so, I've decided to change my account; formerly, this was a simple blogging account, mostly for my thoughts and obsessions. that pattern will remain, but i want to bring my fixation of books into the spotlight more. I want to just rant about characters and maybe also do little a analysis or two on some characters from books i enjoy!
just to be clear, there will be a LOT of riordanverse things here. I'm not nonchalant about that series and will likely never be, but that's life or whatever frank sinatra said
anywaysss, enjoy the content (and perhaps a few unthought of posts about visual novels <3)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Luke Castellan's relationship to Thalia Grace and Annabeth Chase
Spoilers for the first book series and the developing of their relationship (duh)!! You have been warned!!
As we know, both from the show (? I believe it's been mentioned) and the books, Luke, Thalia and Annabeth were on the run together. Thalia was essentially their protector by sacrifing herself when the monsters caught up, and then her becoming a tree happened and yada, yada, yada.
This is absolutely not meant to put down their story or anything, but we all know the rest.
To me, it's always seemed that Luke and Thalia had an almost romantic relationship, of sorts? Maybe it's just my puny 11 year-old brain thinking that when I read the books a few years ago, but I definitely got that sort of vibe from them.
Luke and Annabeth were siblings, or almost like a father-daughter duo. The three to me was that Annabeth was the "daughter" they'd have, and Thalia and Luke the parents.
Anyways, that's my view on them. The books, however, showcase their relationship differently when I read through the Wiki like Gods know how long ago.
In The Last Olympian, Luke asks Annabeth if she loved him. Big ick, honestly, but it also seemed sibling-ish??? It's hard to determine and plus, Rick was incredibly bad with ages and timelines, so if this was romantic, then I assume that he just thought that Luke wasn't as old as he was (in his early twenties) at that time.
Throughout the other books, it seemed to me that Annabeth idolised Luke a lot, at the very least in The Lightning Thief. I believe she also had a crush on him, but maybe that's just me. (There are plenty scenes where she blushes near him in TLT, though maybe I'm just making stuff up, so take that with a grain of salt!)
She didn't give up on him during the rest of the books and always thought that he could be redeemed, which in the end did happen, even if Luke died. Annabeth had a strong belief of being able to save Luke one way or another and while that happened, she also lost him when it did.
Thalia and Luke's relationship is more complicated, seeing as there are hardly any scenes where Thalia either talks about or to Luke to determine their relationship, past or (slightly) present.In the present, it's obvious that Thalia hates Luke, but still feels something for him. She pushes him off the cliff in The Titan's Curse and regrets it. (It's described that she has tears in her eyes after that. "Thalia was stiff with grief, tears streaming down her cheeks." - Page 257, TTC)
Luke is desperate to get through to Thalia during their fight, but it turns to fury and sort of arrogance before she throws him off. He challenges her with a "Well?" as she holds him on the edge, and I'm pretty sure that's just when Thalia snaps out of fury.
However, Luke isn't the only one whose emotions turn to fury during that fight. Thalia also seems to have a turning point and becomes angry. She doesn't listen when Annabeth pleads her not to kill him (another sign of desperation from Annie, who seems to think he can be changed) and begs to take him to Olympus, for he will be "useful".
Useful, how? No idea. Annabeth's a child of Athena, I'm a child of Poseidon, maybe she had some intellect that I can't fathom to have. (/j)
Thalia, in the Last Olympian, seems to have been over Luke for a while, which comes to light quite a lot while fighting him as he is possessed by/is Kronos.
As Thalia doesn't show up in the Battle of the Labyrinth as much since she joined the Hunters, and Luke doesn't show up a whole lot to interact with Annabeth in that book, I think I've come to an end with this little matter.
So my interpretation is that:
Luke and Annabeth: sibling-like/father-daughter duo
Luke and Thalia: somewhat romantic
According to the books, it's:
Luke and Annabeth: one-sided feelings at different times??/sibling-like
Luke and Thalia: Thalia has/had feelings, Luke maybe did?
I don't know, man. The timeline's weird, so are the relationships, they are technically all cousins but godly DNA doesn't actually exist so they aren't-- It's a bunch of contradictions that sort of make sense if you put them into context.
So, that was my take on these two cuties (and Luke, ig) and their relationships!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Percabeth Analysis Throughout the first books
Spoilers for the first book series, the developing of their relationship and multiple character deaths are mentioned!! You have been warned!!
Percabeth likely seemed like a ridiculous idea at the time only the first book (The Lightning Thief) was out. Poseidon and Athena are enemies, Annabeth hated Percy on sight, Percy and Annabeth are supposed to be enemies out of pure principle because of their parents—yada, yada, yada.
The fourth book (The Battle of the Labyrinth) rolls around, and Annabeth kisses Percy. And then he goes on to say "Oh, must've been a friend-kiss!" and be stranded on Ogyia for a little while with Calypso, who he claims to be his "biggest what if". (That is something I also want to talk about sometime.)
The fifth book (The Last Olympian) comes around, and they finally kiss as Percy isn't dense enough to think that Annabeth only likes him as a friend. Doesn't mean Athena approves (probably), but who cares about what Athena thinks?
Their relationship in TLT is rocky at first. Percy arrives at camp and is pretty much claimed the first day he's actually awake, no less as a Poseidon kid. Then, a prophecy rolls around and he's the one chosen for it.
Annabeth is jealous, as I viewed it—she's been waiting on a quest to prove herself for so long, and then this little guy comes around and steals her quest right from underneath her nose. Now, I don't quite remember how the choosing for the quest went, but Annabeth went with in the end, so that's at least something? During this quest, the two get to know each other more. They become reluctant allies and in the end, do sort of become friends.
In The Sea of Monsters, Annabeth distances herself from Percy because of the prophecy. Ultimately, I believe it was because of the Great Prophecy—with him maybe dying, and her being unable to already think of it at this age? This definitely causes a drift in their relationship, which is healed when they go to find Grover and the Golden Fleece to protect both Thalia (or her tree, better said) and Camp Half-Blood.
The Titan's Curse is where it starts to worsen a little. Annabeth is missing because of the Manticore and is also taken hostage by Kronos' crew before being forced to carry the sky instead of Luke. Percy sneaks on to the quest to find Artemis (though we all know that isn't why he came along) and somehow even gets on board.
Unfortunately, Bianca dies because of this. At least, that's how I saw it? Percy's arrival to the quest, to me, felt like it influenced Bianca's death in a way, but obviously, the fact that she took the Hades figurine was also a factor as they were told to not take anything.
Meanwhile, Artemis is now stuck underneath the sky because she took the burden from Annabeth. She's taken by Luke, who likely just keeps her? I can't remember well, but he didn't do much to her, IIRC.
When Thalia, Zoë, Percy and Grover find the goddess Artemis and fight against Luke (well, it's more just Thalia and Luke), Percy carries the sky for Artemis to be able to defeat Atlas with Zoë. In the end, Zoë dies as well, but Artemis and Annabeth were saved.
Due to Thalia having pushed Luke off of the mountain, both she and Percy believe that he's dead as they head back to Mount Olympus. Annabeth doesn't think so, which makes Percy jealous in that moment, though he himself has no idea why that is when Annabeth is showing that sort of affection towards Luke.
Thalia joins the Hunters of Artemis on the Winter Solstice and asks Annabeth if she would like to join as well. In that moment, Percy seemed quite scared that she would leave him, considering that in the books, Annabeth seemed to have a brochuire of the Hunters in her bag? That's what I remember, at least.
Annabeth rejects eternal maidenhood and immortality under Artemis' guide and instead remains with Percy, which he's elated about. (Yeah, wonder why that is.)
TBOTL is… quite the ride of jealousy and other teenage emotions. Annabeth finally gets her first quest to delve into the Labyrinth, and Percy sort of ruins it by bringing Rachel the second time around? Obviously, she's there because she's able to see clearly through the mist, but it definitely ruins Annabeth's and Percy's relationship a lot.
As we know, Annabeth has been waiting for this quest for years upon years—a quest, just for her. To have a mortal, as bad as it sounds, dragged into it and basically have to rely on her to be able to navigate the Labyrinth stings, especially when said mortal and her crush are so close. I totally get the falling out of Percy and Annabeth, but in no way do I blame the three of them.
Rachel was there to lead them, Percy was a little dense, Annabeth was jealous and they're all teenagers. Obviously feelings and relationships will be messy, and that's also okay, especially for a literal demigod on a quest that might kill them.
Though, on the first run, Annabeth kisses Percy while they're in the volcano, before he blasts himself on to Ogyia and vanishes for who knows how long. Calypso is his biggest "what if", but he ultimately returns to camp, where he was pronounced dead and sees his funeral.
Annabeth goes to hug him as soon as she notices him, but I'm pretty sure stops once she realises she's making a scene? She's likely embarrassed, which I find adorable.
In this book, I'm pretty sure Annabeth still believes that Luke can be redeemed. It's a dumb thought, but I do understand her as well—it's hard to think of someone you've known a majority of your life as bad when they were so nice, but I also understand Percy's frustration with her relentless hope for him when he knows he's long gone.
So, TLO is something. It opens immediately with Percy and Rachel in Paul's car, where Rachel kisses Percy all of a sudden??? I didn't quite get what her point was, especially because Beckendorf was already there from my knowledge, but I suppose she simply wanted to do that before Percy had to go off with Beckendorf to attack Luke's ship, where he dies. Too many people are dying, dam.
Anyway, moving on from that little fact, this is also the book where Percy learns the Great Prophecy that Annabeth was worried about. He learns that a "hero's soul must be reaped by a cursed blade", which he assumes is him. Well, everyone assumes it's him. In the end, it's Luke who is the hero, but we'll get to that later. With that thought in mind, he still goes on to fight against Kronos and his army.
Percy also bathes in the Rivery Styx in this book, after being led down into the Underworld by Nico and tricked by Hades to make Nico the child of the prophecy? It's a mess, but whatever.
When they're finally at war with Kronos' army, Ethan almost stabs Percy in his Achilles heel, which is at his back. Before that can happen, Annabeth steps in and takes the poisoned blade, which is only revealed later. He's furious, obviously, and does something to Ethan that knocks him unconscious for now.
Kronos threatens to kill Annabeth if Percy doesn't surrender when he realises that Annabeth is pretty much his weakness, but I think Blackjack comes to take her to the hotel where they basically set up camp and all? So, she's safe for now.
Will Solace gets dragged into healing Annabeth when Percy finds him, where he then confesses to having the Achilles spot on his back, asking Annabeth how she knew. Apparently, she just had a hunch that she needed to protect that little spot.
However, the moment that leads up to it??? Percy leading her hand to the spot??? Holy, I might've squealed at that if I hadn't been reading in class the first time around.
The fight in Mount Olympus comes and goes. Annabeth allows Luke to resurface against Kronos and the whole ordeal that I already explained in my Luke Castellan analysis occurrs—he dies as a hero and the world is saved.
This time around, Percy is offered the chance of godhood, which he declines almost immediately because of his feelings for Annabeth—it's like the whole "declining being a Hunter of Artemis" again but instead, Percy can become a god.
Then, when they head back to camp, I'm pretty sure they kiss twice? They kiss one in the mess hall, and then the iconic kiss underwater when they're tossed into the lake.
So, in conclusion, their relationship is rocky and drifts apart sometimes, but they still find back to each other. The Fates were working overtime to make it as rough as possible for them, I suppose.
Spoilers for the whole series and what happens in the last book (Book 5!) You have been warned!!!!!
So, as we all know, Luke sacrifices himself close to the end of Book 5 (The Last Olympian) by using Annabeth's dagger to save the godly world, as well as the literal world. Going off of what he wanted to do in Book 1 (The Lightning Thief), he's obviously changed a lot, especially his views.
In Books 1 through 3 (TLT, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse), Luke is determined to work with Kronos, taking his side and doing much of everything to please the Titan. He poisoned Percy with the scorpion, poisoned Thalia's tree and made Annabeth AND later Artemis carry the sky in those three books. (There's obviously much more he did, but I read the books two years ago and have to catch up again soon.) He tried to please the Titan, and it worked.
Meanwhile, Kronos was simply building Luke into his vessel, an actual connection to the mortal world. By leading Luke on, promising him a better life without the gods, Luke lost himself in Kronos' words and empty promises. He believed him, through and through, that it would all be okay once the Titans took over the world again.
After the events of Book 3 (TTC) and between the ones in Book 4 (The Battle of Labyrinth), however, Luke apparently visits Annabeth's house in San Francisco, claiming he's afraid of Kronos' plans for him. He wants to run away with her again, just like they once had before with Thalia, both now separated by their sides in the war. Annabeth didn't relent and rejected his offer.
Then, in Book 4 (TBOTL) is when things started to go downhill. Luke bathed in the River Styx in that book, I believe, with much pressure from Kronos to do so. In this book, Luke seems softer, almost? At least, that's the way I took it when I first read it, almost like he seemed more vulnerable.
I got the sense of a moral compass when he got mad at Kelli (? Can't remember her name, she was totally unimportant to me—sorry!) for killing a boy without reason. He is also possessed by Kronos in this book the last time Percy sees him, and does not gain control of his body over the Titan anymore. Well, until he dies.
In Book 5 (TLO), Luke is almost constantly controlled by Kronos. He cannot get an upper hand on the Titan, unless it's for a few wavering seconds. It's in the throne room of Olympus that Annabeth manages to get Luke to gain control halfway over his body. When he's defenseless and Percy and Annabeth realise that he's the hero of the prophecy, destined to die, they give him the dagger to stab himself with it in his Achilles heel.
And boom, Luke's dead, the world is saved, and everyone is cheering.
Now, I'm halfway a Luke defender, definitely a Luke understander, and halfway a Luke hater. As I've mentioned before, Kronos manipulated Luke into a sense of safety under his wing, and Luke was vulnerable from the start, especially with his hatred for his father for leaving and for the gods for driving his mother crazy with the ability to foretell prophecies. I understand why he did what he did, and I'm sure everyone else, does, too—it's that "get why they did it, but they executed the idea in the wrong way" sort of thing.
Yes, the gods should take accountability for all of the things that happened because of them. Yes, the gods should care for their children and lovers they had said children with more. Do they do either of those things, though? No.
Gods are unpredictable, and while we have some peaceful gods (Pan, for example, who showed up for like ten pages and died chilling), it doesn't mean that it can excuse the actions of other gods. That is why the gods shouldn't be idolised (at least not in the series; whoever worships the Greek gods can do whatever they want C:)—they are unpredictable and usually just do whatever benefits them in some way.
Still, all these facts, Kronos manipulating Luke and all, will not make me forgive him fully for the people he hurt and put in danger. His idea was brilliant and would have been amazing if it had been put to good use, but his execution was horrible and the things he did to get to that point were inexcusable a lot of the time.
At the end, Luke still remains a mystery to me and someone who haunts the narrative for books to come, as he's mentioned lots and lots of times, both in HOO and TOA. He's well-written and complex, which is exactly what I like about him. I love a good antagonist who just wants to be treated better and help other people but ends up doing the exact opposite.
Anyways, if you stuck around to this point, thank you for reading this rant! I've always found him to be an interesting character and I'm glad I have an opportunity to share my thoughts about him!
