Philoctetes, 3

Odysseus arrives, and Philoctetes is enraged: he recognizes that Odysseus has been manipulating Neoptolemus the whole time.  Odysseus binds Philoctetes to bring him back to Troy, all the while claiming innocence, as he is only following the will of Zeus in taking the bow.  Philoctetes proclaims that he could defy the gods if he wants-- man is free, after all!  No dice.  In desperation, he threatens to throw himself from the cliff rather than return with Odysseus-- a final defiant free act.  Odysseus holds him back.  Philoctetes throws all of Odysseus's actions back in his face: Philoctetes was brave in joining the war in the first place, while Odysseus was shifty and two-faced about it.  Also, Odysseus had marooned Philoctetes due to his horrible foot wound-- an issue that has not gotten any better, yet he now wants to drag Philoctetes back against his will.  Well, the hell with that.

Odysseus decides to leave Philoctetes on the island, since he now has the bow anyway.  [This is more trickery.  He knows he needs Philoctetes himself, but is trying to play reverse psychology with the threat of abandonment.  He'll be back later.]  He takes Neoptolemus away and leaves the Chorus soldiers to watch Philoctetes and see if he at last changes his mind.

Philoctetes is despondent again, as he has no hope of surviving alone on the island.  He tries to work the Chorus to his side, as they try to convince him to come to Troy.  But finally, he resolves to kill himself if they will leave him a weapon.  He will join his father and ancestors in the afterlife.

Back at the boat, Neoptolemus demands the bow from Odysseus, as he has resolved to undo his own unjust actions:

N: I go to undo the wrong that I have done.

O: A strange thing to say! What wrong was that?

N: I did wrong when I obeyed you and the Greeks.

O: What did we make you do that was unworthy?

N: I practiced craft and treachery with success.

O: On whom? Would you do some rash thing now?

N: Nothing rash. I am going to give something back.

O: What? I am afraid to hear what you will say.

N: Back to the man I took it from, this bow.

O: You cannot mean you are going to give it back.

N: Just that. To my shame, unjustly, I obtained it.

...

N: It was a sin, a shameful sin, which I shall try to retrieve.

O: Have you no fear of the Greeks if you do this?

N: I have no fear of anything you can do,
when I act with justice; nor shall I yield to force

Neoptolemus returns the bow to Philoctetes (if only to give him a chance of survival) after much prodding for him to take it-- there's a bit of a trust issue here.  Odysseus tries to forbid it, and Philoctetes attempts to strike him down, but Neoptolemus puts a stop to it.  Having finally earned his trust, though, Neoptolemus tries once more to convince Philoctetes to come to Troy.  First, he explains that Philoctetes' agonizing pain is due to his intrusion on sacred ground, and he does not deserve relief.  Then he explains that relief can come only one way, by telling whole prophecy through which the two of them will together finally win the war.  Philoctetes won't have it.  They argue back and forth, but in the end Neoptolemus agrees to bring Philoctetes back to Greece, as originally promised.  Philoctetes promises to protect Neoptolemus there from any revenge the Greeks seek against him.  Penance complete.  Yippee!

Heracles shows up (?!) and explains the true necessity of them both returning to Troy to finish the war together.  Philoctetes will be cured, will kill Paris, and will be honored as a hero.  Neoptolemus will be by his side, and will survive and flourish as long as he stays holy in the sight of Zeus.  Philoctetes finally agrees to fulfill his fate, and leaves for the war.

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

Closest thing to a happy ending I'm likely to see, probably.

The introduction mentioned the Deus ex machina ending.  Sophocles was a hack, apparently.

I like the moral development apparent in the play.  Sophocles seems to have concluded that morality is not simply the following of the gods' commands, but is following what is right, whether the gods command it or not.  There are objectively good and bad actions regardless of special circumstances, and Neoptolemus ultimately chose to do the right thing.  Meanwhile, Odysseus was kind of a sociopath.

On the other hand, in the end the command of the proper kind of authority was enough to get Philoctetes to do what he vowed he would not do.  Heracles does command the respect and obedience of Philoctetes, no matter what the command is.  But that must only be because Heracles is himself such a moral figure, perhaps worthy of an honor and station even greater than the capricious and untrustworthy Zeus.