Episode 119 was very striking to me, in many different ways. Hera’s speech/internal monologue in the cold open is quite possibly one of my favorite lines in the series. It gives us so much information on her character we’ve never seen before, and it’s powerful and tragic.
There’s a lot to unpack there that I can’t get to in this post, and it makes me even more curious about her past than I already was…But there’s one particular aspect of it I want to unpack, because that little speech made me realize something important about her character I never saw before.
I was already very struck in ep78 by just how sweet and gentle Hera was in the past. (Actually I was struck by the contrast between then and now in ep20). She’s so badass today, and can even be rather cold at times, it’s strange to see her as this sweet and innocent, warm and down to earth girl scared of a little blood. It almost doesn’t seem like she’s the same person.
It’s especially strange when compared with how she interacts with Eros and Artemis later in ep119. Despite knowing how she acts in modern day, I was actually surprised at how she treated them.
Despite being Queen, she treats Persephone with kindness, (a kindness that allows me to see that that sweet girl she once was is still there). Zeus is the main person we see her treating more coldly (with good reason), so I kinda thought she treated most people like Persephone and was surprised at her almost callousness towards Eros and Artemis.
The one thing I was surprised (but not ungrateful) about in her treatment of Persephone is that she is almost obsessed with her vision of Apollo. It made me happy that she is so concerned for Persephone, but I also wondered why the Queen of the gods put so much of her time and energy into this minor goddess and a vision.
But when I was saw these shots of 119…
And they finally made me connect something.
And suddenly, when I connected that, a great many things about her made sense to me.
She treats Persephone the way she does, with such kindness, wanting to protect her, she is so reactive to her being hurt by Apollo…because she reminds her of herself.
She sees this sweet, on innocent girl, who loves the Earth, and her mother, and (who would kill for) her friends, but who is lively and full of fire…and she sees herself.
Why, in the end of ep119 she even becomes Persephone, further cementing to me that we are supposed to see the connections between them. I’m guessing she’s the only one with that power, and that’s why they asked her to do it, but I still think the implications are interesting. I wonder if it’s possible the reason she was able to pretend to be her is because they’re similar (or were once).
In the myths Zeus preys on Hera’s kindness…and ends up raping her, forcing her to marry him. I don’t know if that happened in LO, (I sincerely hope it went differently)…but if it did, it makes even more sense why she’d be so reactive to Apollo raping her.
Let’s not forget (though I’d very much like to)….
I do actually like Zeus in LO, but he does do terrible things at times…and this ^^ is probably my least favorite line from him in the entire series right now. But if it’s true he raped Hera like in the myths…the connections are even stronger. Apollo even talks about making Persephone his Olympian…I really hope that’s not how things went down with Zeus and Hera back when…but it’s very possible.
Hera is as angry as she is at Apollo because…that’s what happened to her. except this time, she can do something about it. So she is going to (see end of ep120).
She reacts the way she does towards Hades way back in ep20
because she is so scared what happened to her is going to happen to Persephone.
At the time I thought she was just being nice to, and protective of, her, like any older woman should hearing that kind of talk. But it’s more than that. I think perhaps those lines could be applicable to her own past self too. Perhaps she was young and impressionable…and didn’t argue with Zeus. (I could see Zeus trying to impress Hera with little trinkets like he does Semele…and maybe if Zeus did make a speech similar to the one Apollo made Persephone…maybe Hera didn’t argue…)
Hera sees this sweet, down to earth girl, who loves the earth, and her mom, and is wild and free…and she doesn’t want her to be torn apart for Olympus. For a god. For a king. For a marriage…Like she was.
They call Persephone “something nice” in ep20, and she hates it…because that’s exactly how she was treated.
If Hades is going to be with Persephone, she wants to make sure he isnt going to treat Persephone like Zeus did her. (Notice that she only checks Hades as an acceptable suitor for Persephone until after it’s clear he’s moved on from her. …I guess that was a test?? I’m not super familiar with the myths, just a few stories).
It goes without saying that I’m super excited to see what she does to Apollo in the next chapter. But I also am really hoping we get to hear more about their pasts at some point. Why is she his “golden traitor”? How did she get that scar? There were so many things that intrigued me. And how similar are Hera and Persephone, and Apollo and Zeus really? maybe the past will answer.
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dailybridgerton
