The Netflix series “Blood of Zeus” is a beautiful eight episode, modern rendition of a traditional Greek Myth. The characters, the story, the art and design and the score of this series are some of the best I have seen. While it does not do any of these things perfectly, they are all done very well and end up forming an amazing series that is gripping and interesting from episode one to eight.
The story is that of a mortal by the name of Heron who is secretly the son of Zeus. He is sent to save the world from a demonic army led by Seraphim. The story works very well in this regard but has some major flaws. These flaws are centered around motivation for the main villain, Seraphim, and this is one of the only things that holds this show back. If they would have adjusted the show to better suit the story he had, then it would have been better but at the state it debuted, it is not going to win any awards for writing.
The characters, besides the villain who I will cover in the spoilers section, all seem to carry their own motivations without the show throwing it in the face of the watcher. Every character, from the minor ones to Zeus himself, show a large amount of individuality, which in shows like this can be a struggle. This helps bring life to the fictional Greek world and a sense of realism despite it being an animated show. They also allow for a great deal of mystery behind some of the characters that can be explored in later seasons if Netflix decides they want to continue this series.
The story, though starting slow, is perfect for its length and prompts a great continuation of the series, albeit most likely under a new name. The story does not stray from its path too much but something that it does, which I value highly, is it was unpredictable in a good way. There are examples of shows and movies, such as “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”, subverting expectations just to do it, but for this show everything that is done has purpose and meaning behind it. This kept me interested in every event as none of it had the feeling that they wanted something to happen so they forced it. Alongside the plot, it is also very faithful to the source material of Greek mythology while also taking many of its own liberties as well.
The beauty and color that “Blood of Zeus” shows is some of the greatest I’ve ever seen. The large landscapes, the intense fight scenes and simple individual shots are all ripe with beautiful color, cinematography and style that makes every scene memorable and unique. When I first started watching the show, the art style was very familiar for the humanoid characters as it was almost the exact same art style used for the modern D.C Universe animated movies. The characters move the same and the flow of movement is almost identical.
Overall, without spoiling major points of the show, if you are a fan of Greek Mythology like myself, you will love “Blood of Zeus”. But, if you are just looking for something short and concise to watch that will keep you entertained, then “Blood of Zeus” is something you should be adding to your list.
Spoilers:
If you do not want to show spoiled for you, stop reading here.
The biggest issue I have with the show is how they handle the motivations of the villain Seraphim. Following the story of Heron is very entertaining and it is directly linked to the main villain, Seraphim, who is the leader of the Demon army. But it is not until episode five and six do we see Seraphim’s direct motivation, that is not “I want to kill innocents because I am the bad guy.” They briefly mention in the early episodes that he hates nobles and is actively hunting them but they never truly say why until it is revealed that as a baby his uncle, a noble, attempted to kill him and take the throne. But then this motivation is ruined when Hera gets involved because she forces him to do her bidding so he can fulfill his true motivation.
The show hypes up Seraphim and the Demon army, it tells you the tales of how his power is born from the evil power of the giants but in the end, it becomes Hera telling him to do stuff, him failing to do it, and then her yelling at him to do it. I feel it would have been much better if they did not make Hera involved with the story and if they left the motivation for Seraphim. He is the half brother of Heron, and this prompts an opportunity for an arc where Seraphim blames Heron and Zeus for the death of their mother and seeks both the death of them and the fall of Olympus. We see Seraphim’s power throughout the entire show and it hurts the character to see him be ragdolled by Hera with the flick of her fingers. They tease the idea of Seraphim being the main villain when he attempts to betray Hera but when that happened, I already knew how it would end as it had been shown three times that the mortal in Seraphim was no match for the Queen of the Gods.
Overall when it comes to Seraphim and his motivation, they had the groundwork there. He is the half brother of the Hero, if his brother had not been born he would have become king and he would not have struggled in life. Zeus, the king of the gods, is directly responsible for the suffering in Seraphim’s life. All of this works incredibly well for Seraphim wanting Zeus and the gods dead, but once Hera gets involved, Seraphim becomes a pawn in the rebellion among the gods and it hurts what would have been a great story.
