If there was a theme in Hades 1, I think it was Change. As in the idea that people can change, either for good or bad.
Achilles went from being a violent hot-headed in life, to becoming a more mellow, mature mentor archetype in death.
Sisyphus who was a bastard in life, after years of punishment, did eventually change for the better and Became a nicer person overall.
Thesseus is implied to have been a better person in life. but the time in Elysium made him the lovable prima donna he is now. By Contrast Asterion has become a noble warrior who seeks to deliver justice and to fight a worthy opponent for the fun of it, rather than a monstrous creature who ate people.
Even Orpheus can be convinced that, altough he failed to properly credit Eurydice in life, he can start now.
The point is, even after Death it is not too late for them to change. and that change is possible. And every character you interact with changes, even if in small ways. Even Chaos, a Primordial being who struggles to related with anything outside their realm can change and develop a desire to become closer with Nyx, they can change to wish to socialize.
And this is important because it is what is at the root of Hades and what makes HIM the villain of the story: He stubbornly believes people cannot change. That everyone is the same and that they will never get better.
He puts Sisyphus through a punishment that assumes he will forever be the cruel person he was in life. He refuses to believe that the Achilles of old would remain under his service if there wasn't a bonding contract forcing him to.
And most importantly: he believes it is impossible for Olympus and the Underworld to make peace. That his impression of the Olympians, with all their flaws and pettiness and drama, is not only entirely accurate, but that they can never be more than that. Just as he himself can never be more than the strict ruler of the underworld, forever trapped in his kingdom.
It is Zagreus, who through constant battles and trials, going from the meek weakling he is at the start, to someone who can actually push through the underworld's defense and actually reach the surface to, finally, besting Hades and managing the gargantuan task of escaping the underworld; something believed impossible; when Hades whole world is shattered. And when Zagreus manages to succeed on that again and again, a second impossible thing happens. Something believed to be equally as impossible as someone managing to overcome the Underworld: Hades Gives Up.
He let's Zagreus go. Not out of the kindness of his heart, but because he finally understood he can't stop him and whatever happens, it is outside his control. THAT is when Zagreus trully defeats Hades, because it forces Hades to consider a different alternative, to change.
And that doesn't erase the things Hades did. The abuse or the cruelty. That happened and there is a chance that will always be there and that it might be too late for He and Zagreus to have the father/son dynamic they should have had. But he has finally made the decision of trying to change, which will be slow and painful, but never too late.
prguitarman
gummygunk
dailybridgerton
kianamaiart
pixelskylines
germansingergirl
2087
