Eurayle

Why are the cute ones always crazy? Euryale is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters, but don't allow her innocent beauty to lull you into a false sense of security, for she's by far the most vicious and petty of the three. She secretly finds humor in Athena's cursing of her sister, Medusa. Yet, she revels in the blood she spills while defending her sibling. Eurayle chooses not to turn her male enemies to stone, instead using her mind-controlling venom to build herself an army of human slaves. So in the actual mythology, Medusa's sister's name was Euryale, but most places on this package identify her as Eurayle. Euryale, Eurayle. It's a minor difference, but one that is worth mentioning, if only to ensure that our review shows up in the search results for both spellings. SEO, muthafuggas!! The name Εὐρυάλη means "far-roaming" in Greek, and while I thought it was pronounced "you-RAW-lee-uh," it turns out it's actually closer to "you-RILEY." Eurayle definitely lives up to the "innocent beauty" part of her bio. She's kind of adorable, with her snakey hair pulled back into a thick ponytail dealie. Actually, it's not even pulled back - it seems to be doing it on its own. She's got a headband along her hairline, but the only thing tying the snakes back are the snakes wrapping around themselves. Other than the hair, Eurayle looks like a pretty plain person. We begin with the standard female body, done in an appropriately Mediterranean tan. If they're sisters, you'd almost expect her to have the same skintone as Stheno, but nope! Also unlike big sis, Eurayle wears very simple clothes: no armor, no snake skirt, just a white linen loincloth and halter top. She does accessorize with metallic blue snakes (as her belt and the straps of her shirt), but this is still a very casual, laid-back get-up. Naturally, you can remove all of that, leaving her bare except for a painted pair of undies. And if you want her to be fancier, the set includes some more snake jewelry to go around her shin, thigh, forearm and bicep. The light blue contrasts nicely with both her skin and her clothes, making for a very striking appearance. The articulation includes a balljointed head and neck; swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows and wrists; a balljointed torso; balljointed hips; double-hinge knees; and swivel/hinge ankles. Since she doesn't have the huge mane of snakes that Stheno had, she's able to move her head all around and isn't prone to falling over. Since her jewelry doesn't attach to the figure in any way, just sticking via friction, the pieces can slip out of place easily when you pose her. In addition to the arm- and leg-bands, Eurayle comes with four weapons. They're punching daggers in two different styles: one, a traditional blade with a handle that resembles a goat skull; the other, a pair of intertwined snakes, like a caduceus sans the staff. Both styles are available in two differnt lengths, so you have to ask yourself whether she really has four different blades, or if it's just two and some form of godly magic allows them to grow or shrink as needed. They're the same metallic blue as her serpentine fashion accessories. Whether you think of this figure as Eurayle or Euryale, she's a good one. And if you don't like the notion that she's a murder-happy loon, well hey, you can write whatever history you want for her. -- 09/23/16

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