Editor: Bre Boswell

Released: 15 March 2020

Demeter arrives as Ares is trying to apologize. To say Demeter is unhappy to see Ares near her daughter is a gross understatement. Persephone plays innocent with Demeter so she’ll beat Ares with her pitchfork. This flashback ends with Persephone telling Eros that that is how she hooked with Ares. Eros defines hooking up differently but he lets it go. Persephone does regret losing her temper with Ares as she lost all her “alone time” privileges after that. It could be inferred that this is to protect Persephone from being seen by other gods that may recognize her as a fertility goddess. The baking is finished and Eros asks why Persephone made an extra, tiny cake, but she doesn’t explain what it’s for.

The rest of the episode is an exploration of Hades as he has now processed his complicated feelings. We enter with Hades in a blissful domestic setting as he’s preparing food for his toddler son. Persephone enters the kitchen and gives her son a loving kiss and asks Hades to zip up her dress. It’s the perfect morning, the baby is eating without making a fuss, they are running on time, and as Persephone says she loves him, he wakes up. 

We previously saw that Hades was uncomfortable with the idea of having warm fuzzy feelings and afraid of leaving the toxic familiar for an uncertain future, but this beautiful dream and his reaction upon waking gives us deeper insight into his secret hopes.

I love the way you treat me, and I want to feel that way all the time.

Hades

We are now witnessing him recognize how his insecurities limit his sense of hope for the future. He wants to be married and to have a family of his own; the favorite uncle wants to be a father. Unfortunately, he’s afraid of ruining his relationship with Persephone and is unable to father his own children. His dream easily slips through his fingers as he imagines the cruel nature of the rumor mill and how he can offer his love a kingdom with no joy. In a moment of pure self-awareness, he pokes fun at his habit of trying to smooth things over with gift-giving, knowing that there are limits to that bandaid.

He gains control over his spiral by telling himself he can’t worry about problems before they happen. He pulls his letter to Persephone from his desk and gives it some thought. He crosses out his paragraph about his doubts about being in love with her and replaces it with a more honest statement: “I love the way you treat me and I want to feel that way all the time.”

She told him about her feelings for him and even though he doesn’t truly know what to do with that information, he knows he can’t shake his own feelings for her. He’s willing to accept the risk that comes with the balancing act that is love; leaping and catching. He is ready to end things with Minthe.

OTHER EPISODES: