From Disney’s ‘Hercules’ to the Percy Jackson series, even to DC’s ‘Wonder Woman’, greek mythology is a constant reference that is used to create phenomenal films. These movies take aspects of greek mythology and put a twist on the stories.

BREAKDOWN
In the first episode, we see demons running through the woods as the thunder rumbles. A small group of soldiers is attempting to face them head-on. In the next scene, Heron is buying Ore — he’s poor and is presented with disheveled clothing. Grand Archon Alexia turns up on horseback and she asks Heron if he has seen a demon; when he denies he’s seen anything, she tells Heron and others to get inside and hide. Heron then finds wise elder Elias drunk and badly bleeding. He picks him up and fills a jug of water to help him. Heron then sees a woman floating in the water but notices her guts hanging out. A demon attacks him and he’s in a fight. Alexia helps him. When she needs help, Heron fights off a demon for her. The village goes into lockdown mode as Alexia and her army try to find the rest of the demons. She gives a speech to the villagers warning them all about the army of monsters that are going to descend on them all; she proves that monsters exist by hurting a man with fire. The man transforms into a demon and Alexia chops off his head.
Heron is concerned that these demons exist. Elias tells him the story of how the Gods beat the Titans; the last Titan swore a curse on the Gods and the Giants were born and a hellish war erupted — both sides battled endlessly with either side unable to conquer each other. One day, Zeus introduced a compromise with the Giants and then planned one final attack. Hermes gathered all the Giant’s souls and their remains were stored in the Ocean. Elias continues; later on, a man found a vessel in the ocean and he was consumed by a Giant. Soon more men were consumed and they started eating the Giants and they became demons. Alexia asks Heron to join her army and battle the demons. Heron does not feel it is his fate. When Heron returns home, his mother tells him that he is “no bastard”, however, before she can explain further, villagers turn up and claim that Heron’s mother is one of the demons. Heron offers to fight all of them. His mother proves she isn’t a demon and stokes herself with fire to stop the fighting. Heron tells Elias that he should have joined Alexia. Elias explains that war is upon them — he tells him to climb to the top of a mountain to find a rose bush and to dig beneath it for the adamantine ore to make a great sword. As Heron heads to the mountain, Elias is approached by Ares — he calls Elias the “King of Kings”. Elias looks younger and warrior-like now. The two debate interventions in humans — Elias is confident that Heron can lead.
In episode two, we see Heron’s mother Electra is the Queen — she’s worried that the King will kill her baby. As the baby is born, guards enter and ask if it is a boy. The king grabs the baby and checks him out. Another baby is then birthed from Electra — he’s told that there are two fathers. As the King tries to kill Electra, a majestic eagle flies in.
Heron then wakes up on the mountain — he was dreaming. He keeps climbing the mountain to find the rose bush. Heron returns with the ore and tells Elias that it was a waste of time, as it isn’t malleable. Elias tells him it is. Heron then tells him of his dreams. Elias tells Heron about nightmares, illusions and then visions of the truth — each brought on by a different powerful entity.
Heron tells his mother about his dream and tells her she was the Queen — he cites how it is impossible. Electra admits to marrying King Perdiander, The Tyrant of Corinth. She tells him it was all prearranged. She explains that she caught the eye of a god. Electra describes the King as kind and loving one day and then cold and demeaning on others. The story continues; one day, while the King was kind, Electra asked for the truth, and suddenly Perdiander turned into Zeus — Zeus’s son Apollo warns him that his wife Hera can see him, so he returns to her, so he isn’t caught. Zeus’s wife talks about castrating the Giants. Apollo tells Electra that she’s pregnant and that her child will be born out of wedlock.
Zeus’s wife Hera spied on Electra and was consumed by jealousy. Hera enlisted the help of the Oneiroi and had them appear in the king’s dreams telling him he’ll have twins and one of them will not be his. The king tries to kill Electra, but Zeus saves her. The king tries to run away with Heron, but Electra kills him. Zeus hid them both in the village so Hera could not find them — that’s why the villagers think they are an omen, as the dark fog hasn’t lifted since they arrived. Heron asks about his brother. She explains how his brother was killed by his uncle. Electra tells Heron to look forward because he’s the son of Zeus. Heron explains that Elias has done everything for him like a father — Electra starts crying as Heron learns that Elias is Zeus.
An angry Heron finds the sword made from the ore and it looks powerful. It shines blue when he picks up. Heron throws the sword at a rock and lightning strikes. Meanwhile, Alexia finds a map that seems to have another map within it — she believes that Chiron the Wise can read it. Alexia and her group are then circled by demons who want the map. The demons slaughter Alexia’s soldiers. Alexia has escaped, and the demons vow to find her as they desperately need the map. Electra asks Zeus to take them away to safety, but he tells her that he is unable to. Electra tells Zeus that “he fears Hera more than she loves her” and walks off in an upset. Elias confronts Heron to talk and transforms into Zeus. He tells Heron he doesn’t have good answers for him and asks for forgiveness. Heron tells him he doesn’t want to see him again, so Zeus disappears. Alexia turns up and tells Heron to run as a three-headed wolf runs after them.
Episode 3 starts with Apollo ready to fight Ares in a colosseum. Suddenly, Ares is zapped by lightning from the sky. Zeus confronts Ares and asks if he told Hera about Heron. Hera appears and tells Zeus she knew everything anyway — this was like an “Oh, snap” kind of moment. Afterward, Hera asks Zeus if he ever loved her, but he also admits to loving Electra as well. Hera vows to kill Electra and Heron. As for Heron, he’s fighting off the three-headed werewolf with Alexia. They manage to kill one of the heads. Suddenly, they are surrounded by demons. Alexia wants to evacuate Polis. As Alexia leaves, Heron is trying to find his mother Electra. The leader of the demons, Seraphim, attacks Heron with a majestic spear, and Zeus tells him to run as he has an elevated position; he keeps giving his son instructions to evade the demon. Heron runs back to Polis and he’s still looking for his mother. As the villagers try to flee, they are cornered by Seraphim. He asks the villagers for the whereabouts of Alexia. The demons pick up Alexia’s scent, so they kill the leader of Polis. Hera and Zeus continue to argue. She seems to have the other Gods on her side. Zeus’s brother takes Hera’s side as he does not want bloodshed. Seraphim approaches Electra and asks for the whereabouts of Alexia. Electra looks up in the sky, expecting Zeus to help her, but nothing comes. Heron arrives to help his mother, but then he is punched clean by Seraphim. The pair end up in a fistfight, but Heron keeps on losing — Seraphim tells Heron that his eyes are full of hate. Seraphim then kills Heron’s mother, and Heron screams in pain. Zeus feels Electra’s death and Hera has a smile on her face. Hera tells Zeus that he was wrong about Heron because he has his mother’s blood.
Alexia is meandering through the woods, and she’s wary of the danger that could come her way. She sees many people slaughtered. She sees Zeus with a deceased Electra, and he tells her that Heron has been taken captive. As each chapter passes, the theme of mortality deepens, regardless if characters are Gods or not. It works in the story that no-one is invincible. Electra’s soul is taken to the land of the dead. Hermes shows her the dead that cannot afford to cross. Hermes tells the land of the dead to treat Electra well. Before she crosses over, she wishes to see Heron. She visits him, and she reassures him that there’s happiness after death. Electra tells him to remember who he is. Episode 4 shows how manipulative Hera has become — thirsty for revenge after her husband betrayed her, she is consumed with a single mission. Heron is captured and is locked in a cage — Seraphim is sending him to Hades. Meanwhile, Seraphim is hunting down Alexia.
He finally corners her in a cage. Alexia shows that she has healing and regeneration, but then it’s revealed it’s Hera pretending to be her. She asks Seraphim to kneel and tells him she wants revenge. Hera gives Seraphim a vision to prove that his mother was a liar and wasn’t even related to him. Hera shows Seraphim that his father was murdered when he was an infant and that his uncle moved to the throne to seize power. The uncle dropped Seraphim from a high ledge to kill him. Fortunately, a servant found Seraphim and vowed to protect him. The servant asked for help from the Gods of Olympus, but then Hera sent in a bear — the servant used the bear to feed Seraphim milk. Seraphim’s uncle and his men tracked down the servant. Bears attacked the men, but it was too late as the servant was killed. Seraphim was cast away as a freak and a monster as he took refuge, and that’s where he evolved and became who he is today. Back in the present, Hera tells Seraphim that this is Zeus’s fault because he wanted his mother, Electra, for himself. Hera then reveals that he murdered his mother and that he should refocus his efforts on Zeus.
Alexia is still alive and she wants to speak to her old friend Chiron. He is the King of the Forest. She asks for advice on the map — he tells her it’s a star map, linked to a constellation — he says it’s leading her to the Giant remains. Suddenly, Seraphim turns up with demons — Chiron has sold her out in exchange for the safety of his people. Alexia fights her way out. Chiron protects her from one of Seraphim’s weapons and calms her down. He gives Seraphim the map and tells him that Alexia stays with him. But when Seraphim gives him a choice — “Her or your people” — Chiron once again gives her up. Seraphim tells Alexia that when she feels a Giant’s power, she will understand what he means. Hera asks Seraphim to kneel in her tent. She asks him to retrieve a sword for her and kill the man who was meant to wield it — Heron. She tells him to destroy Talos. As Seraphim embarks on his journey, his mind is burdened by the story of his real mother. Seraphim finds the sword and he realizes how powerful it is. Heron is on his escape with a few other slaves.
They manage to get out of their captivity, and they take over the ship — fighting the other demons. Zeus is alerted that Hera is with Seraphim. Apollo tells him that they were conspiring and swaying the war in the demon’s favor. Seraphim turns up on the slave ship and as he’s about to fight Heron, Zeus uses his powers to separate them both. It destroys the ship in the process. Zeus then throws multiple lightning bolts and it is chaos. It ends with foreboding music; Hera stands smiling — she’s got exactly what she wanted: a war.
Hera is angry at Seraphim for striking a God. She tells him that Zeus has entered the fray, but it doesn’t change her plans — she wants him to kill Zeus and find the Cauldron of Darkness, and if he does, she will give him the location of his uncle. Episode 6 sees Hera continue to feed Seraphim with promises and more motives — at this point, he is a pawn. Heron tells Elias/Zeus that he doesn’t need his help. Zeus tells Evios and Kofi to accompany Alexia to Melidono to make up for their past sins — they need to burn the Giant’s remains, and the demons will fall. Heron wants to kill Seraphim, but Elias has better ideas — he whistles, and a large bird lands next to Heron. He climbs on the bird to take him to Olympus. Heron is now amongst the Gods, and they are not amused that Zeus has brought him to their place. Some warm to him while others call him a “Bastard”. Hera is furious, but Zeus brings up how she is conspiring against him. Zeus lays the blame on him and admits he has wronged her — he asks Hera for forgiveness. Hera gives him one condition — Heron’s head. Zeus cannot accept that condition. Zeus begins training Heron in a colosseum. A robot soldier fights him. Zeus tells him to “turn inward” and not to rely on his anger. But he repeatedly loses to the robot. Zeus tells him to use his real strength and destroys the robot. He’s starting to doubt him. One of Zeus’s men tells him that Heron needs a father. Zeus tells Heron that he never knew his father because he wanted him dead — he confesses to killing his father to save his siblings, but he’s never great at being one. Heron continues to fight the robot, but he cannot let his anger go. He asks Zeus why he let Electra die. Zeus admits to being powerless at times. When Heron raises the subject of Seraphim, Zeus tells him he is his half-brother. Alexia, Evios, and Kofi will need to go through the Fields of the Dead to get to Melidoni unnoticed. Chiron offers to help them cross it. Heron finally defeats the robot, but then Zeus receives news from Hermes that Hera is heading to the Underworld with the others, but Hades remains neutral — “War is inevitable”. The Fates then call for Heron, and Zeus tells him that he must go alone. Heron tells The Fates that he believes in free will — they tell him that free will and fate co-exist. They show Heron his thread. The Fates tell Heron that the fate of the world rests with him and he must harness his divine strength. Heron sees a vision of Alexia and the others at the Field of the Dead — they need his help. As Heron heads out, Zeus tells him that he is not ready.
Seraphim finds Zeus and manages to pierce his flesh. He then cuts off Zeus’s head. Hera congratulates him and asks him how it feels. However, it’s a dream from the Oneri and Zeus tells Seraphim that Hera has been filling his head with false confidence and lies. Zeus admits to underestimating his uncle’s greed; he gives Seraphim visions of all the times he helped him. Zeus reveals that Hera was the reason that Seraphim’s mother died. Zeus gives him a coin and tells him that’s where he will find his vengeance. Alexia and the others arrive at the Fields of the Dead. Chiron tells them that they will need to move quickly and never to turn around. Alexia tells Chiron to go home, as they cannot risk him as well. The group slowly moves through the mist — many spirits and illusions face the group which tries to deceive them. Loved ones return as well. The group makes it to the other side. Heron arrives to help them, and he asks Alexia if she has the map — “Let’s finish this”. Seraphim finds his uncle Acrisius in a cave. The uncle admits to seeing an opportunity and taking it. When Seraphim tells him he would have never killed a child, Acrisius calls him weak. Seraphim slowly wounds his uncle in different areas of his body and then kills him. Once dead, Seraphim punches him over and over again. This is the kind of scene that demonstrates unrivaled and untapped revenge at a high degree — it looks so exhausting, and it forces the viewers to question the purpose of seeking and achieving revenge. Alexia, Heron and co continue walking deep into the earth to carry out the mission to burn the Giant remains. When they get to their location, they cannot find the remains. Seraphim shows up with his army — he’s the one that moved the Giants’ remains. He asks Heron if he’s tired of being a pawn and if he wants to avenge their mother’s death and end the reign of the Gods. Seraphim wants Heron to join him. Fighting ensues as Heron rejects the offer. The group flees away from the demon army, and they hop on to the large bird. Apollo tries to fight Hera, but she undoes him as she saw it coming. Meanwhile, Seraphim tries to take the cauldron, but its protector attacks him. He uses his powerful sword to defeat the large enemy. As he escapes, Hera takes the cauldron off him. She uses her powers, and red beams enter the ocean — she’s brought back the Giants. Hera then pretends to be Apollo and stabs Zeus in the neck. As the chapter ends, the Giants leave the ocean. Zeus lays in a pool of his blood.
The final episode begins with a beautiful shot of the Giants walking in the distance, which shows how much thought the creators put into this show. Hera rises, and one of the Giants tries to attack her. She uses her cauldron to disarm it and transfer its energy into the device. The Giants know she controls them now. Hera asks them to help her kill Zeus, and in return, she’ll let them have their sea back. This is the last throw of the dice by Hera to exact her revenge, and she’s going to extreme lengths to achieve it. Zeus is still retching in his blood. His eyes crackle with electricity as he heals himself. Poseidon offers to join Zeus as he risks losing his sea. He gives Zeus a suggestion as to where the cauldron is. Zeus gives a speech that they need to battle and distract Hera while they grab the cauldron. Heron offers to find it as Hera will not expect him to be the one going for it. The giants arrive, and there is great anticipation. Evios and Kofi admit that they sold Giant remains to Seraphim. Heron tells them that it’s their time for redemption. Zeus then asks his army to fire at the Giants, and the war begins. Zeus tells Heron to show the world who he is. The Giants reach Olympus; Heron goes on his mission to get the cauldron. He jumps on his bird as he suspects he knows where the cauldron is. It’s in the sky surrounded by a flock of blackbirds. Meanwhile, Zeus tries to reason with Hera, but she resists his efforts. Thunderbolts hit her from the sky, and Heron dives to grab the cauldron. Zeus pleads with Hera again, however, she once again refuses to reason with him. A Giant then grabs Hera, and as it is about to kill her, Zeus saves her. Hera pants and struggles in her pool of blood. And through all the drama and war, the ending of Blood of Zeus season 1 presents how Zeus and Hera did have something there for each other — they’ve been ripped apart from adultery, power, and greed. A Giant now captures Zeus. As the Giant is about to finish Hera off, both characters experience flashbacks which remind them of their love for each other. Zeus exerts all his power to hurt the Giant to save Hera. Meanwhile, Seraphim grabs Heron mid-flight and then lets him go for not joining him. Seraphim then tries to kill Hera, but then he notices a flock of birds change their path. Heron manages to retrieve the cauldron again. Seraphim then turns his attention to Alexia, but then Heron decides to fight him. He suddenly feels stronger than usual — his father speaks to him and tells him it is time. He remembers his father reminding him of his anger as Seraphim fights back.
Seraphim asks Heron to join him again, but he ignores him. As Seraphim grabs him, Heron decides to be calm, rather than angry. He lets Seraphim stab him with his spear and then tears flow down his face. He plunges the spear through his body and pierces Seraphim right through him. Heron tells Seraphim that he’s against him and then his eyes light up with electricity and he finishes him. He then grabs the cauldron, and he sucks in all the energies of the Giants to end the war. Heron has proved himself. Heron wakes up in a bed in Olympus — he’s feeling bruised and sore. He leaves his room, and he sees the other Gods. Kofi tells him that he has a good scar now. Seraphim wakes up in a misty place. Hades greets him, and he realizes he is a spirit. Seraphim sees Hell in the distance. Hades offers to help him but asks for a favor — to kneel. Seraphim screams in sorrow and pain — once again, he is a pawn for someone else.

BEST (AMERICAN) ANIME?
Netflix has had its own hand in creating their own anime, most of which coming out good, while others not so much. Besides, the most well-known and popular anime being made in Japan — how good can an American anime be?
Despite these ideals, Netflix has broken the barrier and created a masterpiece. ‘Blood of Zeus’ has a harmonious mix of gore and romance. This show uses adultery, revenge, envy, and war to create a well-scripted eight-episode sequence. While we wait in anticipation for season two — it will be interesting what story the creators think of next.
It is ‘Blood of Zeus’ great setting that makes it truly worthwhile. It is somewhat common knowledge that anime has filtered Greek mythology into a sci-fi space opera or a high school dating simulation. There is nothing wrong with remixing the genres, but it shows how ‘Blood of Zeus’ looks and feels original just because it is anime. But ‘Blood of Zeus’ is anime — however, Americanized — and for that alone it stands out in the curated algorithm.

OVERALL
This show is amazing, and personally, I am a big fan of Greek mythology, so it was really interesting to see how they planned their story out. I would recommend this to anyone, but be careful if you are sensitive to blood and gore.

RATING: 4.2/5