🌪️

Additionally, we even have a fascinating thematic similarity between Herakles and Percy in the form of both of them being two of the most successful demigods of all time and having earned immortality:

Hercules shrugged. “That’s why I’m here. After I died, Dad made me the doorkeeper of Olympus. I said, Great! Palace duty! Party all the time! What he didn’t mention is that I’d be guarding the doors to the ancient lands, stuck on this island for the rest of eternity. Lots of fun.” (Mark of Athena, Chapter 26, Piper)

"Rise, my son," Poseidon said. I stood uneasily. "A great hero must be rewarded," Poseidon said. "Is there anyone here who would deny that my son is deserving?" I waited for someone to pipe up. The gods never agreed on anything, and many of them still didn't like me, but not a single one protested. "The Council agrees," Zeus said. "Percy Jackson, you will have one gift from the gods." I hesitated. "Any gift?" Zeus nodded grimly. "I know what you will ask. The greatest gift of all. Yes, if you want it, it shall be yours. The gods have not bestowed this gift on a mortal hero in many centuries, but, Perseus Jackson—if you wish it—you shall be made a god. Immortal. Undying. You shall serve as your father's lieutenant for all time." (The Last Olympian, chapter 20)

Herakles could have easily served as some kind of dark mirror to who Percy could have become, which really could have led to a deeply interesting confrontation.

(Also, Percy being confronted with the fact that Herakles was cursed to kill his own family by Hera is something I’d pay to see and could create a fascinating dynamic where Percy still sees Herakles as the jerk who ruined Zoe’s life, but is also forced to start to see him as another victim, similar to Luke)

Yet when two of the seven actually have to confront Herakles in Mark of Athena, it’s Jason and Piper who do so, and their only connection to Herakles is that Jason is a son of Jupiter and (maybe) that he’s Juno’s champion (though that didn’t even really get acknowledged in these chapters at all).

And the only thematic subject that is explored is a general concept of heroism that has nothing personally to do with either Jason or Piper and could have been explored to the same degree with any random demigod:

“Hercules doesn’t deserve this.” Piper wasn’t sure where this rage was coming from, but she had never felt more certain of anything in her life. Hercules was a bitter, selfish jerk. He’d hurt too many people, and he wanted to keep on hurting them. Maybe he’d had some bad breaks. Maybe the gods had kicked him around. But that didn’t excuse it. A hero couldn’t control the gods, but he should be able to control himself. Jason would never be like that. He would never blame others for his problems or make a grudge more important than doing the right thing. (Mark of Athena, Chapter 28, Piper)

“Achelous was right,” she said. “You’re his curse as much as he is yours. You’re a sorry excuse for a hero.” Hercules stared at her as if she were speaking in Japanese. “You realize I could kill you with a flick of my finger,” he said. “I could throw my club at your ship and cut straight through its hull. I could—” “You could shut up,” Jason said. He drew his sword. “Maybe Zeus is different from Jupiter. Because I wouldn’t put up with any brother who acts like you.” (Mark of Athena, Chapter 28, Piper)

“Jason is better than you,” Piper said. “But don’t worry. We’re not going to fight you. We’re going to leave this island with the horn. You don’t deserve it as a prize. I’m going to keep it, to remind me of what not to be like as a demigod, and to remind me of poor Achelous and Deianira.” The god’s nostrils flared. “Do not mention that name! You can’t seriously think I’m worried about your puny boyfriend. No one is stronger than me.” “I didn’t say stronger,” Piper corrected. “I said he’s better.” (Mark of Athena, Chapter 28, Piper)

We have the exploration that Jason is better than Herakles, which is basically just a washed down, less effective version of Percy’s characterization in Titan’s Curse, and the exploration that demigods shouldn’t hurt innocents just because they’ve been hurt by the gods, which is basically just a washed down version of Luke’s entire character.

After that night, after we left his mom's house? Luke was never the same. He got reckless and moody, like he had something to prove. (…)  Annabeth didn't see that as a problem. Luke was her hero. She only understood that his parents had made him sad, and she got very defensive of him. She still is defensive. All I'm saying . . . don't you fall into the same trap. Luke has given himself to Kronos now. We can't afford to be soft on him." I looked out at the fires in Harlem, wondering how many sleeping mortals were in danger right now because of Luke's bad choices. "You're right," I said. (The Last Olympian, Chapter 14)

All the while Percy’s connection to Zoe and Herakles is completely erased from the narrative, and he’s being written as extremely ooc in the following chapter:

After all that, they had arrived at the Pillars of Hercules, and Percy had to stay aboard ship while Jason the Big Shot visited his half brother. Hercules, the most famous demigod of all time, and Percy didn’t get to meet him either. Okay, sure, from what Piper said afterward, Hercules was a jerk, but still…Percy was getting kind of tired of staying aboard ship and pacing the deck. (Mark of Athena, Chapter 29, Percy)

Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood

Similarly, Jason having an internal conflict in House of Hades about being torn between being greek and roman, while having a lot of potential, would have worked much better for Percy’s characterization up until this point (in my opinion at least), considering their individual narrative foundations up until this point.

Throughout House of Hades, Jason often times has thoughts like this:

At least Nico was free of attachments. He could go wherever he chose. For months, Jason had been wrestling with the question of where he belonged. He’d always chafed against the traditions of Camp Jupiter, the power plays, the infighting. But Reyna was a good person. She needed his help. If he turned his back on her … someone like Octavian could take over and ruin everything Jason did love about New Rome. Could he be so selfish as to leave? The very idea crushed him with guilt. But in his heart he wanted to be at Camp Half-Blood. The months he’d spent there with Piper and Leo had felt more satisfying, more right than all his years at Camp Jupiter. (House of Hades, Chapter 57, Jason)

Yet we as readers know close to nothing about his time at either place, so that internal conflict doesn’t land at all.

Percy meanwhile has deep connections to Camp Half-Blood, which have been build up for five whole books, and was literally named praetor of New Rome just one book prior. Additionally, he also repeatedly refers to Camp Jupiter as his home and family in Son of Neptune:

A horde of Cyclopes was hammering away at the campers of the Fifth Cohort, who were trying to keep their shields locked just to stay alive. Seeing them in trouble, Percy felt a surge of protective rage. These were the kids who’d taken him in. This was his family.  (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 50, Percy)

For a moment, the battlefield was silent except for a few fires burning, and a few retreating monsters screaming in panic. A ragged circle of Romans and Amazons stood around Percy. Tyson, Ella and Mrs O’Leary were there. Frank and Hazel were grinning at him with pride. Arion was nibbling contentedly on a golden shield. The Romans began to chant, ‘Percy! Percy!’ They mobbed him. Before he knew it, they were raising him on a shield. The cry changed to, ‘Praetor! Praetor!’ Among the chanters was Reyna herself, who held up her hand and grasped Percy’s in congratulation. Then the mob of cheering Romans carried him around the Pomerian Line, carefully avoiding Terminus’s borders, and escorted him back home to Camp Jupiter. (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 50, Percy)

He jabbed a finger at Percy. ‘His friends are attacking in a warship. He has led them here. We must attack!’ ‘No,’ Percy said firmly. ‘You all raised me as praetor for a reason. I will fight to defend this camp with my life. But these aren’t enemies. I say we stand ready, but do not attack. Let them land. Let them speak. If it is a trick, then I will fight with you, as I did last night. But it is not a trick.’ (The Son of Neptune, Chapter 52, Percy)

Specifically, as someone whose fatal flaw is loyalty, this could have made for a much more interesting inner conflict for someone like Percy, especially with the added context of the war between the two camps, yet all that conflict is transferred to only Jason.

(It also doesn’t help that Percy’s attachment to Camp Jupiter (and his characterization from Son of Neptune) is practically dropped by the narrative post son and he barely thinks about the place anymore.)

Minor gods

Similarly, in Blood of Olympus, Jason suddenly gains this new goal of building temples and honoring all minor gods (a mindset that had rather little build up throughout hoo for him), which was initially Percy’s narrative role, while Percy gets no continuation of that storyline whatsoever:

‘I will,’ Jason said. ‘When we win this war, I’m going to make sure all the gods get recognized.’ He put a hand on Percy’s shoulder. ‘My friend here started that process last summer. He made the Olympians promise to pay you guys more attention.’ Kym sniffed. ‘We know what an Olympian promise is worth.’ ‘Which is why I’m going to finish the job.’ Jason didn’t know where these words were coming from, but the idea felt absolutely right. ‘I’ll make sure none of the gods are forgotten at either camp. Maybe they’ll get temples, or cabins, or at least shrines –’ ‘Or collectible trading cards,’ Kym suggested. ‘Sure.’ Jason smiled. ‘I’ll go back and forth between the camps until the job is done.’ Percy whistled. ‘You’re talking about dozens of gods.’ ‘Hundreds,’ Kym corrected. ‘Well, then,’ Jason said, ‘it might take a while. But you’ll be first on the list, Kymopoleia … the storm goddess who beheaded a giant and saved our quest.’ (Blood of Olympus, chapter 28)

 ‘Nah. Romans used to have a Pontifex Maximus, who oversaw all the proper sacrifices and whatnot, to make sure none of the gods got mad. Which I offered to do … I guess it does sound like a pontifex’s job.’ ‘So you meant it?’ Percy asked. ‘You’re really going to try building shrines for all the minor gods?’ ‘Yeah. I never really thought about it before, but I like the idea of going back and forth between the two camps – assuming, you know, we make it through next week and the two camps still exist. (Blood of Olympus, Chapter 28)

Like for Jason, this was just a random sudden decision with little to no build up.

For Percy this is one of the defining themes of his story, one of the main reasons he endured the suffering he did in PJO and one of the main reasons why so many people he knew and/ or called friends died rather brutal deaths (often in front of his very eyes.)

(Like Bianca, Zoe, Beckendorf, Silena, Michael, Ethan, Luke, etc.)

It's literally the culmination of his conflict with the Olympian system and the culmination of his entire narrative in PJO.

It’s not just that Jason's idea is merely similar to Percy's. It's explicitly presented as continuing Percy's process. The book even acknowledges that Percy started it. But then Jason becomes the character who gets the ideological continuation.

Percy gets the initial act, Jason gets the long-term mission

And, honestly, that still really bothers me.

The issue of the gods neglecting demigods and looking down on the minor gods is deeply tied to Percy's entire arc. Percy’s decision at the end of The Last Olympian is fundamentally about changing the thousands of years old system of Olympus.

Then HoO takes one of the most obvious consequences of that decision and just hands the continuing ideological work to Jason.

It’s like Percy's accomplishment becomes nothing more but background context for Jason's new character arc, which is incredibly frustrating to me.

Especially since the narrative explicitly says that Jason’s motivation isn’t particularly deeply rooted in his previous characterization

The idea simply arrives suddenly.

’ ‘So you meant it?’ Percy asked. ‘You’re really going to try building shrines for all the minor gods?’ ‘Yeah. I never really thought about it before, but I like the idea of going back and forth between the two camps – assuming, you know, we make it through next week and the two camps still exist. (Blood of Olympus, Chapter 28)

Which is a huge contrast to Percy, for whom the issue of neglected demigods is deeply embedded in the climax of PJO.

It feels like the hoo narrative simply hands Jason the thematic role of something Percy spent five books earning.

And not only does Percy not continue this (his own!) storyline, but his major deeds in tlo are barely acknowledged in Heroes of Olympus and afterwards, especially in his interactions with the minor gods.

Nico

It’s similar for the narrative role Jason and Percy take in respect to their relationship with Nico

Percy and Nico had one of the most well written, deep and complex relationships in PJO that developed over 2 ½ years, yet in Heroes of Olympus, that entire relationship is regressed into a one sided crush.

Their friendship is almost erased, and it kind of gets completely ignored that Percy was actually one of the first people who ever accepted Nico and offered him a place to stay (multiple times):

Nico walked for another fifty yards before answering. “It hasn’t been easy, you know. Having only the dead for company. Knowing that I’ll never be accepted by the living. Only the dead respect me, and they only do that out of fear.” “You could be accepted,” I said. “You could have friends at camp.” (Battle of the Labyrinth, Chapter 16)

 “But you didn’t care about Nico. You were happy to see him turned over to the Titans.” “Oh, please.” Hera waved her hand dismissively. “The son of Hades said it himself. No one wants him around. He does not belong.” “Hephaestus was right,” I growled. “You only care about your perfect family, not real people.” (Battle of the Labyrinth, Chapter 20)

Nico glanced inside my room. His eyebrows furrowed. “Is that…is that blue birthday cake?” He sounded hungry, maybe a little wistful. I wondered if the poor kid had ever had a birthday party, or if he’d ever even been invited to one. “Come inside for some cake and ice cream,” I said. “It sounds like we’ve got a lot to talk about.” (Battle of the Labyrinth, Chapter 20)

I glanced at Thalia. She didn’t seem too enthusiastic about the whole track-a-thief-with-a-flower-thing. Then I looked at Nico. Unfortunately, I recognized the expression on his face. I knew what it was like wanting to make your dad proud, even if your dad was hard to love. In this case, really hard to love. Nico was going to do this, with or without us. And I couldn’t let him go alone. (The Demigod Files: The Sword of Hades)

“Are you sure you want to stay here?” I asked. “Persephone will make your life miserable.” “I have to,” he insisted. “I have to get close to my dad. He needs a better adviser.” I couldn’t argue with that. “Well, if you need anything-“ “I’ll call,” he promised. (The Demigod Files: The Sword of Hades)

The scene shifted. Now I was outside the pavilion, hiding in the shadows of a Greek column. A boy stood next to me, eavesdropping on the Titans. He had dark silky hair, pale skin, and dark clothes—my friend Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades. (The Last Olympian)

And Hades—" "Are you calling me a minor god?" Hades bellowed. "No, my lord," I said quickly. "But your children should not be left out. They should have a cabin at camp. Nico has proven that. (The Last Olympian)

Jason and Nico in comparison have “only” two deeper conversations throughout house of hades and have only known each other for a couple weeks, yet suddenly in Blood of Olympus, Nico says he is more worried about Jason than about Percy, and Jason is suddenly recognized as the first person who ever accepted Nico.

“To his surprise, his thoughts didn’t leap first to Percy. His primary concern was for Hazel, then for Jason, then for Percy and the others aboard the Argo II.” (Blood of Olympus)

All the while Percy’s and Nico’s relationship gets resolved with one throwaway, joke line in the form of “you’re not my type” and they did not get one single genuine conversation since.

Don’t get me wrong. I actually quite like their friendship, but I hate the fact that Rick Riordan was unable to write it without reducing the importance of the Percy-Nico friendship. (Which is why their friendship will always leave a bitter taste in my mouth)

Let me be clear here. I’m not saying that I hate Jason or that he shouldn’t have cool storylines, relationships and themes, I’m just saying there’s a pattern that emerges when you concentrate on it:

Percy having an entire book about the rejection of the old ideals of heroism and becoming friends with Zoe vs. Jason and Piper having close to no thematic relation to Herakles or build up  

Yet, Jason and Piper get to be the ones to confront Herakles

Percy having well established deep bonds with both Camp Jupiter and especially camp half-blood, being a leader in both camps and having the fatal flaw of loyalty at a time where both camps prepare for war with one another vs. Jason, whose only mentioned friends after six months at camp half-blood were Leo and Piper, and whose past relationship with either camp was not explored at all.

Yet, Jason gets an internal conflict about belonging, while Percy barely thinks about either camp.

Percy learning firsthand over the course of five books the result of the boken system in the mythological world, losing close friends and allies because of it, and rejecting one of the most highly valued gifts the gods can bestow upon a mortal, only to create a better world for all vs. Jason getting the idea of making temples for the minor gods in a five minute conversation in the last book of his introduction series.

Yet, Jason becomes the main carrier of that theme starting in heroes of Olympus.

Percy being the first person who cares for Nico after Bianca’s death, offering him a place to stay time and time again, gaining his trust over the course of 2 ½ years, becoming friends with him, and highlighting his deeds in front of the entire Olympian council, vs. Jason who has known him for like a couple weeks and had only two (albeit of course impactful and sweet) conversations with him.

Yet, Nico cares more for Jason and Jason is seen as the first person who accepted Nico, while Percys and Nico’s relationship gets completely regressed and ignored

It’s just kind of frustrating, especially since most of the points i mentioned are about themes I care a great deal about (Percy as praetor, his rejection of the heroes of old, his relationship to Nico and his role in changing the system)

I grew out of disliking Jason, and actually grew to like him over time (and especially his potential) quite a bit, but I would be lying if I said, this doesn't bother me at all anymore.