Episode 100: Man in the Woods

Season 1

Apr 25

Editor: Annie LaHue

Released: 1 March 2020

“Do you need me to kill someone for you?”
Ares

Persephone and Eros arrive at Aphrodite’s home. Persephone wants to bake a soufflé cake. Suddenly, Ares appears, commenting how soufflé cakes are hard to make.

Compared to the previous episodes, this one is delightful as it delves into the friendship between Ares and Persephone. We also get insight into Ares character, seeing that he has an awareness for right and wrong and consequences of actions. He’s not excellent at apologizing but he tries.

Persephone reveals that what he said about her “rotting from the inside” has been bothering her. It’s a statement that echoes back from her greenhouse dream about her “ambitions rotting at her feet.” This may be a hint at how Persephone feels trapped by the expectations placed on her.

The dynamic between the two is rather casual, and while Ares may not be a source for comfort, he isn’t judgemental. He casually says she’s still angry and she agrees. It’s a simple and honest recognition of a state of being. They both apologize for previous slights and agree that just because someone has the ability to do something, doesn’t mean they should. He wants to flirt with her, this gremlin of a man, but she can only offer him friendship. Ares knows it’s because of her attraction to Hades and begins to tease her. It’s a safe and adorable interaction and Eros drags his dad out of the kitchen kicking and screaming.

Persephone begins to tell Eros how she met Ares in the mortal realm. In this flashback, we see that Persephone is hard at work in the fields with the nymphs when they discover a god is in the woods. She doesn’t allow the nymphs to get Demeter as Persephone would like to meet this person and Demeter would just drive them away. Ares is clearly wounded on the tree and needs Persphone’s help. He’s initially very rude to her, confusing her with a nymph but she offers to help him and begins to use her powers. The tree and her eyes begin to glow a light blue and Ares is entranced.

Read Episode 100

EASTER EGG

Gallery

Flower Inventory

The Oxalis Articulata symbolizes joy (and even ill-timed wit) and can be found in the wild. The name Oxalis is Greek for sour/acid. Persephone bloomed these when she met Ares for the first time.

Flower Inventory

FUN FACT

In Mythology, Ares was one of Persephone’s suitors. He offered her a suit of armor (a spear in some myths) and was even willing to stop his affairs with Aphrodite to ask for her hand. Demeter rejected his gift along with the gifts of Persephone’s other suitors, Apollo, Hermes, and Hephaestus.