The House of Hades

Annabeth feels guilty because it is her fault Percy was pulled into Tartarus with her, so she feels a burden to get them out. Annabeth has always relied on her wits and wisdom to survive, but she feels out of her element in Tartarus because no other demigod has been there, so there is no research for her to do to understand it. She must rely on a Titan and a Giant to survive even though that is counterintuitive to her instincts, which tell her such creatures are bad and can’t change. Annabeth’s perspective changes in Tartarus, and she grows to rely on the Titan and the Giant, allowing her to see that everyone can choose to change and grow.

Annabeth’s relationship with Percy also changes. She has always been the smarter one while Percy is the reliable one with a heart of gold, but he changes in Tartarus to show glimpses of darkness, such as when he manipulates Bob to kill the Titan Hyperion. Annabeth didn’t realize Percy could be calculating, and her opinion of him shifts. However, she believes in him despite the flashes of darkness she sees in him. Annabeth continues to believe in Percy’s goodness and keeps him light in the dark of Tartarus.

Annabeth also comes away from Tartarus with new knowledge and realizes the true curse of being a child of Athena. Annabeth realizes that being the wise planner and battle strategist leaves her with the burden of allowing others to die for the greater good. Percy can’t see the whole picture like she can, so she forces him to leave Bob and Damasen and must carry the burden of that guilt.

Hazel fully accepts her powers as a daughter of Pluto in the narrative. She is the pivotal character on the quest, who must step up and learn how to use the Mist to defeat Pasiphaë and Clytius and save her friends. She is shown to be a pivotal character as the first point of view character when the Argo II is floundering and unable to go anywhere. Hecate appears to Hazel and tells her she is the one who will make the difference on the quest, and she must learn to control the Mist and choose the path forward for the quest. Hazel forges her own path and decides to save everyone and prevent war.

Hazel doesn’t know how to use the Mist until her father Pluto comes to her in a dream and tells her the key is to make people see what they want to see. When Hazel faces the bandit Sciron and is the only one who can save everyone, she realizes that magic is like summoning jewels or talking to the dead; it is all about making them see what they want and long for most. Hazel defeats Sciron and Pluto appears telling her he is proud of her. Hazel is angry at her father for keeping his distance, but since Pluto helped her control the Mist ,she realizes he keeps his distance to protect her. She forgives him and accepts her powers.

At the Doors of Death when Hazel faces Clytius, Hecate appears again. Clytius taunts Hazel as not being powerful, but Hecate believes in Hazel. Hazel gains strength from her friends and fights Clytius singlehandedly to cut the chains on the Doors of Death and give her friends time to reach her. Hazel realizes she is one of the most powerful demigods on the quest because she can control the Mist, and she ends the novel accepting herself and her heritage as a daughter of Pluto.

Frank embraces his heritage as a son of Mars. In the beginning, he feels a little out of place in the quest because everyone else seems so much better than him. Leo teases him constantly and says he is worth two Franks. When Frank is left alone in Venice and is the only one who can get a python to fix Triptolemus’s chariot and save Hazel and Nico, he finally embraces Mars as his father. He singlehandedly destroys all the cow monsters in Venice, bravely facing his fears and accepting the blessing of Mars in combat. Mars appears and tells Frank he’s proud of him, and Frank is irrevocably changed both physically and mentally; he now embraces himself as a leader.

In the House of Hades, Frank is the one who can control the ghostly Roman legion, not Jason, so he steps up when Jason promotes him to praetor and defeats the whole host of monsters and once again invoking the blessing of Mars in combat. He becomes Praetor Frank Zhang, a leader and fearless warrior, finally accepting his heritage. His last step to fully accepting his power is allowing the ghosts of defeated soldiers to lead him to the Doors of Death, which is a power the children of Mars can invoke that has always scared him, but he does it because he knows he must save his friends. He ends the novel as a true leader in the quest.

Leo feels like the odd one out of the quest. Everyone is coupled up except for him, and he feels guilt for not making sure everyone was on board the Argo II before securing the Athena Parthenos, leaving Percy and Annabeth to fall into Tartarus. He doesn’t know his role other than fixing the ship. Leo begins to fully realize his potential when he singlehandedly fights Akmon and Passalos in Bologna. While Jason gets tied up, Leo uses supplies from a grocery store and his fire powers to build makeshift explosives and tie the brothers up. When faced with the decision to kill them, Leo shows his goodness by refusing to kill them and coming up with the idea to slow the Romans marching on Camp Half-Blood by sending Akmon and Passalos.

When Leo is sent to Calypso’s Island by Khione, he again has imposter syndrome. Calypso doesn’t like him, and Leo bitterly thinks that if he were Jason, she would fall in love with him, once again comparing himself to his quest mates and finding himself lacking. What makes Calypso fall in love with him is his promise to come back for her, which none of the other heroes had promised. Leo comes back to the quest changed, secure in himself knowing he has a purpose in building things, setting the tone for the group, and supporting others so they succeed.

When Hazel and Leo fight Clytius, Leo is immediately sidelined, and instead of jumping in to fight again, he lets Hazel fight and stays back knowing that is what is best. He accepts his role as a good friend and the one whose difference and compassion are strengths, not weaknesses.

Jason is the perfect golden boy who can do no wrong, but his character is deepened in this story. In his first point-of-view section, Jason goes with Nico to get Diocletian’s scepter. Jason doesn’t trust Nico because of stories Percy told him where Nico’s loyalties were unclear. They face Eros, the god of love, and Nico reveals that he’s gay and in love with Percy. Jason accepts him and encourages him to tell the others, but Nico refuses. Jason honors his wishes and doesn’t tell anyone but pushes Nico to accept himself. It is hard for Jason to be on the sidelines because as a hero he wants to fix everything, so he wants to fix Nico, but he stands back and lets Nico make his own choices while supporting him.

Jason was born a Roman demigod, son of Jupiter, but after his memory was wiped and he ended up at Camp Half-Blood, Jason feels a longing to be Greek. He is torn because he loves Camp Jupiter and knows he is Roman, but he wants to be Greek more. He is forced to make a choice when faced with the lord of the South Winds, who tells Jason his unpredictability makes him weak. Jason chooses to be Greek, a new fate, and feels freedom and strength in this. He transfers his Roman leadership to Frank in the House of Hades, finally accepting himself as Greek, and his strength allows Frank to become the leader he was meant to be. 

Piper feels like the most useless member of the quest as the daughter of Aphrodite. She doesn’t have cool fighting skills or weapons; all she has is a dagger, a cornucopia of plenty, and her charmspeak. Her worst fears are confirmed when the snow goddess Khione and the Boreads attack the Argo II and sideline everyone else but her. Khione calls her useless, but Piper realizes that she isn’t useless—her love is the greatest power of all. She uses her love for her friends and makes Festus the mechanical dragon come alive with the power of love through her words, singlehandedly saving her friends. She finally accepts that her power is valuable and not useless, and she can use people underestimating her against them.

Nico doesn’t get a point-of-view section in this novel, so he is only seen through other characters’ eyes. He keeps people at bay, and they are confused about why he is helping them rescue Percy and Annabeth because he seems to hate Percy. Jason goes with him to retrieve Diocletian’s scepter, and Nico is terrified to face Eros, god of love, because he has been hiding the truth from himself and others. To defeat Eros and get the scepter, Nico is forced to admit he’s in love with Percy. Jason accepts him and treats him with kindness, but Nico has trouble accepting himself and doesn’t feel like he belongs. Nico was born in the 1940s where loving another man was considered “wrong,” so he allowed himself to be an outcast and not trust anyone because he fears what people think. At the end of the novel, Percy tries to talk to Nico, and Nico pushes him away, still in turmoil about accepting himself.

Coach Hedge is the satyr chaperone on the Argo II. He loves to fight, so the crew finds it unusual when he spends so much time in his cabin sending Iris-messages. Before the battle at the House of Hades, Coach Hedge reveals to Frank that he married his girlfriend Mellie, and they are expecting a baby. He’s hesitant to go into battle because he doesn’t want to die, and he wants to protect them. Coach Hedge has a hard time opening up, so Frank is glad he trusted him and is able to help by suggesting he guard the ship and not fight. Frank also suggests Coach Hedge return to Camp Half-Blood with Reyna and Nico because he knows Coach Hedge wants to see his family, and Coach Hedge gladly accepts.