WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Blood of Zeus Season 1, currently streaming on Netflix.
In Netflix's Blood of Zeus, as much as the story revolves around Heron, one of Zeus' half-mortal children, being caught in a lovers' spat between the Thunderer and his wife, Hera, we also meet his other bastards, Hermes and Apollo, who are trying to protect their dad.
However, while the duo doesn't get that much screentime, given the nuance and mystery of their bond to the king of Olympus, each other, and their hunkier character designs, it's clear they -- and not Heron -- are the best and most intriguing parts of the eight episodes comprising Season 1.
Heron's story isn't that interesting: it's just a dull remix of Perseus' journey in Clash of the Titans. Zeus decides to mentor the young man so he could stop Seraphim's demonic legion, resulting in the anime-inspired series being a tale about Heron somehow opting to ignore how Zeus' manipulation and Hera's jealousy led to his mother, Electra's death.
By comparison, there's a far richer tapestry woven with Apollo and Hermes as the godly conflict engulfs the Earth. During all this, Hermes uses his winged sandals to speed around the place, ferrying souls of the dead to the Boatman of the Underworld. In his few scenes, he has a charisma and warmth to him that's a breath of fresh air compared to the more robotic Zeus and Heron. What's really interesting is how devoted he is to Zeus, spying on Hera when she schemes with Seraphim and acting as his messenger.
Unfortunately, we don't gain insight into how he ended up on Olympus, but we can tell, for some reason or another, he's loyal to keeping the kingdom intact and stopping Hera at any cost. And in battle, he's pretty slick -- not just because he has his soul gauntlet to grab people's essences, but because of how he comes off like The Flash of this realm (a full-circle reference, of course). More so, he really empathizes with Heron, offering bits of advice as Heron tries to find his place in this world as a demigod, too.
The same applies to Apollo, who has an even more mystifying aura. He's quite handsome with long flowing locks a la Thor, and with his full-body halo, piercings, eyeliner(?) and regal disposition, he stands out among the siblings in looks alone. He too is pretty badass in battle with his flaming chariot and balls of fire to be tossed at enemies; his biggest moment being when he partners with his brother to fight Ares. He also saves Hermes later on when the God of War tries to kill him for snitching on Hera. We never discover why they're this close but clearly, they have each other's backs as outsiders -- kindred spirits who no matter what, and share a desire to uphold order.
Apollo also plays into the fluid Ancient Greek era of sexual openness as we see him in one scene in bed with a handsome man and gorgeous woman, bringing a more authentic vibe for fans of history and mythology.
All of these factors really leave us wondering why the pair didn't star as the bastards of this story rather than the far blander Heron. Zeus talks about Perseus and Hercules in a way that makes them sound like they're dead, so. in terms of A-list names, these two demigods would have been perfect to focus on.
The story of how they bonded with each other and why Zeus came to love them and give them rank in Olympus would have made perfect sense to spotlight. They've got more personality, unique looks and again, as seen when Apollo also covers for Zeus when he romances Electra, there is an unconditional love between father and sons that would have been fascinating to explore. Instead, Netflix leaves it to the audience to fill in the blanks, sidelining its most compelling characters.
Starring Jason O'Mara, Mamie Gummer, Chris Diamantopoulos, Derek Phillips and Jessica Henwick, Blood of Zeus Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.
