Some of ya’ll are being clowns again when it comes to Luke Castellan so imma lay down some facts for you. Again. This is Part One of Three.
In Regards To May Castellan
We all know that Percy is a momma’s boy. He loves his mother dearly, so much so that he would go to the underworld for her and he would trade himself for her.
Luke loves his mother just as much.
The difference between May and Sally is that May was insane. Her fits of insanity terrified Luke to the point that he hid from her in closets and when he couldn’t stand it anymore, he ran away from her. While Sally has never so much as raised her voice at Percy. Percy has never had a reason to be afraid of Sally.
“Luke was so kind,” Ms. Castellan murmured. “He left to protect me, you know. He said if he went away, the monsters wouldn’t threaten me. But I told him the monsters are no threat! They sit outside on the sidewalk all day, and they never come in.” (TLO, pg 95)
“So... You had the courage to visit the Styx. I had to pressure Luke in many ways to convince him.” [Kronos] (TLO, pg 191)
This isn’t a coincidence. Kronos stationed monsters to watch May around the clock with the explicit intent of using her against Luke.
After he ran away, Luke only saw May twice as far as we know: once when he was 14 to get supplies for Thalia and once when he was 21/22 to get her blessing for the Styx. But he still loved May enough that Kronos threatening her life worked to manipulate Luke into bathing in the Styx.
Hermes Isn’t Like The Other Parents
By the end of The Last Olympian, Percy has enough of Luke’s life story that he can piece together how much Hermes knew about Luke’s Fate. Which is to say, Hermes knew everything. Hermes and May both knew that Luke was going to die. He was the hero of the prophecy, his soul was the one going to be reaped.
For being a god that often deals directly with humanity, Hermes is an awful parent. He gives Luke absolutely nothing. His excuse for this is that the gods aren’t allowed to interfere but...
Zeus uses a goat (Amaltheia) to lead Thalia to Luke on her first night of homelessness. Athena helps Annabeth fight monsters while she guides her to Luke and Thalia over the course of a few months.
Hermes admits that he didn’t help Luke at all. His nine year old son had no help for the five years that he was homeless. To add insult to injury, Hermes admits that he’s still been regularly visiting May while Luke has been gone and he doesn’t want Luke to return to May’s house.
Zeus and Athena both helped Thalia and Annabeth to find Luke. Hermes gave Luke nothing except a quest that hurt Luke.
Even more salt is rubbed in the wound when you list all of the gods who have helped Percy along - Poseidon, Hermes, Dionysus, Athena, Hera, Hestia - while Luke was given no help even when he asked for it.
Chiron Plays Favorites
“I’ll speak with Chiron at Camp Half-Blood and ask him to send a satyr to collect you.” [Hermes] (TLO, pg 224)
“I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp,” he said, sniffling. “Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don’t do anything that would slow down the rescue.” [Grover] (TLT, pg 248)
Assuming that Hermes did in fact speak with Chiron, Chiron then decided that Thalia was the important one. He didn’t care that Luke and Annabeth would be left behind or that he would be taking half of their fighting force.
“You filled his head with empty promises. You said the gods cared about me!” [Kronos/Luke] (TLO, pg 313)
This is glossed over entirely in the book but it gives us a lot of information. It tells us that Luke went to Chiron seeking reassurances. It says that despite Chiron caring more about the prophecy’s chosen one, Luke still sought a connection. He believed Chiron until it became obvious to Luke that Chiron was wrong.
Ever since learning more about Luke's character, I can't enjoy PJO the same anymore. I can't even love Percy the same anymore either. I know his life was hell too and it's sick that Percy has a "privileged" position (it's not really all that privileged when you consider what the gods have put him through). But it hurts to see Hermes spending more time with Percy than his own son.
It's just so sad how every adult figure let Luke down.






















