This interview has been edited for length and features light spoilers for Hades and Persephone in Blood of Zeus Season 2. Click here to listen to the full 45-minute interview with creators Charley and Vlas Parlapanides.
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Right now, in pop culture, there is no greater couple than Hades (Fred Tatasciore) and Persephone (Lara Pulver). When the first trailer for Blood of Zeus Season 2 was released, that much was clear thanks to the fan reaction on X (formerly Twitter). Extremely aware of the origins of the Kidnapping of Persephone, Blood of Zeus showrunners Charley and Vlas Paralapanides don’t forget the ancient past, but they also make every effort to pull Hades and Persephone into the present with Season 2.
While I’m sure some fans will draw comparisons to Rachel Smyth’s Lore Olympus Webtoon series, Hades and Persephone in Blood of Zeus Season 2 does something different. Yes, Hades loves his wife. Yes, Persephone disrespects her mother. But here, its their family and the constant loneliness forced on them from Demeter’s spite that serves as their reason to act.
Hades and Persephone in Blood of Zeus Season 2 are two characters who are moved to reach for Zeus’ throne because of their love for each other and their family. Driven by that love, the series grounds them in the present, but the myth that originated the pair isn’t discarded. Instead, it’s made into a lie to justify Demeter’s anger and her need to take her daughter away from the Underworld for half of the year.
Love is the core of Blood of Zeus Season 2, and it’s captured beautifully with Hades and Persephone.
Vlas Parlapanides explained bringing Hades and Persephone into Blood of Zeus Season 2 first. “One of the things that Charley always mentioned [in development]—and I agree with him— about [Hades and Persephone’s] relationship is that it is the antithesis of what Zeus and Hera’s (Claudia Christian) relationship was. Zeus (Jason O’Mara) and Hera’s relationship was very toxic. We wanted to show a relationship that was very loving [with Hades and Persephone]. One where they really backed each other up, were there for each other, and that they loved each other.”
He continued, “So if you’re familiar with the Greek myth, there’s also this part of that story where supposedly Hades kidnapped her. So we knew that going in, but we said that we’re gonna suspend that. How about if they actually really do love each other? And then how about [the kidnapping] becomes a reality or became part of the tale because Demeter was so angry when Persephone… decided to basically choose Hades over the other suitors she wanted for her.”
“[Demeter is] the one that brought about that rumor. And then that rumor became the narrative and why in the Greek mythological tale, it’s believed that Hades kidnapped her. That’s something that we tried to bring to life and try to remain true to the spirit of their relationship, which is, at its core, one about love,” he added.
But adapting Hades and Persephone in Blood of Zeus Season 2 wasn’t done without grounding it in the mythology and understanding where everything came from, even if the story does need to be brought to contemporary sensibilities. Charley Parlapanides added, “There are always challenges when you’re adapting something that’s thousands of years old. There are different sensibilities—I mean, saying Hades kidnapped Persephone is kind of like the PG version of what happened in the [ancient] stories. That’s problematic for a lot of different reasons.”
He continues, “When we look at the myths, we break down what happens in them. Like that, Demeter would make all of the earth suffer, make every human being suffer through six months of winter because she separated from her daughter; that says a lot about her.
“It’s almost a certain kind of pettiness or anger. Anyone who knows Greek families knows that sometimes Greek moms and daughters can be very codependent. To tear them apart, there will be hell to pay, you know? That got us thinking that, well, what if we don’t want to touch this more problematic version? What if she ran away and just Demeter didn’t approve? And that’s what started to build the little building blocks of the story.”
But it’s not only Hades and Persephone’s romance that drives their push for power. It’s also their children. While Blood of Zeus Season 2 captures Hades’ loneliness, it also captures the deep love of his family, even showcasing a young Zagreus. In some ways, it’s the moment Hades shares with his entire family before Persephone is ripped away from them that contextualizes who he is as a character.
Blood of Zeus Season 2 captures the depth to Hades and Persphone.
Summing up characters in those small moments is something that Blood of Zeus does extremely well. When asked about setting up pivotal small moments within the larger epic of the series, the Paralapanides duo explained that it all comes down to looking to the original texts and defining who these characters are at a base level before they build what they mean to the series.
For building Hades in Blood of Zeus Season 2, Charley explained who the character is at a foundational level. “When you read the old texts… he’s not the devil. He’s incredibly wealthy. There’s lots of treasure in diamonds and rubies that he has in the underworld. [Hades] has vast realms, and his realms and kingdom are always growing. But in two or three different ones, they describe him as lonely…”
He continued, “He has children—we had to put Zagreus in there because I was like, hey, I love that game, Hades, and everyone will know…His wife is stripped away from him for half of the year, and as fathers [we thought]: ‘What if our wife had to leave every year for half the year, and then we’re left watching the children [and they miss her]?”
But Hades’ loneliness is also something that predates losing his wife, as Charley continued to explain, “Before he meets Persephone, he’s described as being rich and having this vast land, but he’s lonely. Because it’s not easy being the warden of the Underworld, and overseeing all the people that suffer, then this idea of if you are in the Underworld, and all you see are people being judged, all the bad things that they’ve done and the punishment they must endure—then when you go out into the world, what does that feel like? That idea of coming out of that dungeon and feeling free is where I started to see Hades.”
In Blood of Zeus Season 2, Hades and Persephone are key. More importantly, what Persephone means to Hades and what he will do to reunite his family is central to the series’ focus on love and what it makes you do. A true antagonist with an admirable goal, Hades is a series standout when it comes to characters, and the care put into bringing him to life shines.
Blood of Zeus is streaming now, exclusively on Netflix.
