Season 2, Episode 8 of the Netflix series Blood of Zeus, titled “The Three Trials,” is directed by Jae H. Kim and Jae Woo Kim, and penned by the show’s creators, Charles Parlapanides and Vlas Parlapanides. It’s a lot to process since the entire outcome of the competition for the Eleusinian Stone goes awry due to the power struggle over who becomes Zeus’ successor as ruler of Olympus.
The Bastards of Zeus
Due to Demeter’s (Cissy Jones) poisonous spores, the bastards of Zeus have been poisoned and weakened. They are not dying as the poisons are only fatal to mortals, not gods. Those affected consist of Athena (Sarah Elmaleh), Hermes (Matthew Mercer), Apollo (Adam Croasdell), Artemis (Jennifer Hale), and several others off-screen. Legitimate children, such as Ares (Matt Lowe), are affected though not heavily as the bastards. Persephone (Lara Pulver) discovers what her mother is doing and confronts her. Demeter lies to Persephone that this is all Hades’ doing. Athena watches the mother and daughter’s conversation from afar.
Athena tells her fellow bastard siblings what happened and how Demeter is responsible for the poisonings. The bastards of Zeus, plus Hestia and Hephaestus, conduct a plan to take Persephone as their hostage during their trip to the Hidden Realm and prevent anyone else from claiming Zeus’ succession other than Heron. They want to honor their father’s wish of installing Heron as the new king of Zeus and will support him no matter the cost, even if they have to go to war.
Seraphim in the Hidden Realm
Seraphim (Elias Toufexis) arrives in the Hidden Realm guided by Hades (Fred Tatasciore) who advises the demon to pass all three trials, one must be wise, brave, and an untangler of mysteries. Hecate (Courtenay Taylor), keeper of the Eleusinian Stone, takes the form of Gorgo (Rachel Rosenbloom) to convince Seraphim to leave the Hidden Realm as he is not a chosen contestant. Seraphim politely refuses so Hecate turns into her colossal holographic form to demonstrate how serious she is leading the three trials. Hecate admires Seraphim’s courage and allows the demon to join the competition not for his sake, but for those Seraphim is trying to bring peace to.
The first trial focuses on testing the wisdom of contestants. Hecate asks Seraphim to choose a moment of life he would want to return to, where Hecate can change that specific moment so he can be happy in the long-run: staying and marrying Gorgo, or growing up and becoming the king he was meant to be. Seraphim is tempted but declines because he knows a witch goddess, like Hecate, cannot change the past. In other words, Hecate’s question was part of the first trial in which a wise king knows that he must let go of the past. A wise king must focus on the present and work to build a better future. The answer is correct but Seraphim knows he lacks the wisdom to be a king since he, in his pride, cannot let go of the past. In the end, Seraphim passes the first challenge and moves on to the second.
The second trial tests the bravery of the contestants. Seraphim meets the Sphinx who tells him to open a box in which his worst fears will manifest. The demon laughs at this because he has nothing to fear anymore since everyone he loved and cared for had died. Plus, Seraphim has no home, no titles, and no wealth. He has nothing to lose which means he has nothing to fear. Vexed, the sphinx allows him to enter the labyrinth, but she makes his travel across the Underworld more difficult. The reason is that Seraphim has only one thing left to fear: failing those he loves. In other words, Seraphim is afraid of failing Gorgo and he doesn’t want her to be a lost soul in the Underworld anymore.
Heron and Gaia
Heron (Derek Phillips), Alexia (Jessica Henwick), and Kofi (Adetokumboh M’Cormack) arrive at the entrance of the Hidden Realm. After his arrival, Heron passes the first trial and enters the second trial by meeting the Sphinx. Unlike Seraphim, the chosen successor of Zeus admits he does fear at times and is not always brave. He fears not dying well, but he learns when opening the box that he fears not making the right choices. The sphinx reminds Heron that if he hadn’t thrown away the Adamantium Sword out of bitterness, in the events of Season 1, he could have killed Seraphim and saved his mother from dying. The sphinx likes her encounter with Heron more than she did with Seraphim, so she allows Heron to traverse the labyrinth unimpeded. Before he enters, the sphinx advises Heron that what he lacks is understanding the key to dying well. Sacrificing oneself for selfless or heroic reasons, after living an inspiring life, is the key to dying well. Others can learn from that sacrifice and follow in that person’s footsteps to do good.
After traversing the labyrinth, Seraphim reaches its center and finds the Eleusinian Stone. There, he meets Gaia (Vanessa Marshall) who will give Heron the advice he needs to pass the final trial. She shares with Heron the greatest mystery the Olympian gods have not uncovered themselves: forgiveness. Forgiveness is something Gaia wanted to teach her grandchildren and their descendants. All the world and the gods know now is repentance, requital, and the balancing of wrong with right. However, none of them can match the power of forgiveness: it washes away the wrong without more destruction and it is the only thing that can unite everyone without bloodshed.
Seraphim and Heron
After Gaia leaves, Seraphim appears and reunites with his brother, this time truthfully with no visages, disguises, or deceits. Heron tries to make peace with his brother but it only leads to the fight for the Eleusinian Stone. However, the fight leads to the eagle carrying the Eleusinian Stone to leave the Hidden Realm and crash outside of its entrance. Outside the armies of Hades, Ares, and the bastards of Zeus converge to fight for Hades, Ares, and Heron’s claim to the throne of Olympus.
Hera (Claudia Christian) arrives and tries to prevent a fight from breaking out. She warns how war will not determine who is right, only who is left. No one wins a war because everyone loses everything in a war. Even though Hera cannot stop the war from starting, she wants everyone here to question why the war is happening in the first place. Despite Hera’s plea, Hades spent too long being fair and neutral, too long that he cannot stand it and believes that only with blood can what’s been done be undone. As a result, Hera mourns and leaves the area.
The Final Battle
After Hera leaves, Hades orders his armies to charge and retrieve the Eleusinian Stone. Ares and his forces join as do the bastards of Zeus. Hades and Demeter free Persephone who joins their side to fight. Hermes tries to escape with the Eleusinian Stone, but Aphrodite summons a tornado to pull Hermes to the ground with the aid of Ares. However, the fight concludes with Poseidon breaking the fight with a small tsunami, and Heron claiming the Eleusinian Stone. The stone amplifies Heron’s potential and lightning powers to an extent that no god can defeat him.
With the Eleusinian Stone in hand, Heron finally wins his claim as the ruler of Zeus. He asks all the gods to find forgiveness in each other and stop their infighting, or else there will be nothing left. Because of this, everyone must return to their duties and domains leaving all their hatred and grievances behind. This includes Hades returning to the Underworld and remaining as its monarch for the rest of eternity. Hades is touched by Heron’s desire for the gods to forgive each other, so he gives the vial of lethe water to Seraphim for him to give to Gorgo. However, the torment of being the ruler of the Underworld, being cheated by his family, and losing Persephone for the rest of autumn and winter still lingers in Hades’ mind. Hades will never stop fighting for his and Persephone’s justice, so he backstabs Heron with remorse in his heart and takes the stone to wield its power.
Typhon Unleashed
The God of the Underworld’s actions rightfully angers Gaia, who has had it with the gods and their backstabbing. She reveals herself as a terrifying force of nature and criticizes each and every god. She criticizes Zeus with all his philandering and disloyalty. She criticizes Hera for taking Zeus’ actions to the extreme, unleashing chaos and destruction in her own home. She criticizes Hades for cheating and backstabbing a noble hero. Finally, she criticizes Demeter for poisoning the world with her spores.
Having enough of the Olympians’ infighting, Gaia speaks Typhon’s name which breaks the Eleusinian Stone, causing all of its powers to enter the monster’s prison, releasing him upon the world. It is likely Gaia’s plan to have the Olympians learn forgiveness by working together again to defeat Typhon and, later, the freed Titans one last time. Hades, Persephone, and Seraphim might head to the Underworld to bring Heron back so he can lead the fight against Typhon and the Titans, who will seek to overthrow the Olympians and take their place as rulers once more. It is uncertain if Gaia will make it through the third season as either the main antagonist, supporting antagonist, or supporting protagonist, albeit a complex and morally questionable one.
Rating: 9/10