The House of Hades

“She’d never understood why her friends were so willing to let a god take away their responsibility for choosing. After all Hazel had been through, she trusted the wisdom of the gods about as much as she trusted a New Orleans slot machine. The goddess of magic made a disgusted hiss. ‘Janus and his doorways. He would have you believe that all choices are black or white, yes or no, in or out. In fact, it’s not that simple. Wherever you reach the crossroads, there are always at least three ways to go…four, if you count going backward.’”

Hazel is grappling with the idea of Fate Versus Free Will. She has traditionally rejected the gods’ help because she wants to make her own choices. Hecate explains choices are complicated and hold more complicated risks than just a black-and-white good or bad idea.

“She’d never expected her life to be easy. Most demigods died young at the hands of terrible monsters. That was the way it had been since ancient times. The Greeks invented tragedy. They knew the greatest heroes didn’t get happy endings. Still, this wasn’t fair. She’d gone through so much to retrieve that statue of Athena. Just when she’d succeeded, when things had been looking up and she’d been reunited with Percy, they had plunged to their deaths.”

Annabeth’s mindset at the beginning of the book is grim. She and Percy have been through so many hardships and followed the gods’ instructions, but they still don’t have their happy ending and instead fall into Tartarus. Normally, Annabeth is the strong one, but her character is being tested, and she will have to overcome many trials and learn new ways of survival in Tartarus. She also has to learn good actions don’t always produce rewards and that “good” is more complicated.

“‘It’s natural to feel fear.’ The war god’s voice was surprisingly warm, full of pride. ‘All great warriors are afraid. Only the stupid and the delusional are not. But you faced your fear, my son. You did what you had to do, like Horatius. This was your bridge, and you defended it.’”

The fear sinks in after Frank’s battle with the kabloteps, and he is afraid to show his father Mars. However, instead of chastising him, Mars knows fear is part of bravery because brave people have to face their fears, which Frank did. It shows Frank’s character evolution and his finally accepting himself as a child of Mars.

“Apparently, the Underworld king and queen thought ‘looking after’ someone meant giving him a broom and having him sweep up their messes. Annabeth wondered how even Hades could be so callous. She’d never felt sorry for a Titan before, but it didn’t seem right taking a brainwashed immortal and turning him into an unpaid janitor.”

Annabeth thinks about Bob and how he has been treated and feels bad for him. Even though he was a bad guy, he didn’t deserve what the good guys did to him, so she begins to question her ideas of what is good and evil.

“She could see the worry in his eyes. For years, he’d depended on her for answers. Now, when he needed her most, she couldn’t help. She hated being so clueless, but nothing she’d ever learned at camp had prepared her for Tartarus. The was only one thing she was sure of: they had to keep moving.”

Percy looks to Annabeth for answers, like he always does, in Tartarus, but Annabeth doesn’t know the answers. Her brain, which she has relied on her whole life, is failing her, and Annabeth must face the challenges in Tartarus in new ways while being stripped of her usual survival tactics.

“The way he talked to Bob left Annabeth awestruck…and maybe a little uneasy, too. If Percy had been serious about leaving the choice to Bob, then she didn’t like how much he trusted the Titan. If he’d been manipulating Bob into making that choice…well, then, Annabeth was stunned that Percy could be so calculating. He met her eyes, but she couldn’t read his expression. That bothered her too.”

Annabeth just watched Percy talk Bob into killing his brother Hyperion. She doesn’t know what to think or what Percy’s motivations were. On earth, she could always trust Percy and knew his motivations, but Tartarus has obscured some of that, so it builds some distrust between Percy and Annabeth.

“Hazel couldn’t get a read on Jason Grace. Ever since she’d arrived at Camp Jupiter, she’d heard stories about him. The campers spoke with reverence about the son of Jupiter who’d risen from the lowly ranks of the Fifth Cohort to become praetor, led them to victory in the Battle of Mount Tam, then disappeared. Even now, after all the events of the past couple of weeks, Jason seemed more like a legend than a person. She had a hard time warming up to him, with those icy blue eyes and that careful reserve, like he was calculating every word before he said it.”

This quote from Hazel’s perspective serves two purposes. It reminds readers of who Jason is from previous books, but it also casts doubt on his hero persona. Hazel doesn’t trust him and explains why, but their experience with Sciron will bond them in a way they haven’t been bonded before.

“But Hazel couldn’t forget that Jason had been Hera’s first move in the war against the giants. The Queen of Olympus had dropped Jason into Camp Half-Blood, which had started the entire chain of events to stop Gaea. Why Jason first? Something told Hazel he was the linchpin. Jason would be the final play, too. To storm or fire the world must fall.”

Hazel calls back to the first book in the series, The Lost Hero, when Jason was taken from Camp Jupiter to Camp Half-Blood. She foreshadows the end of the series in The Blood of Olympus by recalling the prophecy and planting the idea that Jason might be the final play. It shows that Jason’s character still has a big role to play although his POV section hasn’t happened yet.

“That was the key to using the Mist. She couldn’t force someone to see the world her way. She couldn’t make Sciron’s reality appear less believable. But if she showed him what he wanted to see…well, she was a child of Pluto. She’d spent decades with the dead, listening to them yearn for past lives that were only half-remembered, distorted by nostalgia. The dead saw what they believed they would see. So did the living. Pluto was the god of the Underworld, the god of wealth. Maybe those two spheres of influence were more connected than Hazel had realized. There wasn’t much difference between longing and greed. If she could summon gold and diamonds, why not summon another kind of treasure—a vision of the world people wanted to see.”

Hazel finally realizes the key to using the Mist and accepts her status as a daughter of Pluto by taking his advice. For the first time, she can manipulate the Mist like she pulls diamonds from the earth and begins to realize how powerful she is.

“Hazel could hardly believe this guy had the same father as Percy Jackson. Then she remembered that Poseidon had a changeable personality, like the sea. Maybe his children reflected that. Percy was a child of Poseidon’s better nature – powerful, but gentle and helpful, the kind of sea that sped ships safely to distant lands. Sciron was a child of Poseidon’s other side – the kind of sea that battered relentlessly at the coastline until it crumbled away, or carried the innocents from the shore and let them drown, or smashed ships and killed entire crews without mercy.”

Hazel wonders how the gods could have such different kids and realizes the gods are more complicated than just being all good or all bad. This ties into the theme of Good Versus Evil being different than the characters thought and that not even the gods are all good or bad.

“Even as he said it, Percy felt like a liar. He’d left bob in the Underworld and hadn’t given him a thought since. What made them friends? The fact that Percy needed him now? Percy always hated it when the gods used him for their errands. Now Percy was treating Bob the same way.”

Percy thinks over his friendship with Bob and realizes that he has done nothing to really call himself Bob’s friend. Percy is the classic hero but begins to realize that not all his actions are heroic, and he has done the same thing to others that the gods have done to him.

“Percy knew that he’d killed a lot of monsters, but he’d never really thought about it from the monsters’ point of view. Now all their pain and anger and bitterness poured over him, sapping his strength.”

Percy is fighting the arai and receiving all the curses from monsters that they placed upon him with their dying breaths, which allows him to understand their point of view for the first time. He didn’t have any sympathy for them before, but now, as he is afflicted with the same pain he afflicted on them, he realizes maybe what he did wasn’t so good. He is questioning his role as a hero, which he has never questioned before.

“He didn’t expect Bob to hear him or care, but it felt right to clear his conscience. He couldn’t blame anyone else for his troubles. Not the gods. Not Bob. He couldn’t even blame Calypso, the girl he’d left alone on that island. Maybe she’d turned bitter and cursed Percy’s girlfriend out of despair. Still…Percy should have followed up with Calypso, made sure the gods sprang her from her exile on Ogygia like they’d promised. He hadn’t treated her any better than he’d treated Bob. He hadn’t even thought much about her, though her moonlace plant still bloomed in his mom’s window box.”

Percy apologizes to Bob as he is about to die because he realizes that he has made a lot of mistakes. Before he had justified it, but in his moments before death, Percy takes responsibility for his actions and knows he should treat people better. He realizes that not all his actions are good despite him being called a hero, and he takes responsibility for his mistakes.

“For the first time, Cupid’s gaze seemed sympathetic. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t say Love always makes you happy.’ His voice sounded smaller, much more human. ‘Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you’ve faced it now. That’s the only way to conquer me.’”

Nico has finally admitted that he loves Percy in a romantic way. Cupid corrects the misconception that love makes one happy and tells Nico the only way to conquer love is to not run from one’s feelings, which is what Nico had done. This admittance is Nico’s first step on his character journey to healing and acceptance.

“Jason couldn’t imagine what it had been like for Nico all those years, keeping a secret that would’ve been unthinkable to share in the 1940s, denying who he was, feeling completely alone—even more isolated than other demigods. ‘Nico,’ he said gently, ‘I’ve seen a lot of brave things. But what you just did? That was maybe the bravest.’”

Jason is the only one who knows Nico is gay, and he puts himself in Nico’s shoes and the era he comes from and feels empathy for him. Jason is a demigod who has done a lot of great things and seen others do great things, but Nico admitting to himself and others who he truly is might be the bravest thing he has seen. It marks the first time in the Percy Jackson universe that a character has identified as being gay.

“‘No, child,’ he murmured. ‘My curse is here. I cannot escape it.’

‘Yes, you can,’ Annabeth said. ‘Don’t fight the drakon. Figure out a way to break the cycle! Find another fate.’”

Annabeth pleads with Damasen to come with them to close the Doors of Death, but Damasen refuses because it isn’t his fate. Annabeth argues with him that he can find another fate, which supports the theme of Fate Versus Free Will. Damasen struggles to believe that he can defy his fate, however.

“‘Our secret weapon, Khione! We’re not just a bunch of demigods. We’re a team. Just like Festus isn’t only a collection of parts. He’s alive. He’s my friend. And when his friends are in trouble, especially Leo, he can wake up on his own.’ She willed all her confidence into her voice – all her love for the metal dragon and everything he’d done for them. The rational part of her knew this was hopeless. How could you start a machine with emotions? But Aphrodite wasn’t rational. She ruled through emotions. She was the oldest and most primordial of the Olympians, born from the blood of Ouranos churning in the sea. Her power was more ancient than that of Hephaestus, or Athena, or even Zeus.”

Piper wakes up Festus by pouring all her love into her words and believing he can come alive. She harnessed love, the oldest thing on earth, as the daughter of Aphrodite proving that she wasn’t useless and that love can conquer anything.

“Yeah, typical. If Jason were here, Calypso would fall all over him. She’d beg him to stay, but he’d be all noble about returning to his duties, and he’d leave Calypso brokenhearted. That magic raft would totally arrive for him. But Leo? He was the annoying guest she couldn’t get rid of. She’d never fall for him, because she was totally out of his league.”

Calypso has just told Leo he’s a mistake, and Leo can’t help but compare himself to his friend Jason, who is the traditional noble, handsome hero. Leo falls short and feels lacking because of it.

“He raised his hands in submission. ‘Yeah, okay. But, Nico, you do choose how to live your life. You want to trust somebody? Maybe take a risk that I’m really our friend and I’ll accept you. It’s better than hiding.’

The floor cracked between them. The crevice hissed. The air around Nico shimmered with spectral light.

‘Hiding?’ Nico’s voice was deadly quiet.

Jason’s fingers itched to draw his sword. He’d met plenty of scary demigods, but he was starting to realize that Nico di Angelo—as pale and gaunt as he looked—might be more than he could handle. Nevertheless, he held Nico’s gaze. ‘Yes, hiding. You’ve run away from both camps. You’re so afraid you’ll get rejected that you won’t even try. Maybe it’s time you come out of the shadows.’”

Jason is trying to help Nico because he’s the only one who knows Nico is gay. He tries to convince Nico to tell his friends and not isolate himself. Jason can handle every problem he’s been handed before, but he struggles to sit back and not fix people’s problems when they don’t want help.

“‘Very good, Jason Grace,’ Notus said. ‘You are a son of Jupiter, yet you have chosen your own path—as all the greatest demigods have done before you. You cannot control your parentage, but you can choose your legacy.’”

Jason is a son of Jupiter, a Roman god, but he chooses to be Greek because it feels right. Notus reminds him that it is his choice, and he isn't fated to be Roman, reinforcing the theme of Fate Versus Free Will and that people always get a choice in who they become.

“Seeing them assembled in Tartarus, Percy felt as hopeless as the spirits in the River Cocytus. So what if he was a hero? So what if he did something brave? Evil was always here, regenerating, bubbling under the surface. Percy was no more than a minor annoyance to these immortal beings. They just had to outwait him. Someday, Percy’s sons or daughters might have to face them all over again. […] Okay, maybe monsters kept coming back forever. But so did demigods. Generation after generation, Camp Half-Blood had endured. And Camp Jupiter. Even separately, the two camps had survived. Now, if the Greeks and Romans could come together, they would be even stronger. There was still hope.”

Percy and Annabeth are almost to the Doors of Death, and he sees all the monsters assembled and feels hopeless because monsters regenerate while he will die someday. Percy realizes the hope is in the future generations, the hope of him and Annabeth having kids, and the hope of the Greeks and Romans uniting. While there will always be evil, there is always the hope of good to fight it.

“This is different, he told himself. We’re the good guys. But were they? Percy had left Bob in Hades’s palace, at the mercy of a new master who hated him. Percy didn’t feel like he had much right to tell Bob what to do now—even if their lives depended on it.

‘I think you can choose, Bob,’ Percy ventured. ‘Take the parts of Iapetus’s past that you want to keep. Leave the rest. Your future is what matters.’

‘Future…’ Bob mused. ‘That is. Mortal concept. I am not meant to change, Percy Friend.’ He gazed around him at the horde of monsters. ‘We are the same…forever.’

‘If you were the same,’ Percy said, ‘Annabeth and I would be dead already. Maybe we weren’t meant to be friends, but we are. You’ve been the best friend we could ask for.’”

Bob has been reminded of his past as Iapetus and is conflicted. Percy wants to push him to be Bob but realizes pushing people to do what he wants is not what good guys do, so he gives Bob the choice of who he wants to be. Bob can choose, and he isn’t fated to do what he’s done in the past.

“Why do you not disintegrate? Tartarus mused. You are nothing. You are even weaker than Krios and Hyperion.

‘I am Bob,’ said Bob.

Tartarus hissed. What is that? What is Bob?

‘I choose to be more than Iapetus,’ said the Titan. ‘You do not control me. I am not like my brothers.’”

Tartarus is confused that Bob won’t disintegrate, but Bob isn’t like the other Titans. Bob chooses to change his fate and not be like the other Titans. He chooses to be good, and Tartarus can’t destroy him because he has chosen to be something other than what he was born to be.