Lots of Rants about Lots of Fandoms.

I have returned!!! (And So Did Leo)

Spoilers for Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo

One of the reasons I think the whole HoO series was so terrible was because there were so few deaths.  (Honestly the only one that comes to mind is Pheobe, who's one of the Hunters, and that's sad and all, but I honestly don't care about her.)

Like, in the original Percy Jackson series, there were so many deaths!  Remember when Bianca died?  I was in Costa Rica with a friend of mine listening to it on audio book and I was so shocked and horrified!  But in the best way, that only a really good tragic plotline will do to you.  And then when Beckendorf dies - and Seleana!?  And Luke's is the most beautifully tragic of all in my opinion.

And then in Heroes of Olympus - nothing.  It's like Rick Riordan got too attached to his characters and decided to go easy on them.  

Listen - Leo should have actually died.  I know everyone loves Leo.  I know he's funny and flirtatious and fangirls drool over him, but he should have died.  Most of The Blood of Olympus was taken up with The Seven gathering things for The Physician's Cure assuming that it would bring one of them back to life - and that's exactly what it does.  Where's the plot twist?  Where's the shocked confusion and then the sudden realization when the reader goes 'Ohhhhh!  I see!  That was clever, I didn't see that coming!'?   Spoiler - there isn't any.  It goes exactly as they planned.  

Sure, Leo tricks the other six into letting him take a risk, but we know his plan.  The readers know he's got something up his sleeve and you never think for a second that he's actually going to die.

But imagine if he did.  What if they went through all that - gathering The Physician's Cure for the better part of the book, and it all was for nothing.  What if the last chapter was Calypso's point of view, and she finds him washed up on her island, long dead, because he couldn't fulfill his oath.

It would be so much sadder.  I really liked the delivery of Leo's lines to Piper and Jason, when he's about to make his sacrifice, and he's like, "And by the way, I love you guys."  But that would be so much more powerful if he never came back.

And then there's the other thing.  No one seems really shaken up that he's dead.  Sure, we know he isn't, but Jason and Piper don't.  And yet they just sit on the roof and snuggle and don't really seem to care.  We don't even get to see Frank and Hazel's reactions, but we know they knew about Leo's plan beforehand because he needed their help and figured he could count on them.  So wouldn't they be feeling horrible and guilty and constantly second-guessing their decision?  But all we see of then is Nico teasing them about getting married and they also seem perfectly happy.  

And then Leo gets back at the end of The Hidden Oracle, and everyone lines up to punch him.  Like, seriously??!  How petty and dumb can you get?!  You're friend who you thought was dead for two months is back, and you just punch him!?  I hated that. 

So, yeah.  He should have died and I am still bitter that he didn't.

I'm sorry this rant was all over the place, but it's late and I'm tired.  I'd love requests, and comment you're favorite minor character from the Riordanvers.