Contrary to popular belief, Hades wasnât âgrievingâ Bianca. He was using herâor at least, the idea of herâas a chess piece. He wanted to mold her into some grand hero so he could bask in the glory, with barely a thought for what either of his children actually needed or wanted.
People love to say Hades stashed them in the Lotus Casino purely for their safety. And sure, that was part of it. But any pretense of paternal care falls apart when you remember he dragged them out of that casino right in the middle of a war, with another kid, Percy, already slated for the prophecy. If he truly cared about keeping them safe, he wouldâve waited until the war was over. He also wouldnât have tried to capture and kill Percy just to bump Nico up to the number-one spot.
Now, Iâm not one of those fans who claims Hades told Nico he shouldâve died instead of Biancaâthank the gods, we can agree on that. But letâs not pretend that makes him a good dad. Telling an eleven- or twelve-year-old, still deep in fresh grief over his sister, âIt would have been better if Bianca had livedâ is still brutally cruel.
And yeah, obviously thin gs would be better it Bianca lived? No decent parent wants their kid to die. But why say that to Nicoâs face, after youâve already upset him half to death? Then he doubles down with âYour sister would have done a better job.â You donât even know that! Bianca never got the chance to show all that sheer potential, so Hades had zero evidence to back that up. He was just being a jerk for the sake of it.
Iâm not saying Hades wanted Bianca to die. But that line wasnât born out of love for her. Rather, it was born out of frustration that his timeline got pushed back. And letâs be real: Bianca and Nico were close in age. For a god whoâs been around for millennia, waiting a few extra years is nothing.
Hades also made it crystal clear he didnât care what his kids actually wanted. He locked Percy up and tried to kill him even while Nico begged him not to. And the whole âBianca should have livedâ complaint rings hollow anyway, because even if she had survived, sheâd already joined the Huntersâshe wasnât going to age into the prophecy. So what was his endgame there? He wouldâve shoved Nico into that role whether Nico liked it or not. And if Bianca hadn't joined the Hunters, she'd be taking the brunt of it then. MAYBE even more than Nico would have, seeing as Hades seemed to have a preference to Bianca for whatever reason that may be. All for the sake of his reputation, over the well-being of his living, breathing child.
Sure, Hades gets a âredemptionâ arc later onâthough honestly, he feels so out of character in the newer books that it barely reads as the same god. But people will swoon over him softening his gaze by 0.0000013% in some side story, as if thatâs not the absolute basement floor of parental decency. Youâre supposed to be kind to your kids. Thatâs not a flex.
And even if we grant that he was grieving Biancaâwhich, again, is the bare minimum because thatâs your daughterâit still doesnât excuse taking that anger out on Nico. A kid who couldnât have changed any of it, and was already drowning in his own pain.
