There is a crucial distinction when it comes to gods and mortals in almost every discourse involving Greek mythology. The security provided by immortality and other divine perks never lets gods feel the need for a greater ideal beyond themselves, which is why concepts like forgiveness and sacrifice remain incomprehensible to most of them. These ideals form the basis of humanity, which Netflix’s Blood of Zeus has highlighted time and again, and as the series concludes its journey with its third season, the resolution feels more pronounced than ever. The second season ended with Heron’s death at the hands of Hades, which enraged All-Mother Gaia so much that she summoned the monstrous Typhon to teach her children a lesson—initiating a new age of Titans in the process. As the world burns, victims of the rage of the Titans, Heron and Seraphim need to join hands and help the Olympians to overcome this crisis.
Spoilers Ahead
Heron Lives, Still Cronos’ Reign of Terror Begins
Before his passing, Heron subscribed to the ideal of forgiveness, which Gaia wanted to inculcate in her grandchildren, which is why his demise made Gaia furious enough to summon Typhon, as she considered a complete purge of Olympian governance necessary. In his dying moments, Heron’s subconscious mind sees memories of his life flashing by, when his connection with Zeus’ thunder allows him to identify the universality of existence. Heron sees Seraphim’s past, his loving relationship with Gorgo, and realizes why he made a deal with Hades to acquire the Eleusinian Stone in the first place. Before the last flicker of life leaves Heron, Zeus’ powers surge within him for a final time, and following a huge energy pulse, Heron is resurrected.
However, by now the chaos is already set in motion, as Typhon starts wreaking havoc by decimating the forces of Olympus. The harrowing spectacle troubles Heron, who questions Gaia about the need for such wanton violence. However, All-Mother deems it to be a necessary step, saying the ongoing era of peace has made Olympians complacent, amoral, weak, and cruel—and a course correction is necessary. She invokes the Uranus-born Primordial Furies to escalate the situation further, and Typhon’s attack claims the lives of Ares and Hephaestus. The monster proceeds towards the Underworld to free Cronos, Gaia’s son—the King of the Titans and Zeus’ father—whose reign of tyranny was put to an end after Zeus imprisoned him in the Underworld. Hades and Persephone rush to the Underworld to save their children, Zagreus and Melinoe, but Persephone isn’t able to pass through the barrier built outside due to the agreement prohibiting her from entering the Underworld. To buy her husband enough time to rescue their children, Persephone valiantly fights Typhon outside the threshold of the Underworld and sacrifices her life. Demeter and Hades can’t help but feel both of them are responsible for her predicament.
The full extent of the Titan terror is unleashed when Typhon frees Cronos from his imprisonment, and the Titan King, rejuvenating himself in the sunlight, frees his Titan brethren from captivity as well. Cronos takes the Underworld under his command and threatens Hades with consequences unless he discloses the location of Zeus, who is serving his punishment in some corner of the Underworld following his trial in the second season. Cronos sends his Titans to cause mayhem across the world, by destroying effigies and monuments built to honor Zeus in order to weaken his influence among mortals, and try to coerce Hades into divulging Zeus’ whereabouts. After all, the ominous prophecy that Gaia had foretold about Cronos mentioned he would be slain by one of his offspring—with Zeus being the topmost contender. One by one, Cronos removes one of the Underworld judges, King Rhadamanthus, and the spirits of Ares and Hephaestus from existence by throwing them into the Abyss, simply to force Hades into disclosing Zeus’ location. Finally, Cronos sends one of the Furies to fetch Persephone’s soul to weaken Hades’ resolve, but King Aeaceus intervenes, revealing Zeus’ location to Cronos.
Hera’s Preparation for a Last Stand
However, Hera, guilt-ridden and ashamed for her actions, has decided to put up a strong front against their father, and disguising herself as Aeaceus, she misleads Cronos. Demeter, smarting over the passing of her daughter, rescues Zeus, and Hera gets a chance to reunite with her husband at long last. Hera mentions meeting Electra in the Fields of Elysium and having a conversation with her; she has gained clarity on how, as gods, they refuse to acknowledge their individuality, and act on their instincts. Hera decides to let go of the past and reconcile with Zeus, as they need to build a resistance to stop the second coming of the Titans.
The only way to rescue Zeus from the Underworld is to use Hades’ bident, which is at present at Cronos’ disposal. Hera plans to use a fake bident and approaches the giant Bronte Brothers—the mythical master craftsmith sons of Gaia and Uranus—for assistance. Cyclops Bronte rightly chastises Hera for mistreating Hephaestus, her own son, whom Hera hated for his physical disfigurement. In the final chapter of Blood of Zeus, Hera indeed has a lot of soul-searching to do. She failed as a partner (even though Zeus was no saint) and failed as a mother, and this is the only chance she has to prove herself as the Queen of Olympus. Hera is determined to utilize this opportunity to the fullest and unite the Olympians in a war against Cronos and his Titans.Â
Meanwhile, Cronos releases the Titan Atlas from his world-bearing labor and binds Hades to a contraption to carry the burden. Enraged after being unable to capture Zeus, Cronos throws Persephone’s soul into the Abyss, but a timely interference by messenger God Hermes saves her soul from getting obliterated. Hermes approaches Demeter to deliver her her daughter’s soul, and an apologetic Goddess of Harvest provides Hermes with the cure to the poison she herself had infected the mortals and Olympians with in the previous season.
Heron and Seraphim Reconcile
On the other hand, Seraphim tries to distance himself from all this and decides to return to his mission—saving Gorgo’s soul from damnation. However, Heron, determined to help his half-brother—perhaps to absolve himself of the sin of killing Seraphim previously—tags along. Despite his initial unwillingness to allow Heron to accompany him, Seraphim lets him join, and even heals Heron’s injuries using Gorgon’s blood— Hellebore flower sap. The second season initiated a journey of reconciliation between the two brothers when they started reflecting on their past actions and began to regret them, and that arc reaches its conclusion with both of them trying to put their differences aside and trying to get a better understanding of their respective worldviews. Seraphim plans to obtain the incredibly rare Necklace of Harmonia and use it to bribe Charon to let Gorgo’s soul pass through the Styx River and reach the Fields of Elysium. During their journey, the brother duo get attacked by Typhon and somehow manage to escape with their lives as Alexia, accompanied by Kofi, comes to their rescue, bringing Athena’s invisible cloaks with her. On behalf of the Olympian gods, Alexia has arrived to recruit Heron to the resistance force.
Alexia appears bewildered after Heron insists on helping Seraphim, which is understandable given Seraphim and his demons killed a number of Alexia’s Amazonian sisters. However, Heron believes Seraphim is the prophesied chosen one who will restore order. The group reaches the mystical Maenad cult’s encampment and witnesses the savagery of the Dionysus-worshipping clan, who plan to sacrifice their former teammate, Evios. Maenad leader Theope uses dark magic to put the group under a psychedelic spell, and Seraphim, who seems to be a former acquaintance of hers, tries to convince her to bring the legendary oracle, Orpheus’ audience to them in exchange for Gorgon’s blood. Unwilling to comply with his deal, as Theope tries to subjugate Heron and co., the son of Zeus manages to overpower her by channeling Zeus’ strength.
Meeting with Orpheus, Seraphim learns that the Necklace of Harmonia belongs to Potnia, a malevolent dark sorceress who resides in the Wind Towers as mistress of Wind Gods. However, Orpheus, who takes pity on Seraphim as his love for Gorgo reminds him of his relationship with Eurydice, warns him that, without passing the judgment of the Kings of the Underworld, Gorgo’s soul can not escape her tormented existence. Orpheus also mentions that the Field of Elysium will indeed provide a safe refuge to Gorgo from Cronos and the other Titans, who are bound by the Laws of Abode.
The team struggles immensely to retrieve the Necklace of Harmonia from Potnia, and Kofi sacrifices his life to save Alexia, reuniting with his beloved late wife in the afterlife while doing so. Seraphim and Heron venture into the Underworld, and bribing Charon with the necklace, they manage to take Gorgo’s soul to be judged by the kings. In an emotionally vulnerable moment, Seraphim reveals the truth about himself to his lover—that his inner darkness has transformed him into a demon at last. Gorgo is still unwilling to leave Seraphim’s side, who implores her to go through the judgment and consume the water of Lethe to forget him for good.
Did Heron and Seraphim Save Olympus?
However, Cronos, suspecting foul play, orders the Furies to bring Gorgo’s soul to him, much to Seraphim’s anger. Heron somehow reins in his brother, and they meet with Olympian gods led by Hera as she proposes an alliance. Given their history with the Queen of Gods, Seraphim expresses his anger and doubt over Hera’s machinations. However, she informs following a heart-to-heart with Electra in the Field of Elysium, she has realized the error in her ways and has embarked upon a journey to redeem herself. Hera mentions that a plan has already been set in motion to bring down Cronos, which will require both of Electra’s sons to play their part accordingly. In hopes of rescuing Gorgo’s soul, Seraphim finally agrees to join hands with the Olympians.
On the other hand, Cronos continues to search for the torch of Hecate, which can allow him to locate Zeus—and with his army of Titan brethren by his side, he confronts the Olympians. Cronos asks his children to surrender, offering them a chance to rewrite history by starting anew, following his terms, that is. He also offers Seraphim and Heron a chance to write their own legacy, leaving the corrupt, selfish gods to their devices. However, none of them give in to his suggestions, and Hera challenges the Titans to a battle of champions, which will determine the fate of gods and their predecessors. If the champions representing the gods—Seraphim and Heron—lose, the gods will accept getting obliterated in the Abyss as a punishment. But if Cronos and Typhon, representing the Titans, lose, their forces will retreat and leave the world for good. Cronos has no reason to accept or even entertain any such deal, but given he is a proud, egotistical leader, he accepts Hera’s deal even after guessing at possible discrepancies. Heron confesses his feelings to Alexia, who acknowledges her own feelings for Heron as well—but given Alexia is an Amazon, she can not break her vow; and they can not be together. Before the battle is about to commence, Demeter approaches Heron and confesses that she was the one who severed the thread of his fate in a vain attempt to get back at Zeus for his judgment of letting Persephone leave Olympus. Demeter apologizes to Heron and returns the severed thread, as she doesn’t want Heron to accept the challenge of battle just because he is aware of his impending death. Heron reveals that his decision to stand his ground against the barbaric Titans is not motivated by his self-interest or morality by any means.
During the battle, Heron and Seraphim fight valiantly, but they seem to be no match for the Titan behemoths. However, winning in the battle is not their main objective anyway, as they simply need to stall Cronos long enough for Demeter to swap Hades’ bident with a fake one, created by Cyclops Bronte, and for Hermes to free Zeus and Hades. Heron shows his true might as, unleashing his true potential as the son of Zeus, he takes out Typhon on his own—and in doing so, he sacrifices himself. Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, along with the Bronte Brothers, launch a surprise assault on Cronos and the Titans in the aftermath, with Seraphim now wielding the Adamantine Sword of Zeus, which Heron had entrusted to him. Zeus offers Cronos a chance to yield and forfeit, but convincing his father goes in vain. Seraphim plunges the Adamantine Sword into Cronos’ body, ending him once and for all and rescuing Gorgo in the process.
In Blood of Zeus season 3’s ending, the surviving Olympian gods round up the rest of the Titans and send them back to their prison in the Underworld. Order is restored in the realm, and Heron and Seraphim, including the fallen ones, are championed as heroic saviors of the world, whose saga will adorn the pages of history. In the final moments of the series, Heron and Seraphim meet their mother, Electra, in the Field of Elysium, and Seraphim begs for her forgiveness. While the ending might seem a bit underwhelming as a whole, given the status quo of Olympus remained the same after all, the final moment of mother-son reunion makes the final season worthwhile.Â
