makes life worthwhile, and those who try to fight against this force have very little chance of making a difference.

In the episode, we see Vincent fighting against hopelessness as he sees the goodness in the world – both on the streets Above and in his own soul Below – begin to lose their battle against other, darker forces. It is excruciating for him to realize what is happening.

This is the dead land, This is cactus land. Here the stone images Are raised, here they receive The supplication of a dead man’s hand Under the twinkle of a fading star.

In BatB, Catherine and the tunnel community are “the twinkle of a fading star”, but how long can they prevail? Is there any reason to hope?

Eliot does not appear to think so. The poem never reverts to a more positive take on the world and instead concludes in a picture of capitulation and inevitable hopelessness.  The final famous lines are:

This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.

Our show could have ended the same way, but it didn’t. No matter what your preference is – for Third Season or for Continued Classic – BatB did not end. It went on and the tunnel world survived. And for many of us, ultimately fanfic became a primary means of its survival.

The first two episodes of “The Trilogy” continue the practice of deriving their titles from a poem. Both “What Rough Beast” and “Ceremony of Innocence” by George RR Martin, Alex Gansa, and Howard Gordon have titles from the poem “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats (published in 1920 and 1921).

Similar to “The Hollow Men”, the poem’s theme is disillusionment, the breakdown of society, and the loss of what has been known and cherished, leaving something dark and horrible to come. But while Eliot described a deadening mass acceptance of a dystopian world, Yeats predicted a variation on the Christian “second coming”. However, this time, the event will produce as the world’s leader a destructor instead of a savior.

Here are some lines from the poem that relate to these two episodes. In them we can see a connection to Vincent who symbolizes the tunnel community’s hope and goodness. Both the person and the world are being transformed to despair and darkness. The final lines leave us in an emotional state very similar to the final scenes of Season Two. We don’t know what is to come, but from what we were shown, we are filled with trepidation and fear.

Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned…

Surely the Second Coming is at hand…And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?

Episodes Titles Found in Plays by William Shakespeare

This brings us to the final episode of The Trilogy, “The Rest is Silence” by Ron Koslow, J. Larry Carroll, and David Bennett Carren. This episode is one of two that borrows its title from lines in a play by Shakespeare. For this one, the source is the final words Hamlet speaks as the play of the same name ends.

The line “The rest is silence” can be interpreted literally. The play/episode/series is over and the characters have nothing more to do or say. For BatB, if one ignores Third Season, this interpretation certainly applies.

The line can also refer to the speaker having nothing more to live for and being silenced by death, which at this point, he might welcome. In the episode, Vincent has suffered terribly, feels he has lost his humanity, is quickly becoming an instrument of destruction himself, and has nothing left to live for. He believes isolation, which will surely lead to his death, is the only solution to protect his world from what he has become and to enable him to find peace.

Still further, “the rest is silence” can be a reference to a non-literal death, indicating a sense of oblivion, complete loss, abandonment in a place where nothing of value remains. For those who reject the episodes of Third Season, this line again can apply. The series itself ended and we were left with nothing but memories. There will be no further episodes. “The rest is silence.”

Of course, silence has never been part of our fandom! It continues to live on in  decidedly vocal and enthusiastic ways. Maybe just this once, Shakespeare didn’t know everything.

Another episode – one much loved and much more appealing than the last few we’ve considered – also has a title taken from one of Shakespeare’s plays. It is “A Gentle Rain” by Linda Campanelli and MM Shelly Moore, and the phrase is from “The Merchant of Venice” (written between 1596 and 1598.)

The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

If, when the episode first aired, you weren’t familiar with the source of the phrase “a gentle rain”, the title not only hid the theme of the episode, it might even have been confusing. Now that we all are familiar with the episode, it’s easy to see how appropriate the title is as an introduction to Kanin and Mrs. Davis.

The writers very cleverly are not referring only to Kanin, nor only to Mrs. Davis. The giving and receiving of mercy applies equally to both characters. Both are filled with grief and guilt that haunts their lives. The opportunity to begin to heal comes with their subsequent shared experiences as each becomes a giver and a receiver of a type of mercy, the source of which can only be each other.

It is also interesting to specifically consider the word “rain”. Rain, like mercy, nurtures and hurts. Rain sustains life, but it can also destroy it. Mercy evokes healing, but it also can be painful both to give and to accept. We all are familiar with the many aspects and attributes of rain, but to use it as a symbol of mercy is not so commonplace. However, it makes total sense, and it creates a perfect title for this episode.

Now, if you are looking for a way to support the statement “Shakespeare knew everything,” you can use those lines from “The Merchant of Venice” as applied to this episode and easily rest your case.

Episode Titles Found in an Essay

Next, let’s take a look at a lighter, more whimsical episode, “When the Bluebird Sings”, written by Robert John Guttke.

Every BatB fan is probably familiar with the source of the title: Oscar Wilde’s 1891 essay “The Decay of Lying”. In it Wilde posits that all true art is created by “lying”, in that lying means being charming, creative, imaginative, delightful, original. The intrusion of ordinary, mundane reality can inhibit or destroy such “lying”. In other words, life doesn’t imitate art; it kills it.

Those words might have come from Kristopher Gentian himself, and in the episode, similar dialogue actually is spoken by him.

Let’s look at the specific bluebird quotation. It describes the time when commonplace reality begins to lose its hold over “lying”.

And when that day dawns, or sunset reddens, how joyous we shall all be! Facts will be regarded as discreditable, Truth will be found mourning over her fetters, and Romance, with her temper of wonder, will return to the land. The very aspect of the world will change to our startled eyes…

Not only do those lines describe the ideal world as Kristopher sees it, they also reflect our fandom community. We have embraced the world we want to see, the one we wish to live in, and in becoming part of the BatB fandom, we have seen that “the very aspect of the world will change to our startled eyes.”

Wilde goes on to say:

Dragons will wander about the waste places, and the phoenix will soar from her nest of fire into the air. We shall lay our hands upon the basilisk, and see the jewel in the toad’s head. Champing his gilded oats, the Hippogriff will stand in our stalls, and over our heads will float the Blue Bird singing of beautiful and impossible things, of things that are lovely and that never happen, of things that are not and that should be. But before this comes to pass we must cultivate the lost art of Lying.

Clearly, as a writer and artist, that quotation must have resonated strongly with Robert John Guttke, as it did for his spokesperson Kristopher Gentian, and for all of us.

Episode Titles Found in Myths and Legends

A one-word episode title that gives a fairly straightforward hint to the story’s theme – or at least its setting – is “Labyrinths” by Virginia Aldridge.

Like the tunnel world itself, a labyrinth is an elaborate, irregularly designed series of passageways and chambers, where one can very easily become lost and, once venturing in, might have great difficulty finding the way out.

A labyrinth differs from a maze in that it has one path – a very winding, intricate one – that leads in and out of a location. A maze has many paths, some with dead ends, some leading elsewhere. So, actually, if the word was to define the tunnel world’s construction, the episode should have been called “Mazes”, but more about that in a minute. Let’s think about the word ‘labyrinth’ first.

In Greek mythology, there was a ruler, King Minos, who had some serious issues. For instance, once every nine years he arranged for seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent into the Labyrinth, to fight each other before eventually being devoured by the Minotaur, a creature who Minos had imprisoned there. Those youths selected for this event were doomed from the start.

It sounds a bit like “The Hunger Games”, doesn’t it?  But that’s another story, and we’ll stick with BatB.

When he was still a prince, Minos needed proof he would become king of Crete, so he asked Poseidon, the sea god, to send him a sign to prove his worthiness. Poseidon sent the Cretan Bull, a magnificent white creature from his own realm, which showed everyone Minos was worthy to be king. However, there was one condition, which was that Minos sacrifice the Bull.

The Bull was so beautiful and compelling that Minos could not bring himself to kill him and instead substituted an ordinary bull to be killed. Of course, Poseidon found out about the deception and as punishment, made King Minos’s wife Pasiphae and the Cretan Bull fall passionately in love. The result of their relationship was the birth of the Minotaur.

As an adult, the Minotaur had the body of a powerful, well-built man and the head – or in some versions of the myth, just the face – of a fiercely beautiful bull. Now we’re getting closer to BatB, and we’ll get closer still.

Understandably, King Minos was very upset, but he could not bring himself to kill the innocent, fiercely beautiful Minotaur because his beloved wife was the mother. In an effort to protect the Minotaur, Minos asked Daedalus, the master inventor, to create the Labyrinth, a place very few would ever find a way to navigate safely.

Sent to live in the Labyrinth, the Minotaur was safe but not free. He was protected but isolated. He was gifted with life but denied everything that makes life valuable and precious.

Remember, Virginia Aldredge could have called her episode “Mazes” if all she wanted to do was reference Brian wandering about. But she chose the specific reference to the legend of Minos (a protective adoptive parent), Pasiphae (a woman whose fate is controlled by a powerful, vindictive associate of her husband), and the Minotaur (a tragic, entrapped being who can never be part of ordinary society).

Perhaps she hoped that, like us, viewers of the episode would delve further into the meaning behind her chosen title and discover the possible interpretations that were waiting for us.

Next, we have the episode “Song of Orpheus”, also written by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon.

The title is taken from the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It is the story of a talented, gifted man – Orpheus – who marries his true love – the gentle, lovely Eurydice – only to lose her on their wedding day to death by snakebite. Consumed with grief, he descends to the Underworld in a desperate attempt to restore her to life. He negotiates with Hades, King of Underworld, who has the power to let Eurydice go if he so wishes. But just as it looks as if Orpheus might succeed, he loses her forever.

Let’s look at the obvious similarities first. Like Orpheus, Father, a talented, gifted man, marries his soulmate, the gentle, sweet Margaret (Eurydice). Not long after, her father (the snake and Hades) symbolically ends her life by returning her to his world and imprisons her there (as Hades holds Eurydice in the Underworld). We can assume Father, like Orpheus, tries to rescue Margaret so they might pursue their dream, only to find she is lost forever, and nothing he can do will reunite them.

The BatB ep veers away from the myth, however, by the gift of a happy – albeit brief – ending. In the myth, Orpheus and Eurydice are reunited, only to quickly and tragically lose each other again. Father and Margaret also are briefly reunited; however, they are able to find happiness and a sense of closure in those seven days together, something that eluded Orpheus and Eurydice.

It seems that the writers might have based some of their development of the character of Father on the story of Orpheus, especially so early in the series. Orpheus is a tragic hero, someone talented, brilliant, seemingly destined for greatness. But he has a key character flaw – a hamartia – and, in some interpretations, that flaw is arrogance. This description sounds not unlike Father. Both men led fairly successful lives wherein things generally went their way until unexpected tragedy struck when they lost their soulmates.

If the writers, however, had further deviated from the myth and had Father succeed in persuading Margaret’s father to reconsider, then the direction of the entire series might have changed dramatically in that the tunnel community might not have existed, at least not as we know it.

Another interesting point to consider is that in the field of psychology, an Orpheus Syndrome is when a man suffers – consciously and/or subconsciously – from an obsession with a real or imagined woman.  As we see in the episode, Father’s pain, anger, and love are almost as intense upon Margaret’s return as they’d been decades earlier. The feelings are so strong that it’s as if no time at all has passed.

Maybe Father suffers from Orpheus Syndrome, which would have a strong impact not only on his life but the lives of others, especially that of Vincent.

A third episode whose title and themes are based on a myth is “A Fair and Perfect Knight” by P.K. Simonds, Jr. The inspiration for it comes from Arthurian legend.

Some people believe the “fair and perfect knight” refers to Lancelot, often considered the greatest knight of all for his strength, loyalty, and devotion to his queen (although flawed in his fealty to his king).

Others believe it is an allusion to Galahad, the son of Lancelot and Elaine, whose extreme piety and purity, despite the illegitimacy of his birth, enabled him to be the finder of the Holy Grail.

However, there is a third option that seems more aligned with the BatB episode.

“Gawain and the Green Knight” is a coming of age story, involving the issues of maintaining integrity, making decisions between right and wrong, taking risks to prove oneself, and being strong enough to honor commitments.

That’s a capsule description of the trials both Gawain and Michael must face. Further details from the legend support the premise that Gawain was a model for the BatB character.

In the legend, Gawain chooses to play a game of sorts with a mysterious Green Knight, in which he must succeed at three tests involving courage, virtue, and integrity. If he fails, he will die. Along his journey, he finds himself tempted by a queen, the wife of a man who, in the past, has given him shelter, guidance, and comfort. He forces himself to walk away, yet takes with him a treasured gift from her.

Eventually, Gawain does not succeed at his quest. He returns home in shame for his failures, but is forgiven and welcomed back into the community.

This scenario reflects events in Michael’s life. He journeys above to pursue his dream, which requires the attributes of courage, integrity and virtue. He becomes infatuated with Catherine despite who Vincent has been to him. He manages to retreat but takes with him the gift of self-awareness and increased maturity.

When he returns to the tunnel community, he is filled with shame, disappointment, and remorse, but like Gawain, he is welcomed home and helped to find ways to forgive and understand himself.

As the legend goes on, we learn that the tasks set up by the Green Knight are, in fact, embodiments of Gawain’s self-doubts and uncertainties. He has tremendous potential and wants to be loyal, honest, humble, and true. But, like all of us, he has weaknesses he must overcome. The Green Knight’s tests are ones Gawain has set for himself.

For Michael, this is shown in his yearning for what he cannot have – the love of his father, the love of Catherine – along with the dream to achieve more realistic goals – an education Above, forgiveness from Vincent (which is also self-forgiveness), and an eventual happy future.  Learning to deal with these trials becomes both his downfall and his redemption.

Episode Title Found in the Life of a Real Person

“The Alchemist” by Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, and Richard Setlowe features Paracelsus – the villain everyone loves to hate – in his first appearance in the series.

However, there was an actual Paracelsus, who clearly helped inspire the creation of the BatB character.

Born Philippus von Hohenheim in Switzerland around 1493, he embraced the name Paracelsus, given to him by his followers, which means “above or greater than Celsus”. Celsus was a first-century AD Roman philosopher known for anti-Christianity beliefs.

The real Paracelsus was a physician, philosopher, botanist, and astrologer, who was knowledgeable in theology, philosophy, astrology, and occultism. He combined medicine and chemistry to create remedies containing metals such mercury, sulfur, iron, etc. (the practice of alchemy). He was an alchemist, but he used those techniques in the world of medicine, not the traditional practice of someone who transforms base metal into gold.

Paracelsus also was a pioneer in pharmacology, toxicology, psychiatric treatment, drug addiction, and chemotherapy, and his work has impacted modern medicine.

The connections to the design of the BatB character are clear.

In addition, the real Paracelsus was a genius whose views did not mesh with the majority. He took many risks, was outspoken, and was considered by most to be radical and outrageous. Recent studies indicate he may have had bipolar disorder. While in opposition with much of society, he persisted in his beliefs and studies and gained his own group of followers with their own community.

Again, several factors show that in many ways he was a model for BatB’s Paracelsus, not only in character but also in behavior.

The actual Paracelsus became obsessed with a quest for immortality which he called “extension”. He believed his medical methods could allow a person to live for up to 900 years. He claimed this was possible through a process combining his invented medicines (alchemy), a special diet, environmental factors, and psychiatric interventions.

The original Paracelsus believed he knew how to produce immortality, and the BatB Paracelsus had his own take on the concept. In his initial attempt to adopt baby Vincent and his ongoing pursuit of the man’s destiny, Paracelsus tried to create a child in his own image who would carry on his legacy and perhaps produce sons to extend it forever.

And interestingly enough, like BatB Paracelsus, the original Paracelsus caused his own death. He experimented on himself and died partly because of mercury poisoning. As an expert in such things, he had to know the risk he was willingly taking, but his obsession with his goal was greater than anything else, even his own life.

In the trilogy, Paracelsus surely knew he would perish due to his actions with Vincent; in fact, that was his goal. Even his own survival meant less than achieving his aims.

And there’s our blueprint for the BatB character and for the episode title.

If you’d like to investigate another telling of the life of the original Paracelsus, you can find it in Robert Browning’s five-part poem called “Paracelsus”. He portrays Paracelsus as a brilliant, ambitious, driven young man, and explores the character flaws that affect his desire to attain ultimate intellectual mastery.  It could be a form of back story for the BatB character.

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It has been fascinating to investigate the meanings behind many of the episode titles. These theories should add some depth to the understanding of how the storylines and characters were created, along with providing ideas and factors to consider when writing stories of our own.

If you would like to comment, please feel free to do so. There are many more ideas to explore!