Electra, 3

Orestes enters in the guise of a messenger from Phocis.  He bears an urn with the ashes of Orestes, he says.  Electra is devasted, worse than before.  It's all over for her now.  She thought her actions-- saving Orestes as a baby, standing up to her mother-- would eventually lead to justice, but it seems not to be.  Orestes sees now that he is speaking with his sister, and feels horrible.  He laments for her now-- not only putting on a show over her supposed loss, but also genuinely lamenting the terrible burden she has had to endure in the palace, alone, for years.

But for some reason he draws out his own reveal for, like, two-and-a-half pages.  When he finally gets around to it, Electra is elated.

Orestes explains that they still have to be careful, for his plan is set in motion.  Pedaegogus comes out and scolds them for being so loud-- if Orestes is found out, it's all over.  Electra recognizes him at last and praises him for his service in raising Orestes.

They give praise to Apollo before executing the plan.  The Chorus remarks that it looks as if Apollo himself is exacting revenge when Orestes strides into the hall.

From outside, Electra hears the dying cries of Clytemnestra and mutters encouragements in response.  Aegisthus arrives, and Electra reports the death of Orestes, saying his body is inside.  (Tee-hee.)  Aegisthus is pleased-- brazenly pleased.  He sees the covered body on the bed, but Orestes himself reveals it to by Clytemnestra.  Aegisthus, done for, asks to be allowed to speak some last words.  Denied.  Orestes, egged on by Electra, will not indulge him one bit, but will instead kill him in the spot where Agamemnon is killed.

The Chorus is elated with the turn toward justice:

O race of Atreus, how many sufferings
were yours before you came at last so hardly
to freedom, perfected by this day's deed.

--------------------------

And that's it.

The attitude of the Chorus is identical to what Aeschylus wrote about.  Except Aeshylus continued on to explain that the actions of Orestes will lead to his own ultimate downfall, his harassment by the Furies.

But this play isn't about Orestes, it's about Electra.  And at this point, her life's arc has come to a fitting conclusion.  She has spent her whole life devoted to a single cause, and she has seen it through to the end.  The deaths of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus (note: the killings are in the reverse order here versus in the Aeschylus) are what she has been working on for years, even if it was never in her power to execute them herself.  Devotion to justice is good in and of itself, and is rewarded.  And damn the consequences.  I guess.