Boo

3. HADES TRIES TO EDUCATE HIS SON IN THE SPEAR

We have several remembrances to this effect. (I've always understood remembrances, these slides of Hades lines before each run, as Zag remembering things his father has said to him before).

I would put this one first of all, where Hades appears to be attempting to teach Zagreus how to throw a spear, Hades' preferred weapon. Later on, he seems to become tired of teaching, and mentions the possibility of hiring an instructor. (Straight-up telling his son he has no time to spare...)

This brings us to our next item in the timeline: Achilles!

4. ACHILLES ARRIVES IN THE HOUSE OF HADES, IS ASSIGNED TO BE ZAGREUS' TUTOR

At this point, I would put Zagreus around the equivalent of a teenager's age. It is worth noting that Hades frames this as "it's time for you to learn the bearing of the gods", which is in line with the theme of considering Zagreus immature, etc.

Achilles mentions the same, in his Codex entry on Zagreus. "The Master worried that his heir lacked any firm direction in his life." This becomes a recurrent throughline: Hades delegating the task of subduing Zag's wilful temperament which he himself can't abide, as it runs counter to his expectations of an heir.

I like to believe (this is my headcanon) that the above are Achilles' ruminations at the time of arriving in the House and trying to make sense of it all. I think, after however long they spent training together, he would know that Zagreus does in fact bleed red.

And I'm personally fond of imagining that he accidentally killed Zagreus at least once, since that is the likeliest explanation I can find for this remembrance:

5. ZAGREUS EMPLOYED IN THE ADMIN CHAMBER

At some point after the start of his training with Achilles, Zagreus must have been employed in the Administrative Chamber. (I say it is "after" due to my own headcanon, but it could well have happened before).

He was fired from this duty in a flashback we see in canon, so for that to happen he must have been previously employed there. Such an appointment would be, again, an attempt by Hades to get Zagreus to conform to his expectations for an heir. But Zagreus was ill-suited for parchmentwork and standing around; too restless.

I personally like to imagine this remembrance is in reference to his work at the Admin Chamber.

Next post, we continue looking at Hades' attempts to fix his perfectly loveable son by looking at: MegZag!