This is late but I had a busy week. Under the cut will be my thoughts over episodes 193-194, separated from each other so you can stop if you want to, and I'll see after I fast pass through the next chapter if I'm right about my last prediction.
So!
.192
Whatever else can be said about Demeter's parenting, her construction of a tightly-knit community of women who help eachother is nothing short of admirable and, as we see here, a great cushion to fall back on when shit gets tough.
Daphne came back and it seems Thanatos was sent to the mortal realm too so that at least one God can pickup the mortal souls. All signs point to Daphne being a good influence on him, so hopefully he has a bit more of a backbone now that can better support his morals.
Minthe is back too, and honestly? I'm glad.
Look. Minthe was definitely an abuser. I also cheered when Persephone transformed her. I think there's a conversation to be had about how unrealistic or not that situation might be considering that Hades holds a position of power over her as her boss, but as far as the diagetic events of the story go, then yes, she was an abusive partner. Thing is that, much like Rashta from The Remarried Empress for example, it's clear that as inexcusable as her actions are, her whole attitude seems heavily influenced from the toxic environment and people surrounding her. What she needs is people who won't take her shit but will still genuinely help her out when she's down, and Demeter's nymph commune is the perfect place for that. No more bullshit, no more catty power-games and infighting over some man, no more shallow materialistic distractions from herself and her problems, only hard manual work and connecting with others. It is up to Hades to forgive her or not of course, but also -assuming that I'm right and she has actually changed- don't hold it against the comic if he decides to do so with some bullshit about the story being abuser-apologist or whatever. I mean, I'm sure it will happen regardless of what I say, but still, if you're reading this try to keep some nuance in mind.
Zeus is worried that the condom is expired? More fuel for my fertility goddess theory.
.193
Apollo, truly the son of his father, made a big blunder that failed to consider the reactions of a woman he is close to with his revealed parentage move. Yeah he is formally a prince now, but now Artemis has reasons to doubt him and Leto. Still, she's not really doing anything about Zeus' obvious bullshit regarding her friend, which is ironic given that now she is formally a protector of young women. Eventually she'll have to pick a side.
It's almost, almost moving that Zeus genuinely likes her. It makes sense. Zeus is a sexist pig, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like remarkable, powerful, and capable women. It just means that he likes them as long as they are convenient to him.
.194
Zeus once again proves himself as the God of Short-Sighted Decisions. He probably has the wishy-washy hope that eventually Persephone will make some other big blunder that can justify keeping her sequestered forever, but for the moment his reputation is inevitably going more downhill that Sisyphus' rock. Even in the case that the godly realms unanimously had the worst opinions on Hades and Persephone after the trial, eventually they'll all catch on to the fact that the isolation of the mortal realm is a blatant cover-up/censorship, if they haven't already. And also no amount of bad rep. is going to make them happy that they are being restricted this heavily over 1 goddess. Especially if Zeus tries to spread this idea that Persephone is incompetent, that'll just give the populous more reasons to demand that Demeter be reinstated as harvest goddess and that the isolation is ended so that Hades can have his girlfriend and bring back the exports.
Hecate slaying with that armor top.
Hestia is not around for some reason? My suspicion about her is that she was the one who somehow gave Persephone her fertility powers, but I'm not sure how this would relate to that. Is there a reason why she would have been demoted by now, thus freeing her seat for the eventual Dyonisus?
Aaaand, naturally, Apollo is putting on his friendly leadership face and Zeus is making it all the easier for him with his petty bullshit.
Eris is here as well, so that's another point for female friendships. It must be nice for her to finally have people who accept her as she is, I'm glad for her :) But I do wonder if this + plus Thetis' bullshit means she'll start the war of troy out of some concern/affection for Persephone? I'm not sure she would like that even after she goes full underworld queen. I agree with her that the dress is a winner on her, though ;)
She's also right, sad as it is wrath has a place.
Cerberus is out and harmed. My guess? Heracles. One of his 12 jobs was to take him out to show to his cousin, and this would tie back to showing us that Hebe is grown-up now, since she's his last wife.
So apparently Zeus has spent ten years failing Persephone’s efforts over petty reasons. “Uneven grass”? A zit??? His standards are both high and incredibly unfair. The only thing this punishment is accomplishing is shortening everybody’s fuses.
And then it occurred to me. This is the story of Hades and Persephone. The inciting incidence of their eventual marriage is Hades stealing Persephone away. I’m not a fast-pass person, so I don’t know what the next few chapters are, but considering Zeus’s past decrees (and personality, let’s be honest), he’s probably going to fail Persephone. And considering it’s been ten long years since they’ve seen each other or talked to each other, what if Hades gets so fed-up that he, say, steals her away to the Underworld?
The fact that the first thing she's thinking about is how she didn't get to say "I love you" back and is worried he doesn't know she loves him has my heart BROKE
